Who Was Jesus? - Second Half
IF you’re not searching for the Truth,
the veil of blindness is going to come over you again!
Fred R. Coulter—February 15, 2020
*(First Half Video)
*(Second Half Video)
*(First Half Transcript)
IF you’re not searching for the Truth,
the veil of blindness is going to come over you again!
Fred R. Coulter—February 15, 2020
*(First Half Video)
*(Second Half Video)
*(First Half Transcript)
I want to mention one thing about taking down the Church: I know this from a first person conversation with the man who brought the lawsuit against the Worldwide Church of God and threw it into a receivership. His name was Timmons, and he told me that Robert Kuhn advised them how to bring the lawsuit.
There was a lot of treachery and a lot of evil that was going on. I suspect, since Herbert Armstrong was over in Tucson at that time with congestive heart failure, that they figured that this would be such a shock to Herbert Armstrong that he would die. Well, he didn’t!
So, Rader had to be the savior of the lawsuit. If he didn’t, he would have been convicted by his own actions. So, he politically worked it out and got a law passed in the legislature in California that churches are not charitable institutions as a charity, but a non-profit organization as a church to serve the congregants. Therefore, it could not come under the law that applies to charities. So, Rader was stuck, he had to do it.
Let’s go on and see about this with Jesus in the Old Testament.
Deuteronomy 18:15: “The LORD your God will raise up unto you a Prophet from the midst of you, of your brethren, One like me. To Him you shall hearken,”
“The LORD your God…” has to refer to the Father. But that was not to the people in general. Who was in charge of the coming of Jesus Christ? God the Father! So, this isn’t saying that He’s speaking to the people.
Verse 16: “According to all that you desired of the LORD your God… [the One Who became Christ] …in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, so that I do not die.’ And the LORD said to me, ‘They have spoken well what they have spoken’” (vs 16-17).
In other words, they were well-intentioned, but they were wrong!
Verse 18: “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, One like you, and will put My words in His mouth. And He shall speak to them all that I shall command Him.”
That was God the Father, but He was not the Lord God of the Old Testament! This had to refer to the One Who would become Christ!
· Are They both called the Lord God? Yes!
· Are They both part of Elohim? Yes!
· Are They both God? Yes!
Verse 19: “And it shall come to pass, whatever man will not hearken to My words, which He shall speak in My name, I will require it of him.” Peter understood that this applied to Christ!
Acts 3:22: “For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up to you from among your brethren, like me; Him shall you hear in all things that He shall say to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be destroyed from among the people’” (vs 22-23).
There it is, they knew it applied to Christ! How did they know that it applied to Christ? Because right after they came to them on that Ascension Day He showed His hands in side and His feet and asked for something to eat and they gave Him honey and fish! Then what did He do? He opened their minds to the Scriptures concerning Himself in the Law, Prophets and Psalms!
Where would He start? Perfect place, Deut. 18! They understood it!
John 8:12: “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me shall never walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of Life.’ Therefore, the Pharisees said to Him, ‘You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, because I know where I have come from and where I am going….” (vs 12-14). No human being could say that statement!
“…But you do not know where I come from and where I go You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. Yet, if I do judge, My judgment is true, for I am not alone; but I and the Father Who sent Me” (vs 14-16).
Why? Because He had the Holy Spirit! The Father was with Him and everything. Isn’t it interesting that Jesus did all of the speaking? When there was the voice out of the heavens that said, ‘This is My Son in Whom I have great delight.’ It was a voice! It didn’t say the Father said, just a voice!
When the three of them were on the Mt. of Transfiguration—James, Peter and John—and the voice said, ‘This is My Son in Whom I delight, listen to Him,’ it was a voice!
Jesus said in Acts 5, ‘You have neither heard His voice, nor seen His shape at any time.’
Verse 19: “Then they said to Him, ‘Where is Your Father?’ Jesus answered, ‘You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would also have known My Father.’ Jesus spoke these words in the treasury while teaching in the temple; but no one arrested Him because His time had not yet come. Then Jesus said to them again, ‘I am going away; and you shall seek Me, but you shall die in your sin. Where I am going, you are not able to come’” (vs 19-21). It’s impossible for you to come!
