Some Thoughts regarding Moral Deterioration in America
In the wake of this past 4th of July let us soberly remember that this nation was not founded as a "Christian nation" as many claim today, but nevertheless, many of America's founding fathers had more wholesome views of God, reflected in the things that they wrote, than the majority of those professing faith in our day. With all of the rejection of God, and the things of God that has occurred over the past several decades, and before, let us think soberly about what is actually preserving America to this day?
Every nation in the world's history has had both a beginning and an end (with the exception of Israel). Nations such as Babylon, the Medo-Persian Empire, Greece, Rome, and Egypt each had their turn to rule the world as world empires. Today what is left of those great nations are archaeological remains, greatly downsized countries, and places of tourism. Each of these fell altogether, or at least fell from their once-held place of world prominence because of moral disintegration.
I personally give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that I was born and have lived all of my life in America. It has been a particularly unique time and place in the world's history. This has been a time characterized by what I would call a general normality of life and of good days that is exceedingly rare. We get up every day, go to work, go to school, make plans, go here and there at will, go on vacation, go on trips, come home, and have a place to come home to. Whether men are rich or poor, there has been an element of safety that has characterized most of our days, safety and normality that are for the most part taken for granted. Many others in the world's history have grown up in such places as a war zone, or "theater of war," or in a time of great plagues, or pestilence, or famine, or in a time of great oppression by the government. These were times when people lived from day to day, not knowing whether or not their family circle or circle of close associates would be unbroken before the day was over. For many, this was what had come to be regarded to be normal.
Peaceful times such as these, particularly, are times that God gives, not only to seek Him, but also to cultivate a love and devotion for His holy Name through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is so that those professing faith, especially, may "lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty" (I Tim. 2:2. Times of less distraction are opportune times that God gives to men so that they may give themselves to setting their affection on things that are above, and not on things on the earth (Col. 3:1-4).
In my lifetime, however, I, personally, as well as many others, have witnessed a steady and significant deterioration in the moral fabric that is all about us. There has been a marked and an increased rejection on almost every level of the Lord and of His Christ, evidenced by such things as the banning of prayer and Bible reading in the schools, the murdering of unborn children (as well as the legalizing of this practice, and affording respectability to the perpetrators of these abominations), the banning of capital punishment for murderers, and other like things have all crept into the fabric of America's society.
The exploitation of concupiscence and violence on television, in movies, in children's games have become increasingly and aggressively prevalent. We have also lived to witness the almost complete devaluation and disintegration of the husband and wife relationship in marriage. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
(Bear with me a little in my folly. In the plumbing industry, male threads have be joined together with female fittings. Couplings and male elbows simply do not go together of themselves. It is the same in the electrical field. Male plugs have to be inserted into female receptacles. That is the only way they go together. Everyone knows this. That is the only way that they serve the purpose for which they were made.
Also, in the animal kingdom, roosters always mate togther with hens, and stallions with mares, rams with ewes, foxes with vixen, drones with queen-bees, and they are productive and serve the purpose for which the Lord God made them. But men, in their departure from, and rebellion against, the living God have left the natural use to work all manner of ungodliness.) These examples will suffice to express our exasperation and lament.
Lest I be misunderstood, I again want to state that I am thankful to God that I was given to live in the time and place of the working out of His purpose in Christ Jesus. But I also know that the God that made the world and all things that are therein is holy. He is holy and righteous in all of His ways. In the gift of His only begotten Son, He has made abundant provision for the putting away of sin once. But He has made no provision for men neglecting Him and His great salvation in Christ, unless it be the provision of being cast away forever from His Presence.
Before Christ's coming into the world to lay down His life a ransom for many, the Scripture says that God winked at times when men were ignorant of His ways, exercising forebearance and longsuffering in view of the coming Redeemer, but now that Christ has come, He commands all men everywhere to repent and take hold of the salvation that He wonderfully provided in His beloved Son. "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else" (Isa. 45:22). --editor@banner.org
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
The Gospel Treasure Hid in the Field of Life's Experience
A Closer Look at Matthew 13:44
The Gospel Treasure Hid in the Field of Life's ExperienceThe following words are a graphic description of those who, one by one, shall be "accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead" (Lk. 20:35). To state this another way, the world to come will be populated only with personalities who have the credentials described here in this parable, and who shall be able to confess on that notable Day of the Lord: "This parable was, and is, describing me".
The Lord Jesus Christ is He, in Whom are "hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3), and consequently it is Christ Jesus Himself who makes the treasure, spoken of here in this parable, to, in fact, be a treasure. In Heaven the most precious things are not the jasper wall, the street of gold, the absence of crying, sorrow, tears, dying, and so forth. The most precious things are actually not "things", but rather the Persons of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Everything else derives its preciousness directly from Their Persons.
With regard to men, there is no filial access, or relatedness, to the Godhead apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. It is by Him that "we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Rom. 5:2). And it is only through the Lord Jesus Christ that "we both (Jew and Gentile) have access by one Spirit unto the Father" (Eph. 2:18). It is in Christ that "we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in Him" (Eph. 3:12, ASV). Christ Jesus is the Image of the invisible God, and no man comes unto the Father, except by Him.
Having said these things, let us now carefully consider this parable spoken by the Savior, as it has a direct and vital bearing on all of life's experience. Some obvious points of consideration are the following:
- The parable presupposes the existence of a real, substantive treasure.
- What is being spoken here has a direct bearing upon men: a man found the treasure.
- In life's experience there comes a time of the treasure's discovery.
- The finding of this treasure produces real, not fabricated, joy. It is joy that proceeds from the perception, by faith, that God has abundantly addressed man's most fundamental dilemma, namely that of sin, along with sin's deadly consequences, in the sending forth of His Son into the world.
- We are on solid ground in making affirmations such as this. This is what the Bible is all about: namely, about the entrance of sin into the world, and God's purpose in Christ Jesus, purposed from the foundation of the world (cf. Rev. 13:8), to provide an abundant and copious remedy for the putting away of the sin by the Lord Jesus Christ. And the execution of this remedy would be for the glorification of God's holy Name throughout the ages to come. In a filial sense, it would enable both men and angelic beings to perceive more and more clearly who God is.
- The treasure was, and is, indeed, accessible and obtainable, and that legitimately so. The man was not stealing a treasure that rightfully belonged do someone else. The parable contemplates a situation where the treasure rightfully belongs to whoever finds it, and who also takes the necessary measures to take possession of it.
- In this parable the treasure becomes the rightful possession of whoever sells everything that they have and own in order to possess it. Only such ones as this come into rightful possession of the treasure. The selling spoken of here takes place, first and foremostly, in the heart's affection.
- The man who found the treasure hid himself and did what was necessary to possess the treasure for himself, making no allowance for anything interfere with him coming into full possession of the treasure. At first glance, this might appear to be full-blown selfishness. But actually, what is being described here is complete and thorough selflessness. We know, from elsewhere in Scripture, that the man described here also had an "old man" (cf. Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:9) to deal with: an "old man" that continually had to be mortified, and kept crucified (Rom. 6:6): an "old man" that saw no lasting value in this treasure. It was, the "new man" that perceived the value, and which had to be regularly nourished, in order to continue seeing the inestimable value of the treasure.
- Upon finding the treasure, the man who found it did not go out and publish abroad that he had found a treasure, contrary to much current-day theology. He rather hid himself in order to make certain that he himself came into possession of it. It seems that we have a "church" on our hands today that, has, in some respects, found the field where the treasure is, but has neglected taking possession of the treasure for itself, and is busying itself with other things, perhaps even telling people where the field is, in the language of the parable, but woefully neglecting the main things.
- In the parable, the man's finding and securing of the treasure for himself did not disbar others from taking possession of the treasure. This is one of many instances where each of Christ's parables are intended to make a very solemn point, but not every aspect of the parable has a corresponding parallel in life's experience.
- Though the man hides himself upon finding the treasure (in order to secure the field for himself), the pure and earnest joy radiating from his person ought to be sufficient witness to others about him that the treasure should and must be sought by them.
- Nevertheless, the treasure will not be found by them, unless they seek it in the same way, with the same earnestness and diligence as the man described in the parable.
- We see in this parable a divinely-ordained principle of buying and selling that transcends far above the mercantile ways and manners of this present evil world. We are speaking here of buying and selling "without money, and without price" (Isa. 55:1; 52:3).
- There is one thing, however, namely this treasure, which can and must be purchased by men with the currency of everything that they have and possess and desire.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." (Mt. 13:44).
It is "like something precious buried in a field, which a man found and hid again; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field." (Amp. V.).
It is "like a secret store of wealth in a field, which a man came across and put back again; and in his joy he goes and gives all he has, to get that field" (BBE).
It is "like what happens when someone finds treasure hidden in a field and buries it again. A person like that is happy and goes and sells everything in order to buy that field" (CEV).
It is "like a treasure hidden in a field. A man found it, hid it again, then in great joy went and sold everything he owned, and bought that field" (CJB).
It is "gleich einem im Acker verborgenen Schatz, welchen ein Mensch fand und verbarg; und vor Freude darüber geht er hin und verkauft alles, was er hat, und kauft jenen Acker" (GEB).
It is "wie mit einem im Acker vergrabenen Schatz, der von einem Mann entdeckt wird. Voller Freude versteckt er ihn wieder, geht nach Hause, verkauft alles, was er hat, und kauft jenen Acker" (GNEU).
It is "like some treasure which has been buried in a field. A man finds it and buries it again, and goes off overjoyed to sell all his possessions to buy himself that field" (J.B. Phillips).
It is "like treasure hid in a field, which, when a man has discovered, he conceals the discovery, and for joy thereof, sells all that he has, and buys that field" (LONT).
It is "like treasure hidden in a field; the man who finds it hides it and in his delight goes and sells all he possesses and buys that field" (Moffatt).
It is "a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field" (NASB).
It is "like a pot of gold which was buried in a field, which a man found and buried again; and for joy over it he went and sold all he had and bought that field" (Williams).
It is "like treasure buried in the open country, which a man finds, but buries again, and, in his joy about it, goes and sells all he has and buys that piece of ground" (WNT).
It is "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure which has been hidden in the field, which, after a man has found it, he hid, and in his joy goes off and sells as much as he possesses, and buys that field" (Wuest).
