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Passover Preparation III
Fred R. Coulter—March 8, 2003
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We have covered about how the Holy Spirit works, and so forth. This may be just a little bit of review, John 14:18: "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. Yet, a little while and the world shall see Me no longer; but you shall see Me. Because I live,you shall live also…. [These are the words and the promises of eternal life. That's why these are also the Word of the New Covenant. He is talking about that He is going to be living eternally] …In that day… [that's the day that they saw Christ resurrected] …you shall know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you'" (vs 18-20).
Let's go to Luke 24 and see what an astonishing event that was. This was the day that they knew from that would spring, 'You shall know that I am in the Father and you are in Me and I am in you.' All the rest of the words of the New Covenant that we have to do with through John 17 are keyed on this sentence. That's the whole key.
Luke 24:36: "Now as they were telling these things… [that is the two who came back from Emmaus and said, 'We've seen the Lord.'] …Jesus Himself stood in their midst and said to them, 'Peace be to you.'" I don't know how they felt. I don't know how excited they may have been. I don't know how their adrenaline glands may have went squish, because when you see something startling that's what happens.
But I can tell you this: as a kid when I was delivering newspapers I had to deliver to a mortuary, and also the apartments that were connected to the mortuary. During the week I would go up to the apartments and I would deliver the papers and come down and I would go into the front door of the mortuary and put the newspaper on the counter. But on Sunday they told me to go up around and down the stairs and down through the mortuary and then come and leave the newspaper on the front desk and walk out the front door and it would lock itself.
Well, you know it's quiet in a mortuary, and I was curious. Here I am about 12-years-old, and I come down the steps and I see these various parlors with the coffins in it, and so forth. So, I look in one and I look in another and then I'd look at another, and just right at that time, and you know corpses will do this: they will groan and have muscle spasms—and that's what happened. I looked in there and there was a groan and this corpse sat up. Man, did that scare me to death. That's the only way I can relate how they must have felt when they saw Christ.
I ran down the stairs. I ran out into the foyer. I took the Sunday paper with everything that is there and I threw it up on the counter and it scattered all over the office desk and everything, and I ran out the door scared to death! Can you imagine if you saw someone die and you knew he was dead, and you figured that even though Peter and John saw the grave clothes and everything, it was John who believed. The rest of the disciples didn't even know. So' here they're all gathered together for fear of the Jews (John 20) and then Jesus stands in the midst and said, 'Peace be with you.'
Verse 37: "But they were terrified and filled with fear, thinking that they beheld a spirit…. [I guess! Totally astonished! This is 'that day' that Jesus was talking about.] …Then He said to them, 'Why are you troubled? And why do doubts come up in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I. Touch Me and see for yourselves…" (vs 37-39). They did because in the first chapter of 1-John it says, 'That which we have seen, that which we have gazed upon, that which our hands have handled, the Word of Life.'
"…for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see Me having.' And after saying this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they were still disbelieving and wondering for joy, He said to them, 'Do you have anything here to eat?' Then they gave Him part of a broiled fish and a piece of honeycomb. And He took these and ate in their presence" (vs 39-43). Then He must have spent most of that night opening their eyes to the Scriptures, going through it.
Verse 44: "And He said to them, 'These are the words that I spoke to you when I was yet with you, that all the things which were written concerning Me in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.'…. [a complete endorsement of all three sections of the Old Testament] …Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures" (vs 34-45).
The function of the Holy Spirit for us today is to do exactly the same thing. That's why it is important that we understand John 14, 15, 16, and 17 is the basis of our personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father.
I will mention again as I did last time, in TheSeven General Epistles book you can go through the special word study section and go through all the places concerning the things we are to know in the Epistle of 1-John. There are 47 things that we are to know as mature Christians. God does not want us ignorant. God wants our belief:
- based upon knowledge
- knowledge then gives us the faith
- faith gives us understanding
- understanding gives us hope
- hope gives us love
All together! That's why I believe today God has scattered the Church so He's going to put everyone on a one-to-one basis between Him and Jesus Christ—every person. This is the way that you can grow the most. This is the way that you can overcome the most, because now you can have that trusting relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father with no man in between!
John 14:20: "In that day, you shall know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you. The one who has My commandments and is keeping them, that is the one who loves Me…" (vs 20-21). We covered last time there is no way that you can love God if you do not keep His commandments. You may have a fuzzy warm feeling in your heart, but a fuzzy warm feeling is not the kind of love that endures unto eternal life.
"…The one who loves Me shall be loved by My Father…" (v 21). God the Father Himself loves you! No doubt! No question about it! He says this several times. This is important for you to understand, especially when you have a trial that you're going through, or in the case that's going to happen with a lot of us because we are getting to be not just senior citizens, but senior, senior citizens.
