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Where everything starts going wrong is when people put in their own ideas
Fred R. Coulter—September 8, 2018
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Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Sabbath services! I wanted to cover this topic very thoroughly, because whenever they want to change doctrine in a serious way, they always change the nature of God, or something about the nature of God!
The latest one that has poked its head up on the horizon is that we should not say that Jesus Christ was THE Lord of God of the Old Testament, because that may confuse some people!
Why should it be confusing? Perhaps for those who don't know their Bibles it may be. Unfortunately, we've learned down through time and history that even ministers do not know their Bibles or they have other doctrines in the back of their mind that they want to bring forward at some time, and they wait for a propitious moment to do it!
Can we say that we should remove the word the out of Jesus Christ was the Lord God of the Old Testament. The proposition is that the Father was also very active in the Old Testament.
We've examined The Most Highand The Lord God, and we have seen that The Most High is not directly involved, though He has given commands to The Lord God to do thus and such. We've seen in the Old Testament where it says, 'Let Us make man in Our image after Our likeness' (Gen. 1). Then The Lord God—Gen. 2—is the One Who did the making. It apparently was the very plan that The Most High and The Lord God worked out together!
In Gen. 11, when they were all getting ready to build their tower to ascend into heaven, they said, 'Let Us go down and see what they're doing, and let Us scatter them abroad across the face of the earth and confuse their languages.' Who carried that out? The Lord God!
Now we're going to cover two of them today, and then we will finish up to show that there has always been the one God of 'Elohim' in the Old Testament was The Most High and in the New Testament was the Father!
The Lord God was One Who became the Son of God: Jesus Christ. It is entirely proper to say that Jesus Christ was THE Lord God of the Old Testament!
The very last verse in Dan. 10 should be referred to quite often, because it tells us a lot. We read that God had a plan all set before the ages of time! One man quoted that in the video that we saw {referred to in part one of this series}.
If you're going to have a plan, you're going to have a complete plan. Jonathan does plans for houses, businesses and additions and buildings, things like that. They will not get approved unless he has the complete plans covering everything.
Do you think God would have a plan and not have it all figured out and written down before He started? Of course not!
Daniel 10: 21: "But I will show you that which is written in the Scripture of Truth…." Where do you suppose that is? Even in the Hebrew that could even be translated in the Scroll of Truth! Let's see that referred to.
Psa. 110 is one Scripture that was proposed to try and show The Most High was active in the Old Testament.
Psalm 110:1: "The LORD said unto my Lord…" In this case the second Lord has been changed from YHVH to Adonai, and noted so by the Masorites. So, they say, 'Look at this.'
"…'Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies as Your footstool'" (v 1).
- Does that mean that The Most High was actually down there?
- How was He going to make that happen?
- Through the plan that They're carrying out!
- How does God carry things out?
First of all, at the throne of God there are 24 elders, then there are the seven spirits of God going to and fro in the whole earth. How does God carry things out? He gives the orders to the One Who became The Lord God of the Old Testament, and He carries it out!
- He does it through angels
- He does it through Satan
- He does it through demons
They all carryout the will of God! Remember the first part of the book of Job; the angels came before God and:
- Who was among them? Satan!
- Who did God use to afflict Job? Satan!
- Was that the will of God? Yes!
A lot of people can't understand why God did that!
- Do you know what God did that?
- Can you summarize it in about two sentences?
Theoretically, you look at it and since Job was 'blameless' and some Bibles translate that 'perfect,' looking at it from a carnal point of view that was unfair. Wouldn't you think so? Yes!
You give it to someone who doesn't know the Bible or the New Testament and they read the book of Job and they think, 'How could God do this?' That was me when I first read it!
Is God interested in perfection in the flesh? That would be nice, butwhat is more, greater, the essential thing? The heart and the mind! When you read the whole conversation through and you understand that and read the book of Job, you will see why God was doing this and having it written down so it would be there forever in the Word of God that God is interested in the conversion of the mind!
