Monday – August 29, 2016
It is Monday and time once again to dive wholeheartedly into God’s Word to be cleansed and strengthened so that we are meet (easily used, useful, profitable according to Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary) for the Master use.
2 Timothy 2:19-21 (KJV)
19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. 20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
Notice in 2 Timothy 2:19-21 that we must choose to be vessels of gold and silver. We choose to be vessels of gold and silver by departing from iniquity (sin). We must depart from sin on purpose. If we choose not to depart from sin (iniquity) then we are vessels of wood and earth which are vessels of dishonor to the House (Kingdom) of God. Then in verse twenty-one we see the little word “if” which is a pivot point and sets the course of our life or death. “If a man therefore purge himself” then and only then is he/she a vessel of honor and able to be used of the Master (God). How do we know what to purge, how do we know what to depart from? WE KNOW WHAT TO DEPART FROM BY READING AND DOING THE WORD OF GOD!
Ephesians 1:3-5 (KJV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
As my regular readers, studiers, know, I started the study of Ephesians on the eighth of August. This is a very exciting book.
Today I will continue with our study, dissection of Ephesians 1:4. First I will review and augment our understanding of the preceding verse, Ephesians 1:3. We bless or empower the Father to work through us by our obedience to His will. God is not just out there doing this and that in the earth, the world, He is working through men and women to bring about the plan which was in place before the foundation or the establishment of this world.
Man was made in the image and likeness of God. The word “God” used in the creation story is the Hebrew word transliterated in English as Elohim. Elohim is a pleural name of God indicating what we call the Trinity or the triune nature of God being God the Father, God the Son (The Word), and God the Holy Spirit. Being in His image and likeness we are also triune beings, spirit, soul, and body. Be aware that the spirit and soul are inseparable but the spirit and soul can be separated from the natural body. Enough about that.
It was not the plan or will of God that Adam sin. However, if and when Adam did sin there was a redemptive plan already established before the man and the place the man would reside ever came into being. It was not the will of God for man to suffer four thousand years until The Redeemer could come. It is not the will of God that another two thousand years have gone by and we are still not fully restored. Bottom line, they and we are a rebellious and sinful people. However God is patient and merciful. He will have a people, there will be those who will do the will of God and wind this thing up. People that will do His will like the Prophets that have spoken His will into the earth over the centuries without which we would still be without a Redeemer. It took two thousand years to find the man Abram, renamed by God, Abraham, who would enter into Blood Covenant providing the legal pathway for the Messiah, the Redeemer to come into the earth, God Himself. God is not going to violate His laws and short-circuit this thing to a conclusion that violates His will, or the free-will of the people.
Our part in all this is to do whatever is necessary to “be holy and without blame before him in love:” We are to be morally pure (according to God’s standard not that of this perverse generation) and without blame. When we are morally pure and without blame the devil is unable to bring a charge against us and get a judgment that allows him to steal, kill, and destroy in our lives. Notice the word “love” tucked in right at the end of the fourth verse. In the Bible, love is to do the will of God, to be selfless before Him, and honor Blood Covenant.
By Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