God has given us extra time and we're going to have to face the trial of our lives, which will be looking for the place of rest in the grave. And when you are in those conditions, when you're old and gray-headed God says He won't forget you. When you're in pain and suffering because you are looking at deaths door, God loves you, the Father loves you. Never forget that. And with Christ in you He is likewise suffering with you. That's important to understand. God has not abandoned you. He loves you.
Whenever you are in a trial and you come to a point where you are at the very bottom, and as I've mentioned before, all of us are going to come to that point. {see sermon (#1 this series) When All Else Fails, Remember God Loves You.} Men will fail you. The world will fail you. But God will never fail you.
John 16:26: "In that day, you shall ask in My name; and I do not tell you that I will beseech the Father for you, for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God" (vs 26-27). That's why I have said that this whole section of the words of the covenant, John 14-17, is based upon faith/love, hope/love, and then we will see in John 17, love/love.
John 14:21: "'…shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him." Not only does the Father love you, Jesus loves you. That's the very reason that He laid His life down for you.
Verse 22: "Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, 'Lord, what has happened that You are about to manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?'" At this time they didn't understand about the coming resurrection. But also this has to do with us. How does God manifest Himself to us and not to the world, because the world would say, 'Well, what right do you think that you have that you can say that God is with you and not with us?' Here's the secret. It's a very simple thing.
Verse 23: "Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him…'" We have it there three times at least. We'll probably see it again. But here we have three times the Father loves us—right? Yes! Keeping the Word of God is the key, because a spiritual something happens to anyone who begins keeping the Word of God. That doesn't necessarily mean that they are all called unto salvation. But God is no respecter of persons and those who follow His Word, to whatever extent they do, will receive the blessing for following His Word to that extent, whether or not they are called to salvation.
Those who are called unto salvation then come into a different category. We come into the category that the Father loves us, that Christ loves us, and now we have a unique thing take place when we receive the Spirit of God. Let's see it:
"…and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him" (v 23). The abode is a dwelling place. Notice it is We and Our abode. Not I and My abode.
This is what God delights in: Those who are converted and receive the Holy Spirit (and we'll talk about the Holy Spirit here in just a bit because he explains then, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, how it is that both of them are going to dwell in you)—because the greatest of God's creation is mankind, and the purpose of mankind. That's why buildings are meaningless, temples are meaningless, rituals are meaningless, all of these things are meaningless. God wants something greater than that! He has prepared us to receive His Holy Spirit.
Isn't that interesting? If you want an interesting Bible study sometime, go through the different Epistles and Gospels and look up 3:16. They won't all hit right on, but John 3:16 says: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but may have everlasting life." 1-Timothy 3:16 says God was manifest in the flesh. 1-John 3:16 tells us how He loves us.
1-Corinthians 3:16: "Don't you understand that you are God's temple…" That's where God wants to reside before you're resurrected. This is a spiritual operation. This is part of the covenant. When we take the Passover this is what God is telling us and this is what we are telling God that, 'Yes, we love You. We want to be in Your Family. Thank You for calling us. Thank You for forgiving our sins. Thank You for being gracious to us.'
"…you are God's temple, and that the Spirit of God is dwelling in you?" (v 16). That's where God desires to dwell, to have His laws written in our hearts and written in our minds, and that we come to have the mind of Christ. That's what it's all about, brethren. Everything else in the world, all the trials, all the difficulties, everything else is meaningless because unless you understand that all the prophecy in the world isn't going to save you. All the physical things in the world will not save you. It's the Spirit of God!. That's what God wants. That's where He wants to dwell. That's what He's concerned about.
Verse 17: "If anyone defiles the temple of God, God shall destroy him…" We are down to the nitty-gritty—aren't we? And from baptism forward for those who truly receive the Holy Spirit of God, it is either/or. That's what He's talking about here.
"…because the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks himself to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, so that he may be wise in God's sight" (vs 17-18). To truly understand the purpose of life and the purpose of God, that's what's important.
Let's put into the equation Isaiah 66. I think, in view of the possible situation, which may happen in Pasadena; because I remember when a proposition first came up where Herbert Armstrong said, 'We need to build a temple for God'—how many remember that?—'and we all need to sacrifice, and we all need to give extra money.'
I think we can all learn the lesson from the Bible—can't we? Whoever builds a temple for God gets himself in d-e-e-p trouble. God was willing and obliged Himself to honor David and let Solomon build the temple. He did put His presence in it, which is known by the Jews as the Shekinah. But that's not the ultimate. As long as the people would obey God, He would keep His presence in the temple. But God is not interested in a temple on the earth. Notice what He says; He predicted the destruction of the whole system, and this is only one of many.
Isaiah 66:1: "Thus says the LORD, 'The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where, then, is the house that you build for Me? And where is the place of My rest?…. [Since God made us what is man going to do for God? That's why God's greatest delight is to dwell in us, because that's why He made us, not in a building.] …For all these things My hand has made…'" (vs 1-2).