How did Paul reaffirm that? Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God or see the Kingdom of God! It’s impossible for you to come.
Verse 22: “Therefore, the Jews said, ‘Will He kill Himself? Is that why He says, “Where I am going, you are not able to come”?’”
Listen carefully, because this tells you absolutely for sure that before Jesus was a human being He was in heaven!
Verse 23: “And He said to them, ‘You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world…. [couldn’t be clearer] …That is why I said to you that you shall die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I AM… [‘ego emi’] …you shall die in your sins’” (vs 23-24).
He was telling them Who He was. Remember when Moses asked the Lord, ‘When the children of Israel say who sent you tell them I AM that I AM has sent Me.’
Are there many other names of God? Yes! But I AM means that He exists as a Spirit being.’ How did He come to this earth?
If you think that you’ve had to do something that is humiliating, or humbling, think on this. We’ve read Philp. 2 many times, but let’s go over it and look at for what it’s really telling us. We know that:
· God has form and shape
· we’re made in His image
· Jesus came from above
How did He come?
Philippians 2:5: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God” (vs 5-6)--meaning He was God! If you exist as God, you’re in the form of God!
Verse 7: “But emptied Himself…” What does that mean? He had to give up nearly all of His Divinity and be reduced down to a pinpoint of life to be impregnated into the womb of the virgin Mary!
That’s what He had to do to become a human being, Who was the Creator of human beings. He was the only One Who could be the sacrifice for the sins of human beings, because:
· He was the One Who created them
· He was the One Who judged them
· He was the One Who gave them human nature and the law of sin and death
So, He “…emptied Himself…”! Exactly how that was done, we don’t know!
John 10:14: “I am the good Shepherd, and I know those who are Mine, and am known of those who are Mine. Just as the Father knows Me, I also know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep…. [willingly; think about what He had to give up to do that] …And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring those also, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. On account of this, the Father loves Me: because I lay down My life, that I may receive it back again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have authority to lay it down and authority to receive it back again. This commandment I received from My Father” (vs 14-18).
This also implies that there was a covenant between the One Who became the Father and the One Who became the Son. In giving up His spirit when He died, and it going back to God, God the Father promised that He would be raised from the dead and not see corruption. That was the covenant between Them.
Hebrews 10:7: “Then said I, “Lo, I come (as it is written of Me in the Scroll of the Book)…” This was written down!
Remember the Scripture that talks about the Scripture of Truth that’s in heaven? Dan. 10:21! So, this was written down.
“…to do Your will, O God” (v 7). Jesus said, ‘All right, I will do it, I will do Your will, and I will die, give up My life and lay it down, and You will give it back to Me, IF I fulfill everything!’
Verse 9: “Then He said, ‘Lo, I come to do Your will, O God.’ He takes away the first covenant in order that He may establish the second covenant; by Whose will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (vs 9-10).
Philippians 2:6: “Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, and was made in the likeness of men, and took the form of a servant… [Greek: ‘doulous’--slave] …and being found in the manner of man…” (vs 6-8). Think about this!
God Who lives forever, didn’t give up living forever--still had life in Him—but reduced very, very small, way down to near nothing. He “…emptied Himself…” That means He divested Himself of His power as God, and willingly became a pinpoint of life! He was subject to receiving the genes of Mary into His physical flesh, which is where He got His human nature, from His mother.
His mother was the niece of Elizabeth, and Elizabeth was a daughter of Aaron, and she was the mother of John the Baptist. That means that Mary’s father had to be of the line of David, and Mary’s mother was of the line of Aaron. So, in that bloodline you have king and priest! What is Christ going to be? King and Priest! Even in the flesh He had to those genes that related to that.
He “…emptied Himself, and was made in the likeness of men…”--everything that human beings do! He had to eat, sleep, elimination of the processes of the body, perfectly human in every way. But He had to have the Spirit of God and use the Spirit of God constantly. That’s why He was taught every morning by the Father (Isa. 50).
· He wasn’t taught by the lying rabbis
· He wasn’t taught the traditions of the Jews
· He was taught by the Father
So intelligent was He that when He was 12-years-old and stayed back after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, He was in the temple with all of the high ‘mucky-mucks’—the chief priests and all of them—questioning them and answering questions. They were amazed at His understanding at the age of 12. Why? Because the Father was the One Who taught Him! The Father woke Him up every morning!
