Power in the Name Derek Prince

8/13/2019 Power in the Name Derek Prince

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE

SECTION 1—GOD REVEALED IN HIS NAMES

Introduction: Unity and Plurality—Father, Son, and

Holy Spirit

1. Elohim

2. Jehovah, or ah!eh

". #he $ne %ho Provide&'. #he $ne %ho Heal&

(. #he $ne %ho I& $ur )anner

*. #he $ne %ho I& $ur Peace

+. #he $ne %ho I& $ur Shepherd

. #he $ne %ho I& $ur -ihteou&ne&&

/. #he $ne %ho I& #here

SECTION 2—GOD'S "DISGUISES"

Introduction: %hy 0oe& od U&e 0i&ui&e&3

14. #he 5arpenter6& Son

11. 5hildren

12. od6& 7e&&ener&1". od6& Per&ecuted People

SECTION 3—GOD'S ULTIMATE REVELATION:

JESUS THE CHRIST

Introduction: Je&u&6 8ature and Purpo&e&

1'. %onder9ul 5oun&elor1(. Prince o9 Peace



1*. #he %ord o9 od

1+. #he am; o9 od

1. #he ion o9 the #ri;e o9 Judah

1/. Savior24. 5hri&t, or 7e&&iah

21. #he <lpha and the $mea

22. #he )riht 7ornin Star

2". =in o9 =in& and ord o9 ord&

ABOUT THE AUTHOR



PREFACE

<ll throuh the )i;le, name& have reat &ini9icance— much reater &ini9icance than they u&ually have in our

contemporary culture. <lmo&t every name in the )i;le ha& a

&peci9ic meanin and a &peci9ic appropriatene&& to the

per&on named> each i& indicative o9 the nature o9 that

per&on.

< clear e?ample o9 thi& 9act i& 9ound in the name& o9 the

three patriarch&, <;raham, I&aac, and Jaco;. #!o o9 them

had their name& chaned ;y od—<;raham and Jaco;.

<;raham6& name !a& oriinally <;ram, meanin e?alted

9ather, !hile <;raham mean& 9ather o9 a multitude.

Jaco;6& name !a& chaned to I&rael> Jaco; i& u&ually

interpreted a& &upplanter, !hile I&rael mean& either a prince !ith od or one !ho !re&tle& !ith od.

In each ca&e, the chane o9 name !a& iven durin a cri&i&

in the li9e o9 the patriarch, and it had a deci&ive e99ect on hi&

onoin character development and the 9ul9illment o9 hi&

de&tiny. In other !ord&, name& are connected !ith character

and de&tiny.

ou miht a&@, %hy didn6t I&aac have hi& name chaned3

Intere&tinly, od cho&e I&aac6& name ;e9ore he !a& ;orn.

Since it !a& cho&en ;y od, I&aac6& name did not need to ;e

chaned.

I9 the name& iven to men in the )i;le are o9 &uch



&ini9icance, the name& attri;uted to od mu&t ;e that much

more &ini9icant. In the chapter& that 9ollo!, !e !ill loo@ at

ho! od i& revealed in Hi& name&, a& !ell a& ho! od

di&ui&e& Him&el9 and ho! Hi& ultimate revelation o9Him&el9 may ;e 9ound in Je&u& 5hri&t and the title& ;y

!hich Je&u& i& called.



INTRODUCTION TO SECTION 1

Unit An! P#$%it:

F%t&$( S)n( An! H) S*i$it

$ne particular a&pect o9 od that i& a;&olutely uniAue to the

)i;le6& revelation o9 od—it i& not 9ound in any other ;oo@

or reliion—i& the com;ination o9 unity and plurality !ithin

od6& nature. #hi& uniAue a&pect i& revealed in Hi& name

Elohim, a name !e !ill &tudy in more detail in chapter 1.

Sini9icantly, thi& name occur& in the 9ir&t ver&e o9 the

)i;le. In ene&i& 1:1, !e 9ind the&e !ord&:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the

earth.

In the oriinal He;re!, there i& a @ind o9 cla&h o9 rammar

in thi& ver&e. #he noun odB Elohim, i& plural, yet the ver;

that 9ollo!&, created i& &inular. So, !e have a plural noun

9ollo!ed ;y a &inular ver;. #hi& parado? contain& the &eed&

o9 truth that are un9olded throuhout the re&t o9 Scripture.

#here i& a &ome!hat &imilar parado? in the 9amou& ver&e in

0euteronomy that the Je!i&h people call the Shema, !hich

i& more or le&& a doctrinal &tatement o9 the 9aith o9 I&rael:

Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is

one!" (Deuteronomy 6

Intere&tinly, it ta@e& only 9our !ord& to &ay #he ord i&



our od, the ord i& one1 in He;re!. Still more intere&tin,

o9 tho&e 9our !ord&, three are plural in 9orm. #he only !ord

that i& &inular i& the !ord 9or one3 So, aain, !e 9ind thi&

parado? o9 unity and plurality com;ined in the revelation o9od.

T+) ,)$!- F)$ "ONE"

$ne !ay to under&tand unity and plurality i& to realiCe that

there are t!o di99erent He;re! !ord& 9or one. $ne !ord

i& yachid and the other i& echad.

.%/&i!: A)n An! Uni0#

#he !ord yachid mean& that !hich i& a;&olutely alone and

uniAue. For in&tance, in ene&i& 22:2, the ord &aid to

<;raham, #a@e no! your &on, your only &on, !hom you

love.... #hi& ver&e u&e& the !ord only yachid, ;ecau&e

<;raham and Sarah had only one &on ;orn o9 their o!n

;odie&.

<nother e?ample i& in P&alm 2(:1*, !here the p&almi&t

!rote, I am lonely and a99licted #he !ord lonely i&

yachid, meanin entirely on my o!n.

E/&%!: A Uni)n O A N#$ O Ent-

$n the other hand, the other !ord 9or one, echad, denote&

a union o9 a num;er o9 element&. #hi& meanin i& very clear

in many pa&&ae& o9 the $ld #e&tament. For in&tance, in

ene&i& 2, Scripture outline& the nature o9 marriae and theunion o9 <dam and Eve:



#or this cause a man shall leave his $ather and his

mother, and shall cleave to his %i$e& and they shall

become one $lesh' (Genesis

#he !ord one echad, e?pre&&e& that the t!o are ;ein

united to ;ecome one. So, echad de&cri;e& or denote& the

union o9 more than one to 9orm a unity.

In 8um;er& 1", the Scripture &ay& thi& o9 the I&raelite &pie&

!ho !ent in to &ee the Promi&ed and:

Then they came to the valley o$ )shcoland $rom

there cut do%n a branch %ith a single cluster o$

gra*es' (+umbers --

#he !ord &inle in He;re! i& echad. It !a& one clu&ter,

;ut it !a& made up o9 many rape&.

%e 9ind thi& !ord u&ed aain in a remar@a;le &tatement in

the ;oo@ o9 Jude&, !hen there !a& civil !ar amon the

tri;e& o9 I&rael:

Thus all the men o$ Israel %ere gathered against thecity, united as one man' (.udges /

#he !ord one here i& echad. #here !ere many thou&and&

o9 men> neverthele&&, they 9ormed a unity.

In one o9 the prophet ECe@iel6& vi&ion&, the ord told him to

ta@e t!o &tic@& and to name them 9or the t!o leadin tri;e&o9 I&rael.



0nd you, son o$ man, ta1e $or yoursel$ one stic1 and

%rite on it, "#or .udah and $or the sons o$ Israel, his

com*anions"& then ta1e another stic1 and %rite on

it, "#or .ose*h, the stic1 o$ )*hraim and all thehouse o$ Israel, his com*anions'" Then 2oin them $or

yoursel$ one to another into one stic1, that they may

become one in your hand' ()3e1iel -4654

<ain, the !ord one i& echad, yet !e &ee &peci9ically that

there !ere oriinally t!o &tic@&. In ;ein united, they

9ormed a unity, !hich i& de&cri;ed ;y the !ord one.

Unit T&%t I- A Uni)n

I ;elieve the&e e?ample& help u& to under&tand the @ind o9

unity that i& repre&ented ;y the !ord Elohim. It i& a unity

that i& a union— a per9ect union—;ut contain& more than

onene&&: plurality.

et u& revie! t!o pa&&ae& in the )i;le !here thi&

under&tandin i& clear. In ene&i& ", a9ter <dam and Eve

had &inned and 9or9eited their riht to live in the arden o9

Eden, !e read,

Then the Lord God said, "ehold, the man has

become li1e one o$ 7s, 1no%ing good and evil'"

(Genesis -

In readin the !hole o9 ene&i& ", it i& clear that havin the

@no!lede o9 ood and evil !a& a di&tinctive characteri&tic

o9 od. In the 8e! <merican Standard )i;le, the !ordU& in ver&e 22 i& capitaliCed. In other !ord&, it applie& to



od. #here i& ;oth unity and plurality !ithin the very nature

o9 od.

<nother intere&tin e?ample i& in I&aiah6& de&cription o9 hi&vi&ion o9 the ord:

Then I heard the voice o$ the Lord, saying, "8hom

shall I send, and %ho %ill go $or 7s9" Then I said,

"Here am I' :end me!" (Isaiah 6;

od !a& &pea@in, and He u&ed ;oth the &inular DI andthe plural DU&. He &aid, %hom &hall I &end, and !ho

!ill o 9or U&3

T& T&$ In On

<ll throuh the )i;le, there i& thi& 9a&cinatin parado?: od

i& one> yet, !ithin the onene&& o9 od, there i& more than

one. #he 9ull truth o9 thi& parado? o9 the unity and the

plurality o9 od i& ;rouht to liht and into open revelation

in the 8e! #e&tament.

et u& loo@ at the mo&t di&tinctive o9 many &uch pa&&ae&,

the 9inal commi&&ion o9 Je&u& to Hi& di&ciple& a& recorded atthe end o9 7atthe!6& o&pel:

Go there$ore and ma1e disci*les o$ all the nations,

ba*ti3ing them in the name o$ the #ather and the

:on and the Holy :*irit' (<atthe% ;=

<ctually, the ree@ &ay&, )aptiCin them into the name o9the 9ather and the Son and the Holy Spirit. %e are to ;e



;aptiCed into the name o9 od. #hat act &ini9ie& ta@in up

our place& in od, lo&in our per&onal live& in od.

#he 9ullne&& o9 od con&i&t& o9 the Father, the Son, and theHoly Spirit. %hen !e &ee thi&, !e under&tand !hy, riht

9rom the ;einnin o9 the )i;le, in the very 9ir&t ver&e o9 the

$ld #e&tament, the !ord 9or od i& plural in 9orm. #he truth

;rouht out in the 8e! #e&tament i& not ne!—it i& merely

an un9oldin and a 9ul9illment o9 !hat !a& already pre&ent,

;y implication, in i he $ld #e&tament.

et6& loo@ at t!o additional e?ample& 9rom the $ld

#e&tament. In Prover;& "4:', the !riter &aid,

8ho has gone u* to heaven and come do%n9 8ho

has gathered u* the %ind in the hollo% o$ his hands9

8ho has %ra**ed u* the %aters in his cloa19 8ho

has established all the ends o$ the earth9 8hat is his

name, and the name o$ his son9 Tell me i$ you 1no%>'

(?roverbs -/ +I@

<nyone !ho i& 9amiliar !ith the revelation o9 Scripture !ill

under&tand that the !ho ;ein re9erred to here i& od

Him&el9. 8o one ;ut od ha& done tho&e thin&. et it &ay&,%hat i& hi& name, and the name o9 hi& &on3 #hi& ver&e i&

part o9 the $ld #e&tament6& revelation o9 the plurality o9

od—in thi& in&tance, revealin the truth o9, and the

relation&hip ;et!een, od the Father and od the Son.