So, when Job got all done with what God was doing—because Job said that his righteousness was as good as God's—God answered the wish that Job had: 'Oh, I wish that the Almighty would come down and talk to me.' He did!
Now then, let's read that again, and they should both be YHVH. When was this said?
Psalm 110:1: "The LORD said unto my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand… [the second Lord is at the right hand] …until I make Your enemies as Your footstool.'" The LORD gives the commands and the One Who is going to receive the benefit carries it out.
What did Jesus say in John 17 and other places? I and My Father are One!The first LORD refers to The Most High, but does that mean that He is actively involved? That's why we've gone through every Scripture that says The Most High!
It's the same relationship with the Father, and we will see that if it means currently or sometime before the foundation of the world, we don't know exactly when this was said.
- Was there the enemy before the foundation of the earth?
- Who was that? Satan the devil!
God's whole plan is to bring in the sons of God and get rid of Satan and the demons. That's as quick a summary as you can have of it. What we read there, "The LORD said unto my Lord…" Of course, the Pharisees and the Sadducees couldn't figure it out. Let's concentrate on the things that are written down and when they were said.
Psalm 40:4: "Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust and does not respect the proud, nor those who turn aside to lies. O LORD my God, many things You have done, Your wonderful works and Your thoughts which are toward us; there is none to compare unto You; if I could declare and speak of them, they would be more than can be told. Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened… [the Septuagint says, 'a body You have prepared; that's what Paul wrote in Heb. 10] …burnt offering and sin offering You have not required. Then I said, 'Lo, I come; in the Scroll of the Book it is written of Me'" (vs 4-7)—the Scroll of Truth!
In there is the covenant between The Most High, Who became the Father, and The Lord, Who became Jesus Christ!
Verse 8: "I delight to do Your will, O My God; and Your Law is within My heart. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation; lo, I have not kept back my lips, O LORD, You know. I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not hidden Your loving kindness and Your Truth from the great congregation. Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O LORD; let Your loving kindness and Your Truth always preserve me" (vs 8-11).
That comes to Heb. 10, showing about Christ and what He did.
Matthew 22:41: "While the Pharisees were assembled together, Jesus questioned them, saying, 'What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose son is He?' They said to Him, 'The Son of David.' He said to them, 'How then does David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, "The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet'"?'" (vs 41-44). In both cases—LORD and Lord—it is 'Kurios.'
So, if you call the Father 'Kurios'—which is true—and you call Him 'YHVH'—which is true—does that mean He is actively involved as was The Lord God of the Old Testament anymore than the Father was directly involved during Christ's ministry in the New Testament?
As we read Matt. 11, remember what Christ told Thomas when Thomas said, 'Show us the Father.' What did Jesus answer? If you've seen Me, you've see the Father!
Matthew 11:25: "At that time Jesus answered and said, 'I praise You, O Father, Lord… ['Kurios'] …of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to babes. Yes, Father, for it was well pleasing in Your sight to do this. All things were delivered to Me by My Father…'" (vs 25-27)—all authority is given to Christ in heaven and in earth to carryout the plan of God!
"…and no one knows the Son except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son personally chooses to reveal Him" (v 27).
IF the Father was the One Who spoke the Ten Commandments, He was actively involved on Mt. Sinai in giving the Ten Commandment, the judgments and the laws. The people heard the voice of God. Moses saw Him, not in His glory, because he would have been burned up. But Moses saw glory in God's backside. But it says that Moses saw Him face-to-face, so God can appear like a man. How do you think He appeared to Adam and Eve? Like a man!
IF He—the Father—was known in the Old Testament, why would Christ have to reveal Him? He would have been known!
Now let's see the quote in Heb. 10 that is there from Psa. 40. This is the basis of the covenant that They had. We will look at another command a little later on.