All the gold, all the stones, all the silver, all of the whatever paraphernalia they made for the temple: all the ritual, all the altars and everything. God made everything to begin with, so you have all of that and you go back and read all the rituals. You've seen the video showing the tabernacle in the wilderness, which is quite a wonderful thing to look at and see the way that that was done. The temple, obviously, was a magnificent place, and so forth.
- unless there is the Spirit of God
- unless there is the love of God
- unless there is the belief in God
all of that is absolutely worthless and to be destroyed. That's why God destroyed the temple.
"…'But to this one I will look, to him who is of a poor and contrite spirit and who trembles at My Word…. [That's another way of saying, 'You believe in God, believe in Me.'] …He who kills an ox…" (vs 2-3). If you have a right attitude God would accept it, but that's not unto salvation {see sermon series on Hebrews}
Verse 3: "He who kills an ox is as if he killed a man; he who sacrifices a lamb is as if he broke a dog's neck…" Isn't that interesting? I wonder what these false lambs of God are to Christ?—nothing but dogs! You think about that. Is it not even a greater sin to take the Word of God and twist it and pervert it and use it for selfish, carnal ends and means? Is that not even a greater sin than building a temple and ignoring God? Yes, it is!
"…he who offers a grain offering is as if he offered swine's blood…" (v 3). That's what was the abomination that Antiochus Epiphanies did. And furthermore, more than that, more than offering swine's blood on the altar and just walking out, they made that a place for harlotry; they took the temple of God and wrote graffiti all over it. God was saying, 'You mistreat Me in My temple, I'm going to desecrate it because you're desecrating Me.'
"…Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations" (v 3). You go back and you read what Israel did to the temple of God and how they absolutely profaned it and blasphemed it and put in idols and all that sort of thing.
So he's chosen a different way, v 4: "I also will choose their delusions, and I will bring their fears upon them because when I called, no one answered; when I spoke, they did not hear. But they did evil before My eyes and chose that in which I did not delight.'…. [then it comes right back to what God delights in] …Hear the Word of the LORD, you who tremble at His Word, 'Your brethren who hated you, who cast you out for My name's sake, said, "Let the LORD be glorified." But He will appear to your joy and they will be ashamed'" (vs 4-5). We've all experienced that—haven't we? Did this not happen with the apostles in relationship to the Jews? Yes, it did! Were they not chased asunder from the temple? Yes, they were! Quite a thing!
When it says 'We will make Our abode with him' (John 14:23) how are they going to do it? We're going to see it's by the Spirit of God. I'll just summarize that here. Through the power of the Holy Spirit there is the function of the Father. And we will see there is also the function of the Son because both: 'We will make Our abode with you.'
Romans 8:9 tells us the two aspects of the Spirit of God: "However, you are not in the flesh…" Yes, you are. You're still here in the flesh—aren't you? But that is before God, because with the Spirit of God and your seeking after the things of the Spirit and not the things of the flesh, you are not of the flesh. God is looking at you as His Spirit sons and what you will be at the resurrection, because He calls those things that are not as though they are!
"…if… [God is the One Who knows—right?] …the Spirit of God is indeed dwelling within you…. [Remember, He said, 'We will make Our abode with him.'] …But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ…" (v 9). Notice the difference there. You have the Spirit of God and you have the Spirit of Christ. Since the Father and Christ are one, this is one Spirit that they send but two functions of the one Spirit.
"…But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. But if Christ be within you…: (vs 9-10). Do not confuse this with the seven Spirits of God, as we covered last time. That's how God keeps track of what's going on in the world, and those who are seeking Him, He originally begins dealing with him with those. That has nothing to do with what we are talking about here: the Spirit of God, which is of the Father and is of the Son and is in us. The seven Spirits God uses to deal with the world. The Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ He uses to deal with us and in us so that He dwells in us.
"…But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." God doesn't make any mistakes. There maybe some people who were baptized but never received the Spirit of God. That's God's decision because God knows the heart.
Verse 10: "But if Christ be within you, the body is indeed dead because of sin… [that's through the operation of baptism that you no longer serve sin] …however, the Spirit is life because of righteousness"—because you are in right standing with God. God imputes to you the righteousness of Christ! That's a tremendous blessing to be in that position, brethren, that God the Father will do this for you. That's what's so profound.
If you can just see some of those pictures of the universe and how absolutely marvelous and great it is, and to understand that the ruling Sovereign God the Father of this universe loves you and has given His Spirit to you. There can be nothing greater in life. All the physical circumstances and things that we go through aside from that are to be counted as nothing, because in reality, they are nothing. They are just temporary.
Verse 11: "Now if.... [There's that word again—go ahead and circle it.] …Now, if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead is dwelling within you… [that's from the Father] …He Who raised Christ from the dead will also quicken… [made alive] …your mortal bodies because of His Spirit that dwells within you."
