Thursday – May 19, 2016
It is Thursday and I want to remind each of us to pray for the seven pillars of society. Please be aware, you and I, we are on assignment in the earth from God, from Heaven, and we are the only light that is available to the earth and the world. The Holy Spirit works through us to the extent of our obedience. We are the preachers that must be heard for there to be faith and the knowledge of salvation.
Proverbs 9:1,6 (KJV)
1 Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: 6 Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.
Matthew 5:14 (KJV)
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Let’s get back to our primary text and the idea of circumcision.
Colossians 2:11 (KJV)
11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
Genesis 17:11 (KJV)
11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
One might wonder, why was the excision of the foreskin of the male penis the symbol chosen of God for the excision of sin that would occur in Christ Jesus? I am going to take us now to what may seem like a completely unrelated passage of Scripture.
Ephesians 6:13-14 (KJV)
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
I was astonished and overjoyed when the Lord brought this passage into my thinking as I was meditating physical circumcision. Faith brought Abraham, and others before and after him, into right standing with God. However, Abraham and all of mankind needed total redemption from sin not just the temporary covering of sin provided by the blood of innocent animals. The circumcision of Abraham was the first step and the circumcision provided by Jesus brought us as full-fledged sons into the family of God. We are not all children of God. There are two families in the earth one is the kingdom of darkness, the family of Satan, and the other is the Kingdom of God, the family of God. Anyone can move from darkness to God (light) upon accepting the Lord Jesus.
Only the children of God are authorized to put on the Armor of God and they are the only ones the armor will fit. Notice in Ephesians 6:14 we are told or commanded (not an option) to stand which is to continue on our assignment from God no matter the circumstances. The devils fulltime job is to insure that you and I have circumstances. Then Ephesians 6:14 goes on to tell to have our “loins girt about with truth”. For a moment just a little Bible Numerology. Ephesians is the tenth book of the New Testament and ten is the number of responsibility. Six is the number of man and fourteen is the number of deliverance. So, it is the responsibility of each man and woman to take the steps, weapons provided of God, which bring not only our deliverance but deliverance for people around us. Interesting don’t you think? The loins in Scripture is the area from the waist to the mid-thigh. See the picture of the Roman soldier with what we might call a skirt. Physically in this area of the body is where the reproductive capacity resides and area for waste elimination. So what is the Truth? Jesus said He was the Truth, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit was the Truth, Jesus also said that the Word of God was the Truth. And finally we find that love, Bible love (agape) is Truth. Now if you have been following my teaching very long you will recognize quickly this all revolves one way or another around the Word of God, Scripture.
John 14:6 (KJV)
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 15:26 (KJV)
26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
John 17:17 (KJV)
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Psalm 119:142 (KJV)
142 Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.
Jesus in Matthew 22:36-40 said that the greatest commandment is love, love of God and our neighbor.
So, as we gird our loins with the Truth we not only protect our creative, productive, reproductive gifts but we enhance waste (false doctrine, ways of the world) elimination. To have our loins girt with Truth puts us in a better position to emulate Jesus. We will be more responsive to the Holy Spirit, to study and incorporate the Word into our thinking, and walk out the Word in obedience as an expression of love. In this way we become a clear revelation of Him, a representative of Him (Ambassador), and an expression of Him. The physical circumcision initiated with Abraham looking forward to the Cross is performed on an organ with the capacity to create and eliminate waste. The Word of God brings the creativity of God into our lives and will drive out the corruption of the world. The Truth gets the dross, the waste, the useless part, even the hindering part, out of our life.
Isn’t God just something!?
By Pastor David R. Wood
