Divine Sugar Sticks for January 2001

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Monday, January 1, 2001

One of the Interesting Features of the Book of Daniel is the Languages That the Holy Spirit Uses in the Book

One of the proofs of the date of the Book of Daniel is the languages in which it is written. From chapter 2:4 to the end of chapter 7, it is written in Aramaic or Syriac, the common language of the Gentile nations, which was the language of commerce and diplomacy over the then-known world. The rest is in Hebrew.

The part written in Aramaic relates to the Gentile supremacy over Israel. The use of this language signifies that God had for a time set aside the Jew. During the captivity, just at the time that Daniel wrote, both languages, the Aramaic and the Hebrew, were understood by the Jewish people, and they would be able to follow the whole Book.

The Book of Daniel and the Testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ quoted from the Book of Daniel. As recorded in Matt 24:14, 15, 30, Luke 16:24, and again in Matt 26:63, 64, when He applied the prophecy of Daniel about the Son of Man coming in the clouds of Heaven as a proof of His Messiahship and His Deity.

He speaks expressly of “the prophet Daniel” by name, with the words added, “Whoso readeth, let him understand.”

It is a remarkable fact that our Lord thus commends to our study this Book of Daniel and also the Book of Revelation – both full of unfulfilled prophecy. The Book of Revelation opens with a blessing on him that readeth, and those that hear and keep this Word of testimony of Jesus Christ. And it closes with a solemn warning to those who shall either add to or take away from the Words of the prophecy of this Book. Rev 1:1-3, 22:16, 18, 19.

The Minor Prophets

These 12 were classed by the Jews as one Book. The period which they covered within which the major prophets also fall extends from about 870-440 B.C. For the sake of better understanding, their teaching they may be grouped around these four great prophets:

1. Isaiah is illustrated by Hosea, Amos, and Micah.
2. Jeremiah is illustrated by Obadiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah.
3. Ezekiel is illustrated by Joel, Jonah, Nahum.
4. Daniel is illustrated by Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
   

The Prophecies of the 12 Minor Prophets Present One Complete View

The kingdom of David is seen as rent asunder, and its portions end in ruin. But a believing remnant always survives the ruin, and a restoration will come when David’s Son will rebuild the ruined nation and re-establish the throne. There is a constant look forward – past Macedonian conquests and Macabean successes and the apostasy of the Jews and the destruction of Jerusalem, beyond even the dispersion of the elect nation, to the final conversion and ultimate restoration of God’s chosen people.

The Old Testament outline of the Messiah and His kingdom, which at earlier periods of prophecy was like a drawing without color, now reaches completeness and every prophetic book adds at least another touch or tint to the grand picture.

Once let the reader of prophecy get clear conceptions of this fact, that Christ is its personal center and Israel its national center, and that round about these centers all else clusters and that in them all converge. And whether he walks or runs he will see all things clearly. For the vision is written in large letters as upon tablets by the wayside.

The Prophet Hosea Was a Contemporary of Isaiah and Continued to Prophesy for 70 Years

He was God’s messenger to the northern kingdom. He addresses Israel sometimes as Samaria and Jacob and Ephraim, the last because that tribe was the largest of the ten and the leader in the rebellion. Hosea abounds in expressive metaphors. “Ephraim is a cake half baked, not turned.” ”A silly dove without a heart.” “Her king is cut off as foam upon the water.”

Hosea began to prophesy during the reign of Jeroboam II, king of Israel, one of the most powerful of her kings, and during the reign of his successors, whom the prophet does not even name because they were not of the Lord’s choosing, Hosea 8:4. There was not one of them found who would risk their throne for the Lord.

There was a striking illustration of the law in Deut 17:15, “Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose.”

When the Lord Has a Controversy With a Nation!

The moral state of Israel during Hosea’s ministry was as bad as it could possibly be. The idolatry inaugurated by Jeroboam I, the son of Nebat, had continued for upwards of 200 years and had diffused every form of vice among the people.

What was the controversy the Lord had with the nation? “The Lord hath a controversy with the land.” “Because there is no Truth.” “Nor mercy.” “Nor knowledge of God in the land.” ”By swearing and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out,” Hosea 4:1-2.

Drunkenness and shameful idol festivals were spread over the land. The idolatrous priests even waylaid and murdered the wayfarers.

Hosea’s Message Was Like a Two-Edged Sword

Hosea was sent both to renounce the sins of the people and to proclaim to them the compassionate love of the Lord and His willingness to have mercy upon them if they would but return to Him.

He himself was made a sign to the people. His longsuffering love for his wife, who proved faithless to him and whom he brought back from a life of shame, was a picture of the Lord’s love to His rebellious people who had broken their covenant with Him, and had given themselves up to the worship of idols.

God first pronounced His judgment upon His people. He will be to them as a moth, and rottenness, and as a young lion, and as a leopard, and as a bear robbed of her whelps. He says He has hewed them by the prophets and slain them by the Words of His mouth. He foretells the awful destruction of Samaria and the sword that shall slay them and the fire that shall destroy them.

But along with judgment, He makes known His mercy – His earnest desire for them to change their mind. “I will go and return to My place till they acknowledge their offence and seek My face and in their affliction they will seek Me early,” Hosea 5:15.

”It is good for me to be afflicted, for therein have I learned more of Thy Word.”

Do You Have a Youth Program in Your Church?

Well, the Lord has one and these are His principles:

1. To whom should young men give their primary allegiance?
   Ecc 12:1, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the year draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.”
   
2. What should be the supreme guide of a young person’s life?
   Psa 119:9, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way, by taking heed thereto according to Thy Word?”
   
   ”I most strongly and affectionately impress upon you the priceless value of the New Testament and the study of the Book as the one unfailing guide in life. Deeply respecting it and bowing down before the character of our Saviour, you cannot go very wrong, and always will preserve at heart a true spirit of veneration and humility.” Charles dickens to his son.
   
3. Of how much greater value is the knowledge of God than material resources?
   Prov 3:13-15, “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding, for the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.”
   
4. Who are commended in the Scriptures as examples of youthful spirituality?
   1 Sam 2:26, “And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favor both with the Lord and also with men.”
   
5. Who is the supreme example of growth in Grace and virtue?
   Luke 2:40, “And the Child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom and the Grace of God was upon Him.” Christ.
   
6. After God, to whom should a young man give honor?
   Exodus 20:12, “Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”
   
7. For whom was Solomon thankful?
   Prov 4:3-4, “For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. He taught me also, and said unto me, let thine heart retain my words, keep my commandments, and live.”

God’s youth program – more to follow …

Tuesday, January 2, 2001

Hosea and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Hosea 6:2, “After two days He will revive us, in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.”

Here is the resurrection of Christ and our resurrection in Him. Could it not be more plainly told? The prophet expressly mentions “two days” after which life shall be given and a “third day” on which the resurrection would take place.

Hosea 6:3, “His going forth is prepared as the morning. And He shall come unto His own as the rain, unto the Earth.” He who should so go forth is the same as He who was to revive them and raise them up. Even Christ, who as “the Day-Spring from on high hath visited us” coming forth from the grave on the resurrection morning, and of whom it was foretold that He should, “Come down like showers upon the mown grass.”

Hosea’s Saviour!

Hosea 11:1, “I called My Son out of Egypt.” This had a primary fulfillment in Israel as a type of Christ. It’s real fulfillment as we are told by Matthew 2:15 was in Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God.

Hosea 11:4, “I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love.” Christ drew us with cords of a man when for us He became man and died for us. “I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me.”

Hosea 13:4, “There is no Saviour besides Me.” “Thou shalt call His Name Jesus, Saviour, for He shall save His people from their sins.” “Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved,” Acts 4:12.

Hosea 13:14, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave, I will redeem them from death.” The word rendered “ransom” signifies rescued them by the payment of a price. The word rendered “redeem” related to one, who, as the nearest of kin, had the right to acquire anything as his own, by paying the price. Both words in their most exact sense describe what Jesus Christ did for us.

”O death, I will be thy plague. O grave, I will be thy destruction,” is a burst of triumph at the promised redemption when Christ, being risen from the dead, became the First-Fruits of them that slept.

Jonah Thought Like Many Others That a Change of Environment Was the Answer to Man’s Problems

Jonah was God’s prophet to Israel. His whole being was bound up in the salvation of his own people. And it was no doubt his intense patriotism which made him question the wisdom of God’s command and made him ready to incur His displeasure and abandon his prophetic office rather than risk the welfare of his country.

Jonah was a diligent student of the Psalms. He knew perfectly well that even if he “took the wings of morning and dwelt in the uttermost parts of the sea” he really could not flee from God’s presence. But like many a servant of the Lord since, he thought that by a change of environment, circumstances, he might get away from the presence of God’s hand upon him or stifle His voice.

And so he went down to Joppa “and he found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare thereof and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.”

”If I ascend up into Heaven, Thou art there.”
”If I descend into the deepest parts of the sea, Thou are there.”
’Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit?”