That is the function of the Father—to beget you with the Holy Spirit so that you at the resurrection will become His literal, bona fide Spirit son and daughter. That's the function of the Holy Spirit from the Father to beget you for eternal life for the resurrection. The function of the Holy Spirit, being the Spirit of Christ, is that you have the mind of Christ. We have the two aspects of the function of the Holy Spirit within us that you have the mind of Christ. That's the whole purpose of what we will study in the book of Hebrews. That's what it's all about.
- Yes, we are going to have trials to overcome.
- Yes, we're going to have human nature to overcome.
- Yes, the world is going to be contrary to us.
- Yes, Christ promised us it would hate us.
And after all, who needs friends in the world if God is your friend. I mean think on that for a while.
This is why we are to grow in grace and knowledge: so that the mind of Christ can be in us! The way you do that, Philippians 2:1 "Now then, if there be any encouragement in Christ… [that is considering all that Paul was going through as he wrote in the first chapter of Phil.] …if any comfort of love…" It all gets back to love, and we're going to also see that the Holy Spirit is called the Comforter, so the functions of the Holy Spirit are:
- of the Father
- of the mind of Christ
- the Comforter
"…if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any deep inner affections and compassions… [deep inner affection. You are affected by things deeply] …fulfill my joy, that you be of the same mind…" (vs 1-2).
I tell you what, if he were resurrected today and looked at the Church I can imagine what the Apostle Paul would say. I imagine there would be a lot of strong and stout words from the Apostle Paul very similar to 1-Cor. where he would go through and many times he would say, 'WHAT?' Yes, that you be likeminded! That's the whole goal of what God wants, to be likeminded with each other and to have the mind of Christ.
"…having the same love, being joined together in soul, minding the one thing. Let nothing be done through contention or vainglory, but in humility, each esteeming the others above himself" (vs 2-3). God has a purpose for each one. That's why we are not to go around judging, condemning, criticizing each other, and all that sort of thing.
Look, we all have enough problems ourselves we're all well aware of without someone else having to heap upon us all their criticisms from those that are to be our brethren. God has brought us all together, and really when you understand it, because of our backgrounds and where God has called us from, the toughest job is to love each other—isn't it? We're in a situation where we wouldn't normally love each other because everyone loves his own. That makes a difference.
So, in loving each other and coming to have the mind of Christ we all have a lot of work to do. As a matter of fact, it's a lifelong project—isn't it?
Verse 4: "Let each one look not only after his own things, but let each one also consider the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (vs 4-5). That's the function of the Spirit of Christ, to have the mind of Christ. It is to write His laws in our hearts and in our minds. If you want to follow-up on that you go through and study the whole Psa. 119. I tell you, if you study it the way you should it will take you a long time to get through Psa. 119, but I'll just summarize it this way:
I believe Psa. 119 is prophetic of how Jesus Christ viewed the laws and commandments and statutes and judgments of God. How then, if they are to be written in our hearts and our minds we also ought to view the laws and commandments of God? If they're going to be written in our hearts and our minds by the Spirit of God—so that we have the mind of Christ, so that we function by those things, so that we think with the Word of God—then Psa. 119 gives us the completed task.
With that, let's just look at one verse there. This is my favorite verse in it, because this is the summary of the whole thing. It's kind of like Solomon said in the book of Ecclesiastes: 'Let us hear the conclusion of the matter—fear God and keep His commandments.' Let's look at the spiritual thing concerning the conclusion of the matter. As you go through it you will see that Psa. 119 is broken down in even sections of 8 verses according to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In Hebrew each verse begins with the Hebrew letter that is listed over the top of the 8-verse section. This was one of the songs of degrees that they would sing.
Psalm 119:127: "Therefore, I love Your commandments above gold—yea, above fine gold. Therefore… [here's the conclusion of the matter] …I esteem all Your precepts… [Not only just Your laws and commandments and statutes, but every precept of God. Since God is perfect and God is Holy and God is love everything that God does is right.] …concerning all things to be right… [What happens when you begin to have the mind of Christ?] …and I hate every false way" (vs 127-128). Not the person—the way. Every false way! Why? Because that is sin!
Now let's go to Hebrews 1 and see how that's carried over concerning Christ, and why He is going to inherit the kingdom as the King. Hebrews 1:8: "But on the other hand, of the Son He says, 'Your throne, O God, is into the ages of eternity; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You loved righteousness and hated lawlessness…'" (vs 8-9).
We will see during the Feast of Unleavened Bread that's why we get rid of leaven; it pictures sin! If we hate iniquity, we love God—don't we? Don't hate the person; Christ died for the person. And just remember when you were carnal you couldn't help it either—could you? No! So likewise, do not judge and criticize people in the world. You can judge and criticize their actions of iniquity and hate that. If it gets to the point that they are doing things which transgress the laws of the land, well then the authorities of the laws of the land have the responsibility from God to take care of the problem. God will work it out.