#hen, in I&aiah ':121", !e read,

Listen to <e, / .acob, even Israel %hom I called& I



am He, I am the $irst, I am also the last' :urely <y

hand $ounded the earth,and <y right hand s*read

out the heavens& %hen I call to them, they stand

together'

<ain, the !hole revelation o9 Scripture !ould aree that

the per&on !ho &ay& the&e !ord& i& no le&& than od

Him&el9—the 9ir&t and the la&t, the 5reator and the &u&tainer

o9 heaven and earth. #hen, He &ay&,

Aome near to <e, listen to this $rom the $irst I havenot s*o1en in secret, $rom the time it too1 *lace, I

%as there' 0nd no% the Lord God has sent <e, and

His :*irit' (Isaiah ;6

#he =in Jame& Ger&ion &ay&, #he ord od, and hi&

Spirit, hath &ent me. Here, a divine Per&on i& &pea@in, and

yet He &ay& that od, and Hi& Spirit, ha& &ent 7e.

%hichever !ay you loo@ at it, the 9ul9illment i& 9ound in the

8e! #e&tament: od the Father &ent Je&u& and the Holy

Spirit. )oth proceeded 9rom od. <nd all three are od: the

Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So, !e &ee that in

Elohim, there i& a per9ect unity that i& more than one. od i&e&&entially one, and e&&entially more than one. #hat i& the

my&tery o9 the nature o9 od—thi& uniAue ;lendin o9 unity

and plurality.



CHAPTER 1

E)&i

T& Fi$-t G$%t H$+ N% O G)!

#he primary name 9or od in $ld #e&tament He;re! i&

Elohim, the name !e loo@ed at in the introduction in

relation to the unity and plurality o9 od. et6& return to

ene&i& 1:1, !here !e 9ind the&e !ord&:

In the beginning God B)lohimC created the heavens

and the earth'

#herea9ter, the &ame name, Elohim, occur& a;out 2,(44

time& in die $ld #e&tament. #he )i;le i& a odcentered

;oo@ 9or odhunry humanity. Some!here deep in&ideevery human ;ein, there i& a huner to @no! the truth

a;out od. #he )i;le i& the only ;oo@ that can truly &ati&9y

thi& huner. #hat i& the rea&on 9or it& continuin appeal to

the human race. It remain& the unchallened ;e&t &eller

amon all ;oo@& ever !ritten.

T& T$# G)!

%e have &een that one very important 9act a;out the !ord

Elohim i& that it i& plural in 9orm. #he endin im i& the

normal plural endin in He;re!. Ju&t a& !e put an & at the

end o9 many &inular noun& in Enli&h to ma@e them plural,

&o in He;re! they put im on the end o9 ma&culine noun& toma@e them plural.



Intere&tinly, there i& a &inular 9orm o9 that !ord, Eloah,

!hich occur& more than 9i9ty time& in the )i;le, mainly in

the ;oo@ o9 Jo;. #he ;oo@ o9 Jo; i& Auite po&&i;ly the olde&t

;oo@ in the )i;le, &o thi& indicate& that Eloah i& an older9orm o9 the !ord that radually !ent out o9 u&e.

<nother 9a&cinatin 9act a;out Elohim i& that even thouh it

i& plural in 9orm, it i& u&ually 9ollo!ed ;y a &inular ver;. In

the He;re! lanuae, a& in many other lanuae&, ver;&

have ;oth &inular and plural 9orm&. <& !e noted earlier, in

ene&i& 1:1, In the ;einnin od created..., the nounod i& plural, !hile the ver; created i& in the &inular

9orm.

#houh the ver; that 9ollo!& Elohim i& normally &inular in

the )i;le, there are &ome very intere&tin place& !here it i&

9ollo!ed ;y a plural ver;. $ne o9 the mo&t intere&tin i& in

ene&i& 24:1", !here <;raham &aid, od Elohim cau&ed

me to !ander9rom my 9ather6& hou&e. #he ver; phra&e

u&ed there, cau&ed me to !ander, i& plural. #here i& no

Aue&tion that <;raham !a& tal@in a;out the true od !ho

appeared to him and prompted him to leave.

Sini9icantly, !hen <;raham made thi& &tatement, he !a&tal@in to a entile @in. It occur& to me that perhap& he

may have adapted hi& lanuae a little ;it to corre&pond to

the mind&et o9 the @in. <& !e have &een, there i& an

intere&tin ;alance ;et!een the &inular and the plural that

&tart& riht a!ay a& &oon a& the name o9 od i& mentioned

in the )i;le.

Et$n% P)+$ An! Di4in N%t#$



et6& tal@ a little more a;out the 9orm Elohim. )oth Eloah

and Elohim D&inular and plural 9orm& are derived 9rom an

earlier !ord, El, meanin po!er. It i& u&ed, 9or in&tance,

!ith that meanin in ene&i& "1. Jaco; and hi& 9atherinla!, a;an, have had a di&areement, and a;an &ay& to

Jaco;, It i& in my po!er to do you harm Dver&e 2/. #hi&

&tatement may ;e tran&lated more literally, It i& in

the po!er o9 my hand to do you harm. #he !ord po!er

i& el, the &ame !ord that i& u&ed 9or od.

#he ;a&ic connotation or a&&ociation o9 tho&e three !ord&— El, Eloah, Elohim— &tem& 9rom the one root 9orm el. #heir

;a&ic meanin i& the po!er9ul one. #he plural Elohim

&ue&t& the totality o9 all that i& od. #hi& concept !a&

e?pre&&ed ;y the apo&tle Paul in the 8e! #e&tament:

#or since the creation o$ the %orld God>s invisible

ualitiesE his eternal *o%er and divine natureE

have been clearly seen, being understood $rom %hat

has been made, so that men are %ithout eFcuse'

(omans / +I@

Paul !a& &ayin that there are certain a&pect& o9 od that

are mani9e&ted in creation. He called them Hi& invi&i;leAualitie& #hen, he de9ined them a& hi& eternal po!er and

divine nature. #hat i& really !hat Elohim &tand& 9or—

od6& eternal po!er and divine nature.

It i& intere&tin to note that the Jeru&alem )i;le u&e& the

phra&e po!er and deity in tran&latin the a;ove ver&e.

Perhap&, in a !ay, the mo&t comprehen&ive !ay to tran&lateElohim i& deity, ;ecau&e !e have to ta@e into account it&



plural 9orm. It really &um& up all that i& od.

Ot&$ A**i/%ti)n- O E)&i

#he !ord elohim i& al&o applied in the )i;le to per&on&

other than the one true od, ;ut it i& al!ay& 9or &ome

&peci9ic rea&on. It i& u&ed 9or per&on& or created thin& that,

in &ome mea&ure, mani9e&t one or more attri;ute& a&&ociated

!ith od a& Elohim—particularly, the attri;ute& o9 po!er,

mae&ty, and authority. For in&tance, the p&almi&t !rote,

#or thou hast made him a little lo%er than the

angels BelohimC, and hast cro%ned him %ith glory

and honour' (?salm ; .@

#hi& ver&e i& u&ually interpreted a& a prophetic previe! o9

the incarnation o9 Je&u& a& a man. et it &ay&, #hou ha&t

made him a little lo!er than the anel& $ther tran&lation&

u&e heavenly ;ein& D8IG and od D8<S), &o there i&

a ood deal o9 9le?i;ility. )ut it i& enerally areed that the

meanin there i& anel&, &o !e &ee the !ord elohim applied

to anel&.

#he !ord i& al&o applied to human ude&. In E?odu& 22:/,the la! o9 7o&e& &ay& thi&:

#or every breach o$ trust, %hether it is $or oF, $or

don1ey, $or shee*, $or clothing, or $or any lost thing

about %hich one says, "This is it," the case o$ both

*arties shall come be$ore the 2udges BelohimC& he

%hom the 2udges BelohimC condemn shall *aydouble to his neighbor'



#he name elohim i& con9erred on human ude& ;ecau&e

they repre&ent od6& u&tice.

Elohim i& applied to ruler& in P&alm 2:1:

od ta@e& Hi& &tand in Hi& o!n conreation> He ude& in

the mid&t o9 the ruler& elohim.

Finally, in E?odu& 12:12, the !ord i& applied to &atanic

principalitie& and po!er&. od &aid,

For I !ill o throuh the land o9 Eypt on that niht, and

!ill &tri@e do!n all the 9ir&t;orn in the land o9 Eypt, ;oth

man and ;ea&t> and aain&t all the od& elohim o9 Eypt I

!ill e?ecute udment&—I am the ord.

In thi& ca&e, the&e od& are the enemie& o9 the true od

and Hi& people. #hey are undou;tedly Satan6& principalitie&

and po!er&—the ruler& in hi& &atanic @indom—;ut they

are called od&.

So, !e &ee that the !ord elohim i& applied to anel&, human

ude&, human ruler&, and even demonic ;ein&. #hat i& ;ecau&e they all, to a limited deree, mani9e&t one or more

attri;ute& a&&ociated !ith od—&uch a& po!er, mae&ty,

rihteou&ne&&, u&tice, eternity, heavenly ;ein—and od6&

attri;ute& are &ummed up, I ;elieve, in one !ord: deity.

T& F# M%nin5 O E)&i

In the Introduction, !e &a! that the !ord Elohim contain&



!ithin it the &eed o9 a truth that i& un9olded throuhout the

re&t o9 the )i;le. #he e&&ence o9 thi& truth can ;e &tated in a

parado?: Elohim repre&ent& the per9ect unity o9 that !hich

i& more than one. od i& e&&entially one and e&&entiallymore than one. #he onoin development o9 thi& parado?

throuh the Scripture& eventually lead& to the 9ull revelation

o9 od iven ;y Je&u&, !ho identi9ied the plurality !ithin

the unity o9 od a& Father, Son, and Spirit. < proper

under&tandin o9 Elohim ena;le& u& to &ee that the

revelation o9 Je&u& i& not a departure 9rom the oriinal

revelation o9 the $ld #e&tament ;ut rather it& loical9ul9illment.

#hen, in thi& chapter, !e have &een that the ;a&ic meanin

o9 od6& name Elohim i& the po!er9ul one, and that it&

plural 9orm &ue&t& the totality o9 all that i& od in Hi&

eternal po!er and divine nature.



CHAPTER 2

J&)4%&( O$ .%&+&

T& S/)n! G$%t H$+ N% O G)!

%e !ill no! e?amine the &econd reat He;re! name o9

od, !hich ha& traditionally ;een repre&ented in Enli&h ;y

the !ord Jehovah. Jehovah i& not the only !ord u&ed 9or

thi& name in Enli&h, ho!ever. In the Jeru&alem )i;le, it i&!ritten ah!eh. #hi& pro;a;ly repre&ent& &omethin clo&e

to the oriinal pronunciation in He;re!. In another ver&ion,

the )er@eley )i;le, thi& name i& tran&lated #he Eternal. In

other !ord&, it i& tran&lated ;y an adective. %e &ee that

there i& a certain my&tery that revolve& around thi& name.

.6H6,6H

In it& oriinal He;re! 9orm, thi& name con&i&t& o9 9our

con&onant&, h!h, and no vo!el&. %e need to under&tand

that, normally, in the He;re! lanuae, only the con&onant&

are !ritten. #he vo!el& have to ;e &upplied ;y the reader.

Sometime&, they are placed under the con&onant&. In anyca&e, here i& the ;a&ic principle: unle&& you already @no! a

!ord, you u&ually cannot pronounce it ;ecau&e you do not

@no! !here to place the vo!el& or !hat vo!el& to in&ert.

