God identifies Himself, Holy Ways & Seasons, chapter 13
Saturday, April 30th, 2022 Each genuine Christian is a set aside “sanctified” a predestined person, gifted with believing IN Jesus faith, forgiveness of sin and eternal life. Only in Jesus is eternal life. Jesus identifies His church through Hebrews as; “Those He isn’t ashamed to call brethren.” Heb 2:11)
The expression “all things under His control” occurs three times in scripture and in Hebrews 2:8, is the latter two occurrences. Not exactly identical to the Greek text, at Psalms 8:6, & quoted at the beginning. The Hebrews writer fits his understanding of “Psalms 8: praise song” showing us clearly how David viewed his Lord.
(Ps 8:1-9: O Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is Your reputation throughout the earth! You reveal Your majesty in the heavens above! From the mouths of children and nursing babies You have ordained praise on account of Your adversaries, so that You might put an end to the vindictive enemy. When I look up at the heavens, which Your fingers made, and see the moon and the stars, which You set in place, of what importance is the human race, that You should notice them? Of what importance is mankind, that You should pay attention to them, and make them a little less than the heavenly beings? You grant mankind honor and majesty; You appoint them to rule over Your creation; You have placed everything under their authority, including all the sheep and cattle, as well as the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea and everything that moves through the currents of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is Your reputation throughout the earth!) We Believers IN are gifted with Jesus’ faith as was David.
(Heb 2:10-13; For it was fitting for Him, (Jesus) for whom and through whom all things exist, (See John 1:1-5 & Colossians 1:15-20 also) in bringing many sons to glory, to make the pioneer of their salvation (Jesus) perfect through sufferings. For indeed He (Jesus) who makes holy and those being made holy all have the same origin, and so He is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, saying, “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You.” (Quote from Psalms 22:22) (13) Again He says, “I will be confident in Him,” and again, “Here I am, with the children God has given Me.” (Quote from Isaiah 8:17-18.)
The first begotten of God the Father and Pioneer of our salvation is Jesus. He was made perfect through suffering. (Hebrews 5:8-10 confirms; “Although Jesus was a Son, He learned obedience through the things He suffered. And by being perfected in this way, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, and He was designated by God “the Father” as high priest in the order of Melchizedek.”)
Speaking spiritually, Jesus and all God’s Elect have the same origin “in that all are born of woman with physical life in the blood and born spiritually from above.
The good news, (gospel) is that God the Father is creating His spiritual family from flesh and blood people. Leading each to overcome lawlessness “sin” in His view and for His name sake.
(Heb 2:14-18; Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He (Jesus) likewise shared in their humanity, so that through death He could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil), and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death. For surely His concern is not for angels, but He is concerned for Abraham’s descendants. Therefore He, (Jesus) had to be made like His brothers and sisters in every respect, so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement for the sins of the people. For since He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted.)
Abraham’s spiritual descendants are those who obey Jesus and shun what He declares evil, because they love Him. Fear is bondage and believing IN Jesus promises freedom from that bondage. So how and where does such freedom originate? From God the Father who does the calling, “opens minds and reveals Jesus.”
(John 6:37; All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me; and they that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out.)
Believers are gifted with minds agreeing with Jesus. (Believing that, is NOT believing IN.) Many in them (in the believing THAT category) assume that a person can choose the time of their repentance, ‘when to get saved that is’, when to publicly and verbally confess Jesus as the Christ and thus be saved is their theory. The problem with that belief is, (that’s works and it isn’t God’s Way.) God’s Way is that He chooses, (calls and reveals Himself through Jesus, open minds and grant genuine repentance.)
(Heb 3:1-2: Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, partners in a heavenly calling, take note of Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess, who is faithful to the One who appointed Him, as Moses was also in God’s house.)
Consider: As a people Israel was not begotten of the holy spirit but under covenant law, ‘practically looking to Moses and the law.’ (Heb 3:3-6; “For Jesus has come to deserve greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house deserves greater honor than the house itself! For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that would be spoken. But Christ is faithful as a Son over God’s house. We are of His house, if in fact we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope we take pride in.)
Followers of the Jesus, (as manifested to be in the holy scriptures) are partakers of THE heavenly calling and profess to be HIS WAY people! Jesus is worthy because He is the master builder. Through Jesus, God the Father created all things. Moses, the holy prophets and Christians are of His building!
Christians are His temple, IF we hold fast, the faith of Jesus and stay true to God the Father’s calling. NOW the Hebrews writer quotes Psalms 95:7-11.
(Heb 3:7-11; Therefore, the holy spirit says; “Oh, that today you would listen as He speaks! “Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness. (There your fathers tested Me and tried Me and they saw My works for forty years. Therefore, I became provoked at that generation and said, ‘Their hearts are always wandering and they have not known My ways.) “As I swore in My anger, ‘They will never enter My Rest!’”)
Physical Israelites nor (do believers that) understand God’s Way. They see God through their inherited fleshly nature. (Looking to laws as they see them rather than the law giver.) Israelites looked to Moses (the house) rather than Creator, Jesus the Master Builder. (The Hebrews writer we believe to be Paul, is writing to converted Hebrews.) People to whom Jesus is revealed. A people confessing faith in Jesus’ blood sacrifice, His being our Intercessor, Lord and coming King. Today the many denominations are divided with many interpretations & see their god through their fleshly nature.
NOT the God that set aside His Seasons & Sabbaths. (Heb 3:12-19; See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has an evil, unbelieving heart that forsakes the living God. But exhort one another each day, (as long as it is called, Today) that none of you may become hardened by sin’s deception. For we (Christians) have become partners with Christ, if in fact we hold our initial confidence firm until the end. As it says, “Oh, that Today you would listen as He speaks! Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” For which ones heard and rebelled? Was it not all who came out of Egypt under Moses’ leadership? And against whom was God provoked for forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose dead bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear they would never enter into His Rest, except those who were disobedient? So we see that they could not enter because of unbelief.)
As partners with Christ, Believers IN seek to know and support His Views. Seek to enter His Rest. (Believers IN are gifted with His desire to turn from what seems right to our fleshly outlook, because we’re led to understand that our inherited rationale wants to appease self rather than practice His Way.) Unbelief is sin and only the called Believers IN can be, “gifted with the imputation of God’s spiritual law to the mind.”
Worldly religions can’t grasp spiritual discernment. Paul explained to the Corinthian church. (But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”) See 1Cor 2:14)
May we each be led to pray for spiritual understanding. (Heb 4:1-2; Therefore we must be wary that, while the promise of entering His Rest remains open, none of you may seem to have come short of it. For we had good news proclaimed to us just as they did. But the message they heard did them no good, since they did not join in with those who heard it in faith.)
The Patriarchs heard in faith and were led to rely on believing IN faith, “in the One promising.” They entered God’s Rest through His gifted faith. Remember all these things are written for our learning. (Romans 15:4)
(Heb 4:3-7; For we who have believed enter that Rest, as He has said, “As I swore in My anger, ‘They will never enter My Rest!’ And yet God’s works were accomplished from the foundation of the world. For He has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works,” but to repeat the text cited earlier: “They will never enter My Rest!” Therefore, it remains for some to enter it, yet those to whom it was previously proclaimed did not enter because of disobedience. So, God again ordains a certain day, “Today” speaking through David after so long a time, as in the words quoted before, “O, that Today you would listen as He speaks! Do not harden your hearts.) (Obedient Believers IN have entered that rest!) Unbelievers will enter when Jesus is revealed during His millennial rule. See Joel 3: