When God made promise to Abraham He sware by Himself because He could swear by no greater saying, "Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee." And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. (Hebrews 6:13-15)
For those who do not know about Abraham, there was a time when God had tested Abraham's faith. For many religious today, this example is likened to God later sending a son to redeem the world. The difference however is that God did one better than Abraham. Rather than sacrificing a son, He Himself came into the world as a son, robed in human flesh and dwelling among us.
Many miss this point because of the modern day religious dogma that attempts to teach God as anything but the ONE LORD spoken of in the first commandment. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Mark 12:29-31) Nevertheless, the scriptures are specific on this point. God was manifest in the flesh (I Timothy 3:16) God became our Saviour (Titus 3:4-7) God with us (Matthew 1:21-23) The Lord came forth as a mighty man (Isaiah 42:13; Isaiah 9:6)
"Behold, I will send My messenger and he shall prepare the way before Me, and the Lord, whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, He shall come" saith the Lord of hosts." (Malachi 3:1)
"He was in the world and the world was made by Him and the world knew Him not, He came unto His own and His own received Him not." (John 1:10-11)
Jesus said, "If ye had known Me ye should have known My Father also: and from henceforth, ye know Him and have seen Him." (John 14:6-11)
Jesus said, "I and My Father are ONE!" (John 10:30; John 17:11, 21)
In other words, Jesus of Nazareth was not just the King of the Jews (as the title written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin stated on the cross -- John 19:19-20) but similarly, the King of kings and Lord of lords, Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the ending. (Revelation 1:8, 11; Revelation 20:16; Revelation 21:6)
By now you must be asking -- then what was the significance of Abraham? And the example wherein Abraham believed God sufficiently to offer his only son Isaac for a sacrifice, if this was God's will? These are good questions. Certainly, the fact that God paid attention to Abraham's heart and willingness to do God's will by faith -- even when the idea of sacrificing his son must have grieved Abraham beyond measure -- is instructive.
If we consider this example from God's perspective, and the fact that He Himself became the perfect sacrifice on the cross shows us that the Lord had never intended to offer another to redeem His people Thus, again, God is confirming to one and all that seek Him, that the mystery that was held in the bosom of the Father from the beginning of the world was that He would take on sin (even when He was without sin) so that we might be saved. The greatest love story ever told.
"God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken to us by [His] Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the Word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high..." (Hebrews 1:1-3)
Why the right hand? Because as the Lord through the prophet Isaiah so aptly prophesied, the Lord God willingly gave His right arm.
"The LORD hath sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of His strength, "Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured ..." (Isaiah 62:8)
The Lord saw that there was no man who could become the intercessor for our sins, and thus, He Himself came to loose the bands of wickedness, and to undo the heavy burdens and to let the oppressed go free. Who shall go? He asked, for there is none righteous, no not one.
"And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore, Mine own arm brought salvation unto Me ..." (Isaiah 63:5)
Is this new? NO, because in the days of old when the Lord brought Moses and His people out of the sea, we see that the Lord even then led them by the right hand of Moses with HIS GLORIOUS ARM, dividing the water before them, to make Himself an everlasting name ... so didst Thou lead Thy people, to make Thyself a glorious Name ... Thou, O Lord, [art] our Father, our Redeemer; Thy Name from everlasting!" (Isaiah 63:11-16)
Even then, following the Rock that was Christ through the Red Sea. (I Corinthians 10:1-4)
This is why the Lord could say, "there is no God else beside Me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside Me. Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else ..." (Isaiah 45:21-22)
"I am the Lord, and there is none else; there is no God beside Me. I girded thee, though thou has not known Me, that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside Me. I am the Lord, and there is none else." (Isaiah 45:5-6)
"For I am God, and there is none else: I am God and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, "My counsel shall stand and I will do all My pleasure." (Isaiah 46:9-10)
And while modern day religion likens ONE GOD into many, and likewise, into a person, the Lord Himself declares -- "To whom will ye liken Me, and make Me equal, and compare Me that we may be like?" (Isaiah 46:5)
"I the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel." (Isaiah 45:3)
"And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore His arm brought salvation unto Him; and His righteousness, it sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon His head; and He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak ... according to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; to the islands He will repay recompense. So shall they fear the Name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun.
When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob," saith the Lord. "As for Me, this is My covenant with them," saith the Lord; "My Spirit that is upon Thee, and My words which I have put in Thy mouth, shall not depart out of Thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of Thy seed, nor out of the mouth of Thy seed's seed," saith the Lord, "from henceforth and for ever." (Isaiah 59:16-21)
"I have sworn by Myself, the Word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear." (Isaiah 45:23)
This is why we can arise and shine for Thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon Thee. (Isaiah 60:1)
This is why we can arise and shine for Thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon Thee. (Isaiah 60:1)
There is many more insights to come regarding Abraham, but for now, let us meditate on these things, and, as the Lord instructs in the book of Revelation, "come out of her My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues ..." (Revelation 18:4-5)
Step away from those who teach false doctrines -- another gospel -- rather than truth. Don't be fooled by the wolves in sheep's clothing who have created a religious culture based on a false premise that does not exist in the scriptures. Indeed, there is no trinity. There is no tri-une God anywhere in His Word. Even common sense suggests that ONE God cannot then equal three at the same time. As believers, we will not be sitting at the wedding feast with three bridegrooms.
There is only one God, and in this current dispensation of grace, He has given to us His Name -- JESUS -- for He shall save His people from their sins.
"Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is ONE LORD." (Deuteronomy 6:4)
"One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism ..." (Ephesians 4:5-6)
Stand in the offering plate.
No comments:
Post a Comment