#here are 9our con&onant& in thi& &acred, uniAue name o9

od. Since the time o9 the &econd temple o9 I&rael, thi&

name ha& not ;een pronounced ;y the Je!i&h people. It !a&con&idered too &acred 9or them to pronounce. So, !herever



thi& name occur& in the He;re! Scripture&, they &u;&tituted

another name. U&ually, they &u;&tituted <donai, !hich

mean& my ord. <don mean& ord. D#he intere&tin 9act

i& that the !ord <donai, li@e Elohim, i& plural in 9orm> the&inular 9orm i& <doni <lternatively, in&tead o9

pronouncin thi& name, Je!i&h people !ill &imply &ay, #he

8ame.

Since thi& &econd name o9 od i& revealed in Scripture a&

u&t 9our con&onant&, i9 !e are oin to pronounce it, !e

have to determine !hat vo!el& to put in. In mo&t Enli&hver&ion& o9 the )i;le, thi& name i& repre&ented ;y the !ord&

the ord !here ord i& &et in &mall capital letter&. 7any

people read the )i;le !ithout realiCin thi&. I9 the !ord

ord i& not in capital&, then it repre&ent& the u&e o9 <don

in the oriinal He;re! te?t. )ut i9 the !ord ord i& in

&mall capital letter&, it repre&ent& the &acred name o9

Jehovah: h!h.

et6& loo@ at the e?planation o9 thi& name that the ord

Him&el9 ave. #he ord had told 7o&e& he !a& to o ;ac@

to Eypt and deliver I&rael, and 7o&e& a&@ed,

":u**ose I go to the Israelites and say to them, >TheGod B)lohimC o$ your $athers has sent me to you,>

and they as1 me, "8hat is his name9> Then %hat

shall I tell them9" God said to <oses, "I 0m 8ho I

0m' This is %hat you are to say to the Israelites T

0m has sent me to you'"> God also said to <oses,

":ay to the Israelites, "The Lord Bthe sacred name,

Jh%hC, the God B)lohimC o$ your $athersEthe GodB)lohimC o$ 0braham, the God B)lohimC o$ Isaac



and the God B)lohimC o$ .acobE has sent me to

you'> This is my name $orever, the name by %hich I

am to be remembered $rom generation to

generation'" ()Fodus --5 +I@

#he name h!h ha& a certain meanin that i& related to the

name I <m.

#he oriinal &tatement !a& I <m %ho I <mK6 In early

He;re!, !hen thi& name !a& mentioned in the third per&on,it !a&, He i& !ho He i&. Ho!ever, !e have to ta@e another

9actor into account. In the He;re! lanuae, the pre&ent

ten&e o9ten ha& a 9uture meanin. So, thi& name could mean

either I am !ho I am or I !ill ;e !ho I !ill ;e. It could

mean either He i& !ho He i& or He !ill ;e !ho He !ill

;e. In other !ord&, the name communicate& much more

than !e can &ay in one or t!o &imple !ord&.

A-*/t- O T& N%

A P$-)n% G)!

et6& loo@ at it in thi& !ay: h!h e&&entially mean& He i&!ho He i&. rammatically, ho!ever, it i& more li@e a

per&onal name—a proper noun rather than a common noun.

In thi& !ay, it empha&iCe& od a& a Per&on. #hi& per&onal

name—ah!eh or Jehovah or the $-0, !hichever !ay

!e !ant to &ay it—9ir&t occur& in ene&i& 2 in connection

!ith the creation o9 man.

The Lord God B.ehovah )lohim, or Jah%eh )lohim



Ethe t%o names combinedC $ormed the man $rom

the dust o$ the ground and breathed into his nostrils

the breath o$ li$e, and the man became a living

being' (Genesis 4 +I@

#he !ord man in He;re! i& adam. It al&o i& a proper name.

So, !e &ee that the proper name Jehovah, or ah!eh Dod

created the proper name <dam Da man. #hi& 9act ;rin& out

the per&onality o9 ;oth od and man. < per&onal od

created a per&onal man. %hy3 For 9ello!&hip ;et!een the

t!o.

#he u&e o9 the name Jehovah, or ah!eh, in thi& ver&e

;rin& out the 9act that od, a& a Per&on, created a man, a& a

per&on. It ;rin& out riht 9rom the ;einnin od6& de&ire

9or a Per&ontoper&on relation&hip !ith man. %e may &um

it up in thi& !ay: the name Elohim indicate& od a& the

eneral 5reator o9 the univer&e, !hile Jehovah, or ah!eh,

indicate& Him a& the per&onal 5reator o9 man.

#he 9ir&t a&pect, there9ore, o9 thi& &acred name i& that it i& a

per&onal name. It 9ocu&e& on the 9act that od i& a real

Per&on. He i& not an a;&traction, not an entity, not u&t a

&upreme ;ein, ;ut a Per&on.

An Et$n% An! Un/&%n5in5 G)!

#he &econd a&pect empha&iCed ;y the name Jehovah, or

ah!eh, i& that od i& eternal and unchanin. #hi& truth i&

implied ;y the u&e o9 the ver; to ;e in E?odu& ":1': I

<m %ho I <m. od i& the one !ho i&. In a certain &en&e,the pa&t, pre&ent, and 9uture o9 od all come toether



in eternity.

#hi& unchanin, eternal nature o9 Jehovah, or ah!eh, i&

not only implied, ;ut it i& al&o ;rouht out directly inconnection !ith Hi& name. For e?ample, at the very end o9

the $ld #e&tament, the ord Him&el9 ;rin& thi& out in

7alachi6& me&&ae to I&rael, &ayin,

#or I the Lord B.ehovah, or Jah%ehC, do not

change& there$ore you, / sons o$ .acob, are not

consumed' (<alachi -6

#he &urvival o9 I&rael depend& on the eternal, unchanin

9aith9ulne&& o9 the ord.

#here i& an alternative !ay to tran&late that ver&e, !hich I

actually pre9er: I am the ord, I do not chane D8=JG.

#hat i& the very e&&ence o9 Hi& name. He i& the eternal,

unchanin $ne.

#hi& truth i& ;rouht out in variou& !ay& in the 8e!

#e&tament. #he ;oo@ o9 He;re!& &ay& o9 od the Son,

.esus Ahrist is the same yesterday and today and $orever' (Hebre%s -; +I@

Pa&t, pre&ent, and 9uture are all rolled toether in od. %e

read in the ;oo@ o9 -evelation,

"I am the 0l*ha and the Omega," says the Lord God,

"%ho is, and %ho %as, and %ho is to come, the 0lmighty'" (evelation ; +I@



#here i& a tran&cendin o9 time here. He i& the 9ir&t and the

la&t, the ;einnin and the end, &imultaneou&ly. He i& the

$ne !ho i&, and !ho !a&, and !ho i& to come. #hat phra&e i& pro;a;ly the ;e&t !ay o9 repre&entin the true

meanin o9 the !ord Jehovah, or ah!eh. od i& not u&t

the one !ho i& in the pre&ent, ;ut He al&o contain& !ithin

Him&el9 the pa&t and the 9uture.

#o &um up, thi& &pecial, &acred, uniAue name—Jehovah, or

ah!eh—ha& t!o particular &ini9icance&. Fir&t, itempha&iCe& that od i& a Per&on. Second, it empha&iCe& that

od i& the eternal, unchanin $ne.



CHAPTER 3

T& On ,&) P$)4i!-

In the previou& chapter&, !e have e?amined the t!o reat

He;re! name& 9or od 9ound in the $ld #e&tament: D1

Elohim, and D2 Jehovah, or ah!eh. Elohim &ini9ie& od

a& the po!er9ul 5reator o9 the univer&e. Jehovah, or

ah!eh, i& the per&onal name 9or od.

A G)! ) C)4n%nt-

%hile the t!o main a&pect& o9 the name Jehovah, or

ah!eh, are that od i& per&onal and eternal, thi& name i&

al&o &tronly a&&ociated !ith the covenant& od ma@e& !ith

men. #here are t!o rea&on& 9or thi& a&&ociation, and they are

related to the a&pect& o9 the name noted a;ove.

Fir&t, a covenant i& a per&ontoper&on relation&hip. For that

rea&on, it i& appropriate that the per&onal name o9 od

&hould ;e u&ed in thi& connection.

Second, a covenant i& unchanin, or permanent. It i&

there9ore appropriate aain that the name that empha&iCe&od6& eternal, unchanin nature &hould ;e connected !ith

covenant&.

et6& loo@ at u&t t!o o9 od6& &tatement& a;out covenant&,

;oth o9 !hich are 9ound in P&alm /:

<y loving1indness I %ill 1ee* $or him BDavidC



$orever, and <y covenant shall he con$irmed to him'

(verse ;

<y covenant I %ill not violate, nor %ill I alter theutterance o$ <y li*s' (verse -

$nce od ha& committed Him&el9 to a covenant, He never

;rea@& it. So, aain, a covenant i& particularly appropriate to

a&&ociate !ith the name Jehovah, or ah!eh, !hich &pea@&

o9 the eternal, unchanin nature o9 od.

#he He;re! !ord 9or lovin@indne&& !hich occur& in

ver&e 2 o9 the a;ove p&alm, i& che&ed, and it i& al!ay&

related to covenant. Per&onally, the tran&lation I !ould

choo&e i& od6& covenant@eepin 9aith9ulne&&. It i& al&o

tran&lated &tead9a&t love D-SG and mercy D=JG. )ut I

;elieve !e under&tand it properly only !hen !e relate

od6& lovin@indne&& to Hi& covenant> it i& that a&pect o9

od6& nature that hold& Him to Hi& covenant.

S4n C)4n%nt% N%- ) G)!

#he name Jehovah, or ah!eh, i& directly lin@ed !ith &even

&peci9ic name&, or title&, repre&entin &even a&pect& o9 od6&covenant@eepin 9aith9ulne&& in Hi& dealin& !ith man. In

the order o9 their occurrence in the Scripture&, the&e name&

reveal Jehovah in the 9ollo!in a&pect&:

1. #he $ne %ho Provide&

2. #he $ne %ho Heal&

". #he $ne %ho I& $ur )anner '. #he $ne %ho I& $ur Peace



(. #he $ne %ho I& $ur Shepherd

*. #he $ne %ho I& $ur -ihteou&ne&&

+. #he $ne %ho I& #here DPermanently Pre&ent

T& Fi$-t C)4n%nt% N%

O G)!: T& On ,&) P$)4i!-

%e !ill e?plore each o9 the&e covenantal name& o9 the ord

in &ucce&&ion, ;einnin !ith #he $ne %ho Provide&. #hi&

name i& mentioned 9ir&t in ene&i& 22 in the &tory o9<;raham ta@in hi& &on I&aac to 7ount 7oriah, !here he

!a& !illin to o99er him a& a &acri9ice to the ord. %hen

they arrived at the 9oot o9 the mountain, <;raham told hi&

&ervant& to remain there !ith the don@ey !hile he too@

I&aac and the 9ire 9or the ;urnt o99erin. <;raham and hi&

&on !ent up the mountain toether. #hi& i& !hat 9ollo!ed:

0nd 0braham too1 the %ood o$ the burnt o$$ering

and laid it on Isaac his son, and he too1 in his hand

the $ire and the 1ni$e' :o the t%o o$ them %al1ed on

together' 0nd Isaac s*o1e to 0braham his $ather and

said, "<y $ather!" 0nd he said, "Here I am, my son'"

0nd he said, "ehold, the $ire and the %ood, but%here is the lamb $or the burnt o$$ering9" 0nd

0braham said, "God %ill *rovide $or Himsel$ the

lamb $or the burnt o$$ering, my son'" :o the t%o o$

them %al1ed on together' (Genesis 65;

<9ter they had come to the top o9 the mountain and<;raham had prepared hi& &on a& the &acri9ice, at the la&t



moment, od intervened and told him that He did not

reAuire the &acri9ice o9 I&aac. In&tead, <;raham &acri9iced a

ram that he 9ound cauht ;y it& horn& in a thic@et. DSee

ver&e& /1". #hen, !e read the part !here the nameappear&:

0nd 0braham called the name o$ that *lace The

Lord 8ill ?rovide, as it is said to this day, "In the

mount o$ the Lord it %ill be *rovided'" (verse

#hat i& !here the 9ir&t covenant name o9 Jehovah, orah!eh, appear&—Jehovah the provider, the $ne !ho !ill

provide. DEnli&h&pea@in people tend to &ay Jehovah

Jireh. Ho!ever, that pronunciation i& very remote 9rom ho!

it &ound& in He;re!.