"And hid (kai ekrupsen). Not necessarily bad morality. “He may have hid it to prevent it being stolen, or to prevent himself from being anticipated in buying a field” (Plummer). But if it was a piece of sharp practice, that is not the point of the parable. That is, the enormous wealth of the Kingdom for which any sacrifice, all that one has, is not too great a price to pay" (Robertson's Word Pictures).
It is "like something precious buried in a field, which a man found and hid again; then in his joy he goes and sells all he has and buys that field." (Amp. V.).
It is "like a secret store of wealth in a field, which a man came across and put back again; and in his joy he goes and gives all he has, to get that field" (BBE).
It is "like what happens when someone finds treasure hidden in a field and buries it again. A person like that is happy and goes and sells everything in order to buy that field" (CEV).
It is "like a treasure hidden in a field. A man found it, hid it again, then in great joy went and sold everything he owned, and bought that field" (CJB).
It is "gleich einem im Acker verborgenen Schatz, welchen ein Mensch fand und verbarg; und vor Freude darüber geht er hin und verkauft alles, was er hat, und kauft jenen Acker" (GEB).
It is "wie mit einem im Acker vergrabenen Schatz, der von einem Mann entdeckt wird. Voller Freude versteckt er ihn wieder, geht nach Hause, verkauft alles, was er hat, und kauft jenen Acker" (GNEU).
It is "like some treasure which has been buried in a field. A man finds it and buries it again, and goes off overjoyed to sell all his possessions to buy himself that field" (J.B. Phillips).
It is "like treasure hid in a field, which, when a man has discovered, he conceals the discovery, and for joy thereof, sells all that he has, and buys that field" (LONT).
It is "like treasure hidden in a field; the man who finds it hides it and in his delight goes and sells all he possesses and buys that field" (Moffatt).
It is "a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field" (NASB).
It is "like a pot of gold which was buried in a field, which a man found and buried again; and for joy over it he went and sold all he had and bought that field" (Williams).
It is "like treasure buried in the open country, which a man finds, but buries again, and, in his joy about it, goes and sells all he has and buys that piece of ground" (WNT).
It is "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure which has been hidden in the field, which, after a man has found it, he hid, and in his joy goes off and sells as much as he possesses, and buys that field" (Wuest).
"And hid (kai ekrupsen). Not necessarily bad morality. “He may have hid it to prevent it being stolen, or to prevent himself from being anticipated in buying a field” (Plummer). But if it was a piece of sharp practice, that is not the point of the parable. That is, the enormous wealth of the Kingdom for which any sacrifice, all that one has, is not too great a price to pay" (Robertson's Word Pictures).
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Unto all them also that love His appearing
Unto all them also that love His appearing
(2Ti 4:8) Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
A crown of righteousness is laid up for us on that great day when Jesus comes again, unto everyone that loves Christ appearing.
(1 Pet 1:7 KJV) "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:"
(1 Pet 1:8 KJV) "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:"
(1 Pet 1:9 KJV) "Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."
The trial of our faith will be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of
Jesus Christ. This gift of faith which God has so richly bestowed upon us, is more
valuable than anything this world has to offer. This love for Christ and believing in Jesus the son of God whom we have not seen is of great joy unspeakable , rejoicing, and full of glory. Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, will reward us with the salvation of our souls.
(Heb 9:28 KJV) "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation .
But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Unto all of us who are looking for Jesus, shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation .
(Rev 21:3 KJV) "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."
(Rev 21:4 KJV) "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
The tabernacle of God is with men and God will dwell with us and we shall be His people, God himself shall be with us and be our God. When Jesus was risen from the dead, he told Mary Magdalene Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended
to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
(Luke 10:22 KJV) "All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him."
God has promised to wipe away all tears from our eyes, there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, no more pain, nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (2 Peter 3:13).
(2 Pet 3:14 KJV) "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless."
(1 John 3:2 KJV) "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
(1 John 3:3 KJV) "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."
WE are now the sons of God and does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know for sure that when Jesus shall appear , we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He Is.
Jesus is pure and all that hath this hope in Him purifieth themselves. Praise God ! Amen
(2Ti 4:8) Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
A crown of righteousness is laid up for us on that great day when Jesus comes again, unto everyone that loves Christ appearing.
(1 Pet 1:7 KJV) "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:"
(1 Pet 1:8 KJV) "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:"
(1 Pet 1:9 KJV) "Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."
The trial of our faith will be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of
Jesus Christ. This gift of faith which God has so richly bestowed upon us, is more
valuable than anything this world has to offer. This love for Christ and believing in Jesus the son of God whom we have not seen is of great joy unspeakable , rejoicing, and full of glory. Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, will reward us with the salvation of our souls.
(Heb 9:28 KJV) "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation .
But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Unto all of us who are looking for Jesus, shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation .
(Rev 21:3 KJV) "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."
(Rev 21:4 KJV) "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
The tabernacle of God is with men and God will dwell with us and we shall be His people, God himself shall be with us and be our God. When Jesus was risen from the dead, he told Mary Magdalene Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended
to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
(Luke 10:22 KJV) "All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him."
God has promised to wipe away all tears from our eyes, there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, no more pain, nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (2 Peter 3:13).
(2 Pet 3:14 KJV) "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless."
(1 John 3:2 KJV) "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
(1 John 3:3 KJV) "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."
WE are now the sons of God and does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know for sure that when Jesus shall appear , we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He Is.
Jesus is pure and all that hath this hope in Him purifieth themselves. Praise God ! Amen
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The Nature of the Glad Tidings
The Nature of the Glad Tidings
By Al Stoner
By Al Stoner
By its very nature, the gospel of Christ is good news. It is news that is wonderful to the receptive hearer, marvelous to consider; it is a report that is ever new, and even more wonderfully new. The tidings are as "cold waters to a thirsty soul" (Prov. 25:25), and as "the light of the eye which rejoices the heart" (Prov. 15:30). They are tidings of "great joy", and they are intended to be perceived as such by "all people" (Lk. 2:10), as they are perfectly adapted to man's most deep-seated, fundamental need in his fallen and sinful condition. By nature, men are "alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them" (Eph. 4:18), and consequently, earnestly giving heed to the gospel is the only divinely appointed means of remedying this woeful situation.
The gospel tidings are regarded as news because they are continually coming to those who are dwelling in a cursed realm, that is old, and passing away (I Cor. 7:31; I Jn. 2:15; Heb. 8:13b). And thus, to those, whose hearts are attuned to the gospel message through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the message is perceived to be ever new. The glad tidings come to rescue, to save, to nourish, and to give power unto living acceptably in the sight of God. To those who see it aright, they cannot live without regularly giving heartfelt attendance to the gospel message. They sense acutely that it is impossible to survive the earthly course of this present evil world with a safe and abundant entrance into the world to come, apart from giving "the more earnest heed to the things which" they "have heard" (Heb. 2:1), "in the word of the truth of the gospel" (Col. 1:5).
But there is another vital reason for the newness that is inseparably associated with the gospel. And that has to do with the Source of where this message is proceeding from. The gospel is coming to us from God the Father, and from Christ, the Son. Those who preach this gospel are standing before men "in Christ's stead," in summary declaring "be ye reconciled to God" (II Cor. 5:20). The tidings, of which we speak, are called in Scripture, for example, "the glorious gospel of the blessed God" (I Tim. 1:11), "the gospel of God" (Rom. 1:1; 15:16; II Cor. 11:7), "the gospel of Christ" (Rom. 1:16; 15:19), and "the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (II Th. 1:8). They are proceeding from Him who declared, "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth" (Isa. 65:17), and as well from Him who has assured us, "Behold, I make all things new" (Rev. 21:5).
To state this another way, whatever "new" things there are that have their origin in earth, begin immediately to wax old and vanish away from their very inception. But not so with the "gospel", which is "preached" unto men "by the Holy Spirit sent forth from Heaven" (I Pet. 1:12, ASV).
To those who have believed the gospel, the nature of the glad tidings are such, that they desire to hear this report again and again. Those who believe the gospel are never heard to say, “Well, I’ve heard that before.” Well, no doubt, they did hear it before, but never in the sense that they are hearing it in the most recent consideration. Incidentally, this ought to make immediately suspect the perverted notion of having an “annual salvation message,” meaning that other things are talked about and emphasized during the remainder of the year in those circles.
There are always more wonderful things to behold in the gospel, and things that are desperately necessary to lay hold of for life and godliness. With regard to believing the gospel, believing men go "from faith to faith" [that is, from faith unto a greater faith] (Rom. 1:16-17). --editor@banner.org
The gospel tidings are regarded as news because they are continually coming to those who are dwelling in a cursed realm, that is old, and passing away (I Cor. 7:31; I Jn. 2:15; Heb. 8:13b). And thus, to those, whose hearts are attuned to the gospel message through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the message is perceived to be ever new. The glad tidings come to rescue, to save, to nourish, and to give power unto living acceptably in the sight of God. To those who see it aright, they cannot live without regularly giving heartfelt attendance to the gospel message. They sense acutely that it is impossible to survive the earthly course of this present evil world with a safe and abundant entrance into the world to come, apart from giving "the more earnest heed to the things which" they "have heard" (Heb. 2:1), "in the word of the truth of the gospel" (Col. 1:5).
But there is another vital reason for the newness that is inseparably associated with the gospel. And that has to do with the Source of where this message is proceeding from. The gospel is coming to us from God the Father, and from Christ, the Son. Those who preach this gospel are standing before men "in Christ's stead," in summary declaring "be ye reconciled to God" (II Cor. 5:20). The tidings, of which we speak, are called in Scripture, for example, "the glorious gospel of the blessed God" (I Tim. 1:11), "the gospel of God" (Rom. 1:1; 15:16; II Cor. 11:7), "the gospel of Christ" (Rom. 1:16; 15:19), and "the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (II Th. 1:8). They are proceeding from Him who declared, "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth" (Isa. 65:17), and as well from Him who has assured us, "Behold, I make all things new" (Rev. 21:5).
To state this another way, whatever "new" things there are that have their origin in earth, begin immediately to wax old and vanish away from their very inception. But not so with the "gospel", which is "preached" unto men "by the Holy Spirit sent forth from Heaven" (I Pet. 1:12, ASV).
To those who have believed the gospel, the nature of the glad tidings are such, that they desire to hear this report again and again. Those who believe the gospel are never heard to say, “Well, I’ve heard that before.” Well, no doubt, they did hear it before, but never in the sense that they are hearing it in the most recent consideration. Incidentally, this ought to make immediately suspect the perverted notion of having an “annual salvation message,” meaning that other things are talked about and emphasized during the remainder of the year in those circles.
