Bringing Tongues Of Fire From The Sparks Of Faith…
INTRODUCTION TO LESSON 1
PENTATEUCH 1
GENESIS 1
By Rev. G. E. Newmyer
Don’t panic starting out; we know that it seems like there are many lessons and much material. But our study of the Bible is one holding many wonderful and exciting adventures. Along the way, you’ll discover things you’ve wondered about or things you haven’t considered. You may even find some “I know” areas; however, re-discovery can be an adventure as well.
We are a people of Faith, but how many of us know what Faith really entails? We are also a people assigned to the Grace of God, but how many of us really know what it entails? We use the Name of Jesus, but what does it mean? Peter tells us the purpose of our faith is the salvation of our souls (I Pet 1:9); the Book of Hebrews tells us if we are the Just who live by faith, we are not of them who draw back to perdition, but of them who believe unto the saving of the soul (Heb 10:38-39). There is an End or Conclusion we’re reaching to; but, if there is an End there has to be a Beginning. The Word Genesis means Beginning, but if it’s the Beginning, what does it Begin? Genesis 1:1 begins with a paradox by telling us “In The Beginning”, yet we see God existed before the Beginning. Does it mean there is no Beginning for God? How can it be? We are “creations”, thus there had to be a Creator, but is the Creator created?
Genesis holds the beginning of Knowledge, leading us to the understanding of what denying the self is all about, as well as showing how mankind can actually tell the Creator “No”. Did it happen? Yes, it still does. Can we accept Life, but reject the promise of having it More Abundantly? Did Adam have the same type of “Life” as those who accept the Cross? If there was a Fall, from where did Adam fall? Were Adam male and Adam female the only ones who fell? If they fell, where did they fall to? What does their experience have to do with us? If God is so good, why make us suffer for something Adam and Eve did? Perhaps we all played out the fall in our own lives.
Genesis has many Beginnings as it sets the stage for many discoveries, including the End Times. There can be no End Time unless there is first a Beginning Time. The importance of Genesis demands time, thus you will find two lessons, rather than one to cover the material. The first Lesson looks at the Genesis Creation by God as it pertains to the Purpose of God, then a look at the Fall. There are many questions regarding the Fall that we need answers to; and if we can’t understand the fall, how will we know what we are saved from? Or saved to, or is it saved be to saved? What is Life? What does having it More Abundantly mean?
To the Jew, the first five books of the Bible are the most important, in many ways they are right, as far as the Old Testament goes. The first four lessons of this Bible study look at what is called the Pentateuch by the Christian Church, or the Torah by the Jew (the first Five Books of the Bible). The first five books of the Bible cover nearly twenty percent of the Old Testament, they are referred to as “the books” by Daniel and John (Dan 7:10 & Rev 20:12). They are vital to the Jewish mindset, yet they also contain great amounts of knowledge and blessings for us. It behooves us to study these areas precept upon precept. Perhaps we will find many areas in the Old Testament to help us understand the New in a clearer, more informative light. Jesus said a good scribe knows both the Old and New, it doesn’t mean they live the Old, it means they know it (Matt 13:51-52).
This study begins with Genesis, yet holds to the simple premise, all revelation must center on the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus. Revelation becoming self-based tends to end in a mental revolution, becoming so deep it buries itself in opinion and false doctrine. Revelation of Scripture is merely the Holy Ghost showing us what is already there, thus there is no New Revelation, only clarity regarding what has been there for years. The word Revelation means “an opening” or a “discovery”, it doesn’t mean a new Scripture. No revelation of Scripture belongs to any one person, the Holy Ghost gave them to the Body; and thus they belong to the entire Body of Christ.
There are many “spirits” talked about in the Bible, the Holy Ghost and Holy Spirit we know are of God, but there is the spirit of disobedience, the spirit of man, the spirit of the world, the spirit of antichrist, and the spirit of error. We also find the phrase, “Born of the Spirit is Spirit”, who is Born? If we are Born Again it shows we gained the Spirit which is of God (I Cor 2:11-13), thus our souls are being formed into a Spiritual nature by the Spirit. When the New Birth takes place our condition and position changes, we may have a body of flesh, but we are becoming Spirit in nature to be Spiritual. Another way to view John 3:6 is simply, “I was born of the flesh, therefore I was flesh in my thinking and ability, but I am now born to be Spirit, therefore my thinking is changing to being Spiritual”. It’s not the Spirit in us birthed by another Spirit, rather our souls change from natural to Spirit by the New Birth. The equation is how the flesh moves from conception to the fetus, to birth; thus we celebrate our birthday, not our conception day. The New Birth is not a Birth until the Birth takes place, thus we find the Corinthians had the Spirit, but they were carnal and unable to understand Spiritual matters (I Cor 3:3-16). Having the Spirit and being Born Again are different, as the letters to the Romans and Corinthians show. We want to move forward with God, but we all have our Beginning place.
The Book of Genesis begins with many divisions, yet the purpose is for the two to be one. Would God divide, in order to join? Yes. Can God divide things He never wants to be joined? Yes, the Genesis account will tell us there are some things God has divided, and He wants them to remain divided. The perfect example is Light and Darkness, God brought the Light to dispel the darkness, He never intended them to be One.
Christians have an advantage over the rest of the world while we have the opportunity to have the Mind of Christ, to be Born Again, and to operate in the Name of Jesus. There is only one Body of Christ, although it has members many. The Born Again Christian has the unique ability to have a Birthed conscience and guide within called “the Word of God” (James 1:21 et al). Therefore, we find there are Commandments for the natural and Commandments for the Spiritual. Do we need a written document telling us “thou shall not kill”? Hopefully not; but the world does. How does the world know that murder is wrong? God said so; and even Cain didn’t know murder was wrong until God told him that sin was at the door. The Ten Commandments define man’s fallen nature; and so, there is no need for a law unless the potential to violate the law is evident. The first Commandment for man in the Garden was “to multiply” but the first Commandment with punishment was “do not eat the fruit of the tree”. When we have a punishment attached to the Commandment, it then becomes a Law. Therefore, Laws lay out the violation and punishment, but a Commandment may or may not have a punishment attached. For instance, we read, Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and the things shall be added. There is no punishment, but there is a reward. In the Garden the punishment was, “in dying you shall die”; however if death was something which never happened, how was Adam to know what death was? After the fact? “See son, its death”? A cruel god would use deception; our God does not and there have to be answers to all these questions.
