Chapter
11 We approach God's great Hall of Faith with trembling hearts, as we recognize
one of the greatest chapters of the Bible. Many have been the messages written
on the subject of faith. And it would take several messages to cover the truths
contained in this tremendous chapter. But the first strong impression we get as
we take a general overlook at this entire chapter, is that God deals not with
theories, but with men and women of God. For the Lord does not spend a lot of
time telling us about theoretical doctrines of faith, but rather of the exploits
of Old Testament saints who were filled with the faith of God. 15 of those Old
Testament heroes, including 2 women, are mentioned by name in this one chapter.
Notice that in the first 28 verses we see faith working in the lives of
special individuals, such as Noah, Abraham, and Moses. Then in the next 10 verses
it shifts to a view of faith in the corporate people of God in the Old Testament.
For Moses was the divine catalyst that took the descendants of the sons of Jacob,
slaves in Egypt, and made of them one great nation. After 40 years of the ministry
of Moses, this nation of Israel came forth as a people led by the Spirit, under
divine government, walking in obedience and faith, and winning battles by the
miraculous power of God. They were feared by all the nations about them, not because
of their numerical strength, but because of their God, and their faith in Him.
Finally, at the end of this chapter, we see the emphasis change from the corporate
people of God in the Old Testament, to the ultimate purpose of God in a New Testament
Church, which becomes a new creation man in Christ Jesus! And as Moses was the
catalyst to bring together that one nation in his day, it is Jesus Christ who
brings into being this new creation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar
treasure unto God.
I would have you notice all the great exploits accomplished
by Old Testament faith, things which the greatest of modern day evangelists are
not equaling, such as passing through the Red Sea, bringing down Jericho's walls,
the dead raised, kingdoms subdued, armies defeated, the mouths of lions stopped,
and great persecution endured. Yet, verse 40 tells us that all these things are
inferior to that which God has provided for us, the new creation man. God has
a "better thing" for us, and then immediately we go into chapter 12 where it begins
to tell us about God's dealings with His sons.
"Now Faith Is"
This
is universally known as the "faith" chapter, and for good reason. The word "faith"
appears only twice in all the entire Old Testament, yet is seen 24 times in this
one chapter of Hebrews. That is more than any other chapter in the Bible, and
more times than any other entire book, except Romans. Since this book is written
to the Hebrew Christians, who were avid students of the Old Testament, it is an
outstanding commentary on the purpose of this book, and this chapter in particular,
to see that faith is mentioned 12 times as much in this one chapter as in all
the writings of Moses and the prophets combined.
Here we see that the writer
of Hebrews, inspired by the Holy Ghost, was leading the people from the old order
realm of law, into that "better" place of faith and grace. So, he begins at the
beginning. the creation. God left unmistakable evidence of His work in it. Men
void of faith still cannot accept the creation story. To them it is a myth and
a fable, a superstition carried down from primitive times. But to those who have
touched the realm of faith, the creation is seen as a work of God, with indisputable
evidence to back it up. It is not blind faith, just believing what you have been
taught. There is actual physical proof of the Genesis account of creation. But
a man without faith is blind to these facts, blinded by the dark void in his life
due to the absence of a living faith.
So, he proves to the Jews that there
are some things we understand that are not covered by Moses' law. It is a higher
order than most people in the Old Testament lived under. Yet, he shows that in
spite of the fact that faith was not often preached in the Old Testament days,
the greatest men of Israel lived by it. It was the prophet Habakkuk who said:
"The just shall live by his faith". And it was by the power of faith, not law,
that Caleb and Joshua brought back a good report from the promised land. And because
of their good report, produced by their faith, they lived to enter in and possess
the land. Praise God!
Both the Amplified and the Wuest translations say
that faith is the "title deed" of the things we hope for. Now when you get a title
deed to a property, you know that it belongs to you, although you may be many
miles from it, and unable to see it. If someone sent you a title deed to 1,000
acres of land in the lush San Fernando Valley of southern California, you would
be rich. It might take a long trip and many days for you to get to your inheritance,
set your foot in it, and eat the fruit thereof. But every time you looked at the
title deed, you would KNOW that it was yours and that you were rich! So it is
with faith. There are things in our inheritance we have not yet feasted on or
walked in. Yet, we see them in the Word, and we believe it, and faith becomes
our title deed, letting us know of our riches. Hallelujah!
Abel
Many
evangelists keep faith on the level of the prosperity cult. If you have faith
(and send the evangelist your offerings) you will drive the finest automobile,
live in a plush home, and eat of the fat of the land. If you are deprived, or
poor, or just do not lust after the material things of the world, it is because
you do not have faith, they say. To them, faith is only a means of receiving something.
But look at Abel's faith. By faith Abel offered God a sacrifice. And the better
your faith, the better your sacrifice to God. And it cost him his life. No, his
faith did not make him more prosperous than Cain. But he received something far
greater. a witness from God that he was righteous.
So, Abel's giving faith
did not make him prosperous in this world, but it gave him a better and eternal
relationship to God. Moffatt's translation says: "He died, but by his faith he
is speaking to us still".
Enoch
Enoch did not live in a time or
place where faith was being preached. In fact, the word faith does not appear
in the Bible until the children of Israel are ready to cross Jordan into the promised
land, more than 1500 years after Enoch left the earth. Yet, living faith entered
his heart to such a degree, that he believed that he could by-pass the grave,
and go into heaven without dying. He had no example to follow. No one had escaped
death. Men were dying all around him. But faith!
There is a doctrine called
"soul-sleep", which teaches that we do not go to heaven when we die, but that
our souls lie unconscious in the grave with our bodies until the resurrection.
When I asked them about Enoch, they answered that he died. They said that verse
5 simply states that he did not "see" death. That is, that he died without being
conscious of death approaching, and that he did not have the usual death pangs.
But notice how other translations give us a clearer look at this scripture, and
expose this false doctrine. Phillips translation: "It was because of his faith
tat Enoch was promoted to the eternal world without experiencing death." New English
Bible: "By faith Enoch was carried away to another life without passing through
death." Moffatt translation: "It was by faith that Enoch was taken to heaven,
so that he never died." Amplified Bible: "Because of faith Enoch was caught up
and transferred to heaven."
Some have tried to say that Enoch was a type
of the saints who get raptured from the earth before the tribulation. But I want
you to notice that Jesus did not say, "As it was in the days of Enoch, so shall
it be at the coming of the Son of man". What He said was, "As it was in the days
of Noah." Noah escaped the flood, God's judgments upon the earth in his day, by
building and entering into an ark, not by being raptured or translated to heaven.
Enoch's translation had nothing to do with escaping judgment, as the flood did
not come for hundreds of years later. In fact, it was longer from Enoch's translation
to the flood, than it is from the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus
to this present day. No, he was not a type of the "pre-tribulation rapture".
It
was by faith that Enoch pleased God. That should be the aim of our faith. Jesus
lived to do the Father's will, and to please Him. Let the sons of God who aspire
to Christ-likeness have the kind of faith that we see in Enoch. A life void of
faith cannot please God, regardless of how many good works are produced. The burden
of the writer of Hebrews is to show the Jews that they cannot please God with
the works of the law, even if they did the impossible and perfected them all.