There are always more wonderful things to behold in the gospel, and things that are desperately necessary to lay hold of for life and godliness. With regard to believing the gospel, believing men go "from faith to faith" [that is, from faith unto a greater faith] (Rom. 1:16-17). --editor@banner.org
Diverse Musings for the Times
"The church is the bride of Christ. And for a bride to fail in love is to fail in all things." --C.H. Spurgeon
"We are in a war, and war is not pleasant." --Harold F. Lohse
"Pride is a tool of Satan. Humility is a tool of God." --Harold F. Lohse
"We ought not to expect to be complete until the end." --Fred O. Blakely
"Our lives are driven by love and not fear." --Paul McCulfor
"We live unto Christ because our life is from Him. Our new life is 'from God' and 'for God'" --Paul McCulfor
"Our Intercessor will outlive every detractor." --Jonathan Ingram
"If you leave the door open, the enemy will come in." --Given O. Blakely
"The Holy Spirit makes men penitents long before He makes them divines; and he who believes what he knows, shall soon see clearly what he believes." --C.H. Spurgeon
"David looked forward to the time when God would address his dilemma. Unless God does what He said He was going to do, we are of all men most miserable." --Robert Cobb
"If you stay with Jesus, He will keep you." --Given O. Blakely
"Christ Jesus Himself humbled Himself under the mighty hand of God." --Jeremy Williams
"Our understanding of the mystery, of which Paul frequently wrote, is directly proportionate to our nearness to God." --Aaron Hutchcraft
"If you abide in Christ, you will eventually see His people like He does. If we are abiding in Him, the differences between us and Him are falling away." --Aaron Hutchcraft
"In Christ there is an atmosphere where God can extend Himself." --Tony Parker
"When Christ was raised from the dead, our sins were no longer on Him; else God would not have raised Him." --Given O. Blakely
"Babylon is religion where God is not needed." --Tim McCulfor
"Jesus is not going to step outside the new covenant arrangement to bless you (cf. Jer. 31:33-34)." --Given O. Blakely
"Real wisdom has to do with what you will be after you die." --Given O. Blakely
"Let us seek the things where Jesus is, not the things where Adam was." --Given O. Blakely
"Everyone who carries the sword of the Spirit stands."--Aaron Hutchcraft
"The burden of sin fell when Jesus died. When Jesus lost His strength (when He died), sin lost its strength. When Jesus succumbed, sin succumbed." --Given O. Blakely
"Baptize your heart in devotion to Christ before you wade out into the stream of daily care." --C.H. Spurgeon
"We are in a war, and war is not pleasant." --Harold F. Lohse
"Pride is a tool of Satan. Humility is a tool of God." --Harold F. Lohse
"We ought not to expect to be complete until the end." --Fred O. Blakely
"Our lives are driven by love and not fear." --Paul McCulfor
"We live unto Christ because our life is from Him. Our new life is 'from God' and 'for God'" --Paul McCulfor
"Our Intercessor will outlive every detractor." --Jonathan Ingram
"If you leave the door open, the enemy will come in." --Given O. Blakely
"The Holy Spirit makes men penitents long before He makes them divines; and he who believes what he knows, shall soon see clearly what he believes." --C.H. Spurgeon
"David looked forward to the time when God would address his dilemma. Unless God does what He said He was going to do, we are of all men most miserable." --Robert Cobb
"If you stay with Jesus, He will keep you." --Given O. Blakely
"Christ Jesus Himself humbled Himself under the mighty hand of God." --Jeremy Williams
"Our understanding of the mystery, of which Paul frequently wrote, is directly proportionate to our nearness to God." --Aaron Hutchcraft
"If you abide in Christ, you will eventually see His people like He does. If we are abiding in Him, the differences between us and Him are falling away." --Aaron Hutchcraft
"In Christ there is an atmosphere where God can extend Himself." --Tony Parker
"When Christ was raised from the dead, our sins were no longer on Him; else God would not have raised Him." --Given O. Blakely
"Babylon is religion where God is not needed." --Tim McCulfor
"Jesus is not going to step outside the new covenant arrangement to bless you (cf. Jer. 31:33-34)." --Given O. Blakely
"Real wisdom has to do with what you will be after you die." --Given O. Blakely
"Let us seek the things where Jesus is, not the things where Adam was." --Given O. Blakely
"Everyone who carries the sword of the Spirit stands."--Aaron Hutchcraft
"The burden of sin fell when Jesus died. When Jesus lost His strength (when He died), sin lost its strength. When Jesus succumbed, sin succumbed." --Given O. Blakely
"Baptize your heart in devotion to Christ before you wade out into the stream of daily care." --C.H. Spurgeon
AND HE (PAUL) SEPARATED THE DISCIPLES
| ||||
|
| ||||
|
The Eulogy for the Undefiled at Sardis
The Eulogy for the Undefiled at Sardis
By Obadiah Sampali
By Obadiah Sampali
“Thou has a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white; for they are worthy” (Rev. 3:4).
Of course the word ‘names’ means ‘people’ as it says in Acts 1:15 concerning those in the upper room, “the number of names together were about 120.” But to me it goes far beyond just signifying people; it brings out that truth that is set forth in every age which was spoken to us by our Lord with great emphasis. It is this: the church system in each of these ages is made up of two vines, one true and one false. God in His own sovereign purpose has put them all together, calling them the church. See in this age how He has rebuked them saying, “unto the church which is” –not “churches are” … “I know thy works … you are dead …your works are unfulfilled …” And then He goes on – “Thou (this church in Sardis) hast a few people in you that are right, and not wrong like the majority. These walk in clean garments and they are worthy of Me.”
Now these people that were the true saints of God were walking “all pleasing unto the Lord.” Their garments were clean. You see, in those days the garments would sweep along on the road and pick up dirt and defilement. These were watching how they walked so that they were not corrupted by the world. They were in the Spirit and walking in the Spirit. They were holy and without blame before Him. Thus they were fulfilling the purpose of God for us, “that we should be holy and without blame before Him.”
Now from this verse which shows the elect of God to be a “Few Names,” you can see clearly what we have been teaching about this degenerate church as it was represented here by the Savior. It was chaotic. It was UNFULFILLED. It was split scores of ways, and God rebuked it almost in its entirety. It was weak and sickly and ready to die. It was not the glorious era that carnal minded Protestant historians have tried to make it. One quick look at that tree saw it was cankered and blighted, denuded of leaf and barren of fruit except for some deformed and wormy fruit that was dropping to the ground.
But wait for a moment! Look closer. There at the top, in the light of the sun, were some ‘first fruits’ – a ‘Few Names’ – perfect in Him for they were born of Him, filled with Him and walking with Him by His Word. Thank God for ‘those few’. “And they shall walk with Me.” That is what God says He will bestow upon them for this upright walk by faith. That is part of their inheritance that He has reserved for them. If they were willing to walk with Him through the toils and snares of life and be an honor to Him, He was going to reward them. He is not forgetful of our labor of love. God will always recompense us for our efforts to please Him. Yes, they had walked through the world and, yet, had not partaken of it. They had not let the world system overcome them. When the illustrious names of that age had yielded to the blandishment of the world and their chosen worldly-mindedness rather than spiritual mindedness and were on their way back into the world, these few stood for the Word of God, and thereby honored the Lord. Now He would honor them in return. For they shall walk with Him in white. They had identified themselves with Him on earth and now He would identify Himself with them in the New Jerusalem. And how marvelous will be that identification! It makes me rejoice and yet it makes me weep to think of His condescension, for you will note that He is not dressed in another color different from the saints, as earthly leaders would so do. No, they are like Him; He is like them. They are like Him, even as John said; for they "shall see Him as He is.” “For they are worthy.”
Do you realize Who is saying this? It is Jesus, the worthy One, Himself. This is the only One Who is accounted worthy to take the book out of the hand of Him Who sits upon the throne (cf. Rev. 5:1-7). And now this Worthy One is saying to His saints, “You are worthy.” Here is this One, the only One qualified to judge, (and indeed all judgment is committed unto Him,) and He says, “You are worthy.” These words are astounding as are the words in Romans 8:33b, “God says I am righteous.” (Way Trans.) There in the white light of God’s righteousness, hear the sweet voice of Jesus as He says, “These are Mine. They are righteous. They are worthy. They shall walk with Me in white.” –wotruthministries@yahoo.ca
Of course the word ‘names’ means ‘people’ as it says in Acts 1:15 concerning those in the upper room, “the number of names together were about 120.” But to me it goes far beyond just signifying people; it brings out that truth that is set forth in every age which was spoken to us by our Lord with great emphasis. It is this: the church system in each of these ages is made up of two vines, one true and one false. God in His own sovereign purpose has put them all together, calling them the church. See in this age how He has rebuked them saying, “unto the church which is” –not “churches are” … “I know thy works … you are dead …your works are unfulfilled …” And then He goes on – “Thou (this church in Sardis) hast a few people in you that are right, and not wrong like the majority. These walk in clean garments and they are worthy of Me.”
Now these people that were the true saints of God were walking “all pleasing unto the Lord.” Their garments were clean. You see, in those days the garments would sweep along on the road and pick up dirt and defilement. These were watching how they walked so that they were not corrupted by the world. They were in the Spirit and walking in the Spirit. They were holy and without blame before Him. Thus they were fulfilling the purpose of God for us, “that we should be holy and without blame before Him.”
Now from this verse which shows the elect of God to be a “Few Names,” you can see clearly what we have been teaching about this degenerate church as it was represented here by the Savior. It was chaotic. It was UNFULFILLED. It was split scores of ways, and God rebuked it almost in its entirety. It was weak and sickly and ready to die. It was not the glorious era that carnal minded Protestant historians have tried to make it. One quick look at that tree saw it was cankered and blighted, denuded of leaf and barren of fruit except for some deformed and wormy fruit that was dropping to the ground.