Jonah’s Familiarity With the Psalms!

Jonah’s prayer to God from his prison cell is the breathing of one to whom the Psalms had long been familiar. He quotes short fragments from various Psalms, and adapts them to meet his own case. Application of the Word of God to experience!

There are allusions in his great prayer to the great Messianic Psalms – Psalm 22, Psalm 69, Psalm 16 – but most striking of all is the application of Psa 16:10, “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.”

Jonah says, “Out of the belly of hell cried I, and yet, hast Thou brought up my life from corruption.” “And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.”

“The Bird With the Broken Wing Will Never Fly Again”

I have heard that many times from many different pulpits, and it is supposed to mean that if you failed, you could no longer serve the Lord. Well, Jonah was a bird with a broken wing and what happened to him? “He winged it!”

”And the Word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise and go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.”

”Arise.” “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” The call to Jonah came through a heathen shipmaster. He chooses often to send His message through a rough instrument. Twice the Lord spake directly to Jonah, “Arise.”

He did not upbraid him for his disobedience. The sharp lesson he had learned was not enough, and in His Grace He is still willing to use His servant. Prepared now to do His bidding, a “bent” Jonah was able to bend all heathen Nineveh so that revival blessing held back impending judgment.

Eight Visions

For a summary or an outline we have eight visions in the book of Zechariah.

1. The myrtle tree
   A picture of Israel today, outcast but never forgotten by the Lord.
   
2. The horns and smiths
   Foretelling the overthrow of Israel’s enemies.
   
3. The measuring line
   This shows the future prosperity of Jerusalem. The presence of the Lord as a wall of fire around His people will make walls unnecessary and the extent of the city will make them impossible.
   
4. Joshua
   A picture of Israel cleansed and restored to the priestly position of access to God.
   
5. The candlestick
   Lamp stand – Israel as God’s light bearer. The two olive trees in this vision refer in the first place to Zerubabbel, the ruler, and Joshua the priest. And thus through them to both offices fulfilled in the person of the Messiah.
   
6. The flying roll
   The government of the Earth.
   
7. The ephah
   Restriction of wickedness.
   
8. The chariots
   The administrative forces of righteousness.
   

A Youth Program for Your Church – Part Two

1. What contrast is there between a wise and foolish son?
   Prov 13:1, “A wise son heareth his father’s instruction, but a scorner heareth not rebuke.”
   
2. How was Timothy influenced by his mother’s faith?
   2 Tim 1:5, “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also.”
   Under whose preaching were you converted? Under nobody’s preaching, said Timothy, I was converted under my mother’s practicing.
   
3. What reference should the young render to the aged?
   Lev 19:32, “Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head and honor the face of the old man and fear thy God. I am the Lord.”
   
4. How responsible then was the conduct of Rehoboam?
   1 Kings 12:8, “But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him. And consulted with the young men that were grown up with them and which stood before him.”
   
5. In what way may a youth rightly glory?
   Prov 20:29, “The glory of young men is their strength and the beauty of an old man is the gray hair.”
   
6. Against what are young men warned?
   Prov 3:7, “Be not wise in thine own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil.”
   2 Tim 2:22, “Flee also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, love, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
   Prov 1:10, “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.”
   
7. To what may all worthy youth aspire?
   1 Tim 4:12, “Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers in word, in manner of life, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”
   

Wednesday, January 3, 2001

Christians Who Are Sick!

Christians can make themselves sick without even knowing it. It is a illness that doctors can’t cure and no medical center can help and there are no shots that you can take for it. Even the so-called “faith healers” can’t help, even with their laying on of hands and pouring all kinds of oil on you and supposedly breathing the Holy Spirit on you from across the platform. And it is actually suicidal!

1 Cor 11:30, “For this cause many are weak, and sick, and sleep.”

”Weak” is the word ASTHENEO, which means feeble, diseased, impotent, and weak. “Sick” is the word ARRHOSTIS, which means to be infirmed, sick. And the word “sleep” is KOMOSIS, which is Christian death, resting.

There is only one cure for this because with this condition you also have Divine discipline, and it ends up with the sin unto death. The cure is 1 Cor 11:31, “Judge ourselves.”

The believer is out of fellowship with the Lord. And if he continues in this walk this way, he will shorten his life. He is walking in darkness and he is called carnal, walking in the flesh, contrary to the Spirit. So to judge yourself, or to examine yourself, is the same as and as simple as, confession.

1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

In Studying the Book of Ezra You Find That the Key Note is Restoration

There is a faithful remnant and in this remnant we have a picture of restoration from backsliding, of individual faithfulness, and of a true effort after a closer walk with the Lord.

The worldliness and unbelief that we see all around us in the Church today need be no hindrance to a faithful walk on our part with the Lord Who is still calling us to come and be separate unto Himself. The restored remnant seemed to have begun at the core and to have worked from within outward. They did not begin with building up the walls. Nor even with building the temple.

”But they builded the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God, and they kept the Feast of Tabernacles.”

At the very heart of this book we see Christ and His great atoning work in these burnt offerings. The restored people are pointed forwards to Him that was to come. And every soul that returns from its backsliding today must begin afresh at the foot of the Cross.

The Book of Ezra and the Doctrine of Separation

We find in Ezra a very practical lesson for the body of Christ today on the need of “separation for service.” The adversaries of the Jews were the semi-heathen Samaritans found in Ezra 4:1, 9, 10, whom Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, had transplanted to the cities of Samaria.

In the place of the captives whom he had carried into Assyria at the time of the captivity of the ten tribes, we have a full account of this in 2 Kings 17. And there we read that the king of Assyria sent back one of the captive priests to teach these people what he called “the manner of the God of the land.” The result was “that these people feared the Lord and served their own gods,” and this mixed worship was perpetuated among their children.

These adversaries showed their hostility first by offering to help build the temple. That is how the world often begins its hostility to the Church today. We need to take the firm stand that these restored Israelites took and not compromise God’s work by accepting such offers of help, or placing unbelievers in prominent positions in our churches and Sunday Schools.

I see this in operation today. Don’t you??

The Book of Ezra and the Sin of Compromise and the Need for Separation

There is a growing tendency in these days to seek to bring about union with the Church of Rome. And meanwhile, to join with them in work. Through blindness in recognizing that they are as truly “adversaries” as were those to whom Zerubabbel refused any share of the building, the true nature of these men soon came out. They harassed the people of Judah in their work, and at last succeeded in stopping them.

But the Lord sent the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, who so encouraged the leaders that they began to build again in spite of the opposition. Then Tatnai, the governor, asked them, “Who gave you a decree to build this house?” Now, believing their answer he sent to Darius the king to inquire.

The decree of Cyrus was found at Achmetha, the summer palace of the king and encouraged in every way by Darius, the building went forward to its completion.

The 12 He-Goats of Ezra

As soon as the temple was finished, the people kept the dedication of it with joy. Among their offerings were 12 he-goats, according to the number of the 12 tribes of Israel, Ezra 6:16. This is one of the proofs that among the remnant which returned were some of the 10 tribes of Israel as well as the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin. As is the next remnant which returned under Ezra when “12 bullocks for all Israel” were offered, Ezra 8:35.

Besides this, before the captivity of Israel, large numbers of those ten tribes ”fell away to Judah” on account of the idolatry of Israel. 2 Chr 11:14-17 and 31:6. The returned captives were properly representative of the entire nation and so are the Jewish people throughout the world today.

Ezra’s Testimony for the Lord!

It was a high tribute to Ezra’s character and ability that Artaxerxes, the king, gave him a letter authorizing all the people of Israel who were willing to go with him, and commanded that he should be supplied with all that was needful for the house of God. And authorizing him to set magistrates and judges to judge the people, and instructing him to teach them the Law of God.

Ezra attributes all his success, the favor of the king, the preparation of the people, the safety of the journey, to the good hand of his God upon him. He was in all things under the hand of the Lord. Only a few thousand gathered with him at the river Ahava and there, with fasting and prayer, they committed their way unto the Lord, for Ezra “was ashamed” to ask for a guard of soldiers.

No doubt that remembrance of God’s deliverance of His people under Esther, which had occurred during the interval of the 60 years, made Ezra doubly sure of His protection now.

When Ezra Sat Down!

There was an interval of backsliding among the Jews at Jerusalem. They had again intermarried with idolatrous nations around. The only reason for Israel’s existence as a nation was to be a holy people, separated unto the Lord. When Ezra heard how utterly Israel had failed, he was overcome with grief and, “Sat down astonied until the evening sacrifice.”

Again at that sacred hour relief came. He poured out his soul in a deep agony of prayer to God, associating himself with his people in confession of sin. His prayer, coming from his very soul, touched the souls of the people and assembling in great numbers, men, women, and children, they caught the fire of his spirit and “wept very sore.” But this contrition did not end with weeping. They took sides with God against themselves, and promised to stand by Ezra in his work of reformation.