Hebrews 10:7: "Then said I [Christ], 'Lo, I come (as it is written of Me in the Scroll of the Book)… [the Scroll of Truth, which is in heaven] …to do Your will, O God.' In the saying above, He said, 'Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin (which are offered according to the priestly law) You did not desire nor delight in.' Then He said, 'Lo, I come to do Your will, O God.' He takes away the first covenant in order that He may establish the second covenant" (vs 7-9). In that second covenant, the Father is revealed to those who answer the call!
Ephesians 1:1: "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus… [for all the saints for all time going down in history] …Grace and peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly things with Christ" (vs 1-3).
- the Word of God, spirit and life
- the Holy Spirit of God
- the Spirit of Christ
Those are heavenly things!
- the Word of God
Then it tells us a little later that it's going to be even more when we're resurrected.
Verse 4: "According as He has personally chosen us for Himself…" Who does the drawing? The Father! In the New Testament the Father spiritually is active, but not in the Old Testament.
"…before the foundation of the world…" (v 4). That means that He had His plan and those who respond and He chooses, He's already got it formulated as to what that's going to be: part of the Family of God!
So, He had the plan, "…before the foundation of the world in order that we might be Holy and blameless before Him in love; having predestinated us for sonship to Himself through Jesus Christ…" (vs 4-5). You find no language like this at all in the Old Covenant, the Old Testament!
- How are we to pray? Our Father Who is in heaven!
- Is there any place in the Old Testament where it shows that they prayed directly to the God Most High?
- Is there any Psalm that says that? It refers to Him, but not like in the sense of the New Covenant!
This is why He had to be revealed, because He was not known!
Psalm 110:1: "The LORD said unto my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies as Your footstool.' The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion saying, 'Rule in the midst of Your enemies'" (vs 1-2). Who is that? Christ!
Verse 3: "Your people will offer themselves in the day of Your power… [when will that be? At the resurrection!] …in the beauties of Holiness from the womb of the morning… [that describes the resurrection] …Yours is the dew of Your youth…. [now it shifts to Melchisedec]: …The LORD has sworn and will not repent, 'You are a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.'" (vs 3-4). We'll see that in the book of Hebrews!
Verse 5: The LORD… [YHVH] …at Your right hand shall strike through kings in the day of His wrath. He shall judge among the nations… [we will see Who judgment is given to] …He shall fill them with dead bodies… [when Christ returns, that's for sure] …He shall shatter chief men over the broad earth. He shall drink of the brook… [drinking of the Holy Spirit] …by the way; therefore, He shall lift up the head" (vs 5-7). In the Old Testament, these are the only places that Melchizedek is mentioned. Amazing!
After the rescue of Lot and the slaughter of the kings and the armies, Genesis 14:18: "And Melchisedec the King of Salem…" Where did Christ live when He came on the earth? Salem, or Jerusalem!
He wasn't there all the time, but "…Melchisedec the King of Salem brought forth bread and wine. And He was the Priest of the Most High God" (v 18). The Most High did not show Himself at this point!. Melchisedec brought that forth.
Verse 19: "And He blessed him, and said, 'Blessed be Abram of the Most High God…" The Most High had chosen Abram!
Who is Abram? The father of the faithful! The Most High was revealed to Abram. Why? Because he was to be the father of the faithful, the father of Israel, as well, both!
- How was The Most High revealed?
- Personally?
- It doesn't tell us!
- Was it just made known?
- Here it shows that He was made known!
"…possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be the Most High God, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.' And he gave Him tithes of all" (vs 19-20).
Verse 22: "And Abram said to the king of Sodom, 'I have lifted up my hand to the LORD, the Most High God, the Possessor of heaven and earth.'" What did Jesus say of He and the Father? We are one!
Look at this way: Today we have corporations. You have presidents of corporations who get credit for what the corporations does, but what do they have? Vice-presidents, managers, overseers, workers, foremen, designers, drafters; all under the name of the corporation! The president is responsible! How many of those working in the corporation ever see the president? Very rarely!
Let's add in one more verse from the New Testament, John 17; this is quite a verse. Let's see what Jesus Himself said while He was praying to the Father. Don't you think that would be very revealing? This is a summary of His whole ministry and His work, and a description of God's plan.
John 17:24: "Father, I desire that those whom You have given Me may also be with Me where I am, so that they may behold My glory, which You have given Me; because You did love Me before the foundation of the world."
Who was the One Who did the making?
John 1:3: "All things came into being through Him, and not even one thing that was created came into being without Him."
John 17:25: "Righteous Father, the world has not known You… [heard of Him, but did not know Him] …but I have known You, and these have known that You did send Me. And I have made known Your name to them… [which is the Father] …and will make it known; so that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them" (vs 25-26).
Clearly showing the world did not know The Most High God, did not know the Father! And they could not know except that Christ taught the disciples. But even then:
- How much did they really know until Christ revealed it after the resurrection?
- How much was given to them through the Holy Spirit of God, beginning on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given?
We need to understand how God works!
John 5:19: "Therefore, Jesus answered and said to them, 'Truly, truly I say to you, the Son has no power to do anything of Himself, but only what He sees the Father do. For whatever He does, these things the Son also does in the same manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him everything that He Himself is doing. And He will show Him greater works than these, so that you may be filled with wonder. For even as the Father raises the dead and gives life, in the same way also, the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son'" (vs 19-22).
How about that? Where does it say in the Old Testament that The Most High is judging men? The Lord is judging men, the One Who became Jesus!
Verse 23: "So that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father Who sent Him." That honor would only come after His resurrection!
All judgment is given to Christ, because He is the Son of man. He knows what it's like to be human! He knows what it's like to be tempted!
Romans 14:8: "For if we live, we should live unto the Lord; and if we die, we should die unto the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. It is for this very purpose that Christ both died and rose and is living again, so that He might be Lord over both the dead and the living" (vs 8-9).
The Father judges no man! He's given all judgment to Christ!
Verse 10: "Now then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, because it is written, '"For as I live," says the Lord, "every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God"'" (vs 10-11).
Let's see how that's going to work out. When we get into these things, it's very important that we examine all the Scriptures. Too many times, people sit around and talk about the Bible, but they never bring out the Bible. That's how you get false doctrine started!
Concerning Christ and what He did in emptying Himself, giving up being God; Philippians 2:9: "Therefore, God has also highly exalted Him and bestowed upon Him a name, which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of beings in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father" (vs 9-11). Why doesn't it say to The Most High?
Every time you go through these things, if you look at it properly, the Son is always below the Father in the New Testament. In the Old Testament the LORD is always subject to The Most High! Same situation. Are both involved? Yes! In the Old Testament, The Most Highhardly at all. In the New Testament, that's a different story.
(go to the next track)
Let's cover a little something more concerning The Most High.
Luke 1:30: "Then the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, because you have found grace with God'"—God the Father!
How much selection did the One Who became Jesus have to do with who the mother was going to be? We don't know! But we do know that in the Greek she is called the virgin, not a virgin! So, she was one particular special virgin.
Verse 31: "And behold, you shall conceive in your womb and give birth to a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest… [that's equal to the expression: Most High] …and the Lord God…" (vs 31-32)—the One Who became the Father!
Since the two are one, can you refer to both of Them with the same expression? Yes! That's why you can refer to YHVH to the One Who is The Most High as well as the One Who is the Lord God of the Old Testament. There is nothing in the Scriptures that tells now that we can bifurcate Them and say that They are both active in the same way. Nothing there tells us that.
"…and the Lord God shall give Him the throne of David, His forefather; and He shall reign over the house of Jacob into the ages, and of His kingdom there shall be no end" (vs 32-33). The whole plan of God without any details, just specified right here!