I don’t know how it worked, but the closest thing that I can think of is that you have this smart phone or tablet and you can see someone on it, that He saw the Father. But He had to have human nature from his mother. Otherwise:
· Why come and be perfect and could not sin?
· What good would that do?
· How would He overcome sin? Condemn it in the flesh!
“…He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God has also highly exalted Him and bestowed upon Him a name, which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow took the form of a servant, of beings in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (vs 8-11).
Hebrews 5:5: “In this same manner also, Christ did not glorify Himself to become a High Priest…” He could not be a High Priest in the flesh; that was of the house of Aaron!
“…but He Who said to Him, ‘You are My Son; today I have begotten You.’ Even as He also says in another place, ‘You are a Priest forever according to the order of Melchisedec’” (vs 5-6).
But that’s not going to be re-instituted until Christ returns. In a sense, the New Testament ministry is under the Priesthood of Christ, but we’re not priests.
Verse 7: “Who, in the days of His flesh, offered up both prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears to Him Who was able to save Him from death…”
If He would have sinned, He would have died for His own sin. So, He had all of humanity on His person, being made in the flesh.
“…and was heard because He feared God. Although He was a Son, yet, He learned obedience from the things that He suffered; and having been perfected… [by never sinning, and overcoming] …He became the Author of eternal salvation to all those who obey Him” (vs 7-9)
All of these things are necessary to understand precisely what God did. What a tremendous thing that it is. This is important in coming to the Passover.
Rom. 7 talks about that as long as you have the law of sin and death in you, you’re still going to sin and you’re going to expire and die in Adam. The only ones not subject to that will be the few who are still alive when Christ actually returns.
Romans 8:1: “Consequently, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
How do you walk when you find that you sin when you have the spirit of God? The Spirit of God brings to your mind that sin, so you can repent! When you repent there’s no condemnation, because you’re walking in the Spirit! That means that you’re leading your life according the leading of the Holy Spirit of God!
Verse 2: “Because the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has delivered me from the law of sin and death.”
The King James says ‘freed me.’ That means it would have to have been cut out of your genes in order to be free from it. Delivered is from the point of view that with the Spirit of God you can overcome sin by the exercising of the Spirit of God, repenting, living God’s way and keeping His commandments! That’s why we have the commandments of God written in our heart and mind!
Why? Because why you have in your mind is how you think and live! This is what needs to be converted; this is the whole thing of the Feast of Unleavened Bread: get out the sin and put in the righteousness of Christ! This is what it’s talking about.
Verse 3: “For what was impossible for the Law to do…”
Remember that the Law… we have it written, abbreviated, and hanging on the wall. If someone walks in here and is thinking lustful thoughts, that plaque doesn’t come off the wall and knock them on the head and tell him he’s sinning. The Law has no power to make you do anything!
You look at society and how many criminals are there? How many laws are there against everything that they’re doing? But they still do it!
“…in that it was weak through the flesh, God having sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh… [the same sinful flesh that we have; that’s how great it was for Christ] …and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (v 3).
That had to be! That had to be done! And that was done with His perfect sacrifice! Here’s the result of it once we receive the Holy Spirit:
Verse 4: “In order that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us… [I wonder how many Protestants read that] …who are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
This is what Jesus had to do. It wasn’t just a simple, little operation that was easy to do. He had to pray, put down temptation. Satan was after Him and people were after Him. Even His disciples didn’t believe. He had to say, ‘O hard of heart, when will you believe?’ This is what He had to go through!
How anyone can say that Jesus was not the Lord God of the Old Testament before He came Jesus Christ of the New Testament, really doesn’t believe the Bible!
· What happens when you have that?
· When you begin making doctrine by not believing the Bible and claim that it comes from the Bible?
You’re bringing the veil back over your eyes! That’s exactly what it will do! We always have to be on guard against false doctrine! It’s something!
Acts 20—this is what we all need to do, and what all elders need to do especially. We have been given the responsibility to remain faithful:
· to Christ
· to God the Father
· to the Word of God
and not have our own will! That doesn’t mean that we’re ‘namby-pamby’! We need to stay strong for the Lord!
