I am currently look into our acquiring Wisdom and Knowledge in the things of GOD in Christ and Christ being both our covering and in ward workings after we have become awakened spiritual. Because both Wisdom and Knowledge are spiritual received not of the things of this world but of GOD restored within man, as in the beginning in Genesis 2. With that said is there any privileges given to those who have become such a person? I will look into this as my subject for today. But first Pastor Hoekstra's revelation of Grace. And then with the LORD's held I will use the ESV translation to discover what special privileges we might acquire from the now Living Word.
"Fading Glory versus Remaining Glory"
"For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious." (2Corinthians 3:11)
"The old covenant was under Law had a glory and the New Covenant is of Grace has Glory about them. However, the glory of one (the old covenant) is a fading glory, whereas, the other (the New Covenant) has a remaining Glory. One is related to man's sufficiency. The other is related to GOD's sufficiency and His Splendor of Majesty being revealed to and then within man.
The fading aspect of old covenant glory could be seen in Moses' experience: "But if the ministry of death [i.e., the law], written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away" (2Corinthians 3:7). The glory that shone from Moses' face (as the LORD revealed the law to him) began to fade away. It was never meant to be the permanent glory that GOD desired to shine upon lives. "In that He says, 'A New Covenant,' He has made the first obsolete. This old covenant was given to Abraham and to both his earthly and then spiritual seed. And was not part of the Ten Commandments as a law, as it and the Laws were separated by 400 years. The Laws as given to Moses and the Covenant pertaining to the Hebrew nation pertained to this nation only. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away" (Hebrews 8:13). This is the covenant that they themselves broke even after many warnings not too. And they were divorced from GOD in their rebellion and to make this perfectly clear there had to be the death of the Law and its accompany covenant testator, Jesus was that person. You see man had become the slave to sin and death through rebellion and was then linked by death and sin to the one who caused this separation from GOD being married in a fashion to the evil one. For only the death of the family head can cancel the oath of marriage between two parties, setting the other party free. This to was a mystery but when there is light the mystery becomes clear as mans perception also becomes restored to enable him to both see and hear with clarity the Oracle of GOD. Who then opens for mans understanding the secret that is other wise closed to the darkness of the world that remains in sins and deaths hold as slaves.
The old covenant of law was not designed to remove man's problems. It was given to show us our basic problem of sin. Neither was it designed to bring the glorious blessings (forgiveness and Life abundant) that GOD had for man. Jesus Christ alone could accomplish that. "For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, GOD did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3) The weakness of the law was that it addressed man's flesh (natural human resources, as religion under law is just that). Those resources are not able to live up to GOD's perfect standard of Righteousness. So, Jesus had to come and deal with man's (religion of law and the) sin problem at the cross.
When we attempt to live by the old covenant of law, we are choosing to live by man's sufficiency. This can produce in us a fading glory only. It is like the hype of a "religious pep rally" that soon fades away when the crowd is gone, and we are left to face the battle alone. This glory fades, because living by law depends upon man's sufficiency.
The New Covenant of Grace deals with man's problems. Grace forgives our sins, and then goes to work to transform the sinner. This produces a remaining Glory: "what remains [that is, the New Covenant of Grace] is much more Glorious." This Glory remains, because it depends upon GOD's sufficiency. Putting man to the state of man as seen in Genesis 2 united to GOD again as One being."
Special Privileges of Believers:
Matthew 13:10-16 "Then the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?" And He answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: "'"You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive." For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal (to make whole, to restore sight and hearing, mans perception to) them.' But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear."
Luke 10:21-22, 23-24 "In that same hour He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, LORD of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was Your Gracious Will. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows Who the Son is except the Father, or Who the Father is except the Son and anyone to Whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."
Then turning to the disciples He said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."
Rom 4:16-5:5, 6 "That is why it depends on Faith, in order that the promise may rest on Grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations"—in the presence of the GOD in Whom he believed, Who gives (spiritual) life to the dead and calls into existence (the heavenly established things, Oracles into the temporal) the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, "So shall your offspring be." He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the Promise of GOD, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory (high praise of reverence) to GOD, fully convinced that GOD was able to do what HE had promised. That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness." But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe Him Who raised from the dead Jesus our LORD, Who was delivered up for our trespasses (of sin and mans religions under law) and raised for our justification. Therefore, since we have been justified by (HIS) Faith, we have Peace with GOD through our Lord Jesus Christ (this is speaking of His humanness). Through Him we have also obtained access by (HIS) Faith into this Grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the Glory of GOD (Now restored within us making us One in HIM). Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because GOD's (selfless) Love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the (sinner and man held in mans religions law of slavery as being) ungodly (wicked)."
2Corinthians 2:6-13 "For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. When I came to Troas to preach the Gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the LORD, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia."
Colossians 1:24-2:5, 6-7 "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of His Body, that is, the Church (His divine Family unit), of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from GOD that was given to me for you, to make the Word (Oracle) of GOD fully Known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to HIS Saints. To them GOD chose to make Known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the Glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of Glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me. For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in Love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of Understanding and the Knowledge of GOD's (Secret of Deuteronomy 29:29) the mystery, which is Christ, in Whom are hidden all the treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with (religious political law as) plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your Faith in Christ.
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the LORD, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the Faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving."
1John 2:15-17, 18-25, 26-27 "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the (selfless) Love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the (temporal) world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the Will of GOD abides forever.
Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist (lawlessness and mans religious forms of law) is coming, so now many antichrists (mans religious laws of lawlessness and political religions) have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed (received Christ's anointing and seal of the Holy Spirit) by the Holy One, and you all have Knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know this Truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the Truth (John 1:14, 17 which is Christ Jesus). Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses (is in them has both) the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning (Oracle) abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the Promise that HE made to us—Eternal Life.
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 (He) has taught you, abide in Him."
Did you pick up on the warning here stated? The Holy One must continue to indwell us as our Special Privilege.
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