When God granted the Ten Commandments He also interjected them with a Power and Authority, so does it mean they are alive? Not like man or the animals, yet they do have a Power and Authority to convict, or condemn unto death. The Ten Commandments were never an issue for Abraham or Adam. One would think of all people, God would have given The Commandments to Adam. After all Adam’s first son was a murderer; however, before we get too far ahead of ourselves we want to stop and view the Beginning. We desire to find where we came from, as well as why we find there are Commandments for the Christian which can only be done by a Christian.
The studies we are about to enter are designed around the Commandments; “deny yourself, and pick up your Cross”. Nowhere in the Ten Commandments or Law of Moses do we find these commands. They are given to people who have the God-granted ability to complete them. The Lessons are formulated to impart knowledge and share Wisdom; are not designed to take the place of the Holy Ghost, or your faith. Scholars are great, but we never elevate a scholar above the Bible. When we make the Bible measure up to the words of our scholars, we’ve elevated man above the Bible, not real wise. These lessons are “Helps”; they are not governments (I Cor 12:28). The first place we go is to the Bible as we allow the Holy Ghost to guide us through the words of Spirit-filled teachers; however, if the first place we run to is the words of the scholars, then we are still students when we should be teachers.
The Holy Ghost is the only One who can bring us God’s Knowledge and Wisdom, yet sharing given knowledge and wisdom from the Lord is the position of the teacher. Anyone with the Spirit can share God’s Knowledge; these Lessons become more of a sharing program in order for you to be edified. The purpose for us to gather together, or to assemble is to edify one another, we pray this material will edify you if you are edified, so are we.
God’s Wisdom and man’s wisdom differ considerably, just as man’s knowledge and God’s Knowledge differ. James points out how God’s Wisdom is really a spiritual attitude allowing us to deal with events and people in a Godly manner (James 2:1-3). Knowledge is the mental awareness of information, thus God’s knowledge views all things from the Light, man’s knowledge views all things from the darkness. However, knowledge is not the same as Wisdom; Knowledge explores the information, Wisdom is the ability to apply it. The religious rulers and Pharisees had Scripture knowledge to a point, but they attempted to apply it through the wisdom of man. Jesus said they were of their father the devil and the lusts of their father they would do (Jn 8:44). How can it be? The Pharisees with the other religious rulers were the very guards of the Law of Moses, the same ones who were placed in charge of the Temple, yet Jesus said they would do the lusts of their father the devil! Could it be all have sinned, simply because all have applied the wisdom of man to people and events? Yes, sin isn’t limited to murder or stealing; and a majority of sin is found in how people deal with others in an ungodly manner.
Jude, James, and others will show us how any good gift is from God, but they also show how the fallen nature of man takes the good gift, filters it through a lust, or the self, then uses the good gift in an ungodly manner. Regardless of the “good gift”, if it’s good it’s from God; and the test is, how does man apply it or who gets the glory? Man? Or God? Oh, how can this be? Can man take a Good gift and make it evil? Yes, Jude 4 tells us some take the Grace of God, then turn it into Lasciviousness. Wait, it’s by Grace through Faith we are Saved (Eph 2:8). My oh my, but wait; is there another example of man twisting the good into evil? Yes, in the Garden of Eden everything was Good, everything was Created or Formed by God, even the devil was a creation (Ezek 28:13-14). However, was the devil created as the devil? Or did the cherubim make the choice to twist his position into evil? Can God even create evil? No, there is no evil in God, thus God cannot tempt us to do evil, neither can He create evil, thus all things created by God are Good for the purpose. If God is Light, why do we read in Genesis 1:2 how darkness covered the earth? Can God become darkness? No, First John tells us there is no darkness in God. What happened? When God told Adam, “in the day thereof”, choice was granted, meaning the potential to do evil was also present, just as the will to do good was given Adam in the “breath of life”. Choice without various elements to choose from is not a choice at all. Once choice entered the Garden, the cherub found iniquity was also possible.
We know how Adam (Adam male and Adam female) had the choice to take the fruit, or reject it, thus choice was a factor before the fall. Just as they (Adam male and Adam female) had the choice to admit their sin, or form self-justifying excuses. However, did they have “free choice”? Or “free moral choice”? There is a difference. The Beginning gives us many Firsts yet all of them were seen by God long before they came into existence. The Beginning will point out how much God granted man on the earth, but it will also show the Final Authority in all things is still God.
In the Lessons when we speak of “choice” we really don’t want to go through all the variables each time, thus we will define Choice here (thought we forgot?). There is Limited Free Choice guided by the rules of society, there is Choice limited only by the mind of the person making the Choice, there is Free Moral Choice, the basis of all choice. As creations or formations of God mankind is limited to the realm of Free Moral Choice, but man can twist the premise into either Limited Free Choice or Self-Choice limited by the self-made rules of society. There is no “free choice” as such since it would mean there are no consequences or rewards for the choice, the person could do whatever they wanted, we know even society refuses to allow free choice. When some world leader attempts to enforce free choice, the other nations in the world bring judgment, thus what the leader thought was free choice, ended as free moral choice with consequences. Free Moral Choice means that there exists consequences or rewards based on the choice made. Even the choice of “you choose death or life” tells us the choice has a consequence or reward. The Fall was a result of Adam making a free moral choice; therefore, there were consequences for the violation of rejecting the responsibilities, as there were Rewards for obeying the commandment.
The danger comes when mankind takes Free Moral Choice and then twists it into Social Free Choice. A premise arrived at by the Fall mentality, ending teaching children they are their own conscience. Children are given “logic” problems wherein they determine who lives or dies. Once they obtain the power they think they can make the determination in real life, when they put their new found determination into an action they justify their behavior, yet hold no remorse for their actions. Today we hear about the concept of “free choice”, but we find it actually removes Choice. One can have free choice over another, ending taking the choice from the one they are over, which is slavery. Today Abortion is called “free choice”, although it still has some social limits, it still violates the God-given principal of Free Moral Choice. Free Moral Choice would consider the rights of the unborn, Free Choice does not. Free Choice is self-based, without regard for the life of another, which manifested in children taking the lives of other children without remorse. The problem would be stretching the choice to eating unborn babies, or removing children under the age of five who don’t meet their parents’ expectations calling it, “extended abortion”. It sounds barbaric, but history shows it has happened, in some parts of the world it still does.
Social Choice is only limited by the rules, or laws of the society, thus whatever society deems proper becomes lawful. Moral Choice carries with it Consequence, but it only applies based on one’s Conscience. Therefore, the Ten Commandments have religious overtones, but in truth, they were a written Conscience to a people who lacked internal guidelines. Social choice determines its own conscience based on what society determines legal, or what society says mankind has a “right” to do; however, it doesn’t mean God deems it right; the children making the golden calf is a prime example.