But wait for a moment! Look closer. There at the top, in the light of the sun, were some ‘first fruits’ – a ‘Few Names’ – perfect in Him for they were born of Him, filled with Him and walking with Him by His Word. Thank God for ‘those few’. “And they shall walk with Me.” That is what God says He will bestow upon them for this upright walk by faith. That is part of their inheritance that He has reserved for them. If they were willing to walk with Him through the toils and snares of life and be an honor to Him, He was going to reward them. He is not forgetful of our labor of love. God will always recompense us for our efforts to please Him. Yes, they had walked through the world and, yet, had not partaken of it. They had not let the world system overcome them. When the illustrious names of that age had yielded to the blandishment of the world and their chosen worldly-mindedness rather than spiritual mindedness and were on their way back into the world, these few stood for the Word of God, and thereby honored the Lord. Now He would honor them in return. For they shall walk with Him in white. They had identified themselves with Him on earth and now He would identify Himself with them in the New Jerusalem. And how marvelous will be that identification! It makes me rejoice and yet it makes me weep to think of His condescension, for you will note that He is not dressed in another color different from the saints, as earthly leaders would so do. No, they are like Him; He is like them. They are like Him, even as John said; for they "shall see Him as He is.” “For they are worthy.”
Do you realize Who is saying this? It is Jesus, the worthy One, Himself. This is the only One Who is accounted worthy to take the book out of the hand of Him Who sits upon the throne (cf. Rev. 5:1-7). And now this Worthy One is saying to His saints, “You are worthy.” Here is this One, the only One qualified to judge, (and indeed all judgment is committed unto Him,) and He says, “You are worthy.” These words are astounding as are the words in Romans 8:33b, “God says I am righteous.” (Way Trans.) There in the white light of God’s righteousness, hear the sweet voice of Jesus as He says, “These are Mine. They are righteous. They are worthy. They shall walk with Me in white.” –wotruthministries@yahoo.ca
On Not Discerning the Time
" . . . One of our Lord's severest rebukes of the unbelieving Jews was for-- their failure, or refusal, to properly judge and identify the "time" of His advent among them, and the age of grace which He came to announce and inaugurate. "Ye hypocrites," He cried, "ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern [or interpret] this time?" (Lk. 12:54-57; cf. Mt. 16:1-4). Later, He wept over the city of Jerusalem because of the blindness and stupidity which prevented its people from seeing and evaluating things as they were with reference to Himself and His kingdom (cf. Jn. 1:10-11). "If thou hadst known, even thou, the things which belong unto thy peace!" He lamented, as He envisioned and foretold the coming devastation and carnage by the Romans. This destruction, He went on to declare, would be "because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation" (Lk. 19:41-44; cf. Mt. 11:20-24). " --Fred O. Blakely
http://www.injesus.com/index.php?module=message&task=view&MID=TB007GFM&GroupID=YT00ZHX1&label=&paging=all
http://www.injesus.com/index.php?module=message&task=view&MID=TB007GFM&GroupID=YT00ZHX1&label=&paging=all
Things that God regards to be Strange
" . . . We are living in a time when men have departed from following after the things that God has revealed to love. They have come to conclusions concerning worship that God has not commanded and will not receive. Some would draw back from the thought that there are things that are distasteful to the Lord, but that does not change the truth (Rom. 1:18). There are things that the Lord considers “strange” The strangeness is that these things do not originate from God, and yet, they are being passed off as though they do. In other words, there are those who are offering to God things that they “think” He will accept based on their personal likes or dislikes, thus changing their perception of who God is and causing a condition of alienation from the revealed God in scripture (Rom. 1:28)" --Robert Cobb
http://www.injesus.com/index.php?module=message&task=view&MID=RB007GH1&GroupID=YT00ZHX1&label=&paging=all
http://www.injesus.com/index.php?module=message&task=view&MID=RB007GH1&GroupID=YT00ZHX1&label=&paging=all
Venturing forth on God's Promise
" . . . If we would venture more upon the naked promise of God, we should enter a world of wonders to which as yet we are strangers. Let Jeremiah’s place of confidence be ours--nothing is too hard for the God that created the heavens and the earth." --Charles H. Spurgeon
“Ah Lord God, behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee” (Jer. 32:17).
“Ah Lord God, behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee” (Jer. 32:17).
The River of God
". . . By turning the course of the Euphrates, Cyrus took the city of Babylon, but no power, human or infernal, can divert the current of divine grace. The tracks of ancient rivers have been found all dry and desolate, but the streams which take their rise on the mountains of divine sovereignty and" everlasting "love shall ever be full to the brim. Generations melt away, but the course of grace is unaltered. The river of God may sing with greater truth than the brook in the poem--
'Men may come, and men may go,
But I go on for ever.'"
--Charles H. Spurgeon
'Men may come, and men may go,
But I go on for ever.'"
--Charles H. Spurgeon
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The Good Ministry of Sin
The Good Ministry of Sin
By Fred O. Blakely
By Fred O. Blakely
As Paul declares, Christ is certainly not "the minister of sin." God forbid that it should be so (Gal. 2:16-18). Neither can God be faulted for taking vengeance against impenitent sinners (Rom. 9:18-21), though their sin justifies Him in His "sayings" (Rom. 3:4-7; cf. Ps. 51:4). Under the reign of Divine grace, however (which is able to turn the curse into a blessing), sin can actually minister both succor to the sinner and glory to God in those who are properly affected by it.
Although forgiven of past sins and set apart unto God by obedience to the gospel, the best of men (notwithstanding the claims of some of them to the contrary), on occasion, continue to be painfully guilty of sin. As they are convicted of this by the Word and led by the Spirit, they are caused to hasten with all speed to the throne of Divine grace for forgiveness and cleansing, that they may go on walking before God with a conscience "void of offense" toward Him (Acts 24:16).
Because these saints recognize that it is "the blood of Jesus Christ" that constitutes the basis upon which the Father grants this additional cleansing (1 Jn. 1:7), the very sin that was committed becomes a reminder to them of the exceeding preciousness of that blood, with the propitiation for sin which it effected. Since the experience of falling into sin is continually repeated, sin, under this procedure, can veritably be used by God to make us more deeply appreciative of the soul-cleansing efficacy of His dear Son's blood, and to bind us closer to Himself.
It is in this view of the situation that the Lord's table at the center of the church's weekly assembly takes on new and vital significance. The brethren come to present themselves as a body before the God of their salvation. During the past week they have been striving against sin; perhaps they came off the loser in some of the strife.
How refreshing and strengthening to sit together at the table acknowledging mutual dependence upon the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and at the same time receive both individual and corporate assurance from God that their sins are forgiven them "for His Name's sake" (I Jn. 2:12; cf. Eph. 4:39). Their very sin, rather than keeping them from their appointment their Lord, thus draws them to His table. So do they have, as it were, their feet "washed" by Him (Jn. 13:4-10) and are cleansed for another week of conflict with the evil one.
Certainly, we do not sin in order that grace may abound. God forbid! But we praise His Name that, despite the agonizingly humiliating experience of sin by His children, it can serve to enhance to them the infinite value of Jesus' blood, and so endear both Him and the gracious Father to them. Thus, does the marvelous wisdom, grace, and power of God bring to naught the work of the Devil in seducing us into sin, and make his wrath against us to glorify God's grace.
_________________
The Law of Christ's House
This is the law of the House . . .
After He raised from the dead, Jesus ascended into heaven, was received up into glory, exalted to the right hand of the Majesty on High, where He received from the Father Himself “power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing” (Rev. 5:12). The revealed implications of the gospel declare that Jesus’ exaltation to the right hand of God was not merely ceremonial in nature. In other words, Jesus is not a figurehead king. There is still work to be done to fulfill the eternal purpose of God, in order to bring to a finality the work of salvation. Therefore, Jesus was also ordained and anointed of God High Priest in things pertaining to God (Heb. 5:1-6) and God’s King whom He set upon His holy hill of Zion (Ps. 2:6).
Although – now – all men do not recognize and acknowledge Jesus in His highly exalted and glorious position – and this is manifested in their living - there is a soon coming day when this will all change. For in the day of the Lord, when Jesus comes again, God will unveil and fully reveal His Beloved Son in the fullness of His glory: “Which in His times (God) shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of Lords” (I Tim. 6:15). On that day, all men will give the glory and homage that is due to God’s Christ. But that confession will not benefit those who did not make it now, while on the earth.
But now, to all those who do honor God through honoring His Son, Jesus is faithfully executing the government of God’s so great salvation in them and through them, and His reign is prospering and increasing in His hand just as God promised it would (Isa. 9:7), for “the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand” (Isa. 53:10).
And as God’s appointed king, Jesus is about heeding to the decree of God given to Him when God said to Jesus: “rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies” (Ps. 110:2). For this reign is what Jesus was raised from the dead to do: “For out of prison He cometh to reign” (Eccl. 4:14) the Scripture declares. And Jesus is faithfully fulfilling that which the prophets said He would do in His present reign at the right hand of God.
Of the effectualness of his reign, the prophet Jeremiah declares:
This will be the focus of the message today, about God’s people being saved – even to the uttermost, and of our dwelling safely with God, which includes far more than getting there safely. Safe dwelling includes our partaking and participation in that work which Jesus now is engaged in usward, purifying the sons, and purging them as silver and gold, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness (Mal. 3:3). Jesus is preparing a people to present to God that they may dwell with Him forever and ever.
Of this truth, the people of God can be assured of because Jesus is truly reigning and prospering in that reign according to the will and purpose of God, and Jesus is faithfully executing God’s judgment and justice in the earth. Jesus’ reign is an effectual reign, affecting the very purpose of God in us. And the name whereby He is called – The Lord Our Righteousness – must not be overlooked, for the reign we will focus on today is the one that is toward the righteous – and to them alone - the reign that is mediated for the righteous by the Righteous One. Behold the goodness of God to everyone that believes!
We will begin in the third chapter of Second Peter with the glorious promise of the second coming of the exalted Lord Jesus Christ: “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (II Pet. 3:10). With the truth of Jesus’ coming even at the doors, God’s people are now, to be about girding up the loins of their minds for action (I Pet. 1:13). For the day of salvation is a day of action for God’s people, “1ooking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God” (II Pet. 3:12) – and how are they doing this: “in all holy conversation and godliness” (II Pet. 3:11) because this is the day when the fullness of the eternal things will become reality and they will be unchangeable – either eternal salvation or eternal damnation, either the fullness of safe dwelling, or the reality of being cast from the presence of the Lord forever and ever where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt. 8:12).
With the truth of Jesus’ soon return brought to bear on the hearts and minds of God’s people, the Apostle Peter continues to exhort the people of God to continued action: “be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless” (II Pet. 3:14). This exhortation is a call to diligence for all God’s people, to labor for this in earnest, to draw near to the God of all grace (I Pet. 5:10), and partake of the provisions He has made that we would truly be in peace with Him, without spot and blameless when we stand before the judge of all the earth, because these are the only ones who will dwell safely..