Today if you know of someone who is standing in the gap, teaching the whole Counsel of God, stand by that man.

It needed all of Ezra’s courage to carry it through, and no doubt the authority of the king’s letter was part of God’s provision for His servant. Out of the whole population, there were 112 cases of these mixed marriages, and the law of Moses was applied to them all.

Outstanding lessons from Ezra for us today ...

Satan’s Strategy in Trying to Stop Nehemiah From Serving the Lord

Four times the enemy’s strategy was to send a message to Nehemiah asking him to meet them in the plain of Ono. Four times he sent the same reply. “I am doing a great work. Why should the work cease, while I leave and come down to you?”

Then they accused them of rebellion and sought to weaken their hands and make them afraid. But Nehemiah replied to Tobiah, “There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own mind.”

As a last resort, one bade him to take refuge in the temple. “For they will come to slay thee.” “Should such a man as I flee?” Was Nehemiah’s steadfast reply. ”So the wall was finished in 52 days,” Neh 6:15.

Our soul’s enemies still use wiles and threats and plots, similar to all of these, if by any means they can hinder or discourage us from doing the work of the Lord. And we need, like Nehemiah, to remember “Who has commissioned us” and make our prayer unto Him in order to disregard all suggestions that would weaken our hands.

The Register of the Jews Returning From Babylon Found That Some of the Priests Sought Their Register in the Genealogy, But it Could Not be Found

“Therefore were they (as polluted) put from the priesthood and the governor said unto them that they should not eat of the most holy things till there stood up a priest with urim and thummim,” Neh 7:63-65.

We have here one of those instances in the Old Testament when the face of Jesus Christ suddenly shines upon us in the most unexpected and unlikely places. Merely a register and a few priests who could not find their place in it. But we can thrill with the consciousness that we have a great High Priest, even Jesus Christ, Who has the urim and the thummim, Who is the “perfect light” to whom all souls are open who can settle the question unhesitatingly as to our right to communion with God, and the answering to the eating of the most holy things and as to our worthiness to act as His priests in blessings to others.

Unclean, unworthy, polluted as we know we are, He has by His own sacrifice entered in once and for all into the Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption for us, Heb 9:12. And if we trust in His one sacrifice for sins for ever, we also may draw nigh and have communion with Him. Not once a year, or once a month, or once a week merely, but day by day.

The Precious Blood of Jesus Christ! 1 Peter 1:18-19

The meaning of the blood, Lev 17:11, 14
Redemption through the blood, 1 Pet 1:18-19
Forgiveness through the blood, Eph 1:7
Justification through the blood, Rom 5:9
Peace through the blood, Col 1:20
Cleansing through the blood, 1 John 1:7
Loosing from sin through the blood, Rev 1:5
Sanctification through the blood, Heb 13:12
Access through the blood, Heb 10:19
Victory through the blood, Rev 12:11
Glory everlasting through the blood, Rev 7:14, 15

Notice the accomplishments in our life of the one sacrifice of Christ!

The 7th Chapter of the Book of Numbers Gives Us the Offerings of the Princes

They each brought exactly the same, but instead of massing the offering together, each is repeated in detail. God delights to honor the gifts of His children. Merry Christmas!

How carefully Jesus Christ noted the gift of the poor widow who cast into the treasury all that she had. And He said that the anointing of His feet by Mary of Bethany should be told wheresoever the Gospel should be preached.

Surely in light of Calvary our gifts should exceed the measure of the Israelites under the law. But how far we come short. There are some who say, “The Jews gave a tithe, I give much more than a tenth of my income.” And yet if they really examined their accounts, they would be surprised to find that they are giving less than a tenth.

Besides, the tithe was only a small part of what the Israelites gave. The various other tributes brought the amount up to about one forth or one third of their income. And yet it was only after this had been paid that their “free-will offerings” began.

If we as Christians were to give in like proportion, there would be no lack for our spreading the Word of God, or any other part of the work the Lord has entrusted to our care.

Aaron the High Priest!

The Book of Numbers gives us some fresh teaching about Aaron. When the Lord sent a plague among the people for their sin, we see Aaron, the high priest whom they had so recently maligned, with his censer of incense running quickly and standing between the dead and the living to make an atonement for the people. Num 16:46-50.

What a picture of One greater than Aaron! One whom they blasphemed and crucified, who having made a full atonement for the sin of the people “ever liveth to make intercession for us.”

Aaron’s Rod That Budded!

Immediately after Aaron stood between the living and the dead in Numbers 16:46-50, the representatives of each tribe were commanded by God to bring a rod and lay it up in the tabernacle before the testimony. And the rod of the man whom God would choose would blossom.

The rod lay there through the dark hours of the night, and in the morning, the rod of Aaron alone brought forth buds, and bloomed flowers, and yielded almonds. The ruler’s rods were symbols of mere natural power. Human. Aaron’s of spiritual power, Divine.

Natural power may reform and civilize. But Christ is the Power of God, and the Power of Jesus Christ alone can change men’s souls and impart new life. Num 17.

Three things were inside of the ark:
Aaron’s rod, the pot of manna, and the tablets of the Law – which were perpetual reminders that the Jews broke all three:

God’s choice for leadership.
God’s choice for sustenance.
God’s choice for His Word.

The Water of Separation!

In Numbers chapter 19 we have the account of the water of separation. Now I know you studied that in Sunday School??? But this is God’s beautiful provision for cleansing from the defilement contracted in daily life. The cleansing efficacy of the water consisted in the ashes of a red heifer, offered as a sin offering with which it was mingled.

Thus it was a cleansing based upon atonement. A foreshadowing of the blood of Christ which cleanses, keeps on cleansing from all sin, those who are walking in the light. 1 John 1:7.

In the Book of Numbers We Have a Reference to Balaam’s Prophecy

The prophet from a far off land who was called in to curse God’s people could only bless them. And the words of his blessing form a prophecy which has remarkably described the Israelites ever since they were first uttered centuries ago. “The people shall dwell alone and shall not be reckoned among the nations.”

Which words, among others, no doubt, Fredrick the Great’s chaplain had in his mind when the emperor asked him to prove the Truth of the Bible in one word and he answered “Israel”

In these Books of Moses many points where prophesied about Israel and the land which are true today. For instance:

”They shall be driven out of their land,” Lev 26:33.
”And their land shall be desolate,” Lev 26:33.
”They shall be scattered among the nations,” Deut 4:27.
”And yet remain a separate people,” Num 23:9.

The same has never been true of any other nation except Israel. Wherever we see a Jew, we have a witness to the Truth of God’s Word.

One of them almost became vice-president.

Balaam Looked Down the Ages and Saw One Who Was to Come!!

“I shall see Him, but not now.”
”I shall behold Him, but not nigh.”
”There shall come a Star out of Jacob.”
”And a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel.”
”Out of Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion,” Num 24:17, 19.

”Where is He that is born King of the Jews, for we have seen His star in the east and are come to worship Him,” Matt 2:2. Where is the King? We have seen His star! The star and the sceptre were foretold 1500 years before they came to pass. The wise men saw the star, shining in all its splendor, above all other stars in brightness, over the lowly spot where lay the Babe of Bethlehem.

”I Jesus have sent My angel to testify unto you these things in the Churches. I am the Root and Offspring of David, and the bright and morning Star,” Rev 22:16.

Moses in Deuteronomy

Of all the Old Testament characters, Moses stands out as the greatest. He was prophet, legislator, historian, ruler, all in one, and in the world’s history, probably no name has ever stirred the heart of a nation as he no doubt has done.

It is impossible to overrate the place held in the Jewish nation. He laid the foundation of its literature, and no appeal has ever been made by the Jews from his laws or from any word that he wrote.

His Hebrew parentage and training, his learning in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and his 40 years of communion with God in the solitude of Horeb, combined to fit him both for his leadership of the people and the authorship of his books.

Nowhere does the character of Moses shine out with greater dignity than in the book of Deuteronomy.

We see him at the close of his long life with still unabated vigor about to take leave of the people with whom he had borne patiently through all their provocations. With the one exception for which he was not allowed to enter the promised land, yet there seems no bitterness against them in his heart for this. Instead he rejoices in the prospect of their entrance into the land under the leadership of Joshua.

The Word of the Lord came unto Moses, “Get thee up into Mt. Nebo, behold the land, and die,” Deut 32:49-50. And with meekness he showed the same obedience in death as he had in life. “So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab according to the Word of the Lord,” Deut 34:5.

But a greater honor awaited God’s faithful servant than even the honor of leading the chosen people into the land. A day came when he stood with Elijah beside the Saviour on the Mt of Transfiguration, within the land. And communed with his Lord on that greatest of all themes. His decease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.

Thursday, January 4, 2001

The Red Sea and the Jordan

In the faith chapter, Hebrews 11, there is a gap of about 40 years between the crossing the Red Sea and the taking of Jericho. The interval is filled with unbelief and disobedience and even the act of faith, the crossing of the Jordan, which brought the children of Israel into the land is omitted. For had there been no wandering there had been no Jordan and they would have marched straight up from Kadesh Barnea without having to cross the river.