Paul was going to Jerusalem and they knew that he was headed for trouble, so he called for the elders in Ephesus.
Acts 20:17: “Now, from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the Church…. [they had a huge church there] …And when they had come to him, he said to them, ‘You know how, from the first day I came to Asia, and all the time I was with you, I served the Lord with all humility and with many tears and temptations, which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; and how I did not keep back anything that was profitable, but preached to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, earnestly testifying, both to the Jews and the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ’” (vs 17-21)--just a summary of the Gospel!
After Paul was converted, he had to suffer a lot because of what he did to the Church before he was converted. That’s what God told him, and he did! He always remembered where he came from and what he needed to do.
Verse 22: “And now behold, I am bound in the spirit, and am going to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall happen to me there; except that the Holy Spirit fully testifies in every city, saying that bonds and tribulations await me…. [and that’s exactly what happened] …But I myself do not take any of these things into account, nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to fully testify the Gospel of the Grace of God” (vs 22-24). So, there are two aspects of the Gospel:
And Paul mentions both of them here!
Verse 25: “And now behold, I know that you all, among whom I have gone about proclaiming the Kingdom of God, will see my face no more; wherefore, I testify to you on this day… [this was quite a day] …that I am pure from the blood of all, for I have not held back from preaching to you all the counsel of God” (vs 25-27).
Notice this warning, because we see how this happens. When people look to a man, follow a man and have good conduct—because they see the man has good conduct—when the man is removed, what happens? Look what happened to the Church, because they didn’t do:
Verse 28: “Take heed, therefore, to yourselves…” Everyone who is a teacher has got to:
· take heed to himself
· to the doctrine
· to the Word of God
· to the condition of the flock
· to the things that he goes through
That he does not start establishing super-spiritual things that don’t come from the Bible! That don’t come from the Word of God!
“…and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers…” (v 28).
You’re overseeing the Truth of God for the flock of God! You’re not an overlord to rule them! If you don’t teach the brethren to rule their own lives, your rule can’t substitute for them! That’s what happened with too many ministers and elders. Then when there was no one there to supervise them, they didn’t let the Holy Spirit of God and the Word of God—through study and prayer—supervise them into doing the Truth!
So, you end up with all of this nonsense that goes on! No wonder Jesus said that when He comes ‘will the Son of man find true faith in the earth?’ even in the Churches of God! Paul warned them!
“…to feed the Church of God, which He purchased with His own blood” (v 28).
All the brethren belong to Christ, and we are only stewards to teach them the Word of God! That’s what it is.
· we have no authority to rule over them
· we have no authority to live their lives
We need to teach them to live their lives under Christ and before God independently with the Spirit of God. When we all come together, then we’re all brethren together! God will take care of it!
Verse 29: “For I know this: that after my departure grievous wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves… [looking them right in the eye] …men will rise up speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves” (vs 29-30).
We have seen that happen! We’re again looking at the possibility that it’s going to happen.
Verse 31: “Watch, therefore, remembering… [we’re remembering] …that for three years I ceased not to admonish each one night and day with tears. And now I commit you, brethren, to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (vs 31-32).
That brings us full circle back to the ministers and what needs to be done. I hope that they don’t go down this course, but I suspect that it’s too late. I suspect that when they have elders who receive paychecks, that if they don’t go along with the hierarchy that they will lose their paychecks, and at their age they don’t know what to do or where to go.
When you stand for the Truth alone, it does get lonely! It’s gets desperate and you don’t know where anything is coming from, and you’re going to have to trust God!
There was a lot of treachery and a lot of evil that was going on. I suspect, since Herbert Armstrong was over in Tucson at that time with congestive heart failure, that they figured that this would be such a shock to Herbert Armstrong that he would die. Well, he didn’t!
So, Rader had to be the savior of the lawsuit. If he didn’t, he would have been convicted by his own actions. So, he politically worked it out and got a law passed in the legislature in California that churches are not charitable institutions as a charity, but a non-profit organization as a church to serve the congregants. Therefore, it could not come under the law that applies to charities. So, Rader was stuck, he had to do it.
Let’s go on and see about this with Jesus in the Old Testament.