Only by a life of faith is God pleased. His logic in verse 6 cannot be refuted.
Noah
Up to this point, faith has related only to God's dealings
with an individual. But beginning in verse 7 we see other people, plus the animal
creation, saved through the faith of this one man. Now it does not say that Noah
was warned by faith. We do not know the means by which God warned Noah of the
judgments coming. It may have been by a dream, a vision, an angel visitation,
audible voice, or a prophetic word coming to his spirit. But we know that God
spoke to him. "And God said unto Noah." (Genesis 6:13). Verse 7 in the Amplified
Bible says: "Prompted by faith Noah, being forewarned of God concerning events
of which as yet there was no visible sign, took heed.". So, when Noah started
building an ark, there was no visible reason for him to do so. Does this sound
like God's dealings with you at times? Times were good, the crops were bringing
in plenty, men were building houses and looking toward a safe and secure future.
How foolish Noah must have looked! But he had heard from God. Yet, even that was
not enough. Hearing from God is one thing, but having faith to act upon that word
is an entirely different matter. I wonder just how many there are who had a word
from God yet continue to live in spiritual poverty because they would not move
out in faith on that word. It might look foolish to family and friends. That did
not stop Noah. It was not his hearing that built the ark, but his faith. Yet,
his faith came by hearing the word. One creates, the other performs. Both are
necessary. Many people have faith in certain doctrines that are false. This is
faith created by something other than the Word of God. And it will not perform.
Movements and churches and leaders come crashing down, the people's faith is smashed,
and in the midst of the chaos they wonder, "what happened?". They had faith, but
they had not heard from God. They were following the teachings of men or the deceptions
of devils. And this kind of faith cannot produce. Real living faith comes by hearing
the word of God. Noah heard from God, and his faith saved his house.
Abraham
This portion needs an entire book written about it. But let us for now
just skim through and hit the high spots. Here was a man who lived in the midst
of a people that followed Nimrod and built the tower of Babel. Yet, he walked
with God and saw a higher realm of life than this earthly creation. His vision
went far beyond any earthly city, even of Babylon with it's hanging gardens.
The
word of the Lord came to him to leave his family, friends, home, and go. where?
He wasn't told. Just go. And he went. But it was an imperfect start. His father
went with him. This was not in the contract. Not even Lot was in the call. But
they went. By the time they got close to the promised land, but not quite in it,
Abraham's father was ready to settle down. So, he built a city and called it after
the name of his other son, Haran, who had died in Ur of the Chaldees. So many
people are like that, especially religious leaders who have not heard the call
of God. They recognize the anointing upon those who have heard from God, and they
want to go with them. But only so far, not all the way. And soon they settle down
to build their own little kingdom, making it just like something they left behind
in Babylon.
Terah, the father of Abraham, died in Haran. He had built himself
a city, his progress had stopped there, and he died there. Now, let me share a
peculiar and hidden truth with you. Genesis 11:26 and 32 tells us that Abram was
born when Terah was 70 years old, and that Terah died in Haran at the age of 205
years. This would make Abram 135 years old when his father died. Now, Genesis
12:4 says that Abram was 75 years old when he left his father and departed from
Haran. But Acts 7:4 tells us that Abram did not leave Haran until his father was
dead. Is this a mistake? No, the Word of God does not make mistakes. It is simply
telling us that Terah was dead to God and to Abram for 60 years before they finally
buried him. Oh yes, he walked around on the earth until he was 205 years old.
But when Terah was 145 years old, settled in Haran and determined to go no further
in God's promises, the call of God burned in Abram's heart until he had to count
his father dead to him and to the purposes of God. So Abram, "when his father
was dead" (Acts 7:4), departed Haran and followed the call of God. By faith. Yes,
faith will separate you from those who settle for less than God's best. It separated
me from a pentecostal denomination, the only religious fellowship I knew anything
about. And I did not know where I was going, only that I had to follow the call
of God. And even though Terah lived until Abraham was 135 years old, and until
his son Isaac was 35 years of age, I never see Abraham visit his father again,
not for a family reunion, nor to show him the promised child, Isaac. As far as
Abraham was concerned, Terah was dead. Can you see, dear one, that this is the
life of faith?
In 1958 while we were living in Kansas and going through
great trials of faith, the general superintendent of the denomination I had left
wrote me a warm and gracious letter, inviting me to come back into the fold. But
I could not return. My "Terah" had died to me. I could not go back to that which
I had buried. I had to go on in God. Was Abraham bitter at Terah, his father?
Of course not! Neither am I bitter at those I had to leave behind in their "Haran".
But only those who truly hear the call of God will go on to the fulness of His
purposes.
Lot left Haran with Abraham. He is like those who want to go
all the way into the promised land, but only for their own gain. And they end
up losing all. We see that God would not take Abraham into the mountains and show
him his inheritance (Genesis 13:14) until after he had separated from Lot. The
desire for self gain and profit must go from us before we can even see our inheritance
clearly.
Obedience
Besides faith and vision, the thing that stands
out in Abraham's life is his great obedience. When it came to leaving family and
home, he obeyed. When it came to offering his son Isaac upon an altar, he obeyed.
He must had had a tremendous confidence that he was truly hearing from God. Much
of this comes by experience with God, by walking with Him until you know Him so
well that other voices cannot fool you. It does not come easy, that I can tell
you.
In 1949 I heard the Lord say to me, "Go to Florida". I knew no one
in Florida, had no invitations to come that way, and had only one man's name and
address. And he wouldn't answer my letters when I wrote him. I had just bought
a home in Springfield, Missouri, was a pastor of a church in the Springfield section
of our denomination, had two more years of post-graduate work paid for in a local
Bible school, and roots were deep. But I heard from God. We had two small children,
and my wife was six weeks away from having the third one. But we left for Florida.
When we arrived in St. Louis to bid farewell to my wife's parents, we had $4 (four
dollars) to make the trip. We told no one of our need, but God knew. We determined
to start for Florida, and go as far as our $4 would take us. But God determined
to take us to Florida. We had exactly $4 when we arrived in Florida, knowing no
one, and no place to sleep. 3 nights later I was preaching a revival in a church
I ended up pastoring. The path from then to now has been long, painful, and glorious.
And it has proven one thing for sure. the path of obedience is the only way to
go. Hallelujah!
Forgive me for the personal reference to my own experiences,
but God used men's experiences in this chapter to explain how faith works. And
I know more about my own experiences than I do anybody else's. One more.
In
early spring of 1962, I heard God say to me, "It's time for you to move back to
Springfield". At the time, I was co-pastoring a church in Louisiana. We were living
in the rear of the church, in the old Sunday school rooms. We had no money, and
hardly an income. Now, there was my wife and I and 4 children. I wrote to a Christian
real estate agent in Springfield and asked him if he had a large house for sale,
with basement for my printing press, and a large living room for prayer meetings
and services. In a few days, I had a letter saying there was a house on north
Grant Street available. No other details. I had never seen the house, did not
know just where it was. God spoke and said, "This is the house I want you to buy".
At the time I could not have raised more than $10. I phoned the real estate man
and told him I would buy the house, to send me the contract and tell me how much
down payment was needed. I decided that if I was really hearing from God, He knew
about the money needed, and would supply when due. The contract came for me to
sign, with a note that I could get the house at no down payment on a G.I. loan.