We as Christians cannot mix Moral Choice into Social Choice; neither can we form our own standards. We have Commandments, as did Adam, a Commandment still leaves us Choice, but it also leaves us consequences, rewards, and responsibilities. The Fall is based on this issue, violating the Commandment, yet attempting to justify the violation got Adam nowhere with God, thus self-justification is not “repentance” in any sense of the word. Remorse in and of itself is not true repentance either, Cain will have great remorse, but not because he killed his brother, it will be because of the punishment regarding the consequence of his actions. Judas had remorse, but not because of what he did to Jesus, rather it was based on his plan not turning out the way he wanted. Repentance begins with the desire to be changed, if we are sorry for doing the same thing over and over, we have yet to gain the fruit of repentance. Our feet are shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace (Eph 6:15). We heard the Truth of the Gospel of our Salvation, we Believed, by showing our act of Repentance, then we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Eph 1:12-13). John the Baptist noted how the religious leaders lacked the Fruit of Repentance, indicating they didn’t desire to change. Our ability to be changed in being Born Again by the Holy Ghost to have the Spirit of Truth making the change in our nature.
God has established a Law for the particular grouping we’re in, adding the true remorse of knowing against whom we have sinned. For example, the Ten Commandments said “Thou shall not commit adultery”, to those under those Commandments it means the actual physical act. However, to the Jewish male in the days of Jesus, it was limited to the females only. In response, Jesus said, If we ponder the thought, play with it, figure out some way to make it come to pass, we have committed adultery. Adultery is when we share a special feeling reserved for our mate with anyone, not our mate; it also includes inappropriate conversations, flirting, or using others to make our mate jealous or envious. Therefore, to the natural person, the Commandment pointed to the nature of man, but Jesus elevated the concept to the mental realm, yet at the same time promised us a remedy wherein we can be Free Indeed.
The Jewish mindset felt if a person desired to eat pork, yet resisted the temptation they were holier than a person who never desired pork. It’s the same premise as the mindset regarding any of the Commandments, thus the Pharisees felt if a man thought on adultery, even to the point of planning it, yet didn’t do it, he was holier than the man who never considered adultery; however, Jesus said if one plans or figures a way to carry it out (thinks on), they have committed the act in their mind. Therefore the Ten Commandments didn’t address the cause of sin; they defined the result of sin. Jesus gave us the ability to be free of the cause.
God gave us a promise of Liberty through the New Birth, which begins with a cleaning process, bringing us to a place of victory. The New Birth brings a New Nature, not like earthly Adam who was a living soul, but one like Jesus, a quickening Spirit (Cor 15:45-49). What has this to do with Genesis? Everything, Adam is termed a Living Soul, nowhere is the First Adam termed “spirit”; Paul makes it clear (I Cor 15:45-48), there is a very good explanation. There are other questions as well, How do we explain “prehistoric man” to our children? Where are the dinosaurs in the Bible? How old is the earth? How come Noah didn’t have any “big lizards” on the Ark? When faced with a religion ignoring, or excusing facts on one hand, while facing a big stack of bones on the other, who do you think the children will believe? There must be answers, if the Lamb of God was slain from the foundation of the world, then there has to be evidence in Genesis to clear all this up.
Adam had choice; the angels had choice, but choice didn’t come to Adam until God said, “in the day you eat thereof”. Did God trick Adam? No, Adam was given an intellect and choice, the test on Adam was whether he loved God enough to obey. We know Adam had intellect, he named the animals. Did Adam love his own existence more than he loved God? Adam lost the most important thing he had at “the fall,” but mankind didn’t lose everything. We still have free moral choice and we still name the animals, the planets, as well as our offspring; thus some of the authority remains, yet the position of natural man is much different since the fall. We know from Hebrews chapter 11 man still had the ability to have faith in God, from the knowledge we gained regarding the children in the wilderness we know man has the choice to believe God or not.
Whenever we make a “choice” without holding ourselves accountable to the responsibilities God has imposed, we have transgressed the Law of Responsibility. The Law was set in place when God said, “in the day you eat thereof you will die”. The statement imposed a responsibility and consequence for the choice. God never said, “If you name one of the animals wrong, you will die”, He never said, “If you fail to multiply you will die”. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was good, but it was not for Adam’s consumption, yet it was up to Adam to care for it. The moment Adam moved from “caring” to “eating” he introduced the spirit of man into the equation, yet they were held responsible for their choice.
Natural man is moved by the now while God knows the end before the beginning begins (Isa 46:10). God sees by spiritual insight, man is limited to the natural. God’s Knowledge and Wisdom are elements God desires for us to have through the Spirit of Christ as attributes of Grace. It’s the Wisdom of God making the Knowledge found in the Bible a practical instrument in our lives. It does little good to know “blessed are the merciful”, if we can’t be merciful, or know what merciful entails. God said His people were destroyed for a lack of knowledge, but when Adam took of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he entered death. It’s not knowledge in general, but knowledge from God, any attempt to fill the void outside of God ends in natural knowledge. Paul said we all have knowledge, yet knowledge puffs up ( I Cor 8:1). Paul was not talking about knowledge in general, but a specific knowledge absent love causing one to use the knowledge in a prideful manner (I Cor 8:2-4). We can have knowledge regarding the freedom of Grace, but without love, we will flaunt it, rather than live it. Today the world has tons of knowledge and wisdom all of which are based in the self and empowered by darkness, thus it’s not knowledge alone, but from where the Knowledge comes making the difference.
Jesus said we are to be as Holy and Merciful as our Father, as well as having our Righteousness exceed the Pharisee’s self-righteousness. Those elements are impossible through the works of the flesh, or by carnal deeds. How is anyone going to be as Holy as God? How many holies are there anyway? Three; the Tabernacle is our example, the courtyard was holy and anyone allowed into the Courtyard entered based on the sacrifice. The Holy Place was also holy, only the priests were allowed therein; it was also up to the priests to keep the Golden Lamp burning. Then there was the Holiest of All if it was the Holiest of All, there were other holies. The Light in the Holiest of All was maintained by God, not man; only one person was allowed in the Holy of Holies (Holiest of All), once a year for the specific purpose of atoning for the sins of the people. There are the types of Holiness defined in the Tabernacle, yet the New Man is created (or formed same Greek word) after God’s True Holiness (Eph 4:24); therein lays the ability to be as Holy as our Father. God’s Holiness is included in His Mercy, meaning His Mercy is an attribute of His Holiness, if we have God’s Holiness, we have God’s Mercy: it’s the application which seems to get us bogged down.