Deuteronomy 18:15: “The LORD your God will raise up unto you a Prophet from the midst of you, of your brethren, One like me. To Him you shall hearken,”
“The LORD your God…” has to refer to the Father. But that was not to the people in general. Who was in charge of the coming of Jesus Christ? God the Father! So, this isn’t saying that He’s speaking to the people.
Verse 16: “According to all that you desired of the LORD your God… [the One Who became Christ] …in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, so that I do not die.’ And the LORD said to me, ‘They have spoken well what they have spoken’” (vs 16-17).
In other words, they were well-intentioned, but they were wrong!
Verse 18: “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, One like you, and will put My words in His mouth. And He shall speak to them all that I shall command Him.”
That was God the Father, but He was not the Lord God of the Old Testament! This had to refer to the One Who would become Christ!
· Are They both called the Lord God? Yes!
· Are They both part of Elohim? Yes!
· Are They both God? Yes!
Verse 19: “And it shall come to pass, whatever man will not hearken to My words, which He shall speak in My name, I will require it of him.” Peter understood that this applied to Christ!
Acts 3:22: “For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up to you from among your brethren, like me; Him shall you hear in all things that He shall say to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be destroyed from among the people’” (vs 22-23).
There it is, they knew it applied to Christ! How did they know that it applied to Christ? Because right after they came to them on that Ascension Day He showed His hands in side and His feet and asked for something to eat and they gave Him honey and fish! Then what did He do? He opened their minds to the Scriptures concerning Himself in the Law, Prophets and Psalms!
Where would He start? Perfect place, Deut. 18! They understood it!
John 8:12: “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me shall never walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of Life.’ Therefore, the Pharisees said to Him, ‘You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, because I know where I have come from and where I am going….” (vs 12-14). No human being could say that statement!
“…But you do not know where I come from and where I go You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. Yet, if I do judge, My judgment is true, for I am not alone; but I and the Father Who sent Me” (vs 14-16).
Why? Because He had the Holy Spirit! The Father was with Him and everything. Isn’t it interesting that Jesus did all of the speaking? When there was the voice out of the heavens that said, ‘This is My Son in Whom I have great delight.’ It was a voice! It didn’t say the Father said, just a voice!
When the three of them were on the Mt. of Transfiguration—James, Peter and John—and the voice said, ‘This is My Son in Whom I delight, listen to Him,’ it was a voice!
Jesus said in Acts 5, ‘You have neither heard His voice, nor seen His shape at any time.’
Verse 19: “Then they said to Him, ‘Where is Your Father?’ Jesus answered, ‘You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would also have known My Father.’ Jesus spoke these words in the treasury while teaching in the temple; but no one arrested Him because His time had not yet come. Then Jesus said to them again, ‘I am going away; and you shall seek Me, but you shall die in your sin. Where I am going, you are not able to come’” (vs 19-21). It’s impossible for you to come!
How did Paul reaffirm that? Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God or see the Kingdom of God! It’s impossible for you to come.
Verse 22: “Therefore, the Jews said, ‘Will He kill Himself? Is that why He says, “Where I am going, you are not able to come”?’”
Listen carefully, because this tells you absolutely for sure that before Jesus was a human being He was in heaven!
Verse 23: “And He said to them, ‘You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world…. [couldn’t be clearer] …That is why I said to you that you shall die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I AM… [‘ego emi’] …you shall die in your sins’” (vs 23-24).
He was telling them Who He was. Remember when Moses asked the Lord, ‘When the children of Israel say who sent you tell them I AM that I AM has sent Me.’
Are there many other names of God? Yes! But I AM means that He exists as a Spirit being.’ How did He come to this earth?
If you think that you’ve had to do something that is humiliating, or humbling, think on this. We’ve read Philp. 2 many times, but let’s go over it and look at for what it’s really telling us. We know that:
· God has form and shape
· we’re made in His image
· Jesus came from above
How did He come?
Philippians 2:5: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God” (vs 5-6)--meaning He was God! If you exist as God, you’re in the form of God!
Verse 7: “But emptied Himself…” What does that mean? He had to give up nearly all of His Divinity and be reduced down to a pinpoint of life to be impregnated into the womb of the virgin Mary!