There would be about $300 closing cost, he said. I signed the contract, and that
week I had 2 letters from 2 preachers. One was on the west coast, and his letter
contained a check for $200, saying that it was for a need I had. It was the first
and last time he ever sent me anything. The other letter was from a missionary
on the foreign field who sent a check for $120. The $20 was for tapes I was to
send him, and the $100, he said, was to go on a house I was going to buy. No one
knew of our plans except my wife and I and the real estate agent, not even our
children. If that wasn't enough, I had 2 letters from prophets with a word to
make the move, one of them even naming the city, Springfield, twice in the prophecy.
It took several miracles of supply, but we moved to 1910 North Grant, and have
lived here since August 1962. We shook and we trembled at times, but we obeyed.
Glory to God, it works!
Dwelling in Tabernacles
Verse 8, 9 and 10
constitute one of the mountain tops of scripture. It tells us here that Abraham
was called, he obeyed, and he did not know where he was going. Then it goes on
to say that it took faith for him to stay in that land. There were enemies every
where. There was always the temptation to build himself a city, with high walls
to keep out the enemy. That's what every religious movement seems to end up doing,
from the historic churches, fundamentalists, pentecostals, business men's groups,
and what have you. But Abraham avoided that trap, because he had already seen
the plan of God. He had seen the city of God. And nothing he could build would
come close to comparing with that. I have been asked at times to either join or
start a "fellowship" of end-time bodies. But friends, I have caught a vision of
the great body of Christ on earth. I have seen how it operates, and had a glimpse
of it's glory, and I cannot settle for anything less. No man can build this thing.
God is building it Himself! And I promise you that I will have no part in creating
or belonging to any denominational hierarchy over a group of local churches. I
will minister to an help straighten out the affairs of any local church that invites
and accepts my ministry. But I will not be a "lord" over God's heritage. Jesus
is the Lord, and He alone is the head of His church.
Not only Abraham,
but Isaac and Jacob as well, dwelt in tabernacles (tents), and none of them ever
built a city. They always had their tent stakes ready to pull up if and when God
called. And Sarah, bless her heart! She watched faith work in this husband of
hers until she appropriated enough faith of her own to give birth to a son at
90 years of age. She held on to the promise of God, and judged God faithful. Has
God given you a promise? Have confidence that God is able to fulfill it.
In
1950 a prophecy went over me that God was anointing my hands to write, and that
I would write, and He would bless it. Ten years went by before I started writing
and sending out tracts. During that time, in times of trial and depression, I
would pull that prophecy out and read it to the devil, and declare that God's
word would be fulfilled. There were no open doors, and it seemed like the word
would never come to pass. But I never threw away the prophecy. Finally, in 1960,
we started getting some messages printed and mailed out to a few hundred names.
God was in it, and in a short time we were hearing from people in various parts
of this and other countries. Now the books and tapes are going to all 50 states
and 50 foreign nations. They have been translated and published in several other
languages including: Spanish, French, Portuguese, Korean, Dutch and others. And
some of the messages have been reprinted in dozens of other papers and magazines
in England, India, New Zealand, and USA, for we have no copyright on anything
we send out. It belongs to God. And He has blessed the work, for we counted Him
faithful who promised. That's what gave Sarah new life. And it will give you new
life too, just to have faith in what God said.
We dwell in "tents" (temporary
dwelling places, always ready to move on) because we see no permanent kingdom
in this realm of life as we know it now. There is a progressive unfolding of the
purposes of God, and each revelation causes us to pull up some stakes and move
on. Hebrews 13:14 tells us that here (on this present realm) we have no continuing
city, but we seek one to come. This is what kills every denominational system.
As soon as it organizes into a man-made order, it builds a city, lays a strong
foundation, puts up it's doctrinal walls, and stagnates. There is an order of
God that goes far beyond anything that can be produced within this Adamic structure.
That is God's order, the city of God, and we must attain to it.
A Better
Country
In verse 12 it speaks of the seed of Abraham as being as the "stars
of the sky", and also, "as the sand which is by the sea shore". This speaks of
both the spiritual and natural seed of Abraham. Yes, God is interested in both.
It was through the natural seed of Abraham that God brought Jesus into the world.
But it was through Jesus that God brought the spiritual seed of Abraham into the
world.
The next verse tells us that these heroes of faith did not receive
the "promises". They saw them "afar off", and they embraced them. Wuest translation
says: "These all died dominated by faith, not having received the promises, but
having seen them afar off and greeted them". The Amplified Bible says: "These
people all died controlled and sustained by their faith, but not having received
the tangible fulfillment of God's promises, only having seen it and greeted it
from a great distance by faith." Yes, they were a long ways from perfection, a
great distance from the ultimate that God has purposed for His people. But they
saw it and greeted it. Glory to God! It is there, folks, I know it is there for
us! Have you seen and greeted it?
Strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
They confessed it. Let the people of the world enjoy the things of this world.
Don't envy them. It is their world, their age. We are strangers in this place
of death, sin, and decay. Our citizenship is in a realm of life where there is
no defeat, no pain, no sin, and no death. Philippians 3:20-21 tells us that this
present life is a place of humiliation for us. Wuest translations says that Jesus
Christ "shall transform this body of ours which has been humiliated by the presence
of indwelling sin and by death and decay, so that it will be conformed to His
body of His glory". Yes, we are citizens of life, living in a foreign land. And
we are humiliated when we get sick, grow old, die and decay. For we do not belong
to such a state. And our time has arrived. We have desired "a better country",
and it is finally at hand. Praise the Lord! And God is glad to have this kind
of people claim Him as their God. "God is not ashamed to be called their God;
for He hath prepared for them a city". And the truth of it is, they are that city.
Verses 17, 18 and 19 deal with Abraham's great trial of faith when he had
to take his son Isaac to a mountain and offer him for a sacrifice. This was something
he could not understand. God wants a human sacrifice? It went against everything
that Abraham knew about God. Have you ever faced a test that went contrary to
everything you believe about God and His ways? Well, Abraham could not anticipate
what God had in mind. Abraham had a solution figured out, but God had a different
plan. Don't try to second guess the Lord but learn to hear and obey.
From
Faith to Experience
There is a tremendous truth contained in this 11th
chapter of Hebrews that we must understand, if we are to know the difference between
revelation and reality. Many misguided souls think because they have a revelation
from God and have seen some glorious truth, that they can now claim to have entered
into that realm in experience and reality. They therefore claim to be "manifested
sons", immortal, infallible, kings, equal to Jesus Christ, etc., and are bringing
great reproach upon the true end-time message. Because of these loud and boastful
claims, many sincere, truth-seeking people are shying away from any mention of
"Sonship", "the manchild company", "immortality", "the life message", "Christ
in you, the hope of glory", and other glorious truths that we all should be pressing
into.