In He;re!, the !ord that i& tran&lated Provide i& literally

to &ee. From that meanin, !e et thi& ;eauti9ul thouht

that !hen od &ee&, He provide&. %e al&o et the !onder9ul

concept that od6& 9ir&t covenant commitment i& to provide.

#hi& i& the root o9 all Hi& commitment: He provide& 9or Hi&

people.

T& O#t+)$7in5 O G)!'- P$)4i-i)n

et6& loo@ at the out!or@in o9 thi& covenant commitment

o9 the ord to provide 9or Hi& people. It i& a mo&t ;eauti9ul

picture a& !e &ee it !or@ed out in the &u;&eAuent revelation

o9 Scripture. It point& u& to one Per&on !ho i& the

9ul9illment o9 all od6& covenant commitment&: Je&u& the

7e&&iah.



8ote &ome particular point&. Fir&t, the primary provi&ion

!a& a lam;. I&aac &aid, %here i& the lam;3 Dene&i&

22:+, and <;raham replied, od !ill provide 9or Him&el9

the lam; Dver&e . %hen the 9ul9illment o9 thecommitment came, it !a& a lam;—the am; o9 od. #hi&

i& ho! John the )apti&t &po@e o9 Je&u&:

The neFt day he B.ohn the a*tistC sa% .esus

coming to him, and said, "ehold, the Lamb o$ God

%ho ta1es a%ay the sin o$ the %orld!" (.ohn =

od 9ul9illed <;raham6& con9idence in Him. #!o thou&and

year& later, He provided the am;, the ultimate &acri9ice—

the $ne in !hom all o9 od6& covenant commitment& !ere

9ul9illed. %hen you thin@ a;out the name #he $-0 %ill

Provide Dene&i& 22:1', al!ay& let it carry your mind to

that am; throuh !hom the provi&ion !a& made. #he

ord !ill provide a lam; 9or the &acri9ice. %hen Je&u&

came, He !a& the provided lam;, the am; o9 od !ho

ta@e& a!ay the &in o9 the !orld.

Scripture &ay& in that incident !ith <;raham, In the mount

o9 the ord it !ill ;e provided Dene&i& 22:1'. <ain, thi&

i& 9a&cinatin a& !e trace it& out!or@in. 7oriah i&enerally areed to ;e the &ame mountain that occur& in the

8e! #e&tament a& olotha or 5alvary. So, on the very

mountain !here <;raham made that oriinal con9e&&ion o9

hi& 9aith, od !ill provide 9or Him&el9 the lam; Dver&e ,

and !here it !a& &aid later, In the mount o9 the ord it !ill

;e provided Dver&e 1', t!o thou&and year& later, it !a&

provided ;y the death o9 Je&u& on the cro&&.



#hat !a& the ultimate provi&ion o9 od 9or the need—not

only o9 <;raham and o9 the Je!i&h people, ;ut al&o o9 the

!hole &eed o9 <;raham, o9 all tho&e !ho ;elieve in od.

T*- An! Pi/t#$- O G)!'- P$)4i-i)n

<;raham and I&aac and the &acri9ice on 7ount 7oriah are

;eauti9ul type& o9 !hat too@ place at 5alvary. <;raham

typi9ie& od the Father, I&aac typi9ie& od the Son, the 9ire

9or the &acri9ice typi9ie& the Holy Spirit, and the !ood I&aac

carried typi9ie& the cro&&.

#here i& the !hole &cene o9 the cruci9i?ion in previe!:

<;raham, the 9ather, o99erin hi& only &on, I&aac> the 9ire o9

the Spirit needed to ma@e the &acri9ice po&&i;le> and the

!ood on !hich the &acri9ice !a& to ta@e place.

%e can &um all o9 thi& up in one ver&e o9 the 8e!

#e&tament:

He %ho did not s*are His o%n :on, but delivered

Him u* $or us all, ho% %ill He not also %ith Him

$reely give us all things9 (omans ;-

#here i& the total commitment: #he ord !ill provide

Dene&i& 22:1'—not u&t in one &ituation or 9or one need,

;ut in every &ituation, 9or every need, 9or time and 9or

eternity.

#he ord ha& made a covenant commitment a&&ociated !ith

Hi& o!n divine, per&onal, unchanin name. He !ill al!ay& provide 9or Hi& people. #he ultimate proo9 and the ultimate



provi&ion i& in the Son o9 od, the ord Je&u& 5hri&t, !ho

;ecame the &in o99erin, the am; o9 od !ho ta@e& a!ay

the &in o9 the !orld DJohn 1:2/.

%ould you ta@e a moment no! and meditate on thi& ver&e3

He !ho did not &pare Hi& o!n Son, ;ut delivered Him up

9or u& all, ho! !ill He not al&o !ith Him 9reely ive u& all

thin&3

-emem;er, it i& !ith Him. ou cannot have the provi&ion!ithout the am;. #he provi&ion i& in the am; o9 od—

Je&u&.



CHAPTER 8

T& On ,&) H%-

%e have &een that od6& name Jehovah, or ah!eh, i&

directly lin@ed !ith &even &peci9ic name&, or title&,

repre&entin &even a&pect& o9 od6& covenant@eepin

9aith9ulne&& in Hi& dealin& !ith man. In the previou&

chapter, !e loo@ed at the 9ir&t o9 the&e covenantal name&,

#he $ne %ho Provide&. I pointed out that od6& 9ir&t

commitment to Hi& people i& to provide. 8o!, !e are oin

to deal !ith the &econd covenantal name, #he $ne %ho

Heal&.

"I( T& L)$!( A .)#$ H%$"

#hi& name i& 9ir&t 9ound in E?odu& 1(, !hich relate& an

e?perience o9 the I&raelite& in their deliverance 9rom Eypt.

#hey had u&t cro&&ed the -ed Sea and &et out on their

ourney throuh the !ilderne&&:

Then <oses led Israel $rom the ed :ea, and they

%ent out into the %ilderness o$ :hur& and they %entthree days in the %ilderness and $ound no %ater' 0nd

%hen they came to <arah, they could not drin1 the

%aters o$ <arah, $or they %ere bitter& there$ore it

%as named <arah BbitterC' :o the *eo*le grumbled

at <oses, saying, "8hat shall %e drin19" Then he

cried out to the Lord, and the Lord sho%ed him atree& and he thre% it into the %aters, and the %aters





!hile one man prayed. <nd 7o&e& ot the &olution. #hi&

remind& u& that it i& al!ay& !i&er to pray than to rum;le.

#he Scripture &ay&,

Do all things %ithout grumbling or dis*uting& that

you may *rove yourselves to be blameless and

innocent, children o$ God above re*roach in the

midst o$ a croo1ed and *erverse generation, among

%hom you a**ear as lights in the %orld, holding $ast

the %ord o$ li$e' (?hili**ians 56

G)! D/i!! t) B Hi- P)*- H%$

Second, the initiative in thi& revelation came 9rom od.

#here i& &o much &@eptici&m today in the church a;out

od6& po!er and !illinne&& to heal. %e need to &ee that

od &et up a teachin &ituation: He ;rouht Hi& people to

the point o9 de&peration, and then, out o9 Hi& o!n !ill and

coun&el, He &peci9ically revealed Him&el9 a& the healer o9

Hi& people. It !a& not &omethin that the people a&@ed 9or.

It !a& &omethin that came 9rom od6& o!n deci&ion. od

Him&el9 decided to ;e the healer o9 Hi& people.

It T%7- F%it& T) R%- G)!'- P)+$

#hird, it i& important to reconiCe that it too@ an act o9 9aith

to relea&e od6& miracle!or@in po!er—a& it u&ually doe&.

od &ho!ed 7o&e& a certain tree. 7o&e& had to pic@ up the

tree and ca&t it into the !ater. #hat act o9 9aith—ca&tin the

tree into the !ater— relea&ed od6& miracle!or@in po!erin that !ater.



7o&e& could have &tood on the ;rin@ o9 the !ater and u&t

;elieved !ithout doin anythin, and nothin !ould ever

have happened. #hi& ;rin& out the principle that 9aith

!ithout !or@& i& dead DJame& 2:2*. I9 !e ;elieve, !e needto demon&trate our 9aith throuh our !ord&, action&, or ;oth.

T& T$ P)int- T) T& C$)--

Fourth, !e al&o need to &ee that the tree !a& the mean& o9

healin tho&e ;itter !ater&. In He;re!, the !ord tree i& u&ed ;oth 9or a tree that i& ro!in and 9or a tree that ha& already

;een cut do!n. In the 8e! #e&tament, in a num;er o9

tran&lation&, the !ord tree i& u&ed 9or the cro&&. DSee, 9or

e?ample, <ct& (:"4 8IG, =JG, 8=JG, -SG $nce aain, the

7arah account point& u& 9or!ard to the cro&& o9 Je&u& a& the

place !here thi& healin covenant 9ound it& ultimate

9ul9illment.

A-7 ",&%t9"R%t&$ T&%n ",&9"

<nother a&pect that al!ay& impre&&e& me i& that !e are

never told !hy the !ater& !ere ;itter. )ut 7o&e& !a&

&ho!n ho! to ma@e them &!eet. Sometime&, !e !a&te ourenery in li9e ;y a&@in a lot o9 un9ruit9ul Aue&tion&, &uch a&

%hy did thi& or that happen3 %e mu&t ;ypa&& tho&e

Aue&tion&, o to od, and &ay, ord, &ho! me !hat to do.

<nd od !ill do it. Under&tandin !hy thin& have

happened !ould u&t ;urden our mind&. )ut od !ill

al!ay& ive u& the practical an&!er !hen !e !ant to @no!

!hat to do.



R0#i$nt- F)$ H%in5

,&)&%$t! F%it& In G)!

#he ;a&ic reAuirement 9or healin i& &tated clearly: I9 you

!ill ive earne&t heed to the voice o9 the ord your od...

DE?odu& 1(:2*. In the oriinal He;re!, it i& literally, I9

li&tenin you !ill li&ten to the voice o9 the ord. #he !ord

li&ten i& repeated t!ice.

$nce, a& I lay &ic@ in a ho&pital, de&perately needin healinand &ee@in od 9or it in the Scripture&, thi& ver&e came to

me. I &aid, %hat doe& it mean to 6li&ten, li&tenin63 <nd it

&eemed od ave me thi& an&!er: I ave you t!o ear&, a

riht ear and a le9t ear. #o 6li&ten, li&tenin6 i& to li&ten to 7e

!ith ;oth ear&. )ut i9 you li&ten to 7e !ith one ear and to

&ome;ody el&e !ith the other ear, all you et i& con9u&ion

and not 9aith. So, I &topped up my ear to the &ini&ter

!hi&per o9 the devil and li&tened to od !ith ;oth ear&.

Sure enouh, I received my healinK

T$#-t In J-#-' F#int O G)!'- C)4n%nt

In the la&t chapter, !e &a! that od6& commitment to provide 9ound it& 9ul9illment in Je&u&, the am; o9 od. #he

&ame i& true o9 od6& commitment to heal. It, too, 9ound it&

9inal 9ul9illment in Je&u&. #hi& i& the record o9 the 8e!