Those are the functions of the Holy Spirit, of the Father and of the Son. With that then another function takes place, but let's come here to John 14:24 because this is also a very definitive Scripture: "The one who does not love Me does not keep My words… [There is the standard. Up here He said, 'If you love Me you will keep My Word. The one who does not love Me will not keep My words'—let alone believe Him.] …and the word that you hear is not Mine…" This is why the New Testament is so astounding.
Verse 24: "The one who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word that you hear is not Mine, but the Father's, Who sent Me…. [that's what the New Testament is, and yet, the world considers it a collection of folklore and myths] …I have spoken these things to you while I am yet present with you. But when the Comforter comes…" (vs 24-26).
That's the other function of the Holy Spirit: to comfort you—comfort you in many ways and it will teach you—so there's another function of it. But it's actually the Father Who is teaching you, Christ Who is teaching you through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Verse 26: "But when the Comforter comes, even the Holy Spirit, which the Father will send in My name… [They do it together—'We will make Our abode with you'—follows right along with it.] …that one shall teach you all things, and shall bring to your remembrance everything that I have told you." Let's understand something. You can be ever so intelligent, you can have ever so many credentials that you desire, but you will never understand the Word of God unless the Holy Spirit teaches you. And the Holy Spirit will not teach anyone who does not keep the Words of God.
That's how God is able to teach His people. And yet, with the same book, the same words, without the Holy Spirit, to close the minds of those who consider themselves to be the experts. It's a phenomenal thing that God has done. This is a promise: "…that one shall teach you all things…" That's why when you study and you let God speak to you—because these are the words from God the Father. That's why it's important. That's why it's profound. Who's speaking to you? The Father is! And He gives you the power through the Holy Spirit to be taught.
Let's tie this in with another verse from John 6 and it goes right back to one of the very basic Scriptures that we have known and we've understood—John 6:44-45. Then we'll see that John even repeats this again in 1-John 2. So, this is quite a phenomenal thing.
Even though someone can read the word and explain the words and teach them to you, it's not the operation of a teacher that really teaches you. It's the operation of God the Father so that anyone who is doing the teaching is teaching the Words of God with the Spirit of God and you are hearing the Words of God, which builds your faith, and that it's the Holy Spirit that is actually giving you the teaching. It is actually God the Father Who is the One Who is teaching you. Now, that is quite a phenomenal thing. If these are His words, which Jesus said they are, and if the Holy Spirit is going to teach you, it's going to teach you the Father's words.
John 6:44: "No one can come to Me unless the Father, Who sent Me, draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.'…." (vs 44-45).
Since God is not teaching the whole world yet, this applies to all those that God has called. They shall all be taught of God. That's why Paul told Timothy, 'Preach the Word,' because that's going to teach you God's way. How are you ever going to have the Word of God written in your heart and in your mind unless you're taught the Word of God? How is it going to stick there unless you have the Holy Spirit to put it there and put it in you? It isn't going to be! That's why the Protestants are forlorn over all of their great evangelistic campaigns and everything that they have. Six months after they have the people come forward and give their heart to the Lord they're right back out in the world. So in order to retain those that they have, they have to say, 'Well, you don't have to keep the commandments of God,' and that pleases the carnal person—doesn't it? But Jesus said, 'If you love Me, keep My commandments.' It's just the opposite, because they're not being taught of God.
"Therefore, everyone who has heard…" (v 45)—put in there Rom. 10:14: 'How shall they hear without preaching' Faith comes 'by the hearing of the Word of God.' The key to it is this: It's not the man who is teaching, it is the one who is teaching using the Spirit of God and the Word of God to convey to you the Word of God, so God the Father likewise can teach you. That's what it's all about, and that is the covenant that God has make with us through Christ.
"…everyone who has heard from the Father, and has learned… [not only learned information about Him, but learned from the Father] …comes to Me" (v 45). That's why for those who really want to know about God, and hunger and thirst after God,
- if they seek they shall find
- if they knock it will be opened
- Christ will deal with them
- Christ will lead them
Go back in your life and think: Why did one day the thing happen to me, which brought me into the Church of God? Why did that happen? Well, because God chose you! God sent part of the seven Spirits of God to be with you and lead you. God leads you to repentance! God leads you to baptism. God then gives you the begettal of the Holy Spirit from the Father and then you begin to develop the mind of Christ, you are taught of God the Father. That's a tremendous thing. Now in view of that, let's understand how important Sabbath services really are, and how important the Word of God really is.
Let's see what John wrote of concerning this very thing when confronted with the antichrist teachers. Some people misconstrue what he's written here, but it's all in light of the antichrist who were going out and teaching the things contrary to the Word of God. Isn't that amazing? You can take the Word of God and teach things contrary to the Word of God, even use the Word of God in the wrong way and be an antichrist. That's because they add to and take away from, and give their own interpretation thereof.