This chapter of Hebrews brings out very clearly the difference in
seeing the promises of God, and entering into them in reality and fulness. Verse
13 tells us that these heroes of faith died in faith, "not having received the
promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced
them." The Amplified Bible expresses it thus: "These people all died controlled
and sustained by their faith, but not having received the tangible fulfillment
of God's promises, only having seen it and greeted it from a great distance by
faith." It goes on to say in verses 39 and 40 that all of these did not receive
the fulfillment of what was promised, "because God had us in mind and had something
better and greater in view for us, that they should not come to perfection apart
from us, that is, before we could join them."
A Vision of Perfection
The
promises they had seen and embraced involved perfection in spirit, soul, and body,
as well as victory over all our circumstances. We know that we have deliverance
from the guilt, penalty, and dominion of sin over us, through the gospel of the
death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have
obtained eternal life, praise God! "By His stripes we were healed!" But perfection
is not attained by an imperfect, decaying, dying body receiving a healing upon
occasion, when needed. Perfection is when death has been defeated and destroyed,
and there are no more sick bodies to be healed. Right here, on this earth, my
friends.
The fact is that these heroes of faith had seen these promises,
embraced them, and their faith in God's promises caused them to do enough exploits
to fill the pages of the Old Testament. 1 Peter 1:12 tells us that the prophets
of old searched to know the time when these things would come to pass, "Unto whom
it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things
which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you
with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven."
Abraham and His Seed
Turn
with me to Galatians 3:16, 18, 29. "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises
made. He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed,
which is Christ. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise;
but God gave it to Abraham by promise. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's
seed, and heirs according to the promise." So the promise of the inheritance was
given to Abraham and to Christ (the many-membered corporate body of Christ). Abraham
and the saints of old SAW the promise by faith, but it is the glorious body of
Christ that receives and WALKS in that promise in reality.
1 Peter 1:4-5
tells us that we have been begotten again unto a living hope, "To an inheritance
incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for
you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be
revealed in the last time." The Amplified Bible says: "guarded by God's power
through your faith till you fully inherit that final salvation that is ready to
be revealed for you in the last time." Glory to God! Our inheritance is a final
deliverance (salvation) from every trace of curse of sin, and every earthly bondage.
It is ready to be revealed! Jesus said: "It is finished!" The saints of old saw
it by faith, but they did not enter in, because it was waiting for "the last time".
We are now living in that "last time", and can expect the fulfillment of this
promise.
Possessing the Land
In Genesis 13 we read where God took
Abram into the mountain, and then told him to look north, south, east, and west.
All that he saw on that day became his possession, by promise. But the heathen
still lived in it. And when Abraham's wife, Sarah, died at 127 years of age, he
had to buy a field from the children of Heth in which to bury her. He possessed
the land by promise, and he lived in a small part of it, but it remained for the
12 tribes of Israel to possess it in fulness. God gave me a poem one time about
God giving Abram everything he could see, and I would like to share the first
3 verses of it here with you:
"Abram climbed the highest hill,
to
talk to God one day;
To find the will of God for him;
To hear what God
would say.
The plains of Jordan, the hills, the valleys,
All lay beneath
his view;
And then God spoke, "You see this, Abram?
I'm giving this
to you!
Because you heard the voice of God,
And hearkened to His call;
You left your home, possessions dear,
Your family, your all.
Now
look, my son, what I shall give
To him who's true to me;
Look north,
and south, and east, and west;
As far as thou canst see.
The day is
clear, the mountain high;
Thine eye is sharp and keen;
The fertile fields,
the wooded hills,
The rivers fresh and clean;
All is thine that thou
dost see,
With faith this day to claim;
The vision God hath given thee
Shall stand. in His great Name!"
When God promised the land to Abraham,
it was according to what he could SEE. But when the children of Israel were ready
to enter the promised land under the leadership of Joshua, God promised to give
them according to what they WALKED in (Joshua 1:3).
And when Joshua took
the people across Jordan, they didn't buy any land from the children of Heth,
or anyone else. They broke down the walls of Jericho, burned the city of Ai, conquered
the land, and dwelt in it. They divided the land according to tribes, built cities,
planted crops, and destroyed the enemy. Although Abraham could see the land that
god had given him, yet the enemy still dwelled in the land with him. But God's
instructions to Israel were to utterly destroy all the nations that had formerly
occupied the land.
You may see the glorious promises of God, dear one,
and you may even taste the first fruits of the land and dwell there in a tent.
But the enemy is there with you. Death, pain, sickness, afflictions, discouragement,
fear, poverty, and many other enemies still dwell here with the best of saints,
even those with great vision of God's eternal purposes. We talk grandly about
the beautiful heaven that God has prepared for His own. And surely, heaven is
wonderful. But here on earth is where the enemy dwells, where the warfare has
been going on since Adam. And it is here the victory must be won and demonstrated,
for the glory of God! It is here that His purposes will be worked out in the lives
of His people. We must, in reality and experience, walk out the revelations and
truths that have been revealed in His precious Word throughout the ages.
The
Head and the Feet
"The head cannot say to the feet, I have no need of You"
(1 Corinthians 12:21). 1 Corinthians 12:21 says that Christ is a many-membered
body, and verse 27 tells us that we all are members of that body. The eyes and
ears are in the head, and they see and hear the divine promises of god. But it
takes the feet to walk in those promises. So the head cannot say that it does
not need the feet. Neither can you say that because you have seen some divine
revelations, that you do not need to actually walk in those truths, and produce
the reality of what you have seen. It is necessary. The promise was given to Abraham.
"what you can see is yours". But the fulfillment of that promise was given to
the children of Israel. "Where ever you put your feet belongs to you".
"If
we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:25). Let me
assure you that it is necessary for us to SEE what God is doing, and to know in
the Spirit what He has purposed in the earth. But here is an "also". We must "also"
WALK in what we are seeing. This is the difference between revelation and reality.
This is where many have gone astray, and fallen. They think because they have
seen something, that it is automatically working in them. The head and the feet
are 2 separate parts of the body, and we need them both. The feet won't know where
to go without the eyes. And the eyes can only look upon the promises, but never
reach them, without the feet.
Seeing the Promises
We can look at
the life of Abraham, and see what the realm of revelation will do for a man's
life. First of all, hearing the call of God (Genesis 12:1-4), and seeing the divine
promises (Genesis 13:14-15), causes faith and obedience to come alive within.
"By faith Abraham. obeyed" (Hebrews 11:8). It takes a living faith to obey the
leading of the Spirit. The instructions of the Lord go against our natural desires,
and the will of the flesh. The Spirit leads to the cross. The flesh fights for
self-preservation (the first law of nature). The law of the flesh is to fight
for "number one". The law of the Spirit is to do the will of God, regardless of
where it leads us or leaves us. And beloved, if you are seeing the true message
of God for this end-time, it will be manifested through a life-changing faith,
and a greater obedience to god than ever before. Not after we all get to heaven,
but now, right here on this earth. Before you ever come into the fulness of the
promise, and before the inheritance is entered into, you can start having a changed
life because you SEE the real truth of God. That is what true revelation will
do for you.
A Right Spirit
Look at Abraham, and see what his vision
produced in him. Trouble started between Lot and Abraham. The herdsmen, those
on the servant level, began to fight one another. But Abraham, with the spirit
of the Son, said to Lot: "Let there be no strife between me and thee. FOR WE BE
BRETHREN". He recognized that the land was full of enemies, and they had no business
fighting and devouring each other. So he offered Lot first choice of the land.