Two of Aaron’s sons tossed “strange fire” into the Tabernacle and died (Lev 10:1); they made a choice, then placed an act to the choice. But there was a responsibility and a consequence for their action, the wrong fire, by the wrong people for the wrong reason; yet there was Fire in the Holy Place found in the golden candlestick (Menorah). When we keep things in order, we will walk the path of Righteousness as honorable saints of the Most High God. Knowing what the Order is, takes God’s Knowledge, dealing with the various variables takes God’s Wisdom.
It was once said a change in attitude can’t bring us a better job, more money, or peace. It’s so far from the truth, it isn’t funny. A change from darkness to Light brings a change in natures, producing a change in attitude, giving us the nature of Christ. Jesus promised us when we give Mercy, it shall be given back to us, shaken down, pressed together and running over, shall men give unto our bosom (Luke 6:37-38). Mercy is the forgiveness of wrongs, sins, and misgivings, if men will give this Mercy back to us, surely we can see the advantage in holding the attitude of Mercy.
Interesting enough we find the New Nature promotes good actions, rather than sitting around thinking of good things to do. There are things people do by nature; we are in a Nature changing Process called Grace. As we move deeper into the Nature of Christ there are things we simply don’t do anymore, yet we do good things without thinking about them. Jesus went about doing good, not because He thought “is this good?”; but because it was His character and nature to do good. This process of change is called Transfigured, or Metamorphosis; as the process progresses we find we do good deeds by nature we don’t really think about. Someone will say “Thank You”, or “That was a good word, thanks”, we then wonder “what word?”; we did by nature what was good. As the Transfiguration brings us further into the New Nature we find many things of the old nature have fallen to the wayside, we simply don’t do them anymore; thus the mind of flesh is giving way to the mind of the Spirit. On the same note, no one can change their attitude without a change in nature, they can use a mask, or pretend they have a new nature, but when pressure is applied to the mask the old nature surfaces.
God declared His Justification over us at the Cross by the Report; and the Witness is carrying it out in us (I Jn 5:7-8). Paul said we are being justified by Grace (Rom 3:24); and we are being justified by faith (Rom 3:28), we are being justified by the Blood of Christ (Rom 5:9), we are being justified in the Name of Jesus, by the Spirit (I Cor 6:11), we are justified by the Faith of Christ (Gal 2:16), we are being justified by Christ (Gal 2:17), we are justified in the Spirit (I Tim 3:16). Finally, we are being justified by God’s Grace (Titus 3:7), all pointing to a process; yet there is a declaration of Justification? We don’t want to confuse the Report (Declaration) with the Process; a Report is a document showing what has taken place. In First John 5:7-8 we find that the Report consists of the Father, Word, and Holy Ghost; however, the Witness is carrying out the report in our lives. The Witness consists of the Water, Blood, and Spirit; Water is a metaphor for Mercy, when we add the Spirit to it we gain Living Waters or Mercy with Life. The Blood is the Blood of Jesus, which is the basis for the New Testament, or Grace. Jesus didn’t say the Body was the New Testament, but He did say the Blood was (Matt 26:28). The Report says we are Justified, the Witness is bringing it to pass, thus the Father in the Report relates to the Water, the Word (Jesus) to the Blood, the Holy Ghost to the Spirit. The Witness is bringing to pass the New Nature, as we walk in the New nature it becomes a living liberty promised to us. To begin the venture we have to understand the elements of denying the self, in order to get there, we must understand the self. The self-nature doesn’t mind being religious, the Pharisees proved it, but the self-nature is incapable of being Godly. The “old man” is the old nature, it’s not a devil, but a devilish nature, meaning it’s more prone to sin, than not. The nature is a product of the spirit of man, thus the Bible has two definitions for the word “spirit”. One definition is an entity, whether the Spirit of God, or an evil spirit, but the other definition points to a nature, or the character of a person, often termed the spirit about the person. The context of the verse defines which one is being used, we can’t assume we were “devil possessed” because we were under the spirit of man (disobedience). It’s a nature with certain traits, Paul called it “the wiles”, or methods of operation to identify the nature. The self-nature is hidden behind masks, wild emotions, self-based agendas, centered in promoting the self, or establishing fear.
Man gets involved in many social projects, but if we just look at their “good deeds” we would see the self-nature involved somehow. Natural man does things to either gain personally from the concern or gain some self-glory from the effort. The self-nature is bent on one thing, to destroy mankind, it uses “I’m you’re best buddy” as a mask of friendship while searching out a place to plunge the dagger of deception. We are going to view the self-nature, as we expose it so we can deal with it in a Godly manner. If you are not willing to do the effort, then you will gain some knowledge, but in the end, you will gain nothing. If we are serious about “Following Jesus”, we must engage in the two basic Commandments of Deny the Self and Pick up our Cross. Both of those deal with death, they are things we do as part of the New Covenant. These are not works of the flesh, they are duties of Belief and Faith.
Knowledge, Wisdom, and Understanding must all work together before any of them become beneficial servants to our New nature. Isn’t it interesting how God didn’t say we were destroyed for a lack of the anointing, or a lack of faith, or a lack of money, or a lack of position, or a lack of power, rather it was a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). We can have Power, yet without knowledge, we will misuse it; and power used outside of authority becomes witchcraft and rebellion. Authority is the granted permission allowing us to act within the confines of the rules and regulations set down by the source giving us the authority: Power is the ability to carry out the Authority granted. The use of the word “Name” is not a form of identification, such as “there goes Joe”, rather we find it stands for Authority, thus the phrase “Name of Jesus”, means we are using the granted Authority Jesus gave us as members of the Body of Christ. The phrase “name of the law”, doesn’t mean the law has a name, it means the person who makes the statement is granted Authority by the Law they represent. We can get all involved in using a name regarding the identification for God, yet not be operating in the granted Authority.
Is there an authority in darkness? Yes, the devil gave his authority, power, and seat to the beast of the sea; and we know there is the prince of the power (authority) of the air (Eph 2:2). We can see why knowledge is important, what if we said, “in the Name of Jesus”, but used a wile of the devil as our power? Right authority, wrong power.