#e&tament:

0nd %hen evening had come, they brought to Him

B.esusC many %ho %ere demon5*ossessed& and Hecast out the s*irits %ith a %ord, and healed all %ho



%ere ill in order that %hat %as s*o1en through

Isaiah the *ro*het might be $ul$illed, saying, "He

Himsel$ too1 our in$irmities, and carried a%ay our

diseases'" (<atthe% ;654

Je&u& !a& the 9inal 9ul9illment o9 the healin covenant o9

od 9or Hi& people. $n the cro&&, Je&u& not only ;ore our

&in, ;ut He al&o too@ our in9irmitie& and carried a!ay our

di&ea&e&. He not only provided 9orivene&&, ;ut He al&o

provided healin.

Hi& provi&ion !a& not only in the &piritual realm, ;ut al&o in

the phy&ical realm. #hat !a& a covenant commitment od

had made !ith I&rael. For thi& rea&on, !e do not read in the

8e! #e&tament that any I&raelite ever came to Je&u& 9or

healin and !a& re9u&ed. #here i& no record o9 any I&raelite

ever ;ein re9u&ed healin. For in&tance, read thi& account:

0nd %hen the men o$ that *lace recogni3ed Him,

they sent into all that surrounding district and

brought to Him all %ho %ere sic1& and they began to

entreat Him that they might 2ust touch the $ringe o$

His cloa1& and as many as touched it %ere cured'

(<atthe% -5-6

#he people u&t had to touch Hi& cloa@ and they !ere

healed. Ho!ever, Je&u&6 attitude to!ard entile&, tho&e !ho

!ere not Je!i&h, !a& di99erent. In 7atthe! 1(, !e read

a;out a 5anaanite !oman !ho !a& not Je!i&h ;ut !ho

;ean to cry out 9or Him to have mercy on her dauhter.

She &aid,



"Lord, :on o$ David& my daughter is cruelly demon5

*ossessed'" ut He B.esusC did not ans%er her a

%ord' 0nd His disci*les came to Him and 1e*t

as1ing Him, saying, ":end her a%ay, $or she is shouting out a$ter us'" ut He ans%ered and said, "I

%as sent only to the lost shee* o$ the house o$

Israel'" (<atthe% 5

In other !ord&, 7y covenant o;liation i& not to tho&e !ho

are not o9 the hou&e o9 I&rael.

ut she came and began to bo% do%n be$ore Him,

saying, "Lord, hel* me!" 0nd He ans%ered and said,

"It is not good to ta1e the children>s bread and thro%

it to the dogs'" (verses 56

Unle&& !e under&tand the nature o9 covenant commitment,

it i& hard to under&tand Je&u&6 reply. Je&u& had a covenant

!ith I&rael ;y !hich He !a& committed to ;e their healer.

#here9ore, healin !a& the children6& ;read. #hi& !oman

had no covenant, no claim. $h, ;ut &he had 9aithK

:he said, "Jes, Lord& but even the dogs $eed on the

crumbs %hich $all $rom their masters> table'" (verse4

#hin@ o9 the &ini9icance o9 her &tatement. She &aid, in

e99ect, ord, I don6t need a &lice. <ll I need i& a crum;. $ne

little crum; !ill do all that6& needed 9or my dauhter. Je&u&6

re&pon&e i& one o9 the mo&t ;eauti9ul in Scripture.

Then .esus ans%ered and said to her, "O %oman,



your $aith is great& be it done $or you as you %ish'"

0nd her daughter %as healed at once' (verse ;

#he !oman6& 9aith called 9orth Je&u&6 compa&&ion, eventhouh He had no covenantal o;liation.

-emem;er that od i& &till the healer o9 Hi& people. #he

;le&&in& o9 the covenant are no! availa;le to ;oth Je!&

and entile&—to all tho&e !ho come in 9aith, throuh Je&u&,

to od the Father, on the ;a&i& o9 Hi& covenantal name: #he

$ne %ho Heal&.

#or I, the Lord, am your healer' ()Fodus 6

Ahrist redeemed us $rom the curse o$ the La%,

having become a curse $or usE5$or it is %ritten,

"Aursed is everyone %ho hangs on a tree"Ein order

that in Ahrist .esus the blessing o$ 0braham might

come to the Gentiles, so that %e might receive the

*romise o$ the :*irit through $aith' (Galatians --5





od ha& provided 9or u&, !e are al!ay& oin to 9ace

oppo&ition. #hi& i& not u&t &omethin that happened once> it

i& oin to happen 9rom eneration to eneration. #he ord

i& oin to ta@e our &ide. He i& oin to &tand !ith u& in theoppo&ition, ;ut !e are oin to have to participate in the&e

;attle&.

#he particular a&pect o9 the ord6& help that i& ;rouht out

in the a;ove pa&&ae i& 9ound in the name o9 the altar that

7o&e& ;uilt: #he ord i& 7y )anner DE?odu& 1+:1(. %e

&ee that the ord ha& iven u& a ;anner that !ill ;rin u&victory in the !ar9are !e have to o throuh.

#here i& much !ritten in the 8e! #e&tament a;out thi&

!ar9are. For in&tance, Paul !rote,

#or our struggle is not against $lesh and blood, but

against the rulers, against the *o%ers, against the

%orld $orces o$ this dar1ness, against the s*iritual

$orces o$ %ic1edness in the heavenly *laces,

()*hesians 6

In other !ord&, !e, a& 5hri&tian&, are oin to encounter

oppo&ition and !ar9are. $ur !ar !ill not ;e !ith phy&icalenemie& ;ut !ith &piritual, &atanic 9orce& that !ill oppo&e

our &piritual ourney&.

In 2 5orinthian&, Paul tal@ed a;out the type o9 !eapon& !e

need in thi& !ar9are:

#or though %e %al1 in the $lesh, %e do not %araccording to the $lesh, $or the %ea*ons o$ our



%ar$are are not o$ the $lesh, but divinely *o%er$ul

$or the destruction o$ $ortresses' ( Aorinthians

/-5

8ot o9 the 9le&h mean& that our !eapon& are, in e99ect, the

oppo&ite o9 the 9le&h—they are &piritual. So, od ha&

provided u& !ith &piritual !eapon& 9or a &piritual !ar9are.

O#$ B%nn$ I- T& N% O T& L)$!

In P&alm 24:(, in particular, !e hear a;out the ;anner theord ha& provided:

8e %ill sing $or 2oy over your victory, and in the

name o$ our God %e %ill set u* our banners'

$ur ;anner i& the name o9 the ord our od, and Hi&

victory ;ecome& our victory a& !e &et up our ;anner& in Hi&

name.

#here i& much to learn, o9 cour&e, a;out the name o9 the

ord in the 8e! #e&tament. For in&tance, Paul &aid thi&

a;out Je&u&:

There$ore also God highly eFalted Him, and

besto%ed on Him the name %hich is above every

name, that at the name o$ .esus every 1nee should

bo%, o$ those %ho are in heaven, and on earth, and

under the earth, and that every tongue should

con$ess that .esus Ahrist is Lord, to the glory o$ God

the #ather' (?hili**ians =5



In the name o9 the ord Je&u& 5hri&t, then, !e have a ;anner

;e9ore !hich all the 9orce& o9 evil have to ;o! and yield. In

thi& !ay, Paul &aid, 5hri&t6& victory ;ecome& our victory.

ut than1s be to God, %ho al%ays leads us in His

trium*h in Ahrist, and mani$ests through us the

s%eet aroma o$ the 1no%ledge o$ Him in every *lace'

( Aorinthians

#he victory that 5hri&t !on over Satan on the cro&& i& made

availa;le to u& on the condition that !e u&e the ;anner thatod ha& provided. #he ;anner i& the name o9 the ord Je&u&

5hri&t. So, the name o9 the ord i& our ;anner in thi&

&piritual !ar.

O#$ St%n!%$!6B%$$

<& !e continue to loo@ at our ;anner, the name o9 the ord,

I !ant to u&e $ld #e&tament Scripture& and hi&tory to

hihliht the &ini9icance o9 the &tandard;earer—the one

!ho carried the ;anner, or &tandard, in an ancient army.

0e&cri;in the de9eat o9 a lare entile 9orce, the <&&yrian

army, the prophet I&aiah &aid,

They shall be as %hen a standard5bearer $ainteth'

(Isaiah /; .@

%hen a &tandard;earer 9ainted, the !hole army !ould

;ecome di&oraniCed. <ncient armie& !ere trained to

reroup around the &tandard. I9 they !ere hardpre&&ed in

;attle, they !ere lia;le to ;e divided and &eparated 9rom oneanother. #he &tandard;earer !ould 9ind &ome @ind o9



eminence, a hill or other hih round, and li9t up the

&tandard. )ut i9 the &tandard;earer 9ainted, there !a& no

place 9or the &oldier& to reroup. #hat meant a very &eriou&

pro;lem 9or the army.

In our ca&e, a& 5hri&tian&, our Standard)earer i& the Holy

Spirit. I&aiah &aid,

:o shall they $ear the name o$ the Lord $rom the

%est, and his glory $rom the rising o$ the sun' 8hen

the enemy shall come in li1e a $lood, the :*irit o$ the Lord shall li$t u* a standard against him' (Isaiah

== .@

#he Spirit o9 the ord, the Holy Spirit, i& our Standard

)earer !hen !e are hardpre&&ed in thi& 5hri&tian !ar9are

;y the 9orce& o9 Satan, and they are comin li@e a 9lood

aain&t u&. $ur Standard)earer li9t& up the &tandard—the

name o9 the ord Je&u& 5hri&t.

#hen, !e reroup around that &tandard %hen !e &ee the

name o9 the ord Je&u& upli9ted, !e ather there. #he name

o9 Je&u& i& our rallyin point.

#oday, all acro&& the earth, the Holy Spirit i& li9tin up

a9re&h the &tandard o9 the name o9 the ord Je&u& 5hri&t.

od& people are rallyin to that &tandard, irre&pective o9

church denomination and other 9actor& that have &eparated

them.





CHAPTER ;

T& On ,&) I- O#$ P%/

%e !ill no! addre&& a 9ourth covenantal name o9 Jehovah,

or ah!eh: #he $ne %ho I& $ur Peace. #hi& name i&

revealed in Jude& * throuh an incident in the li9e o9

ideon.

"P%/ T) .)#"

In ideon6& time, the 7idianite&, !ho ;eloned to a entile

nation 9rom the ea&t, had overrun the land o9 the I&raelite&

and !ere rievou&ly oppre&&in them. #he I&raelite& !ere

livin almo&t li@e re9uee& in their o!n land. ideon, a

youn man, !a& &urreptitiou&ly thre&hin !heat in a

!inepre&& in order to hide it 9rom the 7idianite&, ;ecau&ethey !ould have ta@en the !heat 9rom him i9 they had &een

him.

Suddenly, the anel o9 the ord DJude& *:11 appeared to

ideon and told him that he !a& to ;ecome the ord6&

in&trument to de9eat the 7idianite& and to deliver the

I&raelite&. ideon 9ound thi& very hard to ;elieve—hethouht he !a& inadeAuate 9or the ta&@. )ut the anel o9 the

ord told him that he !ould ;e a mihty man o9 valor

Dver&e 12 8=JG and ave him the &tratey ;y !hich he

!a& to conAuer the 7idianite&.