This may not have been good business principles, according to the world's standards,
but it was a right spirit. And God judges us according to the attitude of our
spirit. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit" (Psalms 51:17). And the Lord
speaks through the prophet in Isaiah 57:15 to say: "For thus saith the high and
lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and
holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit."
One
who says that he has received the revelation of Sonship, and has a proud and haughty
spirit, is actually manifesting that he has not seen the real message of life.
For a real unveiling and unfolding of present truth will impart to you the spirit
of the Son of God. Guard your spirit. No matter that people will not believe your
doctrine. Your responsibility is to see that your spirit is in harmony with God.
No strife with your brethren. Declare what God has shown you, but keep your spirit
right. There are things that some of my brethren are preaching that I cannot received,
because I do not believe it is in the Word of God. But if I let my own spirit
become contaminated because of this, with bitterness or malice, then I am out
of order, and in trouble with God Jesus denounced the hypocrisy of the Pharisees,
called them a generation of vipers, and refused to join up with their religious
system. He wept over their blindness, but He kept His spirit pure. His attitude
toward them was love and compassion, in spite of the fact that He opposed what
they were doing.
A Robe of Righteousness
Abraham's faith may not
have brought him into the fulness of the inheritance, and it may not have given
him victory over physical death, but it brought him into a realm of righteousness
that other men did not know. Romans 4:9 says that "Faith was reckoned to Abraham
for righteousness". His vision of God's purposes gave him a relationship with
the Lord that cleansed him from the sin of the heathen nations around him.
Please
don't tell me that you have a pure revelation of what God is doing in the earth,
while you are content to be living an impure and sinful life. True vision will
change your life. It will cause you to hunger after righteousness. Jesus had the
strongest, purest insight into the truths of the Kingdom of God of any man that
ever lived. And He also had the purest, cleanest life of any. "But unto the Son
he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness
is the sceptre of thy kingdom." (Hebrews 1:8).
There are those who have
brought the greatest reproach upon the Sonship message, because while they had
the right terminology and could quote the scriptures on Sonship fluently, they
allowed their lives to become corrupt and evil. When they fell into the snare
of the devil, instead of repenting and seeking the blood of Jesus to cover their
sin, they excused their sins and covered up by trying to prove from the Bible
that they were right in God's eyes. Doctrines of devils were devised to cover
their corrupt practices. "Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience
seared with a hot iron" (1 Timothy 4:2). Doctrines such as free love, soul mating.
"I am God", "grace and liberty with license to sin", etc., were devised by Satan
to allow corrupt men to continue in their sin while thinking they have a right
to preach end-time truths. Charismatics from the historic churches who were never
taught to live righteously and godly in the present world, now think they can
receive the Holy Spirit without causing a radical change in their life style.
Some sit around in informal group meetings speaking in tongues, and discussing
the deep truths of God, while they smoke their cigarettes and sip their cocktails
and beer. Charismatic priests, widely advertised and sought after as "experts"
in the Holy Spirit, are seen with their pipe in one hand and a can of beer in
the other. Instructing the faithful in how to be "filled with the Spirit". They
themselves need to be taught the first principles of how to live this message.
Saints of God who have the real message of Sonship working in them by faith, have
been grieved at this "sloppy agape" type of living. No, I'm not getting legalistic.
But it's time that those who say they have the message of life begin showing signs
of a changed life. The kind of faith and vision that Abraham had will produce
righteousness.
A New Word
As with Abraham, the revelation of divine
purpose will bring to us a word of life. In Genesis 22, Abraham spoke a word to
the young men servants: "I and the lad will go yonder, and worship, AND COME AGAIN
TO YOU." In the face of God's directions to slay Isaac on that mountain, Abraham
was declaring that they both would come down from their worship. Because he had
a divine revelation that his seed was to come through Isaac, and was to bless
the nations. And he could speak a word of faith in the dark hour of death. To
Isaac he said: "My son, God will provide.". That was a living word of faith.
When
the true message of the body of Christ and the Kingdom of god breaks upon us,
it gives us a word that cannot be refuted. I am not the smartest man in the world,
by far, and certainly not the best preacher. but when the revelation of Sonship
came, I preached it openly and boldly to preachers and teachers in camp meetings
all across the country, and no one could come against it. True vision will give
you a true word. Because our vision is limited, our word also is limited. So we
don't have all the answers, but what we do know, we really know. That is why we
need the rest of the body of Christ. Don't depend on following one isolated man
or ministry, and expect to have a full understanding of God's purposes for this
age. God is spreading His truth throughout the body, to force us to come together
because our mutual need of each other.
This is a word that comes by "seeing"
the promise, and it is a word that does it's work in us NOW. I'm not talking about
after we are glorified, resurrected, gone through the veil, etc. If you have the
true message of Sonship, you will be able to speak life. Words of criticism, gossip,
lying, backbiting, discouragements, etc., are products of poor spiritual vision.
When you see the inheritance, as Abraham did, your tongue will come under submission
to the Holy Spirit.
New Life--New Fruit
It was physically impossible
for Abraham and Sarah to produce a son. But they had a revelation from God, a
vision of His purposes for them. And here on this hard earth, with it's facts
and it's logic, in the midst of their enemies, they were participants in the impossible.
True vision brought forth new life, and fruitfulness. Isaac became a reality.
Out of the deadness of their bodies came fruit. The son of promise.
True
vision and real revelation will produce fruit in your lives. Now, here, on this
earth with all it's problems. Jesus said: "herein is my Father glorified, that
ye bear much fruit." And when a branch bears fruit, He purges or cleanses it,
that it may bring forth more fruit. How does He cleanse it? With the water of
His Word. Glory to God! The true message will cause you to bear fruit. The fruit
of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) will come forth from your life in abundance.
The winning of souls will become a normal part of your life.
What is the
Isaac, the son of promise, that God wants from your life? It will come in spite
of every earthly and physical hindrance, as you let the floodlight of God's end-time
purposes fill your soul. A true vision may take 25 years, as with Abraham and
Sarah, but it cannot be denied. A prophecy had come to me in 1950 that I would
write for the Lord. I carried that word for 10 years without seeing any progress
toward fulfillment. But in 1960, I wrote, mimeographed, and mailed out our first
message. God took it from there. No "Madison Avenue promotions", no solicitations
or pleas for money. No fleshly generated Ishmaels. We just left it in the hands
of God, and He took over. The promise came into manifestation.
Don't Wait
Till Tomorrow
You don't have to wait till heaven, or the "rapture", or
the manifestation of son, to enter into the blessings of the end-time move of
God. Some have criticized the Sonship message, claiming that we are always looking
ahead to another day, and not doing anything about "today". And yet, in most cases,
those who criticize are doing far less today than the "visionaries" they talk
about; and their lives are not nearly as conformed to the image of Christ, as
those saints who have seen the revelation of end-time truth.
Some will
even say that the Sonship message will destroy your missionary vision. But I would
like to point you to our little church here in Springfield, where thousands of
dollars are sent to foreign missionaries each year, and where no less than ten
of our brethren either are, or have been, on the foreign mission field. True vision
makes you realize that this world is just one big ripe harvest field, and gives
you great desire to go reap it for our Lord.