This is neither directed to a select group of God’s people nor is it optional for any one of us, because, as each of us sits here today, none of us yet are out of the danger of this present evil world, or yet rid of our adversary who roams about seeking who he may devour (I Pet. 5:8), or has been set free from the work of crucifying the old man who lusteth against the Spirit (Gal. 5:17), or has been freed from the possibility of falling from your own steadfastness (II Pet. 3:17). This is the very possibility that brings the Apostle to declare the provision for salvation and safety.
With all these things being against God’s people, it would seem like an impossibility to overcome them and attain to our high calling in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14). Apart from faith, and the partaking of the provisions of God in Christ Jesus - it is. But God has made sufficient provision in the person of His Beloved Son to overcome them all. So let your faith take hold of the promise of God to overcome, to be saved, and to dwell safely in His presence: “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Pet. 3:18) is that provision. Growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the provision by which all God’s people will be saved and dwell in safety.
It needs to be stressed again that the growth in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to which Peter urges us is not a matter of mere option; it is an absolute necessity for all the people of God. For from the beginning of the newness of life in Christ, there is a progression ordained of God toward His purposed end for which the growing in grace and the knowledge of the Lord is an absolute necessity.
For we are not complete and perfected beings at the first of our entrance into the kingdom. Rather, we are translated into the outskirts of the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Col. 1:13), but from the beginning, there is progress intended for us all unto the fulfilling of the purpose of God in each of us. The psalmist would say: “Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces” (Ps. 48:12-13). The Apostle Peter would open that up, as newborn babes in the household of God, we are to "desire the sincere milk of the Word," that we may grow thereby (I Pet. 2:1-3). Likewise, we are to grow in "the grace and knowledge" of Christ. That is, we are to be developing in the partaking of the provisions of God that are absolutely necessary in order for each of us to come to the goal of our being the “measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).
The exhortation of our consideration is given by the Apostle because of the perilous times in which God’s people live in, then and now. There are those who proclaim themselves to be shepherds of the Lord’s flock, but in their speaking they give themselves away as hirelings. For the Apostle calls them unlearned and unstable, who not only wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction, they can have devastating effects on the flock.
While there is glorious provision and the working of God in His creating newborn babes, to stay in that infantile state puts one in the gravest of peril. For there are those who through deceitfulness and lies they do toss around those who be children, carrying them about by every wind and wave of doctrine (Eph. 4:14). Notice, it is the children who are thusly tossed around. So, be no more children is the direction all God’s people must grow in. For this growing in grace in the knowledge of the Lord is that which strengthens, settles and stablishes us so that we are no longer carried about by the sleight of men, and their cunning craftiness.
It is the provision of the current reign of the exalted Lord Jesus Christ from the right hand of God, that the growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is effectually working in the righteous and this will occur in all who continue in the faith. For Jesus is working out God’s purpose in the righteous, readying them for the fullness of salvation and safe dwelling. But know this, it will not happen automatically, without any involvement or labor on our part.
Of a truth, salvation will take the full involvement and labor of all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. It is absolutely essential that all God’s people continually partake of the provisions of God through Jesus Christ in order to enter into the fullness of salvation and safe dwelling.
In other words, all those who do not continue in this manner will not make it to glory and the attaining of the prize. For although starting the race is essential in salvation, the crown of righteousness and the crown of life is promised to only those who finish the race (II Tim. 4:8; Rev. 2:10).
But know this brethren, God is not willing that any of His people perish (II Pet. 3:9), and we can all know the glory of this truth and God’s commitment to it as we see Jesus, having been set down at the right hand of God, truly reigning and ruling in the midst of His enemies. And as to the manner of Christ’s reign, the Scripture reveals: it is a reign of grace “through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:21). Grace is the manner of Jesus’ reign unto His people. Because of Jesus’ accomplishing death on the earth, and His new life He now lives at the right hand of God, we have access to this grace wherein we stand (Rom. 5:2). By faith, we can come boldly to the throne of grace to find grace to help in our time of need (Heb. 4:16).
The One who mediates God’s grace is the Lord, our righteousness. Through the Righteous One, we are righteous before God, and through our Lord Jesus Christ, enabled to find grace to help in our time of need. Only the righteous are so enabled. The provision and the partaking of the reign of grace in Christ Jesus that we are speaking about today is for those who first be partakers of the grace of God having been born again.
As such, all those have received of His fullness – the One who is full of grace and truth, and we receive grace for grace (Jn.1:16). In Christ, through the reign of grace through righteousness, this grace causes us to grow, working in us according to the will of God fulfilling His purpose in us. And those who continue in the grace of God, they do grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – for this is the promised eternal life (Jn. 17:3). This is the manner of Christ’s reign: they find the grace to walk and live by faith, they receive grace to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord, they find grace to set their affections on things above, and not on the things of the earth. They find grace to put off the old man, and to put on the new. And they grow in the knowledge of God, knowing that this is the very thing God desires for His people and by His grace, it is affecting His purpose.
And one of the main reasons for the reign of grace is to keep God’s people righteous - in peace with Him, without spot, and blameless. So the reign of grace will not be one that overlooks and tolerates sin, and make God’s people feel comfortable in sin, but rather Jesus’ reign of grace is a reign to help us in the time of need to overcome the temptation to sin, to keep us from sinning, that we sin not. The reign of grace is to keep the lust of our old man from being conceived in us, to prevent it from bringing forth sin, so that it will not bring forth death unto us (Jam. 1:15). For as it was in the beginning, it is true to this day:
These are but a sampling of the effectualness of the grace of God working in the righteous because Jesus is ruling in the midst of His enemies. In order to be saved and dwell safely with God we must grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And the good news reveals with every expectation of God’s people comes the grace to walk therein. And that is because Jesus dispenses grace to those who come unto Him. If any man be in Christ Jesus, they are growing in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior unto salvation. This is the manner of His reign.
Just as there was a manner to the earthly reign of King Saul, the point being, that these laws could not be broken or changed, even when the people cried out unto God – “He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers, And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants, and He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants” (I Sam. 8:10-17) – so there is a manner to the reign of the glorified Christ.
While King Saul’s reign was unto the fulfilling of his own earthly desires, Jesus’ reign is unto the filling of the eternal purpose of His Father, one in which God will be glorified and honored, and the people of God greatly and eternally benefited. The manner of the reign speaks of laws or operating principles which govern the reign and these are fixed and inviolable – they cannot be broken or changed. They are the same yesterday, today and forever, because they are a manifestation of the very nature and character of God. For it is God who has made them known and established them, and He can no more fail to do them precisely as He has declared as it would be possible for Him to lie or to deny Himself.
The prophet Ezekiel was given to begin to reveal the law of the house of the Lord: “This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house” (Ezek. 43:12). This is the law of the House of the Lord because this is precisely how God is, He is holy holy, holy (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8), and this aspect of God’s nature will never change. He was holy, holy, holy in the beginning, He is now, and always will be. So if unholy men are going to dwell with the holy, holy, holy God, they must change, for God never will! So God commands His people over and over again: “ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” For without holiness no man shall see the Lord (Heb. 12:14).
But the gospel is truly good news, for it reveals in Christ alone resides the effectualness of the power of God who will work this work of God in His people: “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (I Pet. 3:18). Here, then is an aspect of Jesus’ death and His resurrection: our Lord’s quickening was to fulfill the promise: “we shall see Him as He is” (I Jn. 3:2) – in the beauty of His holiness. For if any man be in Christ, we are holy in Him as He is holy and we are kept holy by our continuing abiding in Him.
Jesus also revealed the manner of His reign, and these are the words of the King Himelf: “him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out” (Jn. 6:37). Brethren, this law is positively without any exception at all. Upon it, each of us totally depends. Our faith is anchored in the reigning Christ and His faithfulness to His word. Again Jesus would reveal, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever” (Jn. 6:51). By the grace of God, there are no exceptions to this rule. And as to the effectualness of His reign: “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (Jn. 7:37-38). Would Jesus deny a single one that believeth on Him the Holy Spirit? “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9). God forbid!
The Apostles would also reveal and open up the glory of the manner of Christ’s reign unto the righteous, and hear again the glory of His reign, for what is revealed is fixed and unchangeable: “he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Gal. 6:8). Brethren, this is without fail, for God that promised is faithful. Again, “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” (II Cor. 9:6). God desires that each of us sow and reap bountifully, so His grace will effectually work this in each of us. Again, “If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him” (II Tim. 2:12). These are the things effected in the righteous by the reign of Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father
So, reckoning on the manner of Christ’s reign, if it is absolutely essential unto salvation for all of us to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, can Jesus be deficient in making provision for the righteous in any of this? Brethren, now we take hold of the promises by faith, but it will be on that day when Jesus comes again we will see the faithfulness of God and the effectualness of the reign of Jesus Christ as there will not be a single instance where these things shall not be so.
The main governing law of the house is that Jesus has the preeminent position in salvation, and any growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior must come from our connection to Him. As Jesus said: “without Me ye can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5). This too, is the law of the house.
The means by which this growing occurs as the gospel reveals is through our connection to the Head, which is Christ. It is as we abide in Him and Him in us, as His words abide in us that the growth of our consideration occurs (Jn. 15:4-7). Sever yourself from the Head, and they cannot be any growth, for Jesus alone is the Way, the truth, and the Life (Jn. 11:25), and if the provisions received cannot be traced back to Jesus, God – that giveth the increase or growth (I Cor. 3:6-7), will not cause anything to grow in regards to grace and the knowledge of the Lord. There will be no growth in this manner apart from its coming through Jesus Christ our Lord.
If we are to be daily loaded with the benefits of growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, this growth must come through Jesus, for He alone is the Head from which all the realities of God’s provisions do truly flow to us. This must be declared and believed and taken hold of because there is only one Head by which this will occur, and that being Jesus Christ, the Son of God. For he alone is in the truest and fullest sense “the Head over all things” (Eph. 1:22), and not only is He “the Head of the body, the church” (Col. 1:18), He is revealed to be “the Head of all principality and power” (Col. 2:10).
Because of Him and His effectual reign, everyone that holds to the Head is ministered nourishment from Him – through His body the church (Col. 2:19), and they all – individually and as a body – increase and grow with the growth that comes from God – growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. This too, is the law of the house.
