Today's chosen subject under Guidance is Instruction but before I step off into it I want to look at what Pastor Hoekstra has to reveal on his subject of Grace. And then making use of the ESV translation my subject and as always I reserve the right to edit as the LORD within me gives to me utterance.
"Resurrection Victory by the Grace of God"
"The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1Corinthians 15:56-57)
Before I even get into Pastor Hoekstra's writing there is this to say about the Bible translators and how they disrespect the title of the risen LORD. In His duties while here on earth He should be Lord Jesus Christ as this shows His humanity. But after His resurrection He should be LORD as He was within the context of His original position in the old testament writings. That with LORD Christ because it is His anointed position within our receptive soul that He now reigns and the kingdom has come. To say Jesus Christ is to show again great disrespect for His Promised New position of our anointing. Even the use of the word God should show more respect to it when HE is the one speaking or being identified as having spoken the words. But when the person speaking is referring to Him it would be okay to use the God relational-ship position.
"1 Corinthians 15 is the great Resurrection chapter of the scriptures. In verse 56, we see two of the enormous problems that the resurrection of Jesus Christ overcomes. "The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law." The sting that brought physical and spiritual death to the family of man is sin. "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Adam sinned and immediately died spiritually. Eventually, he died physically. "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all (carry the penalty of having) sinned" (Romans 5:12). We sinned in Adam, our leader. Also, we personally walked in sin and spiritual death until we came to the Hebrews Messiah, Christ. The hidden people through whom GOD would come to restore Himself within those who receive HIM. (John 17)
The strength that sin exerts over lives is the law. "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before GOD" (Romans 3:19). There is no way that man by his own strength can remove the guilt of sin which GOD's law holds powerfully over him. (This by the way is not the Law of Moses but is the law of Genesis 2 enacted in Genesis 3.) The righteous power of this law holds sinful humanity fully accountable before the LORD.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ validates His sacrifice for sin, removing sin's sting. "O Death, where is your sting?" (1Corinthians 15:55). Eternal Life (the restored presence of GOD in Christ within mans soul / spirit, again seen in Genesis 2) replaces sin's sting for all who believe in the LORD (the Divine, Chief Head ) Christ (anointing) Jesus (in the second Adam, man). "The gift of GOD is Eternal Life in Christ Jesus our LORD" (Romans 6:23). Such victorious Grace stirs gratitude in the hearts of the Redeemed. "But thanks be to GOD, Who gives us the victory through our Lord (chief head-leader) Jesus (second Adam of promise) Christ (the anointed one of promise)."
Notice the language of Grace used to describe that which is provided through the resurrection. "The gift of GOD is Eternal Life . . . thanks be to GOD, Who gives us the victory." These two terms ("gift" and "gives") are the language words of Grace. Eternal Life comes to us as a gift, an undeserved generosity from GOD. HIS presence restored to mans soul or spirit, mans original state of being in Genesis 2. But still carrying the physical material curse, which can also be broken at GODS choosing, that being of sickness disease and death or decay of the earthen body made for man The victory that we receive through the resurrection is established through Jesus Christ. Then, this victory is given to us, not earned or achieved by us. Thereafter, our LORD desires to guide us daily in His resurrection victory of Grace. "Now thanks be to GOD Who always leads us in triumph in Christ" (2Corinthians 2:14)."
The Value of Instruction,
Proverbs 1:8-19 "Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, "Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason; like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder; throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse"—my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths, for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird, but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives. Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors."
Proverbs 6:20-35 "My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes; for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread, but a married woman hunts down a precious life. Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife; none who touches her will go unpunished. People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house. He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away. For jealousy makes a man furious, and he will not spare when he takes revenge. He will accept no compensation; he will refuse though you multiply gifts."
Proverbs 12:1-15 "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. A good man obtains favor (pleasure) from the LORD, but a man of evil devices he condemns. No one is established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous will never be moved. An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones. The thoughts of the righteous are just; the counsels of the wicked are deceitful. The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright delivers them. The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous will stand. A man is commended according to his good sense, but one of twisted mind is despised. Better to be lowly and have a servant than to play the great man and lack bread. Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel. Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense. Whoever is wicked covets the spoil of evildoers, but the root of the righteous bears fruit. An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escapes from trouble. From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man's hand comes back to him. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice."
Ecclesiastes 12:11-12 "The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh."
Instruction:
Examples of the Divine,
Deuteronomy 4:5-8 "See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon Him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?"
Nehemiah 9:16-25 "But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey Your commandments. They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that You performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But You are a GOD ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast Love, and did not forsake them. Even when they had made for themselves a golden calf and said, 'This is your God who brought us up out of Egypt,' and had committed great blasphemies, You in Your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go. You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold Your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. "And You gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. So they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan. You multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you had told their fathers to enter and possess. So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. And they captured fortified cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in Your great goodness."
For the Young,
Psalm 71:17-21 and Isaiah 8:11, 28:26 "O GOD, from my youth You have taught me, and I still proclaim Your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O GOD, do not forsake me, until I proclaim Your might to another generation, Your power to all those to come. Your righteousness, O GOD, reaches the high heavens. You Who have done great things, O GOD, who is like You? You Who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth You will bring me up again. You Will increase my greatness and comfort me again." (can you grab hold of the double meaning here?)
Isaiah 8:11-15 "For the LORD spoke thus to me with His strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: "Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the LORD of Hosts, Him you shall honor as Holy. Let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. And HE Will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken."
Isaiah 28:23-29 "Give ear, and hear My voice; give attention, and hear My speech. Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground? When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter dill, sow cumin, and put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and spelt as the border? For he is rightly instructed; his GOD teaches him. Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin, but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod. Does one crush grain for bread? No, he does not thresh it forever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it. This also comes from the LORD of Hosts; He is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom."
Given with Infinite Pains,
Jeremiah 32:26-35 "The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: "Behold, I AM the LORD, the GOD of all flesh. Is anything too hard for Me? Therefore, thus says the LORD: Behold, I AM giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it. The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city shall come and set this city on fire and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, to provoke Me to anger. For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in My sight from their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but provoke Me to anger by the work of their hands, declares the LORD. This city has aroused My anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, so that I Will remove it from My sight because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke Me to anger—their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They have turned to Me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them persistently, they have not listened to receive instruction. They set up their abominations in the house that is called by My name, to defile it. They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into My mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin."
Foretold,
John 6:41-51 and 1Corinthians 2:12 "So the Jews grumbled about Him, because He said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me draws him. And I Will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by GOD.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me—not that anyone has seen the Father except He Who is from GOD; He has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has Eternal Life. I AM the bread of Life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I AM the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I Will give for the life of the world is My flesh."
1Corinthians 2:6-13 "Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of GOD, which GOD decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the LORD of Glory. But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what GOD has prepared for those who love Him"—these things GOD has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of GOD. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of GOD except the Spirit of GOD. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from GOD, that we might understand the things freely given us by GOD. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual."
Christ, the Great Teacher,
Ephesians 4:17-24, 25 "Now this I say and testify in the LORD, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles (mere earthy carnal and worldly people) do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the Life of GOD because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about Him and are taught in Him, as the Truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of GOD in true Righteousness and Holiness.
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak this Truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another."
Love's Great Lesson,
1Thessalonians 4:9-12 and 1John 2:27 "Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by GOD to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one."
1John 2:26-27 "I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as His anointing Teaches you about everything, and is True, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in Him."
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