Verse 34: "But Mary said to the angel, 'How shall this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?' And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you; and for this reason, the Holy One being begotten in you shall be called the Son of God'" (vs 34-35).
Mark 5:7—a demon is speaking to Christ: "And crying out with a loud voice, he said, 'What have I to do with You, Jesus…'"
How did they know that His names was going to be Jesus? The angel said that He would be called Jesus! That had to be written in Scriptures of Truth. How far back do the Scriptures of Truth go? Back into eternity!
"…Son of God the Most High?…." (v 7). That tells us that before the angels rebelled they knew of the plan of God. How would the demon know otherwise.
That helps us get a little more understanding of what we have been covering here. What we're going to find that a lot of this had to all be written down in the Scripture of Truth. How do we know that that's a possibility? John 10 says that Jesus is the 'Door' and that He is the Shepherd of the sheep.
John 10:11: "I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." We are the sheep and the sheep hear His voice and follow Him wherever He goes!
That's why the Church has been scattered, because there are those who want to follow the Shepherd, they hear His voice! How do you hear the voice of the Shepherd? By a correct reading of the Word of God! How do you read? You speak to yourself! So, you hear!
Verse 12: "But the one who is a hireling, and who is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep, and flees. And the wolf seizes the sheep and scatters them." That's what's happened to the Church! Maybe we're going to see this happening again!
Verse 13: "Now, the hireling flees because he is a hireling and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good Shepherd, and I know those who are Mine…" (vs 13-14).
How does He know them? Because they have the Spirit of Christ and they have the Spirit of the Father! That was not available in the Old Testament. Only the Spirit of Christ as Peter writes in 1-Pet. 1.
Verse 15: "Just as the Father knows Me, I also know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring those also, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. On account of this, the Father loves Me: because I lay down My life, that I may receive it back again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have authority to lay it down and authority to receive it back again. This commandment I received from My Father" (vs 15-18).
When? Before He was even conceived! If you're going to have a plan, you have to have to complete like we started. When you do house plans, you have the foundation, plumbing, electric, windows, interior: kitchen, bathrooms and whatever other rooms, and they're all in detail. If you a specialty room and you need specialty electricity, you've got to specify it. If you need special air-conditioning, you must specify it.
Do you think the eternal plan of God would not have all been laid out ahead of time? Of course! That's why the demon said, 'You're the Son of the Most High.' And Jesus told him to be still! Amazing! "…This commandment I received from My Father."
1-Corinthians 15:20: "But now Christ has been raised from the dead; He has become the Firstfruit of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive" (vs 20-22)—even the wicked to be cast into the Lake of Fire!
Verse 23: "But each in his own order: Christ the Firstfruit; then those who are Christ's at His coming. Afterwards the end comes, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to Him Who is God and Father, when He shall have put an end to all rule and all authority and power. For it is ordained that He reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death" (vs 23-26). That's what we find in Revelation!
Verse 27: "For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when it is said that all things have been put in subjection, it is clearly evident that it does not include Him Who put all things in subjection under Him. But when He has put all things in subjection to Him, then shall the Son Himself also be subject to Him Who put all things in subjection to Him, so that God may be all in all" (vs 27-28). That's the final thing of God's plan!
Let's go through John 17 because this tells us an awful lot about God's plan and being carried out.
John 17:1: "Jesus spoke these words, and lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, 'Father, the hour has come…'" So, in the plan of God there is this particular hour!
"…glorify Your own Son, so that Your Son may also glorify You; since You have given Him authority over all flesh…" (vs 1-2). Since He's the Creator of man and woman, over all flesh, all human being past, present and future. He has authority over them, and there's no way to deny that.
Therefore, the Father, Who gave Him that authority, is not directly involved until there's repentance, baptism and receiving of the Holy Spirit. The seven spirits draw them, they are directed by the Father. When there is repentance, baptism and receiving of the Holy Spirit then the Father gets involved with Christ. We've already covered that.