To tie this all together, it is one thing for us to come to an intellectual awareness of the nature of Christ's reign, but it is quite another for us to personally experience that grace and knowledge. Job had heard of God "by the hearing of the ear," but, by the word of God and His grace, it was later that Job himself could say of a truth, "Now mine eye seeth Thee" (Job 42:5). The growth in divine grace and knowledge to which Peter exhorts us includes increase in such experience. Like the Colossians, we are to know the grace of God and the knowledge of the Lord in truth, or become really acquainted with it ourselves.
A good representation of the operation of grace and the knowledge of the Lord, and its growth in the lives of the saints is given by the Apostle Paul, as he recounts his own experience of it. "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body" (II Cor. 4:8-11). Grace and the knowledge of the Lord is thus ministered, not so as to contribute to a sense of our personal sufficiency, but to exalt the Lord God and His Christ, and to increase our complete reliance upon Them. As the Apostle declares in the same connection, "We have this treasure (the knowledge of the glory of God) in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us" (II Cor. 4:6-7).
Our growing in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in other words, is designed to cast us wholly upon God all of the time, not just on occasions of extremity. It is the desire of our gracious Father constantly to be our All in all. He wants to be the beginning and end of our days, as well as All that lies between the two points.
To increase in the experience of grace and the knowledge of the Lord, is to advance in the realization of God even moment by moment and day by day, and in perception of the full sufficiency of His provision for all of our needs. In this perception, we take hold of the knowledge of God, that God is able, and that God is "for us" (Rom. 8:31); and that is enough. "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. 33:27). In this knowledge, we are enabled and strengthened to “fight the good fight of faith, lay hold of eternal life” (I Tim. 6:12).
The more we increase in grace and the knowledge of God, the more we will come to implicitly rely upon Him. Thus, do we go from faith to faith, from strength to strength, and from glory to glory in the reign of God’s King. This, of course, is because God is true and unfailingly trustworthy. "He is faithful that promised" (Heb. 10:23; 11:11); as He has said, so will He do. To grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord, is to develop in this persuasion. Each of God’s people should be more strongly convinced of the power, the love, and the provision of God, and be depending more upon them each day of his life. This, truly, is to "grow up into Him in all things," which is not only that which will keep us from the wiles of the devil, but will be that which readies us to dwell with God forever and ever.
What the Psalmist was given to see long ago has come to pass because of the faithfulness of the God of All Grace (I Pet. 5:10), and His Provision of His King which He has set upon His holy hill of Zion: “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God” (Ps. 92:12-13).
To God be glory now and forever. Amen.
I want to dedicate this message to brother Fred O. Blakely, he being dead yet speaketh (Heb. 11:4) through his insightful writings, for his continuing help to me to see the truth of these things more clearly.
Grow in Grace and the Knowledge of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (II Pet. 3:18)
By Michael Zaucha
The Scripture reveals that Jesus died for our sins and was buried and rose again (I Cor. 15:3-4), but the power usward of Jesus’ accomplishments is not in the mere knowing of the facts, but rather when that power is accessed, when God joins us to His Son’s death, burial and resurrection.
| Quote: |
| “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection” (Rom. 6:3-5). |
After He raised from the dead, Jesus ascended into heaven, was received up into glory, exalted to the right hand of the Majesty on High, where He received from the Father Himself “power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing” (Rev. 5:12). The revealed implications of the gospel declare that Jesus’ exaltation to the right hand of God was not merely ceremonial in nature. In other words, Jesus is not a figurehead king. There is still work to be done to fulfill the eternal purpose of God, in order to bring to a finality the work of salvation. Therefore, Jesus was also ordained and anointed of God High Priest in things pertaining to God (Heb. 5:1-6) and God’s King whom He set upon His holy hill of Zion (Ps. 2:6).
Although – now – all men do not recognize and acknowledge Jesus in His highly exalted and glorious position – and this is manifested in their living - there is a soon coming day when this will all change. For in the day of the Lord, when Jesus comes again, God will unveil and fully reveal His Beloved Son in the fullness of His glory: “Which in His times (God) shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of Lords” (I Tim. 6:15). On that day, all men will give the glory and homage that is due to God’s Christ. But that confession will not benefit those who did not make it now, while on the earth.
But now, to all those who do honor God through honoring His Son, Jesus is faithfully executing the government of God’s so great salvation in them and through them, and His reign is prospering and increasing in His hand just as God promised it would (Isa. 9:7), for “the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand” (Isa. 53:10).
And as God’s appointed king, Jesus is about heeding to the decree of God given to Him when God said to Jesus: “rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies” (Ps. 110:2). For this reign is what Jesus was raised from the dead to do: “For out of prison He cometh to reign” (Eccl. 4:14) the Scripture declares. And Jesus is faithfully fulfilling that which the prophets said He would do in His present reign at the right hand of God.
Of the effectualness of his reign, the prophet Jeremiah declares:
| Quote: |
| “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.” |
The gospel makes known that Jesus is the promised king the prophet said God would raise up and His reign has as its primary objective the fulfilling of the eternal purpose of God, and what follows is the judgment of God that He will faithfully execute.
First, “He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” ( I Cor. 15:25-26). All this hasn’t happened yet. There are still enemies to be subdued and put under foot, with the last one being death. But put your faith and hope in God, He will do this very thing.
But – praise God – this is only one aspect of the judgment and justice of God. Judgment and justice not only pertains to this to be sure, but it also pertains to the raising up of the righteous.
First, “He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” ( I Cor. 15:25-26). All this hasn’t happened yet. There are still enemies to be subdued and put under foot, with the last one being death. But put your faith and hope in God, He will do this very thing.
But – praise God – this is only one aspect of the judgment and justice of God. Judgment and justice not only pertains to this to be sure, but it also pertains to the raising up of the righteous.
| Quote: |
| “In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jer. 23:5-6). |
This will be the focus of the message today, about God’s people being saved – even to the uttermost, and of our dwelling safely with God, which includes far more than getting there safely. Safe dwelling includes our partaking and participation in that work which Jesus now is engaged in usward, purifying the sons, and purging them as silver and gold, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness (Mal. 3:3). Jesus is preparing a people to present to God that they may dwell with Him forever and ever.
Of this truth, the people of God can be assured of because Jesus is truly reigning and prospering in that reign according to the will and purpose of God, and Jesus is faithfully executing God’s judgment and justice in the earth. Jesus’ reign is an effectual reign, affecting the very purpose of God in us. And the name whereby He is called – The Lord Our Righteousness – must not be overlooked, for the reign we will focus on today is the one that is toward the righteous – and to them alone - the reign that is mediated for the righteous by the Righteous One. Behold the goodness of God to everyone that believes!
We will begin in the third chapter of Second Peter with the glorious promise of the second coming of the exalted Lord Jesus Christ: “the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (II Pet. 3:10). With the truth of Jesus’ coming even at the doors, God’s people are now, to be about girding up the loins of their minds for action (I Pet. 1:13). For the day of salvation is a day of action for God’s people, “1ooking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God” (II Pet. 3:12) – and how are they doing this: “in all holy conversation and godliness” (II Pet. 3:11) because this is the day when the fullness of the eternal things will become reality and they will be unchangeable – either eternal salvation or eternal damnation, either the fullness of safe dwelling, or the reality of being cast from the presence of the Lord forever and ever where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mt. 8:12).
With the truth of Jesus’ soon return brought to bear on the hearts and minds of God’s people, the Apostle Peter continues to exhort the people of God to continued action: “be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless” (II Pet. 3:14). This exhortation is a call to diligence for all God’s people, to labor for this in earnest, to draw near to the God of all grace (I Pet. 5:10), and partake of the provisions He has made that we would truly be in peace with Him, without spot and blameless when we stand before the judge of all the earth, because these are the only ones who will dwell safely..
This is neither directed to a select group of God’s people nor is it optional for any one of us, because, as each of us sits here today, none of us yet are out of the danger of this present evil world, or yet rid of our adversary who roams about seeking who he may devour (I Pet. 5:8), or has been set free from the work of crucifying the old man who lusteth against the Spirit (Gal. 5:17), or has been freed from the possibility of falling from your own steadfastness (II Pet. 3:17). This is the very possibility that brings the Apostle to declare the provision for salvation and safety.
With all these things being against God’s people, it would seem like an impossibility to overcome them and attain to our high calling in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14). Apart from faith, and the partaking of the provisions of God in Christ Jesus - it is. But God has made sufficient provision in the person of His Beloved Son to overcome them all. So let your faith take hold of the promise of God to overcome, to be saved, and to dwell safely in His presence: “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Pet. 3:18) is that provision. Growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the provision by which all God’s people will be saved and dwell in safety.
It needs to be stressed again that the growth in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to which Peter urges us is not a matter of mere option; it is an absolute necessity for all the people of God. For from the beginning of the newness of life in Christ, there is a progression ordained of God toward His purposed end for which the growing in grace and the knowledge of the Lord is an absolute necessity.
For we are not complete and perfected beings at the first of our entrance into the kingdom. Rather, we are translated into the outskirts of the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Col. 1:13), but from the beginning, there is progress intended for us all unto the fulfilling of the purpose of God in each of us. The psalmist would say: “Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces” (Ps. 48:12-13). The Apostle Peter would open that up, as newborn babes in the household of God, we are to "desire the sincere milk of the Word," that we may grow thereby (I Pet. 2:1-3). Likewise, we are to grow in "the grace and knowledge" of Christ. That is, we are to be developing in the partaking of the provisions of God that are absolutely necessary in order for each of us to come to the goal of our being the “measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).
The exhortation of our consideration is given by the Apostle because of the perilous times in which God’s people live in, then and now. There are those who proclaim themselves to be shepherds of the Lord’s flock, but in their speaking they give themselves away as hirelings. For the Apostle calls them unlearned and unstable, who not only wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction, they can have devastating effects on the flock.
While there is glorious provision and the working of God in His creating newborn babes, to stay in that infantile state puts one in the gravest of peril. For there are those who through deceitfulness and lies they do toss around those who be children, carrying them about by every wind and wave of doctrine (Eph. 4:14). Notice, it is the children who are thusly tossed around. So, be no more children is the direction all God’s people must grow in. For this growing in grace in the knowledge of the Lord is that which strengthens, settles and stablishes us so that we are no longer carried about by the sleight of men, and their cunning craftiness.