These two crossings are coupled together in Psalm 114:5, “What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest ? Thou Jordan, that thou was driven back? There is a close connection between them.”

Going down into the bed of the sea and into the bed of the river alike signified death. And both show our participation with Christ in His death.

Buried and Risen With Christ, in Joshua

The 12 stones buried forever under the waters of death show us our place as crucified with Christ. The 12 stones set up on the other side show us our place as risen with Christ.

”Likewise reckon ye also your selves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord,” Rom 6:11.

God’s Word to us is, “Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” To believe this is as great an impossibility as for Israel to cross the Jordan. But as we take Him at His Word, and reckon the self life to be dead with Christ, He makes it true in our experience and enables us to live the risen life in Christ Jesus.

”I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me,” Gal 2:20.

The Bible is Our Chart

In these days we sometimes hear it said “If we have Christ, we don’t need the Bible.” But what do we know of Christ apart from the revelation God has given us in the Bible? Other writings establish the bare fact of historical identity. But they reveal nothing of His Person or His teaching or His work.

What book or movie production tells you that Jesus Christ is God and man in one Person? The God-man?? I will go and see it with you.

If we had not learned of Christ through the written Word, what should we know of Him revealed within? The conscience and the reason of man are not a sufficient guide. And we have an abundance of evidence in the Book of Judges concerning this principle. Let your conscience be your guide???

We are twice told in Judges, “Not that every man violated his own conscience.” “But that every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” And we see to what awful excesses of sin such a course led.

For the safe guiding of our ship on the sea of life, we need to have on board:

It would be folly for a seaman to reason, “I do not need a chart because I have a compass,” or vice versa. As invariably as the compass points to the north, so God the Holy Spirit points to and glorifies Christ. The Scriptures also testify of Him. And these two Witnesses agree together.

For the Holy Spirit takes of the things of Christ as revealed in the Written Word and makes them life to our souls. “Search the Scriptures for in them they speak of Me and in them you have eternal life.”

The Book of Judges, a Not Much Studied Book, Has Many Lessons for the Believer Today

Even in the darkest period in Judges, as in every age, the Lord did not leave Himself without a witness. We may see in the deliverers He raised up not only a general type of Christ, but much teaching for the Christian showing us that through the power of Jesus Christ, we also may become witnesses for Him.

Judges is the practical commentary on the Truth that “God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty ... that no flesh should glory in his presence.”

God used Ehud, a left-handed man to deliver Israel.
Shamgar with his ox goad.
Samson with a jaw bone of an ass.
He used a woman, a weaker vessel, to inspire the failing courage of Barak, and to censure the men who did not help in the hour of need. Deborah said to Barak, “Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded go and draw to Mount Tabor, and I will deliver Sisera into thy hand?” Judges 4:6-7. When Barak made his obedience conditioned by her going with him, she told him that the journey would not be to his honor. “For the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.”

What Made Gideon a Hero?

The account of Gideon is a very encouraging one. He was a man conscious of his own nothingness. “Oh, my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

”I have sent thee, I will be with thee. Go in this thy might, thou mighty man of valor.” ”The Lord looked upon him,” and encouraged his faith by various signs of His mighty power. That look and that command made a hero out of Gideon.

He began at home and at the bidding of the Lord threw down the altar of Baal in his father’s house. His natural shrinking came out in the fact that he did it by night, his God-given courage in the fact that through shrinking, he got it done.

Then the Lord had to reduce Gideon’s army so that it might be clearly seen that the victory was His. And with the 300 eager men, who would not stop to quench their thirst by a long draught, He delivered Israel.

“A Greater Than Solomon is Here!”

At the height of Solomon’s testimony, he was oriented to the Word of God and consequently made application in his life. When the Lord asked him to ask for anything and He would grant it to Him, Solomon applied the principle of “If any one lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth it liberally.”

Solomon asked for wisdom in order to deal with the Lord’s people and the Lord gave him the wisdom he asked for. Because he didn’t ask for anything for himself, the Lord made him very, very prosperous with many, many details of life. Following the principle of, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other things will be added unto you.” Solomon’s fame was heard all around the world and the Queen of Sheba came and said that Solomon had twice as much wisdom as she had heard.

Then Solomon took his eyes off the Lord and went negative to the Word of God and became occupied with the details of life. When people came to hear of his God-given wisdom, Solomon showed them his possessions and his palace. He emphasized the gifts to the exclusion of the Giver. And he came under the principle that you can’t serve God and mammon, too.

Solomon missed one of the greatest gifts of God – his Right Woman and he ended up with 1,000 women, which included all their religions and he had an ecumenical movement in his own palace.

But “a Greater than Solomon is here.” “Christ, the Wisdom of God,” Who had no place to lay His head.

The issue to us is ... It is either Doctrine or details which we emphasize. Details are great slaves, but they are cruel masters.

Judges and the Angel of the Lord

In this dark period of Judges, the Angel of the Lord, the Son of God Himself, appeared three times to His people. In the first instance, Judges 2:1, He came up from Gilgal where He had appeared to Joshua as Captain of the Lord’s host. To Bochim, and there He spoke as none but JEHOVAH could speak. Reminding them of His power and Grace and reproving them for their disobedience. And at His words, “The children of Israel lifted up their voices and wept. And they sacrificed there unto the Lord.”

About 150 years later He appeared to Gideon to call him to His great work of delivering Israel. Gideon brought a burnt offering and a meat offering. And the Angel of the Lord commanded him to lay them upon the rock. The rock itself is a type of Christ as well as the offering. And he touched the offering with his staff and fire rose up out of the rock and consumed the offering as a token that it was accepted.

Thirty years after this event the Lord appeared in like manner to the wife of Manoah and again to her and her husband together. Manoah likewise brought a burnt offering and a meat offering and offered it upon a rock. “And the Angel of the Lord did wondrous things.” For the fire went up to Heaven from off the altar, and the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar when Manoah had asked His name.

The Angel of the Lord said, “Why askest thou after My name, seeing it is a secret?” literally, “Wonderful,” the very name given later on through Isaiah to the Messiah that was to be born.

Thus we are brought face to face with the Babe of Bethlehem in the Person of the Angel of the Lord.

Friday, January 5, 2001

Samuel

Samuel himself was a picture or our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The meaning of his name was one of the perplexities of Hebrew scholarship till the year 1899, when the 12th congress of orientalists held its meeting in Rome. Professor Jastrow of Philadelphia showed that in the Assyrian language, which is closely allied to the Hebrew tongue, the word SUMU means “son” and he translated “Samuel” as “son” or “offspring of God.”

Hannah, in the depth and sincerity of her surrender, gave up her first-born son to God utterly. He was “God’s son” from the moment of his birth. Therefore, “I have given him to the Lord,” not “lent” as in the Authorized Version.

Hannah wanted every one to know that he was altogether the Lord’s own and she chose this word that everyone could understand.

The Name “God’s Son” in Samuel Takes Us a Step Further

The resemblance between Hannah’s song and that of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, have always been marked. Mary’s song is not a repetition of Hannah’s, yet both see the same vision. It is a vision of the Earth’s full salvation, and of the Lord’s Christ.

”The adversaries of the Lord,” sings Hannah, “shall be broken to pieces; out of Heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the Earth; and He shall give strength unto His King, and exalt the Horn of His anointed,” that is of His Messiah. 1 Sam 2:10.

”He hath shown strength with His Arm,” responds Mary. “He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath holpen His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spake to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever,” Luke 1:51-55.

Hannah’s song and the name she gave her child are alike a prophecy of Christ. She has the honor of being the first to use the name “Messiah,” “the Horn of His Anointed,” literally, Messiah.

Hannah’s name in the Hebrew means “Grace.”

“The Lord of Hosts”

Another and most majestic Divine title appears for the first time in the first chapter of 1 Samuel. The Divine title “the Lord of hosts” never occurs in the first five books of Moses. It occurs for the first time in 1 Sam 1:3. And after this it occurs very frequently, especially in the prophets – 281 times in all.

If the first five Books of Moses were written by a multitude of writers in a later age when this title for the Lord was so much in vogue, how is it that not one of them has in the first five Books used this expression not even once?

This title “Lord of hosts” was a title for Christ we see from comparing Isa 6:1-3 with John 12:41 and Isa 8:13, 14 with 1 Pet 2:8.

Samuel Was a Type of Christ in Combining the Offices of Prophet, Priest, and Ruler

The schools of the prophets founded by him are a foreshadowing of the Lord’s service in pouring out His Spirit upon the apostles, evangelists, and teachers.

Above all, Samuel was a picture of Christ in his life of prayer and intercession. From the time that “God called Samuel,” the story that we have loved from childhood, his life was one of continual communion. Samuel had access to the ear of God and his own ear was open to God’s voice. “Speak Lord, for Thy servant heareth.”