We can have position, yet without knowledge, we will misuse, or abuse it. Today we find something akin to the “position of the month club”, everyone wanting a position, yet how many have the knowledge of what the position entails? It does little good to say, “I am a Prophet” if we don’t know what the office calls for. It does less good to say, “I am a Bishop” if we use the fable-lined knowledge of man to define the position, rather than the Bible definition. Knowledge gives us guidelines regarding our calling and position. Grace empowers us to engage in the acts of the calling, or office, but Grace has limits or areas of the authority granted restricting the use of the power. For instance, we know “all things are legal”, but are all things profitable? If we have the power and authority to do anything, does it mean we have the power to destroy others? Does it mean we can sin freely? Does it mean we can be unjust? No, we know better, thus the Things are the Things of Christ, not Things in general. The same is true with the concept of “faith”, we could say “anything not done in faith is sin; so I committed adultery in faith, thus it’s not sin”. Sound weird? People say those things as a means of self-justification. Misused knowledge is death on the move, yet Godly knowledge keeps us within the scope and purpose of Grace.
What about the premise of Christians believing all things? Do we? Yes, but it doesn’t mean we do them. We believe there is a devil, but we don’t lunch with him. We believe there is a hell, but we don’t plan on visiting it. We believe there is eternal judgment (Heb 6:1-2), but we are seeking eternal life. Fables lack a Godly or Bible foundation; thus when we are confronted with a fable, we must remember it lacks authority. For instance, we say we believe all things, then comes someone to challenge it; “If you are a son of God, and you believe all things, then you must believe the devil is God”. “Nay says I, to thee, I don’t believe that”. “Well, you are not a Christian, since Christians believe all things”. Deception is deception; it’s always a vicious trap. It is not to say that we don’t believe it or believe it; rather there is no Bible authority to make the fable something to consider, thus it becomes moot. How would Wisdom answer the question? “I believe it’s a fable, lacking Bible authority, so, I refuse to consider it.” End of story, end of the temptation. Knowledge gives our Wisdom ability to respond, not react.
The Old Testament is a shadow of the Gospel, but without an awareness of the Jewish mindset, we will never gain all we can from the Gospel. Jesus said that the Prophets, Psalms, and Law Testified of Him, but He called us to be His Witnesses. A testimony speaks about someone, a Witness speaks from the place of a personal experience. How can we be witnesses to the death and resurrection of Jesus? We weren’t there, we never saw it, wait we have the Word in us, the essence of first-hand knowledge (Rom 1:4).
The “word of our testimony” is not what we say, it’s what others say about us; it’s their word regarding our testimony. A Testimony is something said, a Witness is something done, if we talk the talk, we better have the right source to walk the walk.
In the Welcome Lesson, we talked about study discipline; but there are all sorts of methods for one to study. One can read the study material, then read the books or verses in their Bible pertaining to the study. They can read the books in the Bible first and then the study; or they can break down the study into sections then read their Bible along with the sections of study. Whichever method the Spirit leads you to do, do; but always seek the Spirit for clarity in applying the knowledge gained in the studies.
We also want to mention how some of us make the mistake of not studying the Bible, but studying what others say about the Bible. These Lessons mandate for you use your Bible, the Lessons are not greater or equal to your Bible. There is no precise method of study for everyone, nor a formula, or method best for all people. The best method is the one for you, but it may not be the best for another. What if it takes you a long time to finish a lesson? Jesus never left anyone, we take the same approach. Even if it takes you a year to finish one lesson, Lord willing we will be there for you when it’s done. We will not pester you, send you little notes, or suggestions about finishing a lesson, the time and timing are between you and the Lord.
In order for the Sparks to build into the Fire, one must have some Sparks. Once the Sparks are planted, the Holy Ghost will bring the Fire. These studies may appear hard for some, or beyond one’s ability, but Wisdom is justified by her children. On the other hand, it may be “old hat” in some areas, but review always helps us to affirm what we know. In truth we find “strongholds” tend to block knowledge and clarity, but the Spirit is fully able to use Truth to knock down the walls of strongholds. Also, there is no learning disability with the Spirit, He is fully able to bring the material into the person’s capabilities. A learning disability is simply a lack of clarity if you have a child who has a learning disability, or even if you have difficulty, pray for Clarity.
What if you come across an area going against your theology? Study it out, look at the premise, read the Bible, then rest in what the Spirit gives you. Share the conclusion with us, we are willing to listen, we will change to the Scripture proven truth. However, have chapter and verse, not “someone once told me”.
Confusion is not of God, yet Truth often brings confusion. Say what? Confusion comes when we hold a stronghold or fable then truth comes knocking on the door of the stronghold. The fable causes the confusion, but the confusion will tell us, “you were fine until that they showed up, now look, it must be them”. No, Truth is never confused, thus when we are confused we must look inward, rather than blame someone else. There are little areas producing the seeds to strongholds, some “half-truth”, or a fable sounding right, but lacking solid Bible support. A word missing in a context, rather than see “being Justified” we see, “Justified” as past tense. Our souls accept the bad seed (tare), it grows to become a private doctrine. The Pharisees used many “traditions of men”, all of which were half-truths or fables accepted as Doctrine. We endeavor to comply to Bible concepts, precepts and truths; but you may find the hammer of truth knocking at the door of some stronghold. If so, allow Truth to have her way, “check it out” like the Believers in Berea (Acts 17:10-11). Can a Christian have a stronghold? Yes, some of the converted Jews did, they planted the stronghold of having to be circumcised of the flesh in many Gentiles. There were also some who only knew the baptism of John, but John’s baptism ended with John was cast into prison (Acts 18:24-19:5). The solution is the Word in us (New Man) dividing, separating and bringing clarity of purpose (James 1:21).
Not to offend, but to make clear an area, the Bible does not interpret itself, the Holy Ghost interprets the Scriptures, yet the Bible will define itself, by calling itself the Scriptures (Matt 21:42, Jn 5:39, Acts 18:24, II Tim 3:15, et al), but it defines the Word (Logos) as Jesus (Jn 1:1-8 et al). When we speak of the “Word in us” we’re not speaking of the Bible, rather it’s the New Man (Eph 4:24, I Jn 4:1-4, James 1:21 et al). Jesus told the Pharisees because they read about life, it didn’t mean they had it (Jn 5:39). The Bible speaks of Life, but only the Holy Ghost can impart it (Jn 5:40, I Jn 5:11-13 et al).
Belief and Faith are twins but different, Belief is an awareness based on knowledge or experiences of the past giving us a confidence in the Now. Faith comes from an unseen source projected to a future hope as a Now confidence. Hebrews 11:6 tells us faith begins with a Belief of “God Is”, the projection of faith looks to God being a Rewarder of those who Diligently seek Him. If our Belief is “God can’t”, “God won’t”, “I will”, “the devil is”, or “man is” we lack the foundation for faith, meaning our faith will attempt to stop, hinder, avoid, or produce something ungodly. In the Lessons, we endeavor to center on a God Is belief, even in defining the self.