#o!ard the end o9 thi& encounter, ideon !anted to @no!more a;out the anel !ho had appeared to him, and he



!anted to o99er a &acri9ice. #hi& i& !here !e6ll pic@ up the

&tory:

:o Gideon said to Him Bthe LordC, "I$ no% I have $ound $avor in Thy sight, then sho% me a sign that it

is Thou %ho s*ea1est %ith me' ?lease do not de*art

$rom here, until I come bac1 to Thee, and bring out

my o$$ering and lay it be$ore Thee'" 0nd He said, "I

%ill remain until you return'" Then Gideon %ent in

and *re*ared a 1id and unleavened bread $rom an

e*hah o$ $lour& he *ut the meat in a bas1et and thebroth in a *ot, and brought them out to him under

the oa1, and *resented them' 0nd the angel o$ God

said to him, "Ta1e the meat and the unleavened

bread and lay them on this roc1, and *our out the

broth'" 0nd he BGideonC did so' Then the angel o$

the Lord *ut out the end o$ the sta$$ that %as in his

hand and touched the meat and the unleavened

bread& and $ire s*rang u* $rom the roc1 and

consumed the meat and the unleavened bread' Then

the angel o$ the Lord vanished $rom his sight' 8hen

Gideon sa% that he %as the angel o$ the Lord, he

said, "0las, / Lord God'>' #or no% I have seen the

angel o$ the Lord $ace to $ace' "0nd the Lord said tohim, "?eace to you, do not $ear& you shall not die'"

(.udges 645-

It !a& enerally ;elieved at that time that i9 you !ere to &ee

an anel o9 the ord, you !ould pro;a;ly not &urvive the

&iht. So, ideon 9elt that hi& la&t moment had come. )ut

the ord &aid to him, 0on6t 9ear. ou6re not oin to die.In ratitude 9or thi&, and a& a re&pon&e to the revelation he



had received, ideon ;uilt an altar.

Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and

named it The Lord B.ehovahK is ?eace' To this day it is still in O*hrah o$ the 0bie3rites' (.udges 6

7o&t o9 u& are 9amiliar !ith the He;re! !ord 9or peace—it

i& &halom. It i& the contemporary reetin in He;re!. #hat

!a& the name o9 the altar: #he ord i& &halom, peace. Here,

there9ore, i& revealed to u& the 9ourth a&pect o9 the ord6&

covenant@eepin 9aith9ulne&& to Hi& people—that He i& Hi& people6& peace. Peace i& in a per&on, and that Per&on i& the

ord Him&el9.

T&$ ,%- In ,&i/&

G)! P$)4i!- P%/

#here are three !ay& in !hich !e need peace. Fir&t, !e

need peace !ith od, a per&onal relation&hip !ith the ord

that a&&ure& u& Hi& 9avor and Hi& ;le&&in. In Scripture,

peace !ith od i& al!ay& a&&ured only throuh a &acri9ice.

<part 9rom a &acri9ice—a li9e laid do!n and a &heddin o9

;lood—there can ;e no peace !ith od. DSee He;re!&

/:22.

Second, !e need peace not u&t in our relation&hip& !ith

od, ;ut al&o in the mid&t o9 all that !e 9ind comin aain&t

u&. Even in the mid&t o9 !ar and tumult, od o99er& Hi&

people peace. Peace i& not u&t the a;&ence o9 !ar. <ctually,

it i& po&&i;le to have peace in the mid&t o9 !ar, con9lict,

pre&&ure, and turmoil ;ecau&e peace i& ;a&ed on arelation&hip !ith od, not on circum&tance&. I9 you loo@ at



your circum&tance&, many time& you 9ind that there i& no

cau&e 9or peace. )ut i9 you have learned the truth contained

in thi& covenant name o9 Jehovah—that He i& our peace—

then you can have that peace in the mid&t o9 anycircum&tance& in !hich you 9ind your&el9.

#hird, !e need peace in our relation&hip& !ith other people.

)ein reconciled to od throuh Je&u& ;rin& u& into

relation&hip& o9 peace !ith other ;eliever&.

et6& loo@ at peace, then, 9rom the&e three point& o9 vie!:9ir&t, in our relation&hip !ith the ord> &econd, in the

out!or@in o9 that relation&hip in our live& in the mid&t o9

our circum&tance&> and third, in our relation&hip& !ith

other&.

P%/ +it& G)!

%e !ill ;ein !ith !hat Scripture ha& to &ay a;out peace

;et!een od and man. #here i& much a;out that topic in the

8e! #e&tament, ;ut !e !ill loo@ at only t!o pa&&ae&.

There$ore having been 2usti$ied by $aith, %e have

*eace %ith God through our Lord .esus Ahrist'(omans

8otice that it &ay& peace !ith od throuh our ord Je&u&

5hri&t. Je&u& i& our peace.

#or it %as the #ather>s good *leasure $or all the

$ulness to d%ell in Him B.esusC, and through Him toreconcile all things to Himsel$, having made *eace



through the blood o$ His cross& through Him, I say,

%hether things on earth or things in heaven'

(Aolossians =5/

In thi& pa&&ae, !e &ee the &econd a&pect o9 that truth: peace

i& achieved only ;y &acri9ice. #he &acri9ice that 9inally

achieved eternal peace ;et!een od and man !a& the

&acri9ice o9 the ord Je&u& on the cro&& and the ;lood that

He &hed. #hrouh Him, !e have peace !ith od.

5ontra&t peace throuh 5hri&t !ith !hat I&aiah &aid:

ut the %ic1ed are li1e the tossing sea, $or it cannot

be uiet, and its %aters toss u* re$use and mud'

"There is no *eace," says my God, "$or the %ic1ed'"

(Isaiah 4/5

#here i& a very de9inite dividin line ;et!een the rihteou&

and the !ic@ed. #ho&e !ho are reconciled !ith od throuh

Je&u& 5hri&t receive Hi& rihteou&ne&& and @no! !hat it i&

to have peace !ith od. )ut 9or the !ic@ed, od &ay&,

#here i& no peace.

Sin never leave& u& in peace. Even thouh there may ;enothin trou;le&ome in our out!ard circum&tance&, there i&

&omethin in our heart& that can never re&t !hile &in rule&

our heart&.

P%/ In Dii/#t Ci$/#-t%n/-

8o! !e !ill loo@ at the &econd out!or@in o9 peace, the peace that !e can have in the mid&t o9 tumult and !ar. $h,



ho! important it i& to have thi& @ind o9 peace in today6&

!orldK

Je&u& &aid to Hi& di&ciple&,

?eace I leave %ith you& <y *eace I give to you& not

as the %orld gives, do I give to you' Let not your

heart be troubled, nor let it be $ear$ul' (.ohn 4

I have al!ay& ;een lad 9or the !ord& not a& the !orld

ive&. #he !orld6& mo&t &trenuou& attempt& at peace are &o9raile, &o impermanent, and &o un&ati&9yin. I9 !e

depended on the !orld 9or our peace, !e !ould indeed have

very little. )ut Je&u& &aid, I ive you a peace that6& not the

&ame a& the !orld ive&, and you don6t need to ;e 9ear9ul or

trou;led.

He al&o &aid in John 1*:"",

These things I have s*o1en to you, that in <e you

may have *eace' In the %orld you have tribulation,

but ta1e courage& I have overcome the %orld'

Je&u& i& our peace. He ha& overcome the !orld. #here9ore,the !orld can never overcome u& ;ecau&e He i& in u& and

!ith u&.

P%/ ,it& Ot&$ Bi4$-

#hird, ;ein reconciled to od throuh Je&u& ;rin& u& into

relation&hip& o9 peace !ith other ;eliever&. %e have peace!ith tho&e !ho have ;een reconciled to Je&u&, reardle&& o9



!ho they are, no matter !hat race and ;ac@round they

come 9rom. In !ritin to ;eliever& !ho had a entile

;ac@round, Paul &aid,

ut no% in Ahrist .esus you %ho $ormerly %ere $ar

o$$ have been brought near by the blood o$ Ahrist'

#or He Himsel$ is our *eace, %ho made both grou*s

into one, and bro1e do%n the barrier o$ the dividing

%all, by abolishing in His $lesh the enmity, %hich is

the La% o$ commandments contained in ordinances,

that in Himsel$ He might ma1e the t%o into one ne%man, thus establishing *eace, and might reconcile

them both in one body to God through the cross, by

it having *ut to death the enmity' 0nd He came and

*reached *eace to you %ho %ere $ar a%ay, and

*eace to those %ho %ere near' ()*hesians -54

T& A$7: A Pi/t#$

O P%/ In C&$i-t

#he me&&ae o9 the cro&& i& peace: peace !ith od, peace in

the mid&t o9 turmoil, and peace !ith our 9ello! ;eliever&.

I am al!ay& reminded o9 the ar@, !hich ;ecame od6&mean& o9 &alvation to 8oah and hi& 9amily. #hin@ o9 8oah

and hi& 9amily in thi& ar@. #here they !ere, in the mid&t o9

the rain element&> everythin around them had one

under the !ater. et, in the ar@, they had peace and &ecurity.

#hen, thin@ a;out all tho&e animal& in the ar@. #hey !ere

animal& o9 &uch di99erent type&, animal& that !ere, ;ynature, enemie& o9 one another. )ut in the ar@ there !a&



peace. #hat tell& me that !hen tho&e animal& entered into

the ar@, they under!ent a chane o9 nature.

#hu&, the ar@, to me, i& a ;eauti9ul picture o9 5hri&t. %hen!e enter into 5hri&t, !e enter into peace. In the church,

there are tho&e o9 di99erent race& !hom, under natural

condition&, !e miht have hated. et, ;ecau&e !e are in that

ar@, !e @no! peace !ith them. <nd in the mid&t o9 the

rain turmoil o9 thi& li9e, !e @no! peace in our heart&

;ecau&e !e have peace !ith od throuh the ord !ho i&

our peace.



CHAPTER <

T& On ,&) I- O#$ S&*&$!

%e !ill no! loo@ at the 9i9th o9 the&e covenantal name&:

#he $ne %ho I& $ur Shepherd. For thi& name, I turn to one

o9 the mo&t 9amiliar pa&&ae& in the Scripture&, P&alm 2",

o9ten called #he Shepherd6& P&alm. et u& !or@ our !ay

throuh the ver&e& o9 thi& p&alm in order.

T& S&*&$! Mt- E4$ N!

The Lord .ehovahC is my she*herd, I shall not %ant'

(?salm -

%hen I loo@ at thi& ver&e, I am amaCed at ho! much

Scripture can &ay in &o 9e! !ord&—particularly in theoriinal He;re!. It miht intere&t you to @no! that in

He;re!, the entire 9ir&t ver&e o9 P&alm 2" con&i&t& o9 only

9our !ord&: h!h raah—the lord i& my &hepherd3 and lo

cha&er—I &hall not !ant3 #hin@ ho! much i& contained in

tho&e 9our He;re! !ord&.

I &hall not !ant i& the mo&t amaCin &tatement, i&n6t it3Every need that could ever ari&e in li9e !ill ;e met. 8ever

!ill !e 9ind our&elve& in a &ituation !here &omethin !e

really need i& not availa;le to u&. #he ord ha& uaranteed

to ive u& all that !e need. $ut o9 Hi& relation&hip !ith u&,

and our& !ith Him, #he ord i& my &hepherd, I &hall not

!ant3



#he ivin )i;le D#) &ay& it thi& !ay: )ecau&e the ord

i& my Shepherd, I have everythin I needK #hin@ o9 all that

i& contained in the ;eauti9ul !ord& the ord i& my

&hepherd It i& very important that !e under&tand !e have a per&onal relation&hip !ith od a& a Per&on. #hi& 9act i& the

;a&i& 9or everythin el&e.

It i& al&o an individual relation&hip. 0avid &aid, #he ord i&

my &hepherd It i& very direct and very per&onal. In P&alm

4, another p&alm o9 0avid, he !rote,

Oh, give ear, :he*herd o$ Israel, Thou %ho dost lead

.ose*h li1e a $loc1& Thou %ho art enthroned above

the cherubim, shine $orth! (?salm ;/

In P&alm 2", 0avid could have &aid, #he ord i& our

&hepherd, ;ecau&e the ord i& the Shepherd o9 I&rael a& a

people. et it !ouldn6t have meant nearly a& much a&

&ayin, #he ord i& my &hepherdK6 5an you &ay that3 0o

you have that individual, direct, per&onal relation&hip !ith

the ord3

I !a& ;rouht up in the <nlican 5hurch in )ritain, and I

!a& al!ay& trained to &pea@ a;out Je&u& 5hri&t a& our ordand our Savior. #hen, I met a little lady in a hum;le home,

and &he &aid, 7y ord. <nd a little !hile later, &he &aid,

7y Savior.