Yes, the message of "tomorrow"
does something for you today. Your life will change in many ways. You may not
have received the fulness of the inheritance yet, and you are not obligated to
make great boastful claims. But your vision and your revelation will bring you
closer to our Lord Jesus, more conformed to His image, and more fruit for His
glory. Hallelujah!
"Walk It Out"
What about the reality of His promises?
When shall we enter into the fulness, and what will it do for us? When? "In the
fulness of time". God has a time table, and He is not one bit behind schedule.
He will not be late. Years ago, in Florida, I was a radio announcer. I opened
up the station at 5:25 a.m., and "ran the board" until noon. Then I had a special
half-hour Gospel disc-jockey program each afternoon at 4 p.m. Sometimes I would
be very busy at that time of the day and would make a mad dash for the station
at the last minute. With my car radio on, I would hear the other announcer say:
"Here is Captain Bill and the Old Ship of Zion". He would then start my theme
song on record, and walk out of the studio, with me still driving frantically
toward the station. Many times I would pull up in the parking lot, jump out of
the car, dash into the studio, open the mike and start talking just before the
theme song went off. Can't ever remember being late and missing the program, but
I was a borderline case, with some "cliff-hanging" experiences. Not so with the
Lord. He is not in a hurry, and He will not be late. Everything is working exactly
as He planned it in the beginning. We are a privileged people to be living in
that last hour, when the prophecies of the end-time are coming to pass.
What
is it that the "feet company" actually walk out in experience, when the day of
manifestation comes to pass? Let us turn out attention now to Israel. Standing
here on the banks of Jordan (Joshua 3), was the many-membered son (Hosea 11:1)
that God had called out of Egypt. Not an individual now who was "seeing" the promised
land, but a holy nation, a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) that was about to put
their feet on the soil of God's Canaan.
But "death" had to first be defeated
for them. The river Jordan (a symbol of the waters of death), was flooding it's
banks at this time of harvest. On the shoulders of the priests, the Ark of the
Covenant first went down into the waters. As the feet of the priests touched the
water, the waters rose up as if held back by a great dam. This cut off the waters
below, and 2,000 cubits behind the Ark, the people of God crossed over on dry
land. Now 2,000 years after our living Ark, Jesus, defeated the powers of death,
we prepare to cross over, putting death under our feet. There must be a victory
over death for the firstfruits company before our feet can walk in all the promises
of God. I know that death is the last enemy to be destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:26),
but before it is destroyed for the whole human race, a company of overcomers must
demonstrate the victory over him who had the power of death, the devil (Hebrews
2:14).
To defeat death, sin must first be dealt with. This is not the Passover.
The Passover was when Jesus died on the Cross, and our sins were covered by His
blood. But this is the Day of Atonement, when all sin is removed from the human
heart, and the carnal Adamic mind is replaced by the mind of Christ. Yes, we have
already confessed these things, but it has been a confession of faith, for we
have not seen it work. Saints are still subject to temptation and sin, and still
die the same as sinners. The Day of Atonement removed all this, and with that
comes the victory over death. The Overcomer then eats the hidden manna (Revelation
2:17). That means there will be no more eating of the bread of healing for them,
for there will be no sickness to heal. Divine life and divine health will be ours
to enjoy. He will manifest His grace and love to usward through the ages to come
(Ephesians 2:7).
Yes, the Israelites crossed over Jordan dry-shod, and
so shall we. It was a day of miracle, for no one could have managed that in the
natural. They had to know that God had done it. And there will be no boasting
for those who pass through the veil into never-dying life. For all will know that
it is nothing that we have done or deserved, but only the grace of our wonderful
god. Praise His Name!
The Walls of Jericho Fall
Immediately upon
entering the promised land, they found themselves in great conflict. If you think
that the coming of Jesus is going to zap you out of this world, off this planet
earth, and place you in a nice quiet garden to meditate, then you have not seen
the purpose of God in His church. The gates of hell shall fall before His church,
just as the walls of Jericho fell before Israel. With the appearing of Jesus,
Jordan shall be crossed over, and the real battle of the ages with principalities
and powers shall begin.
Every enemy shall be put under our feet. No cancer,
no crippling affliction, nor any power of darkness shall stand before those who
have crossed Jordan. Jesus was our example of one who walked in the inheritance,
just as Abraham was of one who saw it. Never a mistake in His life, never a failure
in His ministry. Oh friends, what God hath planned for us!
I am convinced
that there will be a revival, an evangelistic sweep, that will touch every country,
province, city, village, or individual before it is finished. I feel I have heard
from God that the thrust and heart of this revival will come from those who have
crossed over Jordan and started walking in the promises that Abraham saw. You
will notice that the walls of Jericho fell through their willingness to remain
silent, and just walk. Until the day of the shout; and then they all shouted together.
So shall it be today. We are silent, as it were, producing nothing in comparison
with what we see. But we shall walk in the inheritance. And He shall come with
a "shout". Praise God! The walls shall come down with a crash, and Babylon shall
fall. Every enemy shall be destroyed. It is the day of the Lord's vengeance, the
vengeance of His temple (Jeremiah 50:28).
A Permanent Life in Canaan
Back
in the 13th chapter of Numbers we find a ruler from each of the 12 tribes of Israel,
12 men in all, making a journey into the promised land. It was to spy out the
land, and it was the time of the first-ripe grapes (verse 20). They could not
at that time stay in the land and make their home, they could only taste of the
first fruits of the land. So it is with us. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we
have the first fruits. But we do not have the full inheritance. Romans 8:23 says
in the Amplified bible: "We ourselves too, who have and enjoy the first fruits
of the Holy Spirit--a foretaste of the blissful things to come---groan inwardly
as we wait for the redemption of our bodies from sensuality and the grave, which
will reveal our adoption, our manifestation as God's sons." Then in Ephesians
1:13-14 the Amplified Bible makes it so plain when it tells us that we have been
"stamped with the seal of the long-promised Holy Spirit. That Spirit is the guarantee
of our inheritance--the first fruit, the pledge and foretaste, the down payment
on our heritage--in anticipation of its full redemption and our acquiring complete
possession of it, to the praise of His glory."
Joshua and Caleb, a type
of the pentecostal saints who saw there was more than just a first fruits, tried
to get the people to go in and possess the land. But those other 10 "pentecostal
preachers" said: "No, we cannot go any further. It is dangerous. We might get
into false doctrine, go off the deep end, and get captured by the giants. We must
be satisfied with the first fruits, stay here and wait for the resurrection or
the rapture." Sound familiar? Not only would they not go in, but they were ready
to stone those who suggested that they should possess what God had promised. They
died in the wilderness, and only those who had the faith to press on to the fulness,
lived to cross over Jordan.
Friends, we cannot remain forever in the wilderness.
Even though we've had some wonderful experiences, eaten manna from heaven, drank
water from the Rock, and been led all the way be the cloud and pillar of fire,
we must still press our way into our inheritance, the fulness of God. Paul the
Apostle prayed for you that "you might be filled with ALL the fulness of God!"
(Ephesians 3:19).
Israel conquered their enemies, and then they divided
up the land by tribe, built cities, planted farms, and occupied the land. They
acted as if they were going to make it a permanent home, and not a 90 day vacation!