He and Moses are God’s chosen examples of intercession. “Though Moses and Samuel stood before Me, yet my mind could not be toward this people,” Jer 15:1.

Samuel said to the rebellious nation, “God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you.”

“Jesus Christ ever liveth to make intercession for us.”

“I Call You No Longer Servants, But Friends”

A Friend

In Jonathan we have another picture of Christ, showing the love and friendship of our Heavenly Friend. “There is a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”

Jonathan, the king’s son, was not ashamed to own the shepherd lad as his friend.
And Jesus Christ “is not ashamed to call us brethren.”

”The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David and he loved him as his own soul.”
”Jesus Christ, having loved His own which were in the world, loved them to the uttermost,” John 13:1.

Jonathan made an everlasting covenant with David and he stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.
So Christ stripped himself of His glory and He has covered us with the robe of His righteousness, and has armed and girded us for the fight.

Jonathan strengthened David’s hands in God.
And the Lord says to us, “My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

The Hebrew Word “Gay”

Psa 23 is the shepherd Psalm and in it David surely describes his own care of the sheep. How often he had led them by still waters, and caused them to lie down in green pastures. And many a time he must have had to lead them down one of the gorges of the wilderness of Judaea. This wilderness is 50 miles long and 10 miles broad, with many valleys, just such as are described by the word “gay” in the Psalm.

There are eight different words for “valley” in Hebrew, but “gay” signifies a deep, rocky gorge, some of them only two or three feet wide at the bottom and almost as dark as night even in the daytime, because of the steep, rocky sides rising 800 feet high on each side.

Here the hyenas stalk the sheep if they get separated from the shepherd. But with his club, the shepherd does battle with the wild beasts and reassures the sheep with the touch of his staff in the dark valley.

More than once David has risked his life and left the rest of the flock to rescue one lamb from the mouth of the lion or the bear. The good shepherd has always to take his life in his hands and be ready to lay it down. With what confidence David says, “The Lord is My Shepherd. I shall not want.”

And the Son of David responded, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.”

”He leaves the 99 in the wilderness and goes after that one that is lost till He finds it.”

There Will Never be a One-World Ruler Till Christ Comes

The problem that leaders have nationally and worldly is found clearly in the Word of God. There will not be a one-world order till Christ comes. The principle is found in Psalm 23, which was primarily David and David, as you know, was a shepherd and a king. Out of all the sons of Jesse David was the one the Lord selected because he was a shepherd. Throughout the Old Testament rulers were called shepherds.

God’s ruler must be a shepherd of the people. The shepherd and the king were blended in David and in David’s greater Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

A true king must always have the heart of a shepherd. When David saw the Angel of the Lord about to destroy Jerusalem, he cried, “I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed. But as far as these sheep, what have they done? Let Thine hand be on me. But not on Thy people,” 1 Chr 21:17.

”I will set up one shepherd over them and he shall feed them, even my shepherd David, and he shall be their shepherd,” Ezek 34:23.

Christ is:
the Good Shepherd in death – John 10:11, Psa 22
the Great Shepherd in resurrection – Heb 13:20, Psa 23
the Chief Shepherd in glory – 1 Pet 5:4, Psa 24

The Lord is my Shepherd and my King of kings.

David Was Anointed Three Times

First in his father’s house. Then over Judah. And lastly over all Israel. God has anointed Jesus Christ of Nazareth with the oil of gladness. He is King of kings and Lord of lords.

But David, though anointed king, was in exile while Saul reigned over the people. So Jesus Christ is rejected by the world and the “prince of this world” is reigning in the hearts of men.

A day came when the men of Judah gathered to David and anointed him king in Hebron. ”The Spirit clothed Anasai and he said, “Thine are we, David, and on thy side,” 2 Sam 2:4, 1 Chr 12:18.

It is a joyful day in the experience of the believer when he yields the full allegiance of his soul to the Lord Jesus Christ. And says, “Thine I am and on Thy side.” When we can look up into His face and say, “Thou art my King.” Psa 44:4.

God’s Promise to Israel Was That He Would Save Them From All Their Enemies by the Hand of David

This was literally fulfilled from the day that he slew Goliath all through his reign. We never read of him being defeated. So Christ has vanquished our great enemy, Satan.

”He has come that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear.” “He must reign till He hath put all enemies under His feet.”

”Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end,” Isa 9:7. ”And David took the stronghold of Zion.”

This is like the central citadel of our will. When that is surrendered to the Lord, His reign is established.

In the Story of Mephibosheth We Have a Beautiful Picture of the Grace of Our King

In bringing us nigh and making us:
”as one of the king’s sons.”
”to eat bread at His table continually.”

He brings us into His banqueting house and bids us partake saying:
“Eat of friends, drink yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.”

He Himself is the Heavenly Food, for He says,
“The bread that I give is My flesh, and My flesh is meet indeed.”

Remember Mephibosheth was crippled. He was handicapped. But you couldn’t see his handicap because his feet were under the king’s table. A handicapped person knows he can’t do something, but that the Lord can.

David’s Sin

Any type of our blessed Saviour falls short somewhere. And David as a type is no exception.

How can such a sinner be described as “A man after the Lord’s own heart?” All through the life of David there is one characteristic which marks him out from other men and in special contrast to King Saul. And that is his continual trust and confidence in the Lord, his acknowledgment of God’s rule, and his surrender to God’s will. The great desire of his heart was to build God’s house, yet when God set him aside, he acquiesces with perfect Grace in the Divine will.

When Nathan brings home to his conscience the great sin of his life, absolute monarch that he is, he acknowledges it at once. And the depth of his confession is only as such a soul knows the Lord can feel. For all times Psalm 51 stands out as the expression of the deepest contrition of a confessing soul. In that Psalm David speaks of broken heart as the only sacrifice that he can offer and a sacrifice which God will not despise.

And the High and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity goes further in His wondrous condescension and says by the mouth of Isaiah, “I dwell in the High and Holy Place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and revive the heart of the contrite ones,” Isa 57:15.

God’s response to our confession of sin.

Saturday, January 6, 2001

The Four Gospels Have Been Compared with the Four Cherubim of Ezekiel and Revelation

In the Book of Mark We Have Jesus Christ as the Servant of the Lord – Always Serving and Always Sacrificing

This is expressed in such words as we find in Mark like, “immediately,” “forthwith,” “Anon,” “straightway.” And the lesson for us is a like prompt obedience.

These are all one word in the Greek, and it is deeply to be regretted that our translators and revisers have not rendered the original language uniformly in this and countless other places.

Galatians 5:16-18: There Are Some Interesting Word Studies

Walk Spirit Lusteth Against Contrary Cannot

The Christian is exhorted to walk in the Spirit. The word “walk” is used in an early Greek manuscript in the sentence, “I am going about in a disgraceful state.” The writer of this sentence was commenting upon the kind of living he was living, how he was conducting himself.

The form in the Greek shows that it is a command constantly to be obeyed. “Be ye constantly conducting yourselves in the Spirit.”

The word “Spirit” here referring to God the Holy Spirit. It is in the locative of sphere, and could be charted by a dot within a circle. The dot is emsphered within the circle. The exhortation therefore is, “Be constantly conducting yourselves in the sphere of the Holy Spirit.”

That is, determine every thought, word, and think every thought, and speak every word and do every deed, in an attitude of entire dependence upon the Holy Spirit’s empowering energy.

”Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ,” 2 Cor 10:5.

Dislocated Saints!

We have the case in Gal 6:1 of a child of God overtaken in a fault. The Greek word for “overtaken” here is carrying the idea of a Christian surprised by the fault itself. He was hurried into a sin. He sinned before he knew it. And the person needs to be “restored.”

Sin in a Christian’s life that is known and cherished causes the fellowship between the saint and the Lord to be broken. And that which restores fellowship is confession of sin, 1 John 1:9. This restoration is an act of God.

Sometimes God uses another Christian as a channel through which He can work to bring the sinning saint to place where he will confess the sin. The word “restore” is from a Greek word which is to “reconcile factions,” “to set broken bones,” “to set a dislocation,” “to mend nets,” “to equip or prepare.”

As a dislocated arm is useless to the body, so the believer who is out of fellowship with his Lord and is useless.

All About Tents

Paul was a tentmaker and he, like every Jewish boy, learned some manual trade in addition to his chosen profession. The great scholar made tents for a living while preaching Christ, Acts 18:3.

Writing to the Philippians, verse 1:23, he tells them of his conflicting desires to depart and be with the Lord, or to remain with them for their benefit. The words “to depart” are from a military term meaning “to take down one’s own tent and be off.” Paul wrote this in a military camp. Paul’s human body was the tent in which he was living.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived in tents, Heb 11:9. A tent speaks of a pilgrimage journey, and they were looking for a permanent place of abode.

Sunday, January 7, 2001

Contact!