It is the provision of the current reign of the exalted Lord Jesus Christ from the right hand of God, that the growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is effectually working in the righteous and this will occur in all who continue in the faith. For Jesus is working out God’s purpose in the righteous, readying them for the fullness of salvation and safe dwelling. But know this, it will not happen automatically, without any involvement or labor on our part.
Of a truth, salvation will take the full involvement and labor of all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. It is absolutely essential that all God’s people continually partake of the provisions of God through Jesus Christ in order to enter into the fullness of salvation and safe dwelling.
In other words, all those who do not continue in this manner will not make it to glory and the attaining of the prize. For although starting the race is essential in salvation, the crown of righteousness and the crown of life is promised to only those who finish the race (II Tim. 4:8; Rev. 2:10).
But know this brethren, God is not willing that any of His people perish (II Pet. 3:9), and we can all know the glory of this truth and God’s commitment to it as we see Jesus, having been set down at the right hand of God, truly reigning and ruling in the midst of His enemies. And as to the manner of Christ’s reign, the Scripture reveals: it is a reign of grace “through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:21). Grace is the manner of Jesus’ reign unto His people. Because of Jesus’ accomplishing death on the earth, and His new life He now lives at the right hand of God, we have access to this grace wherein we stand (Rom. 5:2). By faith, we can come boldly to the throne of grace to find grace to help in our time of need (Heb. 4:16).
The One who mediates God’s grace is the Lord, our righteousness. Through the Righteous One, we are righteous before God, and through our Lord Jesus Christ, enabled to find grace to help in our time of need. Only the righteous are so enabled. The provision and the partaking of the reign of grace in Christ Jesus that we are speaking about today is for those who first be partakers of the grace of God having been born again.
As such, all those have received of His fullness – the One who is full of grace and truth, and we receive grace for grace (Jn.1:16). In Christ, through the reign of grace through righteousness, this grace causes us to grow, working in us according to the will of God fulfilling His purpose in us. And those who continue in the grace of God, they do grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ – for this is the promised eternal life (Jn. 17:3). This is the manner of Christ’s reign: they find the grace to walk and live by faith, they receive grace to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord, they find grace to set their affections on things above, and not on the things of the earth. They find grace to put off the old man, and to put on the new. And they grow in the knowledge of God, knowing that this is the very thing God desires for His people and by His grace, it is affecting His purpose.
And one of the main reasons for the reign of grace is to keep God’s people righteous - in peace with Him, without spot, and blameless. So the reign of grace will not be one that overlooks and tolerates sin, and make God’s people feel comfortable in sin, but rather Jesus’ reign of grace is a reign to help us in the time of need to overcome the temptation to sin, to keep us from sinning, that we sin not. The reign of grace is to keep the lust of our old man from being conceived in us, to prevent it from bringing forth sin, so that it will not bring forth death unto us (Jam. 1:15). For as it was in the beginning, it is true to this day:
| Quote: |
| “the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezek. 18:4, 20). |
These are but a sampling of the effectualness of the grace of God working in the righteous because Jesus is ruling in the midst of His enemies. In order to be saved and dwell safely with God we must grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And the good news reveals with every expectation of God’s people comes the grace to walk therein. And that is because Jesus dispenses grace to those who come unto Him. If any man be in Christ Jesus, they are growing in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior unto salvation. This is the manner of His reign.
Just as there was a manner to the earthly reign of King Saul, the point being, that these laws could not be broken or changed, even when the people cried out unto God – “He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers, And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants, and He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants” (I Sam. 8:10-17) – so there is a manner to the reign of the glorified Christ.
While King Saul’s reign was unto the fulfilling of his own earthly desires, Jesus’ reign is unto the filling of the eternal purpose of His Father, one in which God will be glorified and honored, and the people of God greatly and eternally benefited. The manner of the reign speaks of laws or operating principles which govern the reign and these are fixed and inviolable – they cannot be broken or changed. They are the same yesterday, today and forever, because they are a manifestation of the very nature and character of God. For it is God who has made them known and established them, and He can no more fail to do them precisely as He has declared as it would be possible for Him to lie or to deny Himself.
The prophet Ezekiel was given to begin to reveal the law of the house of the Lord: “This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house” (Ezek. 43:12). This is the law of the House of the Lord because this is precisely how God is, He is holy holy, holy (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8), and this aspect of God’s nature will never change. He was holy, holy, holy in the beginning, He is now, and always will be. So if unholy men are going to dwell with the holy, holy, holy God, they must change, for God never will! So God commands His people over and over again: “ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” For without holiness no man shall see the Lord (Heb. 12:14).
But the gospel is truly good news, for it reveals in Christ alone resides the effectualness of the power of God who will work this work of God in His people: “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (I Pet. 3:18). Here, then is an aspect of Jesus’ death and His resurrection: our Lord’s quickening was to fulfill the promise: “we shall see Him as He is” (I Jn. 3:2) – in the beauty of His holiness. For if any man be in Christ, we are holy in Him as He is holy and we are kept holy by our continuing abiding in Him.
Jesus also revealed the manner of His reign, and these are the words of the King Himelf: “him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out” (Jn. 6:37). Brethren, this law is positively without any exception at all. Upon it, each of us totally depends. Our faith is anchored in the reigning Christ and His faithfulness to His word. Again Jesus would reveal, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever” (Jn. 6:51). By the grace of God, there are no exceptions to this rule. And as to the effectualness of His reign: “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (Jn. 7:37-38). Would Jesus deny a single one that believeth on Him the Holy Spirit? “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9). God forbid!
The Apostles would also reveal and open up the glory of the manner of Christ’s reign unto the righteous, and hear again the glory of His reign, for what is revealed is fixed and unchangeable: “he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Gal. 6:8). Brethren, this is without fail, for God that promised is faithful. Again, “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” (II Cor. 9:6). God desires that each of us sow and reap bountifully, so His grace will effectually work this in each of us. Again, “If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him” (II Tim. 2:12). These are the things effected in the righteous by the reign of Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father
So, reckoning on the manner of Christ’s reign, if it is absolutely essential unto salvation for all of us to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, can Jesus be deficient in making provision for the righteous in any of this? Brethren, now we take hold of the promises by faith, but it will be on that day when Jesus comes again we will see the faithfulness of God and the effectualness of the reign of Jesus Christ as there will not be a single instance where these things shall not be so.
The main governing law of the house is that Jesus has the preeminent position in salvation, and any growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior must come from our connection to Him. As Jesus said: “without Me ye can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5). This too, is the law of the house.
The means by which this growing occurs as the gospel reveals is through our connection to the Head, which is Christ. It is as we abide in Him and Him in us, as His words abide in us that the growth of our consideration occurs (Jn. 15:4-7). Sever yourself from the Head, and they cannot be any growth, for Jesus alone is the Way, the truth, and the Life (Jn. 11:25), and if the provisions received cannot be traced back to Jesus, God – that giveth the increase or growth (I Cor. 3:6-7), will not cause anything to grow in regards to grace and the knowledge of the Lord. There will be no growth in this manner apart from its coming through Jesus Christ our Lord.
If we are to be daily loaded with the benefits of growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, this growth must come through Jesus, for He alone is the Head from which all the realities of God’s provisions do truly flow to us. This must be declared and believed and taken hold of because there is only one Head by which this will occur, and that being Jesus Christ, the Son of God. For he alone is in the truest and fullest sense “the Head over all things” (Eph. 1:22), and not only is He “the Head of the body, the church” (Col. 1:18), He is revealed to be “the Head of all principality and power” (Col. 2:10).
Because of Him and His effectual reign, everyone that holds to the Head is ministered nourishment from Him – through His body the church (Col. 2:19), and they all – individually and as a body – increase and grow with the growth that comes from God – growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. This too, is the law of the house.
To tie this all together, it is one thing for us to come to an intellectual awareness of the nature of Christ's reign, but it is quite another for us to personally experience that grace and knowledge. Job had heard of God "by the hearing of the ear," but, by the word of God and His grace, it was later that Job himself could say of a truth, "Now mine eye seeth Thee" (Job 42:5). The growth in divine grace and knowledge to which Peter exhorts us includes increase in such experience. Like the Colossians, we are to know the grace of God and the knowledge of the Lord in truth, or become really acquainted with it ourselves.
A good representation of the operation of grace and the knowledge of the Lord, and its growth in the lives of the saints is given by the Apostle Paul, as he recounts his own experience of it. "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body" (II Cor. 4:8-11). Grace and the knowledge of the Lord is thus ministered, not so as to contribute to a sense of our personal sufficiency, but to exalt the Lord God and His Christ, and to increase our complete reliance upon Them. As the Apostle declares in the same connection, "We have this treasure (the knowledge of the glory of God) in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us" (II Cor. 4:6-7).
Our growing in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in other words, is designed to cast us wholly upon God all of the time, not just on occasions of extremity. It is the desire of our gracious Father constantly to be our All in all. He wants to be the beginning and end of our days, as well as All that lies between the two points.
To increase in the experience of grace and the knowledge of the Lord, is to advance in the realization of God even moment by moment and day by day, and in perception of the full sufficiency of His provision for all of our needs. In this perception, we take hold of the knowledge of God, that God is able, and that God is "for us" (Rom. 8:31); and that is enough. "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. 33:27). In this knowledge, we are enabled and strengthened to “fight the good fight of faith, lay hold of eternal life” (I Tim. 6:12).
The more we increase in grace and the knowledge of God, the more we will come to implicitly rely upon Him. Thus, do we go from faith to faith, from strength to strength, and from glory to glory in the reign of God’s King. This, of course, is because God is true and unfailingly trustworthy. "He is faithful that promised" (Heb. 10:23; 11:11); as He has said, so will He do. To grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord, is to develop in this persuasion. Each of God’s people should be more strongly convinced of the power, the love, and the provision of God, and be depending more upon them each day of his life. This, truly, is to "grow up into Him in all things," which is not only that which will keep us from the wiles of the devil, but will be that which readies us to dwell with God forever and ever.
What the Psalmist was given to see long ago has come to pass because of the faithfulness of the God of All Grace (I Pet. 5:10), and His Provision of His King which He has set upon His holy hill of Zion: “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God” (Ps. 92:12-13).
To God be glory now and forever. Amen.
I want to dedicate this message to brother Fred O. Blakely, he being dead yet speaketh (Heb. 11:4) through his insightful writings, for his continuing help to me to see the truth of these things more clearly.