1-John 2:18: "Little children… [I suppose at about 90 years-plus of age he was allowed to do that to the rest—right?] …it is the last time… [The last days began when Christ came.] …and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have risen up… [they're multiplied over and over again from then] …by which we know that it is the last time. They went out from among us, but they were not of us because if they were of us, they would have remained with us; nevertheless, they left that they might be exposed to show that they all were not of us. But you have the anointing…" (vs 18-20)—of the Holy Spirit. That's what he likens to it when you receive the Holy Spirit.
"…from the Holy One, and you have knowledge of all things pertaining to salvation" (v 20). Obviously, you don't know all things that there is to know in the world, but you know all the things concerning the things necessary for salvation. He's writing to those who have been in the Church for years and years.
- Do you know all the basic things concerning salvation? Yes, you do!
- Are there still more things to learn? Yes!
That's what he's talking about here, 21: "I did not write to you because you do not know the Truth, but because you know it, and you understand that not one lie comes from the Truth. Who is the liar if it is not the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is the antichrist—the one who denies the Father and the Son" (vs 18-22). Now when he goes through all of this he explains even more here.
Verse 26: "These things I have written to you concerning those who are leading you astray… [deceive you] ….But you yourselves have dwelling in you the anointing that you received from Him [God the Father] and you do not have need of anyone [meaning of the antichrists] to indoctrinate you… [What will they teach you? They will teach you lies!] …for the same anointing instructs you in all spiritual things…" (vs 26-27). That's what we just read. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit will teach you all things. It's really God the Father Who's teaching you through the power of the Holy Spirit.
"…and is true, and is not a lie; and if you do exactly as it has taught you, you will be dwelling in Him [the Father]. And now, little children, dwell in Him, so that when He is manifested we may have boldness, and not be put to shame before Him at His coming" (vs 27-28). There is a special education that you go through. If you understand this, will you have incentive to study? If you do the Holy Spirit is going to teach you!
Now, there is a very interesting ad put out by the LDS[transcriber's correction], which is quite clever, which has a note of Truth. It shows starting out a baby, and then they show it growing up into an adult. And they're advertising the King James Bible but the kicker is they also want to send you the Book of Mormon. There's the deception in it. What it does, it shows this person through life and it's projected. You know how they can do on computers and show the age of the person. This is what they did to this little baby clear up into the 70s. And the caption was, 'So, you've had no time to study My Word'—showing a whole wasted life.
But if you have the Spirit of God and understand that through the Spirit of God, God the Father is going to teach you!
- Do you not have great incentive to study?
- Do you not then desire to study?
- How silly then are our excuses that we didn't have time?
- Wouldn't we be upset if God said, 'I don't have time for you'?
- Yes, indeed!
With God dwelling in us through the power of the Holy Spirit, then when we tell God 'we don't have time to study Your Word,' when it's the most important word possible because it comes from God the Father. So, this will give us greater incentive.
All these things are important, because when we come to the Passover and when we read these words for the Covenant of the Passover, it's good that we understand them in the way that we are now so that we realize the whole meaning of the covenant and being renewed in that covenant on the Passover.
John 14:26: "…and shall bring to your remembrance everything that I have told you." That's how the New Testament was written. Since they're the words of God, God the Father inspired them to write the words that He wanted. As John said, maybe they could have recorded every miracle that Jesus did and the world wouldn't be able to contain all the books. So, we have everything that's essential here.
With this we shift from faith into hope. Now that we have the Holy Spirit of God this gives us hope. Therefore, he kind of repeats himself again in v 27: "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give it to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it fear."
That's exactly how he started out in John 14:1: "Let not your heart be troubled…." God doesn't want you to have worry, and fret, and stew, even though you have difficulties. We need to be concerned enough to do something about it—to pray about it, to study about it, to take action concerning whatever it may be—but He doesn't want us to be in anxiety and fear and let these things keep bothering us. Remember, perfect love casts out fear.
If the Church of God is supposed to be teaching the love of God, which it should, can you now understand how a terrible thing it is in God's sight if an organization claiming to be the Church of God runs it by fear and not by love? Yes, because you're squelching love!
Verse 28: "You have heard Me say to you that I am going away, and that I will come to you again. If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced that I said, 'I am going to the Father' because My Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it comes to pass, you may believe. I will not speak with you much longer because the ruler of this world is coming…" (vs 28-30).
We're going to see that through the Passover and the crucifixion the ruler of this world was judged.
- he's also called Satan the devil that 'deceives the whole world' (Rev. 12:9)
- he's also called 'he god of this world' (2-Cor. 4:4)
- he's also called 'the prince of the power of the air; that spirit that is inner-working in the children of disobedience' (Eph. 2:2-3)
We have a promise. Though we have to fight and war against the principalities and spirits and wicked spirits in high places, we need not fear, because it's much like what happened to Peter.