In Mark 6:48 we read of our Lord “walking upon the sea.” The preposition in the Greek is used with a certain case which means the idea of actual contact is in mind. Our Lord was not in any mysterious way moving over the general surface of the water, but was walking upon it, his feet contacting the surface of the water just as naturally and really as our feet have contact with the hard surface of the pavement.

In Rev 5:10, the Church is seen in Heaven, after the Rapture. Its song includes the words “We shall reign on Earth.” The same preposition and case is used as in Mark 6:48, which means that the Church saints, associated with our Lord in reigning over this Earth, will have contact with this Earth in the Millennium. This means that millions of glorified saints will be visible object lessons of what God’s Grace can do for a poor lost sinner.

The Personality of the Life!

That eternal life which is given to the believer is not a mere abstraction, not some spiritual energy or dynamic, but a Person – the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul speaks of Christ as “our Life,” Col 3:4.
John speaks of the “Word of Life,” 1 John 1:1.
Christ says “I am the Life,” John 14:6.

The life here is eternal life. It has the definite article in the Greek pointing out the particular life that the Scripture reveals. It is not the Greek word speaking of the necessities of physical life, such as food, clothing, and shelter, but the word refers to the
principle of life.

Christ is our life and He is eternal life.

Divine Wood Cutters!

Paul is in prison in Rome, writing to his beloved Philippians. He is assuring them that the circumstances in which he finds himself are contributing to rather than hindering the advance of the Gospel. He says in Philippians 1:12 that the things that have happened to him have fallen out rather to the furtherance of the Gospel.

The word “furtherance” is from a Greek word which was used in the first century to refer to a company of wood cutters preceding the progress of an army – cutting a road through the forest so that the army might advance.

Paul says that his circumstances are “Divine wood cutters,” cutting a way through the opposition so that the Gospel might be advanced. What were these circumstances? His liberty was gone. He was chained to a roman soldier night and day. And Paul says that they are God’s wood cutters making a road for the advance of the Gospel.

The Grace of Giving!

Paul says in Gal 6:6, “Let him that is taught in the Word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.” The word “communicate” is from a Greek word that means to “share with another.” In this context it means to share with another in his necessities by making those necessities one’s own.

Those who are instructed in the Word have the responsibility of making the teacher’s needs his own. That is in the case of a God-called servant of the Lord who devotes his full time to the teaching of the Word of God. Those who are recipients of his ministry are to make it their business to see that he is properly taken care of financially. So that he may be free to give of his best to the Lord’s work.

The same Greek word is used in Phil 4:15 where Paul says that only the Philippian Church recognized their obligation to make Paul’s necessities their own.

Paul Writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.”

The word “study” has changed in its meaning somewhat in 300 years since the Authorized Version was made. Today the word refers to the mental effort put forth in an attempt to add to one’s store of knowledge and one’s ability to use that knowledge in an effective way. When we use the word “study,” we think of a school, the classroom, the teacher, and the books. But the word is not so used here.

The following are some of the examples of its usage in the early centuries which should determine its translation today.

It is the idea of making haste, being eager, and giving diligence, with the added idea of effort put forth, are in the Greek usage of the word. It is a much more intense word that our understanding and use of the word “study” today.

A Perfect Salvation!

The perfect tense in the Greek is very expressive. It speaks of an action that took place in the past, which was completed in the past time, and the existence of its finished results.

For instance, “I have closed the door” speaks of a past completed action. But the implication is that as a result, the door is still closed. Thus, the entire meaning is “I have closed the door and it is closed at present.”

In John 19:30 our Lord cries from the Cross, “It is finished,” TETALESTAI. Referring to His work of procuring for lost sinners a salvation from sin, the entire sense is, “It was finished and as a result it is forever done.” ”It stands finished” would be a good translation.

The priests always stood in the tabernacle when ministering in the sacrifices. But our Great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, is seated. His work is finished. He need never arise and offer another sacrifice.

He sat down – because everything was finished. One offering for sin.

In Matthew 4:4 Our Lord Said, “It is Written”

Once again, the perfect tense is used. Jesus Christ quoted and answered Satan from the Book of Deuteronomy. The words had been written by Moses 1500 years before. But they are still on record.

David said, “Forever. O Lord, Thy Word is settled in Heaven.” A good translation reads, “It stands written.” It is the eternal Word of God.

What I have written, I have written. The permanence of the Word of God.

In Ephesians 2:8 We Have

“For by Grace are ye saved.” The definite article appears in the Greek.

God’s salvation does not merely issue from a gracious attitude on His part. It proceeds from the particular gracious act of God the Son dying upon the Cross to pay man’s penalty incurred by him through sin. It is the particular Grace that issues from Calvary that saves sinners.

The words “ye are saved” are in the perfect tense in the Greek. That is, a Christian is given a perfect salvation in past time when he believed, and as a result of that past completed work of Jesus Christ on the Cross, and his past acceptance of the same, he is at present a saved person. His present possession of salvation is based upon one thing only – what Jesus Christ did for him on the Cross and his past acceptance of that work.

”Ye have been saved” in the past with a result you remain saved forever.

“For by Grace Te Have Been Saved”

This means the works of an individual, past or present, do not enter into his acceptance or retention of salvation. Salvation is the alone work of Christ. The believer is the recipient. Passive voice – the believer receives salvation – the action of the verb.

That means that the believer is saved and saved forever. For as he reads this text, the present results of the perfect tense are always present with the reader. And to strengthen the assertion, Paul adds another word in the present tense to show not only the existence, but the persistence of the results.

The full translation is, “By the Grace ye were saved, and as a result are in a saved state at the present time.”

Galatians 5:19, “The Flesh Lusts Against the Spirit and the Spirit Against the Flesh, and They Are Contrary One to the Other.”

The fallen nature lusts against the Spirit. The flesh has a strong desire against the Spirit. The word “against” is from a preposition that means “down,” and the idea is one of defeat and suppression. “The flesh has constantly a strong desire to suppress the Spirit.”

The work of the Holy Spirit in the believer is two fold: to put sin out of the life and to produce its own fruit.

”They are contrary one to another.” “One another” is a reciprocal pronoun in the Greek. The word “contrary” speaks of a permanent attitude of opposition toward each other on the part of both the flesh and the Spirit. It is a military term, “contrary,” and it is a picture in the Greek of two opposing armies, each digging a system of trenches for the purpose of holding the land they have and conducting a trench warfare.

They have dug themselves in for a long drawn-out contest. And the contest is going on all the time in the believer. The Holy Spirit is the Divine Provision for victory.

No Room in the Inn, But Does Christ Have a Home in You?

Paul prays in Eph 3:17, “That Christ may dwell in the hearts of the saints.” The word “dwell” is from a Greek word made up of two words – one meaning “to live in a home,” and the other literally meaning “down.”

Paul prays that our Lord might live in our hearts as His home. He is already in us. Therefore Paul’s thought is that Christ feels at home in your heart. Be at home there.

The tense speaks of finality. The word “down” speaks of permanency. “That Christ may finally settle down and feel completely at home in your heart.” It is one thing to be in a person’s home, but another thing to feel completely at home there.

Our Lord condescends to live in a sinner saved by Grace. What an honor to have such a Guest in our hearts. Do we make Him feel at home? Does He have free access? Is He our constant Companion? Or, are we preoccupied with persons or things we feel are not consistent with having fellowship with Him?

Transfigured!

We read in Matt 17:2, “That our Lord was transfigured before them and His face did shine as the sun and His raiment was white as the light.”

The word “transfigured” is from a Greek word made up of two words. One refers to the outward expression one gives to his inmost true nature. The other signifies a change of activity. We could translate it, “His mode of expression was changed before them.”

Our Lord’s usual mode of expression while on Earth in His humiliation was that of Servant. He came, Mark 10:45, “not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

But now, that usual mode of expression was changed. Our Lord now gave expression to the glory of His Deity. The word “transfigured” here means He changed His outward form of expression, namely from that of Servant to that of Deity. He showed how He would appear at the Second Advent even before He went to the Cross, before He set aside His Deity and took on the form of a Servant.

And now He reverses the process.

We Have in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 Another Greek Word of the Direct Opposite Meaning

Namely …

Meaning the act of changing the outward expression of that which inwardly remains the same – that outward expression not being representative of that person’s inward nature.

Satan, his false apostles, and ministers assume an outward expression that does not correspond to their true nature. Before masquerading, and that is what the Greek word means, as an angel of light, Satan gave outward expression to his inmost nature.

But in order to mislead the human race and gain followers, he had to pose as an angel of light. He changed that outward expression which was expressive of his inmost nature and assumed another, which did not correspond to it.

Satan masquerades as an angel of light, whereas he is all the while an angel of darkness. It tries to counterfeit the Lord Jesus Christ.

Monday, January 8, 2001

Transfigured Believers

Christ was transfigured, Matt 17:2, METAMORPHOO, a change on the outside of something of reality on the inside – “Deity.”