Praise God! What God is bringing us into is for all eternity. Rule and reign with
Christ forever. This is what comes by walking in the promises. Seeing the revelation
of His Word is wonderful, and if you have a true revelation, it will change your
life. But walking, actually experiencing, these revelation truths brings a fulness
and a permanence. Move on, saints! Possess the land! It belongs to you.
So,
dear ones, try to recognize the difference between "seeing" and "walking". These
saints in chapter 11 of Hebrews saw the promises, and embraced them by faith.
But they died without entering in and receiving the promises. That part was left
to us, the last day church, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Thank God
for the hour in which we live, and be thankful for the god in which we live and
move and have our being.
"By Faith Abraham"
Since so many of God's
glorious truths are invested in the Old Testament men and women of God, and so
often revealed in their lives, it is no wonder that this 11th chapter of Hebrews
contains so many end-time truths. For more Old Testament saints are mentioned
here than in any other chapter in the New Testament. 16 are mentioned by name,
and many others referred to.
It would be impossible to deal with all the
truths contained in this chapter, and this is not really our purpose in this book.
Many are sermons that have been preached from some text or other in these 40 verses.
You have God's permission to go prospecting in this rich area, for "there's gold
in them thar hills!"
One portion we must deal with before we leave this
chapter, is found in verses 17-19. "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered
up Isaac. accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from
whence also he received him in a figure".
The Impossible Mind
Through
a miracle of life, God had given Abraham and Sarah a son. And a promise had been
given, that "in Isaac shall they seed be called". This was a sure word. God had
made Abraham to know that His blessing would not come through Ishmael, son of
the servant girl, but through Isaac, son of promise.
Now Isaac is growing
to maturity. Not rebellious and troublesome, like Ishmael, son of Hagar the bondwoman,
but a son in whom his father delights. As Ishmael is a type of Israel under the
law, so Isaac is a beautiful type of Christ, the son of God. The story of Isaac
as a burnt-offering is told in Genesis 22. There we see God speaking to Abraham,
instructing him to offer Isaac on a mountain in Moriah. Isaac is not told that
he is the sacrifice, until they reach the top of the mountain. There, I believe,
Abraham sat down with Isaac and told him what God was requiring of them both.
With Abraham it was that he had to give up his son, and with Isaac it was his
life. Because Isaac was a type of Jesus Christ, I believe he willingly agreed
to the will of God. Hebrews 11:9 tells us that he was an heir of the same promises
as Abraham. At any rate, he was bound and laid on the altar. He was a strong young
man, possibly from 25 to 33 years of age, strong enough to carry the wood for
the burnt offering up the mountain. Abraham was well over 100 years of age. I
cannot accept the thought that Abraham had to overpower him and put him on the
altar against his will.
What could Abraham been thinking of at this time?
God had given him this son, with the promise that he would carry on the seed line.
As of yet, he was not married, and had no seed. So if he were sacrificed, would
that not mean the first word was a lie? Abraham operated on the principle that
nothing God said was a lie. As far as he could see, there was only one solution:
God would raise Isaac from the dead, and the book of Hebrews says that, in a figure,
he did receive him back from the dead. As far as Abraham was concerned, Isaac
was dead. For in his heart, he had already made the offering. The deed was done.
Then God intervened.
What Meaneth This?
What does this story of
Isaac have to do with Jesus Christ, or with our Sonship? First, let us take a
review of Abraham in the scripture:
Genesis Chapter:
11. Abram is
first mentioned in scripture.
12. Abram is called to go into the promised
land.
13. Abram and Lot are separated.
14. Abram meets Melchisedec,
and is blessed by him.
15. God makes a covenant with Abram.
16. Ishmael
is born. A human effort to fulfill the promise.
17. At age 99, his name is
changed to Abraham. God promises
Sarah a son.
18. A son is promised again, he pleads with God for Lot and
Sodom.
19. Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
20. Abraham's lapse of
faith at Gerah.
21. Birth of Isaac. Ishmael and Hagar cast out.
22.
Isaac is offered on Moriah and resurrected--(in a figure).
23. Sarah dies
and is buried.
24. Abraham send to get a bride for Isaac. Isaac is married
to Rebekah.
25. Death of Abraham, Isaac inherits everything.
Please
notice the sequence of events. In chapter 21, when Isaac (Christ) is weaned, Ishmael
(the Law) is cast out. Then Isaac is offered as a sacrifice, brought back from
the dead in a figure, and in the next chapter his mother dies. Only after this
does he get a bride and bring forth seed. God had promised Abraham a seed line
through Isaac, but it could not come until after his "resurrection".
For
you see, he was a picture of what Jesus Christ was going to do when He came to
earth. It has always been God's purpose ("the eternal purpose of God in Christ
Jesus") for Christ to bring forth a seed line of the nature of deity. But he started
from an impossible premise. In Abraham's case, the impossibility was that his
wife was 90 years of age, and he was nearly 100, both past the age of bearing
children. With Christ, it was that He was starting with a sinful humanity, to
bring forth a people in the image of God. Most impossible. But He was able to
do it by the sacrifice of Himself, and by planting His own divine life as a seed
in the earth of Adam's creation.
Only Resurrection Life
Notice that
Isaac did not get a bride or have children until after he was "raised from the
dead" at Moriah. In a figure, he was a resurrected man. And from this state of
being, the nation of Israel was born. In Hosea 11:1 we discover that Israel was
God's "corporate son" in the Old Testament. God referred to the whole nation of
Israel as "a child", and "my son".
In spite of the false teaching of a
very strong religious group, the truth is that our Lord Jesus was never married
while here on earth, and never had any children after the natural order. For 4,000
years the human race had been bearing the image of Adam their father. "All had
sinned, and come short of the glory of God", and there "was none righteous, no
not one". God had determined to have a people in His own image, but Adam could
not produce it. They were all of "the earth, earthy".
Then came the virgin
birth, and Jesus appeared on the scene bearing the image of His Father. He was
the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). He was a new creation. There
was not another like Him on the earth. Oh, he was made in the likeness of men,
and even had the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7), but He did not have the
sinful nature of the first Adam, and would not receive the curse of sin. There
was a vast difference. And therefore He had dominion over all the forces of nature,
and over all demonic powers.
At this point, God could have said: "This
is what I have been looking for, this is the son in whom I am well pleased. So
now I will find another virgin, bring forth a sinless woman who can be His bride,
and let Him populate the earth with His own likeness, while I destroy this wicked
humanity". But He had not purposed it in that manner. In the first place, that
would have left us out. And God loved us too much for that. In the second place,
every seed brings forth after it'' own kind, and Jesus could only have produced
earthly sinless children with the same limitations that He had while He was here
in the likeness of men. For being glorified and exalted at the right hand of the
Father in heavenly places did not come until after His resurrection (Ephesians
1:20).
The Spirit Poured Out
The sons that Christ is bringing forth
will not be produced just in the image of that man in human form, walking the
shores of Galilee. Even that would be wonderful, walking in His holiness, His
authority and power, healing the sick and raising the dead. But He has something
far beyond that in mind for us. We read in John 7:37-39. "In the last day, that
great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let
him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as, the scripture hath said,
out of His belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit,
which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet
given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified."