Luke 22:31 is right during the Passover. This is what He told Peter: "Then the Lord said, 'Simon, Simon, listen well. Satan has demanded to have you, to sift you as wheat … [He did give in to Satan a couple times—didn't he? Yes, he did!] …But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and when you are converted, strengthen your brethren'" (vs 31-32). That was not enough. To prove the point that Satan was after him He said:
Verse 33: "And he [Peter] said to Him, 'Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death.'"
- Could you accomplish any greater work for the Lord than doing that?
- Is this not willing to give up everything and even your life? Yes!
- Are we not supposed to be willing to give up our lives? That's true, yes!
But this he was saying of himself. Anyone of his own self or her own self is not going to do anything for God separately from what God desires the person to do. What great work can we do for God? That's what it gets down to. If you go to prison because you've kept the commandments of God, that's one thing; but if you volunteer from a carnal point of view—'I'm ready to do this. I'm ready to do that. I'm ready to do the other thing'—much like the suicide bombers of the Palestinians and the terrorists today. So, what did Jesus say?
Verse 34: "But He said, 'I tell you, Peter, the cock shall in no wise crow today before you have denied knowing Me three times.'"
- Did he learn a lesson from it? Yes, he did!
- Did he do it? Yes, he did!
- Did he repent of it? Yes, he did!
Now then, even though he did that and even though he gave in to it, this was not a 'sin unto death' because he repented. However, we have a promise back here in 1-John 5, that if you yield to God and have the Spirit of God, Satan—though he may destroy the body—cannot touch you. Remember what Jesus said? 'Don't fear him who is able to kill the body but is not able to kill the life. Fear Him Who is able to kill the body and the life in Gehenna.'
So, even though we may go through the trials and troubles and tests and things even as Peter did and was prophesied by Jesus that he would, here's what we can count on, 1-John 5:18: "We know that anyone who is begotten by God does not practice sin; for the one who has been begotten by God keeps himself… [in the way of the Lord] …by the power of God, and the wicked one does not touch him."
Though we have to fight against Satan, fight against the world, fight against all these things, Satan can never really get to us. He might tempt us, he might try us, he might even get us to do sin, but then if we are truly Christ's and repent he can't touch us. In other words, God has given us this assurance: Satan cannot take you from Him. That's something to remember. That's something to really know and understand and consider and realize that that's the assurance that we have.
John 14:30: "…the ruler of this world is coming; but he does not have a single thing in Me." I imagine that Satan and all the demons figured, 'Man, when Christ died we have foiled God's plan.' But no, that which looked like utter defeat turned out to be the triumph over them because He was resurrected from the dead—correct? Yes! "…but he does not have a single thing in Me."
With Christ and with God the Father, and Jesus Christ in us by the power of the Holy Spirit, the wicked one doesn't touch us. If we are in right standing with God and in covenant with God, he doesn't have a single thing in us. Remember the account of the children of Israel in the wilderness? How they provoked God? How many times did they provoke God?
Let's look at an astounding thing here. Let's come to the book of Numbers with the account of Balaam. You know that Balak hired Balaam to come and curse Israel. I am sure that we can look at the parallels here. He finally had to tell the truth to Balak. And Balak said, 'After all this money I've given you, you can't curse them?' But Balaam did counsel him afterwards. 'I can't curse them but you can send all of your beautiful women over there and entice them to commit adultery and eat things sacrificed to idols, and then God will have to correct them, but I can't curse them.' You get that rest of the story in the book of Rev. 2.
Numbers 23:20: "Behold, I have received word to bless. And He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it…. [That's an operation of grace.] (after all that Israel did in sinning): … He has not seen iniquity in Jacob, neither has He seen perverseness in Israel.…" (vs 20-21).
When God forgives sin that's the way He forgives it. Isn't that something? That's the way God deals with us in relationship to Satan the devil. When we stand in the grace and we are under the grace of God there is no sin that Satan can accuse us of. That's why people who take grace and go out and make it lawlessness are going so contrary to God.
"…neither has He seen perverseness in Israel… [That's quite a statement after reading all the troubles they had up to that point—isn't it?] …The LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a King among them. God brought them out of Egypt. He has, as it were, the strength of an ox. Surely, there is no enchantment against Jacob, nor any divination against Israel. According to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, 'What God has worked!'" (vs 21-23). We can also look at that as a prophecy of the Church—can't we? Yes, indeed! Are we not the true Israel of God? Yes, indeed!
Verse 24: "Behold, the people shall rise up like a great lion, and lift up himself like a young lion. He shall not lie down until he eats of the prey and drinks the blood of the slain."