Some of us know we’re called to a ministry, God may have told us the ministry is one of “healing”, yet someone else will tell us there is no such thing as a “healing ministry”. It’s true, we can’t find the phrases “ministry of healing”, or “ministry of offense”, or “ministry of prophecy” in the Bible, rather we are told the Ministry is one of Reconciliation (II Cor 5:18-21), but healing or prophecy are included in the Ministry of Reconciliation (I Cor 12:1-11), with the purpose pointing to Reconciling people unto God. Paul never said he had a “healing ministry”, but the Bible shows by his hands’ people were healed (Acts 14:1-3). Peter never said he had a “healing ministry”, yet by his shadow, people were healed (Acts 5:15): thus there are facets within the Ministry of Reconciliation which we will explore.
Offense happens when exposure comes; but offense to belittle someone in order to exalt ourselves, is not Godly in any sense. Offense to expose in order to bring correction unto perfection is Godly in purpose and function. Jesus exposed the thoughts and intents of the Pharisees, not to belittle them, but to give them the opportunity to see their nature, as God saw it. Exposure removes the masks and uncovers the lust so we can see it for what it is, then we can say unto the thing, “Go”, adding our faith in God to remove it. “Oh yes, I know I remove all sorts of things myself”. No, we mask them, push them back down, or ignore them, only God can remove them. The worldly religions all focus on the “power of the spirit of man” to rid itself of evils so the religious think they can please God, not so, God is pleased by faith in Him, not self-righteousness or self-willed holiness. How could a God who gave us His Righteousness, be impressed by self-righteousness?
The Spirit of Christ in us is the New Birth or Seal of Grace, the New Man is also known as the Greater He, Another Comforter, the Word being engrafted, as well as many other metaphors and positions, all pointing to the salvation of our souls by Grace. One might think, “Gee with all those in me, there’s no room for me”. Positional titles define the purpose regarding the activity at the time for the One Spirit of Truth in us. For instance, Jesus said He was the “son of man”, but wasn’t He the Son of God? Whose Son is He? Position, Jesus came from the Father, yet in His Position, as the Son of man, He stood for man in God’s Mercy, in His position as the Son of God He stands for God by Grace, thus He is the only True Mediator.
The Law of Moses separated man from God but allowed God through the Law to bless man by man’s deed, but the Law never stood for God, rather it came to place a “man” between the people and God, thus it was the “Law of Moses”. Jesus, on the other hand, is the Authority bringing us to God, and God to us; therefore, for the Christian it’s, “come boldly to the throne of Grace, to Obtain Mercy, and Find Grace” (Heb 4:16). It’s something the Law of Moses didn’t promise, nor granted. The Law of Moses is good, it came from God, but it’s never from whom the Law came, but to whom it was directed.
Isaiah 46:10 shows us how God had the End in hand before there was a Beginning, thus He will allude and point to the End in the Beginning. If one who is versed in the Bible the know there are many End Time prophecies in the first Five Books of the Bible. We will approach some of the areas as they appear, but the vision is only clear regarding the End Times when the words of the Prophets are added.
The Book of Revelation is a compiling of the words of the Prophets, with the vision of John to answer a three part question asked of Jesus by the disciples (Matt 24:3). The “End Times” was not something the Jew during the earthly ministry of Jesus was not unaware of, but the details and clarity of those times are revealed to the New Testament saint. Perhaps one of the defining statements by Jesus regarding the End Times is, “work while it is yet Day, for the Night comes when no man can work” (Jn 9:4). The saying is seen in the creation account of Genesis, but only understood by the saying of Jesus. This will show the End Times are not some mystery, or some mystic space adventure, or hidden in some secret code, rather the things to come were all written and defined for us in the Scriptures. There is no mystery in the Bible, not explained in the Bible. However, one can use the End Times to scare people, sell books, or become rich, or we can use the knowledge to give us hope by showing people how to avoid something just ahead.
It’s always better for our study disciple to start at the beginning and move to the result. Genesis is a treasure chest of knowledge; it gives us a great deal of awareness regarding God’s plan and purpose. The spiritual without the Bible brings fanaticism, whereas the Bible without the spiritual brings legalism. We are expecting the Spirit to enlighten your nature by bringing the Power of His Christ into an active role in your life. The Word is in you and the Bible is food to enhance the growth process; and the more Bible knowledge we gain, the greater our awareness. It’s imperative for us to believe the Bible is inspired by God if we don’t believe the Bible, how will we believe what Jesus said in the Bible? Most of our “God Is” belief is found in the Bible. We are not looking for theological discourses absent God’s knowledge, nor are we looking for dead history. God is still the God of the living; and we desire to be among the living, Amen?
However, we reserve the right to make typos, we desire not to, but they do happen. We have taken pains to see there are none, these lessons have been proofread several times, but some do slip by. If you notice one, please drop us an e-mail telling us which lesson, the page, and the typo. The correction will help future students. If you find an area you feel needs more explanation, or if you have something you wish to contribute, please advise us, we prayerfully consider all suggestions. These lessons are the source of many contributors, we do appreciate the input.
The Bible is full of metaphors, those sayings, or words speaking of one thing, but pointing to another. They are not definitions, but the metaphoric or allegory applications. We know the Bible says we are “sheep”, so does it mean we are really some fuzzy thing going “baa, baa”? No, it’s a metaphor showing we are “like unto” sheep, yet not really sheep. When we see the phrase “Lamb of God” we know it points to Jesus, but did Jesus turn into some lamb at the baptism? No of course not, we know the phrase refers to the Sacrifice. We may not like metaphors, but God used many, it behooves us to know what they mean. Metaphors are a type of mystery; the glory of God is to conceal a thing and the honor of the king is to find it (Prov 25:2).
The following is a beginning list:
ADAM – The beginning of something, the first Adam stands for Natural man with a Living soul, the second Adam stands for a quickening spirit. The first Adam has two positions noted in the Bible, one as evil, the other as good, depending on the usage.
AGE – A period of time, or a Season, often termed “worlds”.
ASHES – Sign of affliction, used with sackcloth to show repentance.
BABE as a FETUS – The root stage of the Seed.
BABE – The time when one is just Born Again, or the Blade.
BAD FISH – The Tares, the Children of the Wicked in the Net (Jude 22-23)
BEASTS OF THE DESERT – Sons of perdition, workers of iniquity, the tares planted in the Wilderness(desert or field).
BEAST OF THE EARTH – Sons of perdition as they surface after the Rapture, near the end of the Time of Comfort (restoration of Israel or “the Night.”)