Satan was transformed, 2 Cor 11:14, METASCHEMATIZO, change on the outside of something that he is not on the inside – an angel of light, since he is an angel of darkness. Notice the difference in the Greek word. He masquerades as such and this is his deception.

Believers are transformed, Rom 12:2, METAMORPHOO, change on the outside of something we are on the inside – the Spirit-filled life producing the character of Jesus Christ. Notice it is the same verb as in the case of Jesus Christ.

A genuine change, not a masquerade of deception. Christ like.

Everlasting Watchfulness!

Luke 4:13, “And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Him for a season.”

The English words “for a season” could imply that there are times when the believer is free from the temptations of Satan. And in this he might relax his vigilance. But the Greek words do not permit such a thought. The thought in the original text is that Satan departed from our Lord until a more opportune, propitious, or favorable time when our Lord would be more susceptible to temptation, when Satan could work more effectively.

The word “depart” is from a Greek word that literally means “to stand off from.” Thus, Satan never leaves the believer alone. If he ceases his activities it is only that he might stand off from him and wait for a time when the believer is more susceptible to temptation.

Therefore, the price of victory over Satan is in everlasting watchfulness.

2 Cor 2:11, “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

The Fullness of the Spirit – Ephesians 5:18

There are four grammatical rules in the Greek language that lead us to four truths relative to this great subject. Eph 5:18, “Be filled with the Spirit.”

First, the verb is in the imperative mood. That is, it is imperative that we be filled with the Spirit. Because God commands it, and because the fullness of the Spirit is the Divine enablement in the life of a Christian, that results in a Christ-like life. Failure to be filled with the Spirit is sin, and results in the failure of living a life in honoring the Lord.

Secondly, the tense of the verb is present, and this tense in the imperative mood always represents action going on. We learn from this that the mechanics of the Spirit-filled life do not provide for a spasmodic filling. The Christian life is a normal life of moment by moment fullness of the Spirit.

Third, the verb is in the plural number, which teaches us that this address is not only to pastors or deacons, but to every Christian, to the business man, to the laboring man, to the housewife. It is the responsibility of every Christian to be always filled with the Spirit.

Fourth , the verse is in the passive voice. This grammatical classification represents the subject of the verb as inactive but being acted upon. The passive voice is the voice of Grace – you receive it.

This teaches us that the filling of the Holy Spirit is not a work of man but of God. We cannot work ourselves up to that condition by any amount of tarrying, praying, or agonizing.

A Christian’s Fragrance of Memories!!

A Frame of Reference for the Grace of God!!

The apostle John, writing about A.D. 90, says in his first epistle, 1:1-3, “That which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we have looked upon and our hands have handled concerning the Word of Life, declare we unto you.”

The things he refers to, of course, are recorded in the Gospel he wrote somewhere between 85-90 A.D. A lapse of 50 or 60 years is quite a long time for one to accurately report the happenings in the Lord’s life. Yet John claims to remember them as if they happened but yesterday.

The words “we have heard” are in the perfect tense in the Greek. This tense speaks of an action which was completed in past time whose results still exist in present time.

The full translation reads like this: “That which we have heard in times past and which we still retain in our memory.” Likewise, the words “we have seen” are in the same tense and are fully rendered, “that which we have seen in times past and which we still have in our mind’s eye.”

John therefore claims that the things that he heard and saw, were still fresh in his mind after all those years. But in the word “seen” he refers to more than the physical act of seeing, for he uses a word that speaks of discerning sight. “That which we discernly saw with our eyes, and which we still have in our mind’s eye.”

”The Word lives and abides for ever.”

John Says in 1 John 1:1-3 …

“Looked upon” which also means “to see, but it is a different word. It means literally, “to view attentively,” “to contemplate.” No wonder that after the apostles saw our Lord with discerning eyes, they watched His wonderful life with attention and contemplation. Their question must often have been “What manner of Man is this?”

This verb is not in the perfect tense, but in the aorist tense – the tense used most naturally when the Greek writer does not want to go into detail. Referring to a point in time.

John had already informed his reader of his fitness to report what he saw and heard in our Lord’s life and he did not feel the need of repeating the fact. Then he says “Our hands handled.” The verb refers to the act of handling something in order to investigate the nature of the thing. The same word is used in Luke 24:39 where our Lord says, “Handle Me and see for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see Me have.”

One of the evidences of the fact that our Lord was raised out of death in the same body in which He died is that the disciples felt of that body after the resurrection. Not many mention this principle.

Investigating the claim of Jesus Christ that it was a true physical body of flesh and bones. True humanity and absolute Deity in one Person.

Fragrance of Memories – Part Two

Thus the apostle John, when writing his account in 1 John of our Lord’s life, he had clearly in mind the things he saw our Lord do and heard Him say approximately 60 years before. But how can a man remember so much for so long a time? And with such accuracy?

There are possibly two answers. One from the human side. And one from the Divine side.

In the first century there were few books, and consequently people were forced to retain in their memory much more than we do today when we have many books. In fact, many ancient peoples have been known to hand down from generation to generation large quantities of poetry and prose by committing it to memory. So John remembered much of what he had seen. He may have had access to some written records also.

In addition to this, he had the promise of the Lord in John 14:26 that the Holy Spirit would bring all the things Jesus Christ said to the remembrance of the apostles. We have the answer therefore as to how John could have written the Gospel attributed to him so many years after the events took place.

Fragrance of memories. And a frame of reference.

The Indestructibility of the Church

Because the Foundation of the Church is the Deity of Jesus Christ, the Church is indestructible. The declaration of our Lord is that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

The word “prevail” is from a Greek word which means to “overpower,” “to be strong to another’s detriment.” Thus the indestructibility of the Church is in view here.

The word “hell” is from a Greek word which is brought over in our English language in the word “Hades.” This is not the translation of the word, but the transliteration.

The pagan Greeks designated the word of departed human beings by the word “Hades” and it had two compartments – one for the evil doers, Tartarus, and one for those who were good, Elysium. These were the permanent abodes of the dead.

Likewise, the term “Hades” is used in Christian terminology to designate the place of the departed human beings, it being divided into a place for the unrighteous dead and one for the righteous.

The former is still occupied and the place where the unsaved go. But the latter is empty, for the righteous dead that occupied that place before the resurrection of our Lord are now in Heaven. And believers since that great event go at once to be with the Lord.

The word “Hades” means, “not to see,” and in its noun form, “the unseen.” It refers to the unseen world – that world of personalities that is unseen.

Entree!

In Romans 5:2, Paul speaks of the fact that “we have access through our Lord into the Grace in which we stand.” The word “access” is from a Greek word that refers to the act of one who secures for another an interview with a sovereign.

In the first place, the person thus acting must be close to the king himself. Our Lord dwells in the bosom of the Father. He occupies the place closest to the Father’s affections. He is therefore fitted for his task.

In the second place, the one for whom this entree has been gained. The French word gives us the meaning of the Greek, and it must be rendered “acceptable to the king.”

Thus our Lord did through the Cross, whereby He put away the guilt and the penalty of sin and bestowed upon us His righteousness, even His own standing before the throne, and thus we are, “acceptable in the Beloved,” Eph 1:7.

As Peter says, 1 Pet 2:7, “Unto you therefore who believe is the preciousness.” The preciousness of Jesus Christ in the eyes of God the Father has been imputed unto us, as His righteous standing has been imputed.

God therefore looks down upon us with all the Grace with which He looks upon His own Well-Beloved Son.

Tuesday, January 9, 2001

What it Takes for the “Furtherance of the Gospel”

Phil 1:12, “The things that have happened to Him have fallen out rather to the furtherance of the gospel.”

What were the circumstances which caused the furtherance of the Gospel? Paul was in prison in Rome. His liberty was gone. He was chained to a roman soldier night and day. God put a fence around the apostle. He had put limitations upon him. ”He placed handicaps upon Him.”

But Paul says that they are “God’s wood cutters,” making a road for an advancement of the Gospel. Paul was bound, but the Word wasn’t. The principle is, so it is in every Christian life, the things that hedge us in, the things that “handicap” us, the tests we go through, and the temptations that assail us, are all Divinely appointed wood cutters used by God to hew out a path for our teaching the Gospel.

It may be that our fondest hopes are not realized. We are in difficult circumstances. Illness may be our lot. You can’t get out of bed, you can’t be a missionary and cross a body of water. Yet if we are in the center of God’s will, all these are contributing to the progress of the Gospel. They draw us closer to the Lord so that the testimony of our lives will count more for God and thus we become more effective in proclaiming the Gospel.

”Thank God for the handicaps and the testings.” They are blessings in disguise. When we have limitations imposed upon us, we do our best work for the Lord, for them we are most dependent upon Him.

Paul says, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of God may rest upon me,” 2 Cor 12:9.

Punctuation Marks in Scripture!

Punctuation is neither present in Greek nor the English texts inspired. The punctuations of Eph 4:12 wreaks havoc with God’s plan of operation in the Church, namely that each saint is expected to be engaged in some form of the Christian service as God may lead.