Did you get what it said
in verse 39? "The Holy Ghost was not yet given". Doesn't it say that John the
Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb? And even his mother
and father were also filled with the Holy Ghost? (Luke 1:15, 41, 67). And didn't
the Holy Ghost come upon the Old Testament prophets? Then what does it mean that
"the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified"?
The answer is that John 7:39 is speaking of the Holy Ghost coming into the church
for the purpose of producing a many-membered corporate son in the likeness of
Christ, with His life and nature. In John 16:7 Jesus tells us that it was necessary
for Him to die, and be resurrected and glorified, in order for the Spirit of the
glorified Christ to come to us. For this is the likeness He is producing in us.
Glory to God!
This truth is so clearly brought out in Romans 8:14-15. "For
all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have
not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received
a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" (NASB). Now
look at verse 15 in the Amplified bible: "For the Spirit which you have now received
is not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have
received the Spirit of Adoption--the Spirit producing sonship--in the bliss of
which we cry, Abba! That is, Father!" Think of it! We have received the Holy Spirit
that produces sonship in us. But it is the likeness of the Son who has been resurrected
and exalted to the throne, which we are to bear. But let us check some other translations
to see if we are on the right track.
Moffatt's translation says (Romans
8:15): "You have received the Spirit of sonship". New English Bible: "The spirit
you have received is not a spirit of slavery leading you back into a life of fear,
but a spirit that makes us sons". Rotherham says: "Buy ye have received a spirit
of sonship". And the very accurate Wuest translation says: "You received the Spirit
who places you as adult sons". For you see, the word "adoption" used in Romans
8, Ephesians 1, and Galatians 4 means to take your own child who has finally come
to full maturity, and place him in a place of authority as a full grown son. By
the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have been reconciled to
God and brought to a new birth. By the outpouring of His spirit, He is producing
His own likeness in us, making us mature sons.
What a powerful and glorious
statement is made in 2 Corinthians 8:9 concerning the place to which He would
bring us. "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was
rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be
rich." What did it take for Him to be rich? A mansion in heaven? The cattle on
a thousand hills? Oh no, my friends, nothing so carnal as that. The thing that
made Him rich was "being in the form of God" (Philippians 2:6). Wuest translation
expresses it so strongly: "did not after weighing the facts, consider it a treasure
to be clutched and retained at all hazards, this being on an equality with deity
(in the expression of divine essence), but himself He emptied, himself He made
void, having taken the outward expression of a bondslave, which expression comes
from and it truly representative of His nature (as deity), entering into a new
state of existence, that of mankind." His treasure was that He was in the form
of God, and that was the treasure he gave up, in order to make us rich, that is,
to share that same treasure with us.
In His prayer in John 17:4-5, Jesus
said: "I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou
gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the
glory which I had with thee before the world was." What was it that Jesus had
before the world began that He did not have while on this earth? It was the glory
of "thine own self", or the glory of the divine essence. He "made himself poor",
or gave that up, that He might "make us rich". Matthew 13:44 tells us that He
"selleth all that he hath", that He might buy an earthen field in which He had
found a treasure. So because He was willing to make Himself poor, "you are bought
with a price". And He is bringing His purchased possession unto Himself. John
17:22 says that the glory which the Father gave him He has given to us, that He
might "make us rich". "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.". Or do you
really know His grace? Are you willing to believe that He would do such a thing
for you? Have confidence in Him. He loves you so much!
By the Power of
an Endless Life
In Hebrews 7 we already discussed the Melchisedec order.
We know that Jesus is the high priest of that order forever, but also that He
is bringing His sons into that Melchisedec order of king-priest (Revelation 1:6;
5:10). Now notice that the power of that priesthood (Hebrews 7:16) is resurrection
life, endless life.
That is why Jesus could not bring forth sons until
after He was glorified. In Hebrews 11:13, 19 we read that the Old Testament saints
did not receive "the promise". They did many great exploits of faith by the power
of the Spirit. But they could not produce His likeness or come into sonship until
after He was resurrected. Jesus said that of those born of women, there was none
greater than John the Baptist. But John was not as great as the "least in the
kingdom". It is an entirely different realm, and goes far beyond being empowered
by the Spirit to do mighty deeds of faith.
So Abraham sent to "a far country"
to get a bride for Isaac. He would not accept a bride from the Canaanites that
dwelled all around him. They were of a different breed, and he wanted a bride
from among his own people. He ended up getting a virgin girl from his own kinfolks.
Hebrews 2:16 says that Jesus took not on Him the nature of angels, but that He
came to take on Him the seed of Abraham. "He came to His own". Though in a far
country, not in His realm, yet we are His "kinfolks".
Notice that Isaac
would not go to Rebekah's realm of life, she had to come to him. She had to make
a long journey, but it was well worth it. And friends, we have a long journey,
with the Holy Spirit to guide us, to get to His realm of life. But it is only
then that we can produce His likeness in this earth. "He tasted death for ever
man", therefore we don't have to go through a death, burial, and resurrection
to come into this. He is the one who defeated death, and He pours this victorious
life into us. This enables us to come forth out of the grave, or be transformed
here into immortality, by the power of His victory.
So this is sonship.
Far beyond anything the human mind can conceive or imagine. Paul heard things
concerning this realm that he could not even discuss (2 Corinthians 12:4). Peter
said (1 Peter 1:3-4) that we have been begotten by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, to an inheritance. ready to be revealed in the last time. Other
messages will be written about this, but for now, let us concern ourselves to
Hebrews 11.
The Reproach of Christ
One of the greatest things said
about Moses is (verse 26) that he esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches
than the treasures in Egypt. What great faith it took to turn his back on the
riches of the mightiest nation on earth at the time. But he got a vision of the
purpose of God in Christ. He refused to be identified with Egypt's royalty. He
chose to suffer affliction with the people of God. He forsook Egypt, and "he endured".
He saw Him who is invisible.(verse 27).
There is a real blessing of faith
in enduring. Many start the race, but God will see to it that you are faced with
something you must endure. It is part of the victory. It seems that there are
always "casualties" and "survivors". Which group are you in? Can you endure? Do
you have a spirit to survive? In order to do so, there must be a forsaking of
Egypt and the pleasures of sin. Faith must operate.
So much could be said
about Moses and his faith. The stories of Rahab the harlot, and the men of faith
mentioned in the remaining verses, are found in the books of the old Testament.
This chapter does not go into detail about their exploits of faith. What is God
saying to us here? It is all summed up in the last 2 verses: "And these all, having
obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise; God having provided
some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." "Some
better thing". The perfection, or maturity, of Sonship which we have received
had to come through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, of which Isaac was only
a type. No matter how great their acts of faith, they could not make it to the
promise. Verses 33 through 38 tell of victories of faith beyond anything we see
happening about us today. We do not have to compete with those things to receive
the promise. We have it in His victory at Calvary and the open tomb. Bless His
wonderful Name! There is to be no pride in those who come to maturity and full
Sonship, as though they had accomplished something in their own strength, for
"it is not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord". "That no
flesh should glory in His presence". Hallelujah!
Bill
Britton Hebrews the book of better things