Just makes you wonder with physical Israel is that what is going to happen in Iraq? Who knows! It also says in another place concerning physical Israel and Joseph in particular, that though the archers have shot sorely at him they weren't able to get him. It sounds like the world is ganging up on us to do that.
So, we have protection from Satan. Claim that protection!Ask God for that protection! How do we have the battle, and yet, we're protected at the same time? Very simply, God gives us the spiritual power to overcome it! They will try and get us just like Balaam tried to curse Israel. And yes, we may go through difficulties.
Yes, we wrestle against wicked spirits in high places and so forth like that, but they can't get us. We wrestle and fight back against them through the power and strength of Christ and the Holy Spirit, and that's how they cannot touch us. Though we wrestle them, though we battle them, they can't take us. 'Touching' doesn't mean that we don't wrestle and fight against them in that particular sense. I think that 'touching' there has from the point of view to have spiritual power and control over to nullify the Holy Spirit. That's what that would have to mean, otherwise it would be a contradiction in itself.
John 14:31: "Yet, he comes…" Why?
- Did Satan get to Christ? Yes, he did!
- Did he kill Him? Yes, he did!
- Did he use human instrumentalities to do it? Yes, he did!
- Did he get to Him spiritually? No, he didn't!
That's the same example that we look to here. Satan cannot touch us spiritually. He can physically, but not spiritually. Yes, it may be a great trial to wrestle against wicked spirits in high places. But that's so that we turn to God and look to Him and claim His promises, and ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to be with us, so that regardless of what Satan may attempt to do—or people inspired by him may try to do, and yea, even in some ways succeed in doing some things—we know that 'all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose' God will see us through it.
I don't mean to imply by that or mean by any sense of the word that we are going to live a blissful life of non-combativeness against the wicked spirits of this world. No!We are in a spiritual battle! As long as God is on our side and fighting for us and we use the tools of God and we use the sword of the Spirit, as it says there in Eph. 6, which is the Word of God, they will be defeated just as surely as Balaam was when he tried to curse Israel, though Israel had all their sins and difficulties.
So, we can say likewise Satan is not able to really get to us, though we have our weaknesses and our sins that we lay before the altar of God and covered by the blood of Jesus Christ, he is not able to bring accusation against us though he tries. It says he accuses them day and night before the throne of God, but does God listen to him? No! Who does God listen to? To Christ who is advocating—correct? Yes! If God the Father's Spirit and Christ be in us we shall overcome! There can be no question, no doubt about that.
It may take some time. That's why we have the experiences that we go through. That's why God has given us the time that we have right now to go through the things that we are going through. Many times when we're fighting these battles and wrestling with these problems and difficulties we don't see the end.
But with trust and faith in Christ and the promises realize this: God does not lie! We can claim His promises! And when you come to a situation that you don't understand and you can't comprehend, you have to go to God and ask for understanding. You have to ask God to open your mind and give you understanding.
- What is the lesson?
- What am I to learn?
- How do these things apply in my life?
That's an awful lot of my prayer right now personally:
- God, where are we?
- Where are we going?
- What are we doing?
- What do you want us to do?
- How do you want us to do?
Because one of the lessons that we have learned is this, we don't say: 'This is the work of God,' and run down the road and say, 'This is the work of God, and by the way, God, since it's Your work You better bless it.' No! We have to make sure that we're doing the will of God before we start down a road, and doing the things that please God. That's why these things come upon us. It all fits together. One is not a contradiction of the other and that's why we go through these things.
John 14:31: "Yet he comes so that the world may know that I love the Father… [Sometimes you have to prove your love by giving your life. Isn't that the whole story, 'Greater love has no man than this, that he lay his life for his friends'?] …and that I do exactly as the Father has commanded Me. Arise, let us go out." So, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
All Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version by Fred R. Coulter
Scripture References:
- John 14:18-20
- Luke 24:36-45
- John 14:20-21
- John 16:26-27
- John 14:21-23
- John 3:16
- 1 Corinthians 3:16-18
- Isaiah 66:1-5
- Romans 8:9-10, 9-11
- Philippians 2:1-5
- Psalm 119:127-128
- Hebrews 1:8-9
- John 14:24-26
- John 6:44-45
- 1 John 2:18-22, 26-28
- John 14:26-27, 1, 28-30
- Luke 22:31-34
- 1 John 5:18
- John 14:30
- Numbers 23:20-24
- John 14:31
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- John 20
- 1 Timothy 3:16
- 1 John 3:16
- Ecclesiastes
- Romans 10:14
- Revelation 12:9
- 2 Corinthians 4:4
- Ephesians 2:2-3
- Revelation 2
- Ephesians 6
Also referenced:
- Book: The Seven General Epistles by Fred R. Coulter
- Sermon Series: Hebrews
- Sermon: When All Else Fails, Remember, God Loves You (#1 Love Series)
FRC/cis Transcribed: 03/01/2005 Formatted/Corrected: bo—June/2012