For it puts the entire responsibility of proclaiming the Word upon the shoulders of the gifted men who are God’s gift to the Church, and requires nothing of the saints to whom they minister.

The men to whom God has given special gifts for ministering the Word of God as given in verse 11 are apostles, prophets, evangelists, and teaching pastors. The construction in the Greek does not allow us to speak of pastors and teachers, as two individuals, here.

The two designations refer to a pastor who has also the gift of teaching. The two gifts go together in the Divine economy and it therefore follows that a God-called pastor is to exercise a didactic ministry. That is, his chief business will be to teach the Word of God. His is a ministry of explaining in simple terms what the Word of God means.

The word “pastor” is from a Greek word which means “a shepherd” and the illustration is evident. The pastor is to bear the same relationship to the people whom he ministers, that a shepherd does to his flock of sheep.

”Feed the flock that is among you.”

Ephesians 4:11-12 – Teaching Pastors

We see that the Pastor of a Church is a specialist. His work is to teach the Word of God to the saints, and to train them in the art of winning souls and of teaching and preaching the Word.

Each Church should be a miniature Bible Institute, a training station from which saints go out to spread the Word. The pastor thus multiplies himself.

The pastor’s chief work is to equip the saints to do the work. Since the pastor must specialize in the work of training the saints. It follows that he cannot spend his time and energy upon a thousand and one things in the work of the Church which should be done by its members.

”Perfecting the saints” is a Greek word that has nothing to do with spiritual maturity. But from one that has the idea “of equipping the saints.” So that it might serve the purpose or do the work for which it was brought into being.

Why Worry?

Phil 4:6, “We are exhorted to be careful for nothing.” We have here a word that has changed its meaning. Today it means to exercise caution. When our translation was made, it meant “to be full of anxious care.”

The Greek word is used in a second century sentence. “I am writing in haste to prevent your being anxious for I will see that you are not worried.” The word, therefore, is a synonym for the word “worry” and the force of the word in the Greek is that of forbidding the continuance of an action already going on. Thus, the translation is, “Stop perpetually worrying about even one thing.”

The same Greek word is found in Matt 6:25, and it is translated “take no thought,” and we have the same force of the Greek word here. “Stop perpetually worrying.”

This recognizes the habitual attitude of the unsaved soul toward the problems and difficulties in life. God commands us to “stop perpetually worrying about even one thing.” We commit a sin when we worry. We do not trust God when we worry. We do not receive answers to our prayers when we worry. Because we are not trusting in Him.

Bondslaves

Rom 6:16-18, the word “servants” is from a Greek word that has its derivation in a word which means “to bind.” Thus, the word in Romans refers to one who is “bound to another,” a slave.

There are two words in the Greek referring to a person in slavery. One speaks of a slave taken in war. And the other refers to a person born into slavery. The latter is the one used in Romans. It presents the slave in various aspects.

1. He is one – bound to his master.
   We who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour were once bound to Satan in the bonds of sin. We were His bondslaves. Now we are bound to our Lord Jesus Christ by the bonds of eternal life.
   
2. We are in permanent relationship to Satan until our identification with Christ in His death, those bonds are broken.
   Now we are in permanent relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. And because He lives we live, and since He never dies, we will never die. We are His bondslaves forever.
   
3. And yet this slave is one born into slavery.
   We were born into slavery to Satan by our first birth. We are born by our second birth into slavery to the Lord Jesus Christ unto a glorious, free, blessed, condition in which we are His loving bondslaves forever.
   
4. In addition to that, the word refers to one whose will is swallowed up in the will of another.
   Before we are saved, our wills were swallowed up in the will of Satan. We walked according to the prince of the power of the air. Now our wills, as we yield to the Holy Spirit’s fullness, are swallowed up in the will of another, the Lord Jesus Christ.

What an example we have in the apostle Paul. His favorite designation of himself is that of a bondslave of Jesus Christ. His apostleship comes next.

John 1:1-3, “The Word Was With God”

The word “with” is from a preposition meaning literally “facing,” PROS. Thus the Word is a Person facing God the Father.

The article appears before the word “God” in the Greek, which indicates that the First Person of the Trinity is meant. Thus John is speaking of the fellowship between the Word, Jesus Christ, and the Father – a fellowship that exists from all eternity and will exist to all eternity. And which was never broken except at that dark mysterious moment at Calvary when the Son cried, “My God, My God, Why hast Thou forsaken Me?”

”And the Word was God.” Here the word “God” is without the article. When it is used in that way it refers to Divine essence. Emphasis is upon quality of character. Thus John teaches us here that our Lord is essentially Deity. He possesses the same essence as God the Father and He is one with Him in nature and attributes.

Jesus Christ, the Carpenter, Jesus of Nazareth, the Teacher, is very God.
”In the beginning was the Word” – total concept of God.
“And the Word was in constant fellowship with God” – the Father.
”And the Word was” as to His essence or nature, “God” – absolute status quo.

“In the Beginning Was the Word” – John 1:1

The definite article appears before the word “Word” – “The Word.” He is not merely a concept of God among many others. For the heathen have many concepts of God. He is “the concept” of God. The only True One, the Unique One.

He was in existence when things started to come into being through the creative act of the Lord Jesus Christ. He existed before all created things. Therefore, He is uncreated, and therefore eternal in His being, and therefore Jesus Christ is God.

”Before Abraham was, I am ...” I always existed.

“In the Beginning Was the Word” – John 1:1

John uses the word as a name for the Lord, LOGOS. There are three words in the Greek language for the word “Word.”

1. One referring to the mere articulate sound of the voice.
   
2. Another speaking of that sound as the manifestation of a mental state.
   
3. The one used by John, and the word is LOGOS. It comes from a verb which means literally “to pick out or select,” to pick out words in order to express one’s thoughts, thus to speak. It speaks of a word uttered by the human voice that embodies a concept or an idea. Not merely to a part of speech, but to a concept or idea.

Greek philosophers, in attempting to understand the relationship between God and the universe, speak of an unknown Mediator between God and the universe, naming this Mediator LOGOS. John tells them that this Mediator unknown to them is our Lord and he uses the same name, LOGOS.

Our Lord is the LOGOS of God in the sense that He is the total concept of God. Deity speaking through the Son of God, not in parts of speech as in a sentence composed of words, but in the human life of a Divine Person. Our Lord said “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.”

Paul says, “Whereas in times past God spoke to Israel using the prophets as mouthpieces, He has now spoken in the Person of His Son,” Heb 1:1-2.

Our Lord, therefore, is the Word of God. He that He is “Deity told out.”

Wednesday, January 10, 2001

Who is Christ?

Christ is the English spelling of the Greek word CHRISTOS, which in turn is the translation of a Hebrew word meaning MESSIAH. The word “Christ” means “the Anointed One.”

The word “Jesus” is the English spelling of the Greek IESOUS, which in turn is the Greek spelling of the Hebrew word JEHOSHUA, which means ”JEHOVAH saves.”

We have therefore in these two names, the Messianic office of our Lord, His Deity, and His substitutionary atonement.

Did you know that? Be honest!

“Holding Forth the Word of Life”

The words “holding forth” are the translation of a Greek word used in secular documents “of offering wine to a guest.” It means “to hold forth so as to offer.”

This should ever be the attitude of the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ – the offering of salvation to a lost and dying world.

The word “rejoice” is not from the usual Greek word translated “rejoice,” but from a word that means to “boast” or “to glory.”
The word “that” has the idea of “because” and the day of Christ refers to the Rapture of the Church.
The word “labour” means to labor to the point of exhaustion.

If the Philippians would continue to hold forth the Word of life, Paul would have ground for glorying when the Lord Jesus Christ comes for His saints. For he would not have run his Christian race in vain. Nor would he have bestowed exhausting labor on the Philippians in vain. For the results of his efforts in Philippi would be apparent in the soul-winning activities of the saints there.

“Forgetting” “Reaching Forth” “The High Calling” – Philippians 3:13

“This one thing I do.” “This I do” are in italics they are not here. Literally, “But one thing” sums up the Christian conduct and purpose.

”Those things which are behind” – the things he depended on to find favor with God, Phil 3:5, 6.
”Forgetting” is a stronger word in the Greek – “completely forgetting.” Paul uses an illustration of a Greek runner completely forgetting his opponents whom he is leading in the race, not looking back, so that his speed is not slackened should he think of those behind him.

”Reaching forth” are words from another Greek athletic term which describes the runner whose “eye outstrips and onward the hand, and the hand, the foot.” Literally, “To stretch forth after.”

”Press” is literally, “pursue.” “Mark” refers to a target for shooting. Here are moral and spiritual targets.

”Forward” is from the preposition meaning “down,” and has the idea of “bearing down upon” in the direction of the goal.

”The high calling” – the idea here is a calling which is from Heaven and to Heaven. A call from Heaven to Heaven to which the apostle must ever give heed.

To run the race