I thouht to my&el9, I can6t &ay that. I don6t have that

relation&hip. In a eneral !ay, I can &ay, $ur ord and

$ur Savior. )ut I don6t under&tand ho! &he can &ay, 7ylord6 and 7y Savior. #han@ od, I came to under&tand> I



came to have that relation&hip It6& individual, it6& per&onal,

and it6& direct. #he lord i& my &hepherd.

et6& loo@ in the re&t o9 the p&alm at !hat 9lo!& out o9 thi& per&onal relation&hip !ith the ord.

T& S&*&$! Gi4-===

N)#$i-&nt An! R$-&nt

He ma1es me lie do%n in green *astures& He leads

me beside uiet %aters' (?salm -

#he ord provide& all the nouri&hment that I need. $9

cour&e, !e are thin@in primarily in term& o9 &piritual

nouri&hment. He ive& me clear, pure !ater and 9re&h, clean

ra&&. Everythin i& clean, 9re&h, and healthivin.

R-t)$%ti)n

He restores my soul' (?salm --

I love the !ord re&tore. It mean& to put ;ac@ in the rihtcondition, to re9re&h, to rene!. 0o you ever 9eel aded and

tired, !orn and 9rayed3 0o you @no! that it i& po&&i;le to

have your &oul re&tored3 0o you @no! that the ord can put

you ;ac@ to 9re&hne&&, con9idence, and &trenth3



G#i!%n/

He guides me in the *aths o$ righteousness $or His

name>s sa1e' (?salm --

#he ord uide& u& in the path& o9 rihteou&ne&&. He ma@e&

&ure that !e 9ollo! the riht !ay. #here are &o many !ay&

in li9e, &o many choice&. 0o you ever 9eel con9u&ed and

uncertain a& to !hich road to ta@e3 %hen you @no! the

ord a& your Shepherd, He lead& you and uide& you in the

path& o9 rihteou&ne&&.

#hen, it &ay&, For Hi& name6& &a@e. #hat ;le&&e& me, too,

;ecau&e Hi& name doe& not chane. It doe& not depend on

!hether I am !ea@ or &tron> it depend& on Hi& name. Hi&

honor i& at &ta@e. He ha& uaranteed that He i& oin to do

it. Hi& name i& attached to the very !ord &hepherd—the

ord my Shepherd.

T& S&*&$! I- ,it&

U- In Li'- V%-

)ven though I %al1 through the valley o$ the shado%

o$ death, I $ear no evil& $or Thou art %ith me& Thyrod and Thy sta$$, they com$ort me' (?salm -

#here are period& in li9e !hen !e o throuh the valley o9

the &hado! o9 death. #hi& ver&e i& not nece&&arily re9errin

to time& !hen !e are literally at death6& door, ;ut there are

time& !hen !e o throuh dar@ne&&. Everythin &eem& to

cave in, everythin &eem& to o !ron, and !e don6t @no!!here to turn or !hom to tru&t. %hen the pre&&ure& ;uild





a!ay ;y the liht o9 the camp9ire, pro!lin around ;ut

a9raid to come into the liht. It i& here that od provide& Hi&

;e&t.

It i& ood to have a ;anAuet provided ;y the ord, no matter

!here He provide& it. )ut it i& e&pecially ood to have it in

the pre&ence o9 your enemie&. )ecau&e the ord i& there,

and ;ecau&e He i& the Shepherd, !e @no! that they cannot

touch u&> !e are &a9e even in the pre&ence o9 our enemie&.

#hen, 0avid &aid, #hou ha&t anointed my head !ith oil> mycup over9lo!&3 %e do not merely have enouh 9or

our&elve&, ;ut !e al&o have enouh to &hare !ith other&.

T& S&*&$! G$%nt-

G))!n-- An! L)4in57in!n--

:urely goodness and loving1indness %ill $ollo% me

all the days o$ my li$e' (?salm -6

8o matter !hat &ituation& !e 9ind our&elve& in or !hat !e

have to o throuh, there are t!o unchanea;le 9actor& in

our live&: the oodne&& o9 the ord and the lovin@indne&&

o9 the ord. <ain, the !ord lovin@indne&& in He;re! i&che&ed. It particularly mean& the 9aith9ulne&& o9 od to Hi&

covenant commitment. So, the ord ha& committed to ;e

my Shepherd. He !ill never ;rea@ Hi& covenant. Hi&

oodne&& and lovin@indne&& are al!ay& !ith me.



T& S&*&$! B$in5-

U- A T& ,% H)

0nd I %ill d%ell in the house o$ the Lord $orever'

(?salm -6

5on&ider the meanin o9 thi& la&t &entence, I !ill d!ell in

the hou&e o9 the ord 9orever. #hat ver&e &ue&t& to me

that !hatever I6m doin, and !herever I6m oin, I6m on my

!ay home. I am oin home to the place the ord ha& provided 9or me.

I u&ed to live in the middle o9 a city on a little i&land that

had u&t one road in and out. <& you approached the ;ride

oin onto that little i&land, there !a& a &in that read 0ead

End ;ecau&e there !a& no e?it. I u&ed to loo@ at that &in

and &ay to my&el9, It may !ell ;e a dead end 9or &ome

people, ;ut 9or me, it i& the !ay home.

#hat i& ho! it i& !hen you @no! the ord. %hat other& call

a dead end i&, 9or you, the !ay home. ou @no! that you

are oin to ;e livin in the hou&e o9 the ord 9orever, no

matter !hat you have to o throuh. He !ill ;e !ith you,and you !ill @no! your de&tination.

0ead end& are 9or the people !ho don6t @no! od. #here

are no dead end& 9or you. ou are on your !ay home.



CHAPTER >

T& On ,&) I- O#$ Ri5&t)#-n--

#he &i?th o9 the covenantal name& o9 od i& #he $ne %ho

I& $ur -ihteou&ne&&. #hi& name i& 9ound in one o9 the

many promi&e& o9 re&toration iven to I&rael throuh the

prophet&—all o9 !hich center on the 7e&&iah. et u& loo@ at

one o9 the&e promi&e& in Jeremiah:

"ehold, the days are coming," declares the Lord,

"%hen I shall raise u* $or David a righteous ranch

Bone o$ the common titles o$ <essiah in the Old

TestamentC& and He %ill reign as 1ing and act %isely

and do 2ustice and righteousness in the land' In his

days .udah %ill be saved, and Israel %ill d%ell

securely& and this is His name by %hich He %ill becalled, >The Lord B.ehovahC our righteousness'>"

(.eremiah -56

-e&toration include& the ree&ta;li&hment o9 rihteou&ne&&.

In 9act, !ithout rihteou&ne&&, other 9orm& o9 re&toration

!ould ;e ultimately impo&&i;le or !orthle&&.

od i& oin to re&tore rihteou&ne&& to Hi& people. )ut the

rihteou&ne&& that He ha& promi&ed to re&tore i& in a Per&on.

$ur rihteou&ne&& i& not in a &y&tem o9 la! or in a reliion>

rather, it i& in a per&on—and that Per&on i& the promi&ed

7e&&iah.



T+) ?in!- O Ri5&t)#-n--

S6Ri5&t)#-n--

It i& important to &ee that there are t!o @ind& o9

rihteou&ne&&. $ne i& our o!n rihteou&ne&&—!hat !e

!ould call &el9rihteou&ne&&—!hich i& not accepta;le to

od. I&aiah &aid,

#or all o$ us have become li1e one %ho is unclean,

and all our righteous deeds are li1e a $ilthy garment'(Isaiah 66

%e could ea&ily under&tand i9 I&aiah had &aid, <ll our &in&

are li@e a 9ilthy arment. )ut he &aid, <ll our rihteou&

deed& are li@e a 9ilthy armentK6 In other !ord&, even the

;e&t that !e can achieve in our o!n rihteou&ne&& i& totally

unaccepta;le to od. It 9all& 9ar ;elo! the &tandard o9

rihteou&ne&& od reAuire&.

%e are 9aced !ith t!o alternative&: havin either the @ind o9

rihteou&ne&& !e achieve ;y our o!n e99ort& or the @ind o9

rihteou&ne&& !e receive in a Per&on, in the 7e&&iah Je&u&.

#hey are mutually e?clu&ive> !e cannot o99er ;oth to od.

Ri5&t)#-n-- T&$)#5& F%it& In C&$i-t

#hi& !a& Paul6& determination, a& recorded in Philippian&

":/:

That I' ''may be $ound in Him B.esus Ahrist, the <essiahC, not having a righteousness o$ my o%n



derived $rom the La%, but that %hich is through $aith

in Ahrist, the righteousness %hich comes $rom God

on the basis o$ $aith'

8otice that Paul had to renounce the @ind o9 rihteou&ne&&

he could achieve ;y hi& o!n e99ort in order to o;tain the

rihteou&ne&& that come& throuh 9aith in Je&u& 5hri&t. ou

&ee, the reat mi&ta@e the I&raelite& made in their hi&tory—

the one that had &uch a harm9ul e99ect on their de&tiny 9or

t!o thou&and year&—i& that they &ouht the !ron @ind o9

rihteou&ne&&. Paul e?plained thi& in -oman&:

#or not 1no%ing about God>s righteousness, and

see1ing to establish their o%n BrighteousnessC, they

did not sub2ect themselves to the righteousness o$

God' #or Ahrist is the end o$ the la% $or righteous5

ness to everyone %ho believes' (omans /-5

It i& important to &ee that the death o9 5hri&t on the cro&&

e?piated the &in& and &hortcomin& o9 all !ho had 9ailed to

o;&erve the la!. It al&o provided another mean& o9 riht

eou&ne&&, !hich i& throuh 9aith in 5hri&t. #ho&e !ho &ee@

to e&ta;li&h their o!n rihteou&ne&& do not &u;ect them

&elve& to the rihteou&ne&& o9 od throuh 5hri&t and,there9ore, are not made rihteou&.

T& P$)/-- An! T& E@/&%n5

#he phra&e did not &u;ect them&elve&6 D-oman& 14:"

indicate& that there i& a @ind o9 &el9hum;lin that !e mu&t

o throuh in order to o;tain the rihteou&ne&& o9 odDver&e ". Fir&t, !e mu&t renounce our o!n rihteou&ne&&,



ac@no!ledin that our o!n e99ort& have not achieved !hat

od reAuire&. #hen, !e mu&t accept od6& o99er o9 mercy

and rihteou&ne&& throuh 9aith in the atonin death o9 Je&u&

5hri&t.

Paul &po@e a;out the rihteou&ne&& that i& made availa;le to

u& throuh 5hri&t:

He BGodC made Him B.esusC %ho 1ne% no sin to be

sin on our behal$, that %e might become the

righteousness o$ God in Him' ( Aorinthians

<n e?chane !a& made at the cro&&: Je&u& !a& made &in

!ith our &in9ulne&&. He ;ecame the &in o99erin, the reat

uilt o99erin that !a& promi&ed in I&aiah (":14. Hi& &oul

;ecame the &in o99erin. He ;ecame &in 9or u& &o that !e

miht receive the other a&pect o9 the e?chane: ;ecomin

the rihteou&ne&& o9 od in Him. Ho! 9ooli&h it i& to clin

to our o!n rihteou&ne&& !hen !e can have, ;y 9aith, the

rihteou&ne&& o9 od in 5hri&t.