Some Considerations regarding our Old Man
Some Considerations regarding our Old Man
Our Old Man is Crucified with Christ. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him (Rom 6:6-9).
This is the part of us that is yet fully capable of sinning, and continues to be offensive to God. But God has made abundant provision in Christ to put of, to keep off, to keep under, to mortify this part of us. As a matter of fact, at our baptism into Christ, we come into the kingdom of God with our old man being cruicified with Christ. The old man that we speak of is constantly at war with our new man, which, lives in accordance with God's Person and ways, because "in the likeness of God" it "has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth" (Eph. 4:24, NASB).
The Acquired and Required Hatred of the Old Man. We must be brought to hate our old man with a perfect hatred, along with his ways and expressions. All of the things which cause us grief and trouble in this life proceed from the old man. Our old man is our most lethal enemy, and consequently, he is not to be treatied with, cuddled, or coddled. From our old man proceed such things as fornication, and all uncleanness, covetousness, filthiness, foolish talking, jesting, all of which have the capability of disbarring men from their inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God (cf. Eph 5:3-5). This is absolutely the case in spite of the boisterous clamor of a host of false teachings today, which come to men under the subtle guise of fundamentalism. In all of them, the Devil is saying once again, "Ye shall not surely die" (Gen. 3:4). Now, through the mouthpiece of these doctrines of men, and of devils, he has a captive audience of multitudes, and not just the woman. The old serpent is energetically engaged in holding men under a cloud of delusion. He will seek to persuade those professing faith in Christ, either that their "old man" is "really not that bad after all", or that God is "too good to consign men to eternal punishment". Or, perhaps, he would seek to convince men that as long as they "have their theology straight" regarding the "old man", that would be sufficient to be pleasing unto God. But we are not ignorant of his devices.
Our old man is the part of us that has the capacity to be animated by, is frequently found to be the remote mouthpiece of, that old serpent, the Devil. The Devil has come down to us, having great wrath, and the subtle effects of that wrath are often projected into the old man, to produce distress, carefulness, distraction, doubt, and if possible, to turn men away from the truth. The serpent was "more subtle than than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made" (Gen. 3:1), and that characteristic subtlety is also part of the make up of the old man. The old man is all making for truces and treaties with the new man. "Let's be reasonable about these matters of not compromising with sin," he can be often heard to suggest. But there can never be any concord between Christ and Belial (cf. II Cor. 6:15), between light and darkness, between the truth and the lie. We must continually reckon that our old man is, indeed, crucified with Christ. This is a foundational premise that God has granted us to reckon upon for stability, consolation, and as a shield held up against all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
And it is only as godly men earnestly ponder things of this sort, that they are granted to acquire and develop a "perfect hatred" of the old man and his deeds. Millennia ago David declared, "Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate Thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against Thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies" (Ps. 139:21-22). If such things can be freely confessed to the Lord with regard to enemies that are outside of us, and all about us, of a certain the same can and must be reckoned and declared regarding the deadly enemy that is within us, namely our old man. This enemy has been, of God, placed within us to prove us, and to know what is in our hearts, to see whether we, indeed, love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, strength, and understanding.
Base animations and wicked voices proceeding from the old man are from beneath and can only be stilled by putting on the new man, (that is, by feeding the new man, and by being renewed in the spirit of our minds). These are the blessed (and the only effectual) provisions for putting off the old man, which provisions God has abundantly equipped us with in the Lord Jesus Christ. Seeking to put off the old man, merely by discipline (touch not, taste not, handle not, etc.) can only result in failure, despair, and eventual destruction. This amounts to trying to climb up some other way than the way that God has appointed and provided in His beloved Son. From one perspective, it is almost amazing how that men, animated by the carnal mind (which is part of the old man) gravitate to this approach in their futile attempts to be pleasing to God. But it is only in hearing and submitting to "the voice of the Son of God" (Jn. 5:25), that men receive strength to keep the old man crucified. The Lord Jesus promised that such continual hearers "shall live".
The Old Man and his Deeds. "Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds" (Col. 3:9). Just as men are known by their fruits, so the old man also has its characteristic identifying deeds, deeds that must be traced back to their corrupt source. If the old man did not have deeds, he would not pose nearly the threat that he does. The old man has deeds such as lying, "anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy" communications proceeding from the mouth (cf. Col. 3:8). The old man loves to lie, or at least distort the truth, or be misleading. In this matter he exposes his kinship to Satan, who is "a liar, and the father of it," as the Lord Jesus declared (Jn. 8:44). He loves to rage and to exalt himself in much the same way that the Devil does. The old man is completely capable of giving expression to whatever things are offensive to God, or are contrary to the will of God.
The deeds of the old man are what pose the jeopardy of leaving him unmortified. It is at the point of expression of these deeds, that sin occurs. That point of expression is elsewhere called in Scripture fullfilling the lust of the flesh (Gal. 5:16), "the superfluity of naughtiness" (Jas. 1:21), or that which comes out of a man and defiles him (cf. Mk. 7:20). Prior to the point of sin's expression [while those professing faith in Christ are yet striving against sin, and putting to death their members which are upon the earth] they, in a manner of speaking, are within the domain described by Paul in Romans 7, and are regarded as be well-pleasing unto God [though the old serpent would try to convince them that they are not]. But wherever sin does actually erupt and express itself, then it is no longer a Romans 7 situation, but rather one where the sin must be confessed and repented of. And, to be sure, there is abundand provision for this matter, but to sin must be regarded by the believer as a serious matter. "There is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared" (Ps. 130:3-4; I Jn. 1:7-2:2, etc.).
And God's hatred of sin has not changed, or diminished, one iota. The putting away of our sins by the death of His only begotten Son had to occur [if we were to be received of Him] because of God's hatred of sin. Christ's sufferings did not, in any way, change God's mind about the exceeding sinfulness of sin.(cf. Rom. 7:13). If there could possibly be any change, it would be that sin is now perceived by Him as being even more abominable, now that such a great price has been paid by Him to put the sin away. (But in this matter, we are in the realm of conjecture.)
A Substantive Declaration. Our old man is crucified with Christ. This is a statement of substantive truth and reality, and not of mere orthodoxy, or doctrinal position. The crucifixion of the old man is a work that God has wrought within us when we were baptized into Christ, and yet it is a work that we must continually reckon upon and build upon, and participate in. In the sufferings of Christ, and in the glory which has followed God has layed a solid foundation for believing men to build upon, and He has even provided the resources, with which men are to build. Our old man is, indeed, crucified with Christ, and that crucifixion, which God has wrought in us, is something that was totally impossible for us to accomplish. We were simply without strength with regards to this matter. But, nevertheless, it is absolutely essential that men labor with God in this matter, by, in a manner of speaking, keeping the old man on the cross. In the words of the Apostle Paul, we are continually to mortify our members which are upon the earth, and then he goes on to enumerate a number of sins which lie dormant in the old man, but are ready to express themselves, unless they are mortified, whenever opportunity arises.
Old Things are Passed Away. For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if One died for all, then were all dead: And that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (II Cor. 5:14-17). With regard to the crucifixion of the old man, we are constrained by love, both by the perception by faith of the love of Christ for us (for me), and reciprocally, by a love for the Lord Jesus Christ, as we grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Him, and as we are granted to "comprehend with all saints" the exceeding great cost of our redemption (cf. Eph. 3:18; I Pet. 1:18-21).
In view of these considerations, let us ever seek grace that we may reckon that the old things, namely, those which proceed from, and are harmonious with, the old man, have passed away. This is a crucial aspect of the warfare of faith. That is to say, it is not an optional one. Let us seek to glorify God as we engage in this warfare, by God's grace, and let us not be ignorant of the Devil's devices. --editor@banner.org
Monday, June 29, 2009
Eleven Arresting Questions
ELEVEN ARRESTING QUESTIONS
By Given O. Blakely
1. If eternal life is knowing God (John 17:3; 1 John 5:20), why are men so interested in obtaining knowledge in other areas – to the neglect of knowing God?
2. If men are known by their fruits (Matt 7:20), why does anyone attempt to explain immoral conduct?
3. If men live by every word of God (Lk 4:4), then how is it possible to sustain spiritual life independently of that word?
4. If those who communicate the Word of God are admonished to commit what they have learned to faithful men who will be able to teach others (2 Tim 2:2), why is it so rarely done?
5. If believers are admonished by the Word of God not to forsake the assembling of themselves together (Heb 10:25), why are there so many professing Christians who do so?
6. If "every man" who possesses hope in Christ purifies himself even as He is pure (1 John 3:3), how is it possible for someone with hope to continue in an unholy state?
7. If believers are told to mark those who cause divisions and avoid them (Rom 6:17), why are professing believers found within formalized sects?
8. If believers are to turn away from those who have only a form of godliness, rejecting the power of it (2 Tim 3:5), why are there believers in dead churches?
9. If it is not possible to become Christ’s disciple without forsaking all (Lk 14:33), then how is it possible to be a Christian while maintaining a fundamental alliance with this world?
10. If the love of God cannot be found in any person who loves this world (1 John 2:15), then how is it possible for a person who does love this world to be a Christian?
11. If those in Christ are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Cor 6:14), why do professing Christians form such yokes?
It is time for all who claim to be Christians to take the Word of God seriously. This begins with preachers and teachers, who are to faithfully proclaim what has been revealed on these matters. Those who hear these words are then to conform their lives to them. If this is not done, then such people owe it to others to cease any formal identity with the body of Christ, and they should not be recognized as members of Christ. God does not receive such people, as is expounded in Second Corinthians 6:15-17. His reception is conditioned upon them coming out from among those who are defiled, and touching not the unclean thing. That is what He has declared: "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you" (2 Cor 6:14-17).
There is no room for a pretentious gospel that accommodates itself to those who prefer sin. The summons to "come out from among them" is a serious one, and it is to be heeded (2 Cor 6:17; Rev 18:4). Any Gospel that does not send forth this clarion call is no gospel at all. It is really "another Gospel, which is not another" (2 Cor 11:4; Gal 1:6). If this appears to be strong, remember that in Christ we are dealing with eternal issues. Preachers must preach, and hearers must hear, with the day of judgment in mind. While that is not the whole of the matter, it will assist men in obtaining the sobriety that is essential to a fellowship with Christ in this world, as well as that which is to come.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, use me in the good work of exposing the works of darkness, and enabling men to possess the light of life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)