That’s what He had to do to become a human being, Who was the Creator of human beings. He was the only One Who could be the sacrifice for the sins of human beings, because:
· He was the One Who created them
· He was the One Who judged them
· He was the One Who gave them human nature and the law of sin and death
So, He “…emptied Himself…”! Exactly how that was done, we don’t know!
John 10:14: “I am the good Shepherd, and I know those who are Mine, and am known of those who are Mine. Just as the Father knows Me, I also know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep…. [willingly; think about what He had to give up to do that] …And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring those also, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. On account of this, the Father loves Me: because I lay down My life, that I may receive it back again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have authority to lay it down and authority to receive it back again. This commandment I received from My Father” (vs 14-18).
This also implies that there was a covenant between the One Who became the Father and the One Who became the Son. In giving up His spirit when He died, and it going back to God, God the Father promised that He would be raised from the dead and not see corruption. That was the covenant between Them.
Hebrews 10:7: “Then said I, “Lo, I come (as it is written of Me in the Scroll of the Book)…” This was written down!
Remember the Scripture that talks about the Scripture of Truth that’s in heaven? Dan. 10:21! So, this was written down.
“…to do Your will, O God” (v 7). Jesus said, ‘All right, I will do it, I will do Your will, and I will die, give up My life and lay it down, and You will give it back to Me, IF I fulfill everything!’
Verse 9: “Then He said, ‘Lo, I come to do Your will, O God.’ He takes away the first covenant in order that He may establish the second covenant; by Whose will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (vs 9-10).
Philippians 2:6: “Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, and was made in the likeness of men, and took the form of a servant… [Greek: ‘doulous’--slave] …and being found in the manner of man…” (vs 6-8). Think about this!
God Who lives forever, didn’t give up living forever--still had life in Him—but reduced very, very small, way down to near nothing. He “…emptied Himself…” That means He divested Himself of His power as God, and willingly became a pinpoint of life! He was subject to receiving the genes of Mary into His physical flesh, which is where He got His human nature, from His mother.
His mother was the niece of Elizabeth, and Elizabeth was a daughter of Aaron, and she was the mother of John the Baptist. That means that Mary’s father had to be of the line of David, and Mary’s mother was of the line of Aaron. So, in that bloodline you have king and priest! What is Christ going to be? King and Priest! Even in the flesh He had to those genes that related to that.
He “…emptied Himself, and was made in the likeness of men…”--everything that human beings do! He had to eat, sleep, elimination of the processes of the body, perfectly human in every way. But He had to have the Spirit of God and use the Spirit of God constantly. That’s why He was taught every morning by the Father (Isa. 50).
· He wasn’t taught by the lying rabbis
· He wasn’t taught the traditions of the Jews
· He was taught by the Father
So intelligent was He that when He was 12-years-old and stayed back after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, He was in the temple with all of the high ‘mucky-mucks’—the chief priests and all of them—questioning them and answering questions. They were amazed at His understanding at the age of 12. Why? Because the Father was the One Who taught Him! The Father woke Him up every morning!
I don’t know how it worked, but the closest thing that I can think of is that you have this smart phone or tablet and you can see someone on it, that He saw the Father. But He had to have human nature from his mother. Otherwise:
· Why come and be perfect and could not sin?
· What good would that do?
· How would He overcome sin? Condemn it in the flesh!
“…He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God has also highly exalted Him and bestowed upon Him a name, which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow took the form of a servant, of beings in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (vs 8-11).
Hebrews 5:5: “In this same manner also, Christ did not glorify Himself to become a High Priest…” He could not be a High Priest in the flesh; that was of the house of Aaron!
“…but He Who said to Him, ‘You are My Son; today I have begotten You.’ Even as He also says in another place, ‘You are a Priest forever according to the order of Melchisedec’” (vs 5-6).
But that’s not going to be re-instituted until Christ returns. In a sense, the New Testament ministry is under the Priesthood of Christ, but we’re not priests.
Verse 7: “Who, in the days of His flesh, offered up both prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears to Him Who was able to save Him from death…”
If He would have sinned, He would have died for His own sin. So, He had all of humanity on His person, being made in the flesh.