In John 14, they will come with the begettal of the Spirit and make Their dwelling place within those who receive the Holy Spirit: the Father and the Son. The Father for sonship to become a son or daughter of God, and the Son to have the mind of Christ together!
We find no such thing like that in the Old Testament! This is a completely new and fantastic and marvelous thing that God is doing. That He has given to men and women direct access through prayer and the Word of God to God the Father and Jesus Christ and receiving of the Holy Spirit of God. That was not available except to a few of the patriarchs and some of the kings of Judah. That was it! Paul mentioned some of them in Heb. 11.
Now, this is entirely different here. "…given Him authority over all flesh…"—that determines who is in the first resurrection, who's in the second resurrection, who is going to be in the part of the resurrection to receive eternal life in the second resurrection, and the part that are going into the Lake of Fire.
"…in order that He may give eternal life to all whom You have given Him" (v 2). So, the Father is directly involved with us when we receive the Holy Spirit.
Verse 3: " For this is eternal life, that they may know You…" You can't really know God until you're a spirit being! We can have an understanding about God, we can know what He means and what His Word says. We can be acquainted with God through prayer and study, but to know Him requires the resurrection.
"…the only true God…" (v 3). What did Jesus say that? At the time He was praying, He was in the flesh! He had not yet gone through everything and been crucified, be dead and buried. So, you could not call Jesus true God at that point. That's why Paul wrote, 'God manifested in the flesh.' Since He carried within Him 'the law of sin and death' to condemn sin in the flesh, His flesh, He could not be true, Holy God until His death and resurrection!
Even then, since He was born of the flesh and resurrected, even His God-person has been changed to that extent.
Verse 4: "I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work that You gave Me to do." This is the work of calling and teaching the disciples and preparing the way and everything that He had to do.
When He was on the cross, right as He died He said, 'It's finished!' The whole ordeal of the cross is separate from the preaching of the Gospel and the calling of the apostles. That's one work and He finished that. But He had to finish, because this was before His arrest, everything with the crucifixion.
Knowing they were coming to arrest Him, John 18:4: "Jesus, therefore, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forward and said to them, 'Who are you seeking?'"
- He knew everything!
- He prophesied everything!
- He knew exactly what was going to happen!
That's why in the book of Luke, when He went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, He prayed and the sweat came down like great drops of blood, because He was in agony knowing what He was facing.
John 17:5: "And now, Father, glorify Me with Your own self… [looking forward to the resurrection] …with the glory that I had with You before the world existed." Here we go, another place showing God's plan before the world existed!
Why would the angels rebel unless they refused to serve man and be under them after they are resurrected from the dead.
Verse 6: "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, and You have given them to Me, and they have kept Your Word."
How did Jesus know whom to pick? Remember that after everything was all done, how many apostles did Jesus have? Eleven! He had other people who believed, and when they were all assembled in the upper room just before Pentecost, how many were there? 120! That was the seed for the work.
Verse 7: "Now, they have known that all things that You have given Me are from You…. [they understood that] …For I have given them the words that You gave to Me; and they have received them and truly have known that I came from You; and they have believed that You did send Me. I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world… [quite a statement] …but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. All Mine are Yours, and all Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them" (vs 7-10).
How has He been glorified in them? Because He gave them the Word of the Father! He taught them!
Verse 11: "And I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, those whom You have given Me, so that they may be one, even as We are one."
Remember that when you are baptized, how are you baptized? Into the name of the Father, and that's His Holy name in the New Testament! Not some 'sacred' name from the Old Testament. This is greater! This is direct access!
And of the Son, because it's through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice that we have forgiveness of sin, and the shedding of His blood.
And of the Holy Spirit,because we need the Holy Spirit in order to change, grow, overcome and prepare for the resurrection.
They all belong to Him! During the Millennium all those who are converted will be the children of Christ and the Bride, the Church. Only those in the first resurrection are the sons and daughters of God the Father.