BEASTS OF THE FIELD – The Wicked in the Season of the Day, the Tares in the Field planted by the enemy.
BEASTS OF THE ISLAND – Those who are above the Sea; all dry land is considered to be an island. These are those who are raised above the sea but still used the authority of the world.
BEAST OF THE SEA – The beast in the Gentile World, the one who was given the seat, power, and authority of the dragon, by the dragon.
BEAST -Depends on usage and word used, there are good beasts and bad.
BELL – The sound of a witness, the product of a hundredfold.
BLADE – That which has been born, where one produces fruit, known as Born Again.
BREACHES – Holes, or openings through which the enemy can attack, or send darts.
BIRDS – Plural usage refers to someone pretending to be someone else; an example would be a false christ.
CHILDREN OF THE DARKNESS – Those who use the authority of the world; this group is of the world. Some of these can be seen in the kingdom of heaven, but not in the Kingdom of God.
CHILDREN OF DISOBEDIENCE – The children of the world, those who follow the prince of the power (authority) of the air, of which we all were a part before we accepted the Cross.
CHILDREN OF THE DAY – Those of the Season of Grace who walk by the Spirit showing the Love of God.
CHILDREN OF LIGHT – Same as Children of Day, those who are Born Again.
CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT – The Remnant who are of the Lesser Light; their position is to make the enemies of Jesus His footstool, by being overcome, whereas we are overcomers.
CHURCH – The place of pure Grace, the place where the Bride of Christ is found.
CHURCHES – Groupings of those found in the Rock, not to be confused with The Church which
is located on the Rock ie: the seven churches in the Book of Revelation.
CLAY – Man made of the earth, natural or soulish.
CLOUD – One age of witnesses – three types of clouds are seen, one is the Great Cloud of Witnesses who were taken captive by Jesus, the second Cloud is the Greater Cloud of Witnesses from this Season, then the dark cloud is comprised of false witnesses.
CLOUDS – More than one age of witnesses, i.e.: Jesus ascended with a Cloud, but returns with the Clouds.
COURTYARD – Kingdom of heaven, or the place of judgment, the place of entrance where the Lamb was slain, but not the place where the Blood was shed for remission.
CROWN – Sign of authority and power for ruling a nation or kingdom – There are two different types of crowns in the New Testament, one worn by us, the other worn by the kings of the world.
CROWN OF LIFE – Held by the Holy Ghost; and given to those of the Promise who endure. Also the sign of Life, AKA, the Crown of Righteousness.
CROWN OF SATAN -The point of authority granted by the devil to those who love darkness.
CRYSTAL – The Bride of Christ before the Throne.
CUT OFF – Two usages depending on the Hebrew word used, one means to push away and forget, the other means to Cut some part of the Body away either to enter a Covenant, or a result of a broken Covenant, the latter points to the broken Body of Christ at the Rapture; the Good are cut and taken, the wicked cut off and remain.
DARKNESS – Worldly minded, those who use the authority, power or seat of the dragon, those who say they are in the Light, but hate (slander) their brother (I John).
DARTS – Works, deeds, or methods of operation of the devil.
DAUGHTER OF JERUSALEM – The people within the city of Jerusalem.
DAUGHTER OF ZION – The city of Jerusalem as it sits on mount Zion.
DAUGHTER(s) OF ZION – Those who are called unto Zion of the earth, but who join to the Woman in the latter days.
DAY – The Time and Season for the Christ minded Church of Grace.
DEAD IN CHRIST – Those who are crucified with Christ, who are either under the altar, or who will be in the Rapture.
DIVERS COLORS – Pretending to be someone else, without the ability to be that someone else, much like a false christ, or a false prophet, not to be confused with a “coat of many colors”, many colors and divers colors are very different.
DOOR – Method of entry; for the Christian its the Door into heaven, for the Remnant its the Door of David.
EARTH – Kingdom of heaven; the Sea refers to the Gentile, Sand of the sea to the Jew.
EUPHRATES – A boundary, or mark of division between Israel and the world.
EVE – The name means Life, but metaphorically it means the soul.
EVENING AND MORNING – Creation time for the things of the Night Season.
EVER – An age, or something lasting until another event begins, such as the phrase ever and ever, meaning an age coupled with another age.
FIELD – Kingdom of heaven; the womb to the Kingdom of God, has both wheat and tares.
FIG TREE – Religious order of Israel, the covering of the flesh alone, not the soul.
FISH – Those appointed to the kingdom of heaven, the Gentiles in the (world).
FOWLS OF THE AIR – Children of the Wicked, or Tares, those who take, but give nothing.
THE AIR – A place unseen; there are two places unseen, the natural and the spiritual; the prince of the power of the air operates in the natural, the Air where we meet Jesus is spiritual.
FURNITURE – Tools or means used to protect the House, defining the character of the soul.
GATE – Something preventing entry, or an element of ungodly division.
GOOD FISH – Children of God, who desire or walk in love, mercy and grace.
GRASS – People, or flesh.
GREATER LIGHT – Light given the Day, known as the children of the Day.
GROUND – The center of a person; soft ground, a soft heart; hard ground, a hard heart.
HAIR – Covering, anointing.
HAIR AS WOOL – Covering or anointing belonging to God alone.
HAIR/WHITE – A sign of wisdom.
HAY – What is cut off, lacking Water (mercy).
HARVEST – Pertains to the field, not the Net, the place of separation between the wheat and tares.
HEADS – Authorities, those with authority.
HEART – The place where a person’s character is formed, the place where intents come from.
HEAVENLIES – Appointed spiritual positions.
HOLY PLACE – Kingdom of God, the place just before the Holiest of All, the place where the Light, Bread and Blood are first found together.
HOLY OF HOLIES – Head of the Body, the place where the Promise is in hand for all time.
HORN – Symbol of power.
HOUSE – A place where something, or someone dwells, the soul, not the contents, but the place where one finds the character of the person. The saving of man’s soul is the purpose of salvation, the soul is the very treasure God seeks.
IMAGE – To resemble something or someone.
IMAGINATIONS – Concepts, ideas and thoughts coming against the knowledge of God; stronghold; a formed fable lacking truthful evidence to support it.
INHABITANTS – Those who are spiritual, or hold a sound Star position.
JERUSALEM – The center of something of God, Jerusalem of the earth is the center of God’s Judgment; New Jerusalem of heaven as the center of God’s Salvation.
KINGS – Rulers in a kingdom, regardless of the kingdom; there are good kings and bad kings in the kingdom of heaven, a king is defined by how they rule and the methods used.