“…and was heard because He feared God. Although He was a Son, yet, He learned obedience from the things that He suffered; and having been perfected… [by never sinning, and overcoming] …He became the Author of eternal salvation to all those who obey Him” (vs 7-9)
All of these things are necessary to understand precisely what God did. What a tremendous thing that it is. This is important in coming to the Passover.
Rom. 7 talks about that as long as you have the law of sin and death in you, you’re still going to sin and you’re going to expire and die in Adam. The only ones not subject to that will be the few who are still alive when Christ actually returns.
Romans 8:1: “Consequently, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
How do you walk when you find that you sin when you have the spirit of God? The Spirit of God brings to your mind that sin, so you can repent! When you repent there’s no condemnation, because you’re walking in the Spirit! That means that you’re leading your life according the leading of the Holy Spirit of God!
Verse 2: “Because the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has delivered me from the law of sin and death.”
The King James says ‘freed me.’ That means it would have to have been cut out of your genes in order to be free from it. Delivered is from the point of view that with the Spirit of God you can overcome sin by the exercising of the Spirit of God, repenting, living God’s way and keeping His commandments! That’s why we have the commandments of God written in our heart and mind!
Why? Because why you have in your mind is how you think and live! This is what needs to be converted; this is the whole thing of the Feast of Unleavened Bread: get out the sin and put in the righteousness of Christ! This is what it’s talking about.
Verse 3: “For what was impossible for the Law to do…”
Remember that the Law… we have it written, abbreviated, and hanging on the wall. If someone walks in here and is thinking lustful thoughts, that plaque doesn’t come off the wall and knock them on the head and tell him he’s sinning. The Law has no power to make you do anything!
You look at society and how many criminals are there? How many laws are there against everything that they’re doing? But they still do it!
“…in that it was weak through the flesh, God having sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh… [the same sinful flesh that we have; that’s how great it was for Christ] …and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (v 3).
That had to be! That had to be done! And that was done with His perfect sacrifice! Here’s the result of it once we receive the Holy Spirit:
Verse 4: “In order that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us… [I wonder how many Protestants read that] …who are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
This is what Jesus had to do. It wasn’t just a simple, little operation that was easy to do. He had to pray, put down temptation. Satan was after Him and people were after Him. Even His disciples didn’t believe. He had to say, ‘O hard of heart, when will you believe?’ This is what He had to go through!
How anyone can say that Jesus was not the Lord God of the Old Testament before He came Jesus Christ of the New Testament, really doesn’t believe the Bible!
· What happens when you have that?
· When you begin making doctrine by not believing the Bible and claim that it comes from the Bible?
You’re bringing the veil back over your eyes! That’s exactly what it will do! We always have to be on guard against false doctrine! It’s something!
Acts 20—this is what we all need to do, and what all elders need to do especially. We have been given the responsibility to remain faithful:
· to Christ
· to God the Father
· to the Word of God
and not have our own will! That doesn’t mean that we’re ‘namby-pamby’! We need to stay strong for the Lord!
Paul was going to Jerusalem and they knew that he was headed for trouble, so he called for the elders in Ephesus.
Acts 20:17: “Now, from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the Church…. [they had a huge church there] …And when they had come to him, he said to them, ‘You know how, from the first day I came to Asia, and all the time I was with you, I served the Lord with all humility and with many tears and temptations, which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; and how I did not keep back anything that was profitable, but preached to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, earnestly testifying, both to the Jews and the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ’” (vs 17-21)--just a summary of the Gospel!
After Paul was converted, he had to suffer a lot because of what he did to the Church before he was converted. That’s what God told him, and he did! He always remembered where he came from and what he needed to do.
Verse 22: “And now behold, I am bound in the spirit, and am going to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall happen to me there; except that the Holy Spirit fully testifies in every city, saying that bonds and tribulations await me…. [and that’s exactly what happened] …But I myself do not take any of these things into account, nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to fully testify the Gospel of the Grace of God” (vs 22-24). So, there are two aspects of the Gospel:
And Paul mentions both of them here!
Verse 25: “And now behold, I know that you all, among whom I have gone about proclaiming the Kingdom of God, will see my face no more; wherefore, I testify to you on this day… [this was quite a day] …that I am pure from the blood of all, for I have not held back from preaching to you all the counsel of God” (vs 25-27).