Verse 11: "And I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, those whom You have given Me, so that they may be one, even as We are one." That's the whole plan of God right there!
Verse 12: "When I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. I protected those whom You have given Me, and not one of them has perished except the son of perdition, in order that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to You; and these things I am speaking while yet in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in them" (vs 12-13).
When the real joy going to come? At the resurrection! Look at it this way: in some of the things that John Guenther has sent to me concerning those who were being hauled off to be martyred, they were joyful, singing and thanking God for their calling.
Today just think about all the complaints that there would be. Some people have said they wished God hadn't called them. 'I wish that He would have waited until the second resurrection.' Well, why did you answer the call? The first resurrection is going to be greater forever and ever! That's what to keep in mind!
Verse 14: "I have given them Your words, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You would take them out of the world… [many times we wish that, but that's not going to happen] …but that You would keep them from the evil one" (vs 14-15). That's also a choice we must make!
Verse 16: "They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in Your Truth; Your Word is the Truth" (vs 16-17).
That's why we seek the truth in everything that we do. Where everything starts going wrong is when people put in their own ideas! You can think about things and say you are thinking about it, but you don't know! There are things we don't know. We cannot make a definitive conclusion. We can say that this is possible or that is possible, but we don't know and we won't know until the resurrection.
So, if we come along and say, 'I suppose this or that or the other things.' And we think that those are pretty good suppositions and start adding to it, that's how the traditions of men get started.
How do you think the Catholics finally came to believe that May was assumed into heaven bodily? By talking and talking and not reading Scriptures! John wrote clearly, and Mary was probably dead when he wrote it: No on has ascended into heaven except the Son of man who is in the bosom of the Father at the time he wrote it!
Verse 18: "Even as You did send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they also may be sanctified in Your Truth" (vs 18-19). Everything here is an aspect of the plan of God further defined in other parts of the Bible concerning how it's going to be carried out.
Verse 20: "I do not pray for these only, but also for those who shall believe in Me through their word… [Christ has prayed for us] …that they all may be one… [the whole plan and purpose of God right here] …even as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us…" (vs 20-21).
That's tells you Who the Us are in the Old Testament: The Most High Who became the Father, and The Lord God Who is the God of the Old Testament, Who became Jesus Christ.
"…in order that the world may believe that You did send Me. And I have given them the glory that You gave to Me…" (vs 21-22). A prophecy of the glory that we will receive!
We have a taste of that glory through the Holy Spirit, through understanding the Word of God! But the glory that will be when we're resurrected is also included here.
"…in order that they may be one… [that can only be at the resurrection] …in the same way that We are one: I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected… [the process of growing and overcoming] …into one; and that the world may know that You did send Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me" (v s 22-23).
When will the world know that? They won't until the resurrection! We've already covered the rest of the verses. We covered some other things besides the Father and the Son, and The Most High and The Lord God! It shows that there are some things in the Bible that we can't answer, yet. So, we'll just have to wait and see.
I hope that this answers the question that it is entirely, absolutely correct to say that Jesus Christ was THE Lord God of the Old Testament.
Scriptural References:
- Daniel 10:21
- Psalm 110:1
- Psalm 40:4-11
- Matthew 22:41-44
- Matthew 11:25-27
- Hebrews 10:7-9
- Ephesians 1:1-4
- Psalm 110:1-7
- Genesis 14:18-20, 22
- John 17:24
- John 1:3
- John 17:25-26
- John 5:19-23
- Romans 14:8-11
- Philippians 2:9-11
- Luke 1:30-35
- Mark 5:7
- John 10:11-18
- 1 Corinthians 15:20-28
- John 17:1-4
- John 18:4
- John 17:5-23
Scriptures quoted, not referenced:
- Genesis 1; 2; 11
- 1 Peter 1
- John 14
- Hebrews 11
FRC:bo
Transcribed: 10/15/18
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