KINGDOM – A place were power or authority can be exercised, a Kingdom is the place where the Will of the King is being carried out.
KINGDOM OF GOD – Spiritual Kingdom where God rules, the place where the Blood of Jesus is found, the place of Salvation, the Kingdom is with the person by the Spirit.
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN – Kingdom on earth belonging to God for the purpose of separating the Wheat from the Tares, the place where Mercy is tested, the place of Judgment, often referred to as “the earth,” the womb to the Kingdom of God.
KINGDOM OF SATAN – The world, the place where the dragon gave his power, authority and seat.
LESSER LIGHT – Light given the Night, or Remnant, a lesser power than the Greater Light of the Day.
MOUNTAINS – Nations.
MOON – Zion of the earth.
NAME – Point of authority.
NIGHT – Time for the restoration of Israel (remnant of the seed of the Woman).
OLIVE TREE – Anointed ones, or the anointing, a symbol of God’s Mercy.
PRINCE – One who begins something, either good or evil; i.e.: Jesus the Prince of Peace, as Good ; Satan as the Prince of the power of the air, as evil; a prince is defined by the principality they represent.
PRINCES – Holding an area in the nation, identified by the principality they rule.
PRINCIPALITIES – A beginning of something, or the principle place, the formation of something, the foundational thing, the Law of Moses is known as a principality,
ROCK, THE – Christ, the Body of Christ, or Zion of heaven, which the Church is built on.
RULER – Anything or anyone guiding our decisions, or causes us to react, anything, or anyone who dominates us.
SACKCLOTHE – Repentance.
SAND OF THE SEA – The nation and land of Israel.
SEA – Gentile world, often referred to as “the world”.
SEA MONSTERS – Sons of perdition, those who left the world, but returned to perdition (world).
SEED – The very beginning of something purposed to grow, the conception process.
SCRIPTURES – Written word about God, inspired and Authored by the Holy Ghost.
SHORE – Place separating the Sea from the Sand of the Sea, thus it’s neither the Sand of the Sea, or the Sea; the place of calling and teaching; the place which is akin to the “Gentile Court” in the old temple.
SILLY WOMEN – Teachers without wisdom or Godly knowledge, nothing to do with gender.
SON OF GOD – One who represents God by having the Spirit of Christ in residence.
SON OF MAN – One who represents the Mercy of the Father, or Mercy to the people.
SON OF PERDITION – One who has left Perdition (world), but goes back based on using the authority of the world, one who received the Mercy of God, but refuses to give it.
SPROUT – The first aspect of the blade, a novice.
STONES – Foundational, but can be an offense unto stumbling or judgment for those who fail to believe – Jesus as our Corner stone or foundational stone unto the building.
STRONGHOLDS – Thoughts, ideas, hurts, pains, or other mental hindrances coming against the knowledge of God.
TABERNACLE – Salvation, the Gentile Church, designed of God, movable and teachable.
TARES – Children or off-spring of the wicked, planted evil concepts and attitudes, refers to the works of the devil, and those who use them.
TEMPLE – Judgment made of stone, which is not movable.
TENT – Tabernacle, place where salvation rests, movable.
TONGUES, NATIONS, KINDREDS – Gentiles.
VESSEL OF HONOR – One who has received and walks in the Mercy of God.
VESSEL OF DISHONOR – One who received the Mercy of God, but refuses to walk in it.
WHITE ROBE – Resurrected body for the saint in heaven.
WIFE – Congregation.
WOOD – Idol worship or something cut from a tree.
WORD OF GOD – Jesus (Greek Logos), or Spirit – Life (Greek Rhema – Jn 6:63).
WORDS OF GOD – The Prophetic word, Jesus, the Spirit, the Bible, words of wisdom and Knowledge, any communicated method God uses to inform us.
NUMBERS (these are not the negative association, but the positive usage):
ONE – God, Unity, of one mind
TWO – Joining together as One.
THREE – Trinity.
FOUR – Creative works.
FIVE – Grace.
SIX – Man – Living soul.
SEVEN – Rest, completeness.
EIGHT – New beginnings.
NINE – Holy Spirit.
TEN – Testing.
ELEVEN – God’s work with man.
TWELVE – Government.
THIRTEEN – Rebellion.
HUNDRED – Testing ending.
METALS:
SILVER = Redemption
GOLD = Purity
BRASS = Judgment
IRON = Bondage.
Tarnish Silver = Redemption misused, or twisted (Jude 4).
How does one arrive at the meaning of a metaphor? Some are found in first usages, some are defined later. For instance the use of Water as it relates to Mercy, one might think it would be more apt to be the Spirit since Jesus said from our bellies will flow Living Waters, this He spoke of the Spirit (Jn 7:38-39). However, it’s living Water, not simply Water. When we add the word Living, it shows when we are Born Again with the ability to produce Mercies from within it pertains to Life. It doesn’t mean when we speak water is going to come out of our mouths. The same is true with the “washing of the water by the Word”, it’s the Word using the Water(Mercy), not the Water and Word as the same.
Genesis 2:10 is the first place we find the word Water in reference to the Garden, showing God’s Mercy flowing into the Garden. Genesis 16:7 and 18:4 also show acts of Mercy related to the use of Water. The most profound is I John 5:7-8; the Report is in Heaven as the Declaration of the Plan consisting of the Father, Word and Holy Ghost. The Witness on earth is the Water, Blood and Spirit, thus the Witness is carrying out the Report. Jesus as the Word said, “This is My Blood” relating to the New Covenant and Grace, so it makes the connection between the Report and Witness in the area of Word – Blood. We know the Holy Ghost brings the Gift, which Gift is the Spirit (Acts 10:44-47 with 11:15-17). It makes the correlation between the Holy Ghost in the Report and the Spirit in the Witness. Leaving the Water coupled to the Father, we are to be as merciful as our Father, yet Jesus came by both Water and Blood (Luke 6:36, I Jn 5:6, II Cor 1:3, Titus 3:5). We are saved by Mercy, to be saved by Grace through faith, but there is both the Water and Blood (Eph 2:5 & 2:8). Putting all this together we find the Metaphor Water relates to Mercy, it doesn’t mean the definition of the word Water means Mercy, rather it’s the metaphoric usage, just as the metaphor Blood relates to Grace as the New Covenant. We will see Metaphors, Parables and Allegories relating to the Mysteries of God, it’s our honor to search them out to know them (Prov 25:2). Having settled those issues, let us begin with the Beginning.
By Rev. G. E. Newmyer – s.b.i.les1rev9/© 2003