Notice this warning, because we see how this happens. When people look to a man, follow a man and have good conduct—because they see the man has good conduct—when the man is removed, what happens? Look what happened to the Church, because they didn’t do:
Verse 28: “Take heed, therefore, to yourselves…” Everyone who is a teacher has got to:
· take heed to himself
· to the doctrine
· to the Word of God
· to the condition of the flock
· to the things that he goes through
That he does not start establishing super-spiritual things that don’t come from the Bible! That don’t come from the Word of God!
“…and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers…” (v 28).
You’re overseeing the Truth of God for the flock of God! You’re not an overlord to rule them! If you don’t teach the brethren to rule their own lives, your rule can’t substitute for them! That’s what happened with too many ministers and elders. Then when there was no one there to supervise them, they didn’t let the Holy Spirit of God and the Word of God—through study and prayer—supervise them into doing the Truth!
So, you end up with all of this nonsense that goes on! No wonder Jesus said that when He comes ‘will the Son of man find true faith in the earth?’ even in the Churches of God! Paul warned them!
“…to feed the Church of God, which He purchased with His own blood” (v 28).
All the brethren belong to Christ, and we are only stewards to teach them the Word of God! That’s what it is.
· we have no authority to rule over them
· we have no authority to live their lives
We need to teach them to live their lives under Christ and before God independently with the Spirit of God. When we all come together, then we’re all brethren together! God will take care of it!
Verse 29: “For I know this: that after my departure grievous wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves… [looking them right in the eye] …men will rise up speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves” (vs 29-30).
We have seen that happen! We’re again looking at the possibility that it’s going to happen.
Verse 31: “Watch, therefore, remembering… [we’re remembering] …that for three years I ceased not to admonish each one night and day with tears. And now I commit you, brethren, to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (vs 31-32).
That brings us full circle back to the ministers and what needs to be done. I hope that they don’t go down this course, but I suspect that it’s too late. I suspect that when they have elders who receive paychecks, that if they don’t go along with the hierarchy that they will lose their paychecks, and at their age they don’t know what to do or where to go.
When you stand for the Truth alone, it does get lonely! It’s gets desperate and you don’t know where anything is coming from, and you’re going to have to trust God!
Scriptural References From A New English Translation (A Faithful Version)
1) John 1:1-3, 14
2) Romans 5:12
3) John 8:41-58
4) 2 Corinthians 3:5-17
5) Proverbs 30:5-6
6) Deuteronomy 18:15-19
7) Acts 3:22-23
8) John 8:12-16, 19-24
9) Philippians 2:5-7
10) John 10:14-18
11) Hebrews 10:7, 9
12) Philippians 2:6-11
13) Hebrews 5:5-9
14) Romans 8:1-4
15) Acts 20:17-32
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
· Genesis 1:1
· Ezekiel 36
· Romans 7
· Genesis 3
· Exodus 21-23
· Ephesians 6
· John 20
· Acts 5
· Daniel 10:21
· Isaiah 50
Also referenced:
Transcript Books and CDs:
· The Nature of God (study pkg. #6)
· God the Father was Not the God of the Old Testament
· Who Is Jesus?
Book: A Harmony of the Gospels by Fred R. Coulter
1) John 1:1-3, 14
2) Romans 5:12
3) John 8:41-58
4) 2 Corinthians 3:5-17
5) Proverbs 30:5-6
6) Deuteronomy 18:15-19
7) Acts 3:22-23
8) John 8:12-16, 19-24
9) Philippians 2:5-7
10) John 10:14-18
11) Hebrews 10:7, 9
12) Philippians 2:6-11
13) Hebrews 5:5-9
14) Romans 8:1-4
15) Acts 20:17-32
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
· Genesis 1:1
· Ezekiel 36
· Romans 7
· Genesis 3
· Exodus 21-23
· Ephesians 6
· John 20
· Acts 5
· Daniel 10:21
· Isaiah 50
Also referenced:
Transcript Books and CDs:
· The Nature of God (study pkg. #6)
· God the Father was Not the God of the Old Testament
· Who Is Jesus?
Book: A Harmony of the Gospels by Fred R. Coulter
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