#hi& covenantal name, #he ord our rihteou&ne&&

DJeremiah 2":*, li@e all the other covenantal name& in the

$ld #e&tament, point& ultimately to Je&u& and to the cro&&.#hat i& !here the e?chane too@ place. #hat i& !here it

;ecame po&&i;le 9or Him to ;ecome our rihteou&ne&&.

<9ter He had atoned 9or the &in& o9 tho&e !ho had 9ailed to

o;&erve the la!, He !a& made availa;le to u& a& our

rihteou&ne&&. < Per&on i& our rihteou&ne&&> it i& the ord

!ho i& our rihteou&ne&&.



A R-t)$! R%ti)n-&i* ,it& G)!

I&rael6& re&toration to od6& 9avor i& al&o pictured a& the

re&toration o9 a marriae relation&hip. It i& a& thouh I&rael,throuh the covenant made at Sinai, had ;een married to

Jehovah, or ah!eh. )ut then, I&rael6& un9aith9ulne&& and

idolatry ;ro@e that marriae relation&hip. #hat i& !hy

re&toration i& pictured in term& o9 a re&tored marriae

relation&hip.

%e 9ind thi& concept in many o9 the ;oo@& o9 the prophet&.%e !ill loo@ at a 9e! pa&&ae& and then ;rin out a

;eauti9ul truth a& a re&ult. #he ord &aid to I&rael,

I %ill betroth you to <e $orever& yes, I %ill betroth

you to <e in righteousness and in 2ustice, in

loving1indness and in com*assion, and I %ill betroth

you to <e in $aith$ulness' Then you %ill 1no% the

Lord' (Hosea =5/

#he !ord ;etroth indicate& the re&toration o9 the marriae

relation&hip ;et!een the ord and Hi& people. 8e?t, let6&

loo@ at thi& pa&&ae in I&aiah:

I %ill re2oice greatly in the Lord, my soul %ill eFult

in my God& $or He has clothed me %ith garments o$

salvation, He has %ra**ed me %ith a robe o$

righteousness Ba robe o$ righteousness covets us

com*letelyC, as a bridegroom dec1s himsel$ %ith a

garland, and as a bride adorns hersel$ %ith her

2e%els' (Isaiah 6/



#hen, a little 9urther on in I&aiah, !e 9ind a promi&e to

I&rael6& land and to I&rael a& a people.

It %ill no longer be said to you, "#orsa1en," nor to your land %ill it any longer be said, "Desolate"& but

you %ill be called, "<y delight is in her," and your

land, "<arried"& $or the Lord delights in you, and to

Him your land %ill be married' #or as a young man

marries a virgin, so your sons %ill marry you& and

as the bridegroom re2oices over the bride, so your

God %ill re2oice over you' (Isaiah 65

%e &ee that the re&toration o9 rihteou&ne&& ;rin& the

re&toration o9 the marriae relation&hip. #he ord can ;e

married once more to Hi& people ;ecau&e their &in& have

;een atoned 9or and they are clothed !ith the ro;e o9 Hi&

rihteou&ne&&.

T%7in5 Hi- N%

#hi& re&toration !a& ;rouht out in a very ;eauti9ul !ay ;y

the prophet Jeremiah. <t the ;einnin o9 thi& chapter, !e

loo@ed at the pa&&ae in Jeremiah 2" that &ay&, #hi& i& Hi&

name ;y !hich He the ord !ill ;e called, 6#he ord ourrihteou&ne&& Dver&e *. 8o!, let6& loo@ at Jeremiah "" to

&ee the corre&pondin pa&&ae:

In those days and at that time I %ill cause a

righteous ranch o$ David Bthe <essiahC to s*ring

$orth& and He shall eFecute 2ustice and righteous5

ness on the earth' In those days C.udah shall be saved, and .erusalem shall d%ell in sa$ety& and this



is the name by %hich she shall be called the Lord is

our righteousness' (.eremiah --56

#hat i& a ;eauti9ul pictureK 5an you &ee the meanin o9 it3

Fir&t, thi& i& the name ;y !hich &he &hall ;e called: the

ord i& our rihteou&ne&&3 He i& out rihteou&ne&&. et

!hen He ta@e& Hi& people ;ac@ to Him&el9 in rihteou&ne&&,

and !hen Hi& people aain ;ecome Hi& ;ride, then, u&t a&

in human marriae cu&tom, the ;ride ta@e& the name o9 the

;rideroom.

%hen !e are united to Him, then our name al&o ;ecome&

#he ord our rihteou&ne&&. %e are clothed !ith Hi&

rihteou&ne&&. %e are identi9ied !ith Him. He Him&el9

;ecome& our rihteou&ne&&. %e are no loner dependent on

our o!n e99ort& or &trule&. %e are no loner held ;ac@ ;y

our 9ailure& and our &in&.

%e have moved into a ne! relation&hip !ith od, a per&on

toper&on relation&hip in !hich the ord Him&el9 i& our

rihteou&ne&&. %e are &o identi9ied !ith Him that, a& a ;ride

;ear& the ;rideroom6& name, &o !e ;ear Hi& name—#he

ord our rihteou&ne&&.



CHAPTER

T& On ,&) I- T&$

%e no! come to the &eventh and la&t o9 the covenantal

name& o9 Jehovah, #he $ne %ho I& #here LPermanently

Pre&ent or Ever Pre&ent. #hi& name i& 9ound in the la&t

ver&e o9 the ;oo@ o9 ECe@iel:

0nd the name o$ the city $rom that day shall be, "The

Lord B.ehovahC is there'" ()3e1iel ;-

#he la&t nine chapter& o9 ECe@iel are connected !ith the

re&toration o9 I&rael, and they de&cri;e ;oth the re;uildin

o9 a city and the ;uildin o9 a temple.

#remendou& detail& are iven to u& a;out the con&truction o9 the temple, the material& that are u&ed, the dimen&ion&, and

&o on. #hen, !hen the temple and the city are complete,

od6& name i& iven to it: #he ord i& there3 #hi& name

;rin& out, o9 cour&e, the real purpo&e 9or ;uildin ;oth the

city and the temple—that they &hould ;e a d!ellin place

9or the ord. It i& a& thouh the ord !ait& until everythin

i& complete and e?actly the !ay He !ant& it. #hen, He &ay&,8o!, thi& i& oin to ;e 7y d!ellin place. I6m oin to ;e

there.

T& S&7in%& P$-n/

%e &hould loo@ 9or a moment at the ;ac@round to thi&!hole &ituation. $ne maor theme o9 ECe@iel i& the lory o9



the ord, and od6& lory i& Hi& mani9e&t pre&ence amon

Hi& people. #hi& i& the pre&ence o9 the ord revealed in a

!ay that can ;e detected ;y human &en&e&—the eye&, ear&,

and &o 9orth. #he He;re! !ord 9or that pre&ence i&&he@inah, !hich come& 9rom a !ord that mean& to d!ell.

It picture& od d!ellin amon Hi& people, Hi& pre&ence

mani9e&ted to them.

T& ,it&!$%+% O G)!'- P$-n/

<t the openin o9 the prophecy o9 ECe@iel, od6& lory !a&&till in the temple in Jeru&alem. )ut ;ecau&e o9 I&rael6&

continuin &in and re;elliou&ne&&, od had to !ithdra! Hi&

per&onal pre&ence. Hi& lory departed 9rom the temple and

9rom the city. #hi& i& de&cri;ed a& ECe@iel &a! it him&el9:

Then the cherubim li$ted u* their %ings %ith the

%heels beside them, and the glory o$ the God o$

Israel hovered over them' 0nd the glory o$ the Lord

%ent u* $rom the midst o$ the city, and stood over the

mountain Bthe <ount o$ OlivesC %hich is east o$ the

city' ()3e1iel 5-

<t thi& point, od !a& &o rieved ;y the &in o9 Hi& peoplethat He !ithdre! Hi& pre&ence 9rom the temple and 9rom

the city. #ire lory o9 the ord !ent out 9rom the mid&t o9

the city, !ent a!ay ea&t!ard, and hovered 9or a !hile over

the 7ount o9 $live&, to the ea&t o9 the city. <9ter the

!ithdra!al o9 the ord6& lory, terri;le udment& are

predicted in the prophecie& that 9ollo!. )ut, al!ay&

inter&per&ed !ith the&e udment& are the promi&e& o9re&toration.



T& R-t)$%ti)n O G)!'- P$-n/

#hen, !e come to the clo&in chapter& o9 ECe@iel, !hich arethe de&cription o9 re&toration. #he 9ocu&—the center, the

mo&t important part—o9 all the re&toration i& the re&toration

o9 the lory o9 the ord, the &he@inah, to the temple. It i&

de&cri;ed in ECe@iel '":

Then he led me to the gate, the gate $acing to%ard

the east Beast %as the %ay in %hich the glory o$ the Lord had de*artedC& and behold, the glory o$ the

God o$ Israel %as coming $rom the %ay o$ the east

BHe %as no% returning $rom the same direction in

%hich He had de*artedC' 0nd His voice %as li1e the

sound o$ many %aters& and the earth shone %ith His

glory' 0nd it %as li1e the a**earance o$ the vision

%hich I sa%, li1e the vision %hich I sa% %hen He

came to destroy the city' 0nd the visions %ere li1e

the vision %hich I sa% by the river Ahebar& and I

$ell on my $ace' 0nd the glory o$ the Lord came into

the house by the %ay o$ the gate $acing to%ard the

east' 0nd the :*irit li$ted me u* and brought me into

the inner court& and behold, the glory o$ the Lord $illed the house' ()3e1iel -5

#he ord had come riht ;ac@ into the inner court o9 the

hou&e.

Then I heard one s*ea1ing to me $rom the house,

%hile a man %as standing beside me' 0nd He said tome, ":on o$ man, this is the *lace o$ <y throne and



the *lace o$ the soles o$ <y $eet, %here I %ill d%ell

among the sons o$ Israel $orever'" (verses 654

#he e&&ence o9 the&e pa&&ae& i& the return o9 the vi&i;le,mani9e&t pre&ence o9 the ord to d!ell aain !ith Hi&

people 9orever. #hey ;rin out the ultimate purpo&e o9 od

in Hi& dealin& !ith man.

G)!'- Uti%t P#$*)-: H%4n On E%$t&

Gery o9ten, !e have the !ron impre&&ion o9 od6& purpo&e.%e thin@ Hi& ultimate purpo&e i& &omeho! to et man to

heaven. )ut that really i&n6t it. od6& purpo&e i& to ;rin

heaven do!n to man and, a;ove all, to ;rin Hi& o!n

per&onal pre&ence to man.

#hi& !a& the purpo&e o9 every &tructure on earth the ord

cau&ed to ;e ;uilt 9or Him. It !a& the purpo&e o9 the

ta;ernacle o9 7o&e&. It !a& the purpo&e o9 the temple o9

Solomon. <l!ay&, the&e &tructure& !ere to ;e d!ellin

place& !here od could re&ide in the mid&t o9 Hi& people

and never have to leave them.

)ut, ala&, in the cour&e o9 the hi&tory o9 od6& people upuntil thi& time, they had ;ehaved in &uch a !ay that the ord

had to !ithdra! Hi& lory. Ho!ever, the ord per&i&t& in

Hi& purpo&e. et6& move 9or!ard to the end o9 the )i;le,

!here !e &ee that thi& purpo&e remain& unchaned:

0nd I sa% a ne% heaven and a ne% earth& $or the

$irst heaven and the $irst earth *assed a%ay, andthere is no longer any sea' 0nd I sa% the holy city,



ne% .erusalem, coming do%n out o$ heaven $rom

God, made ready as a bride adorned $or her

husband' 0nd I heard a loud voice $rom the throne,

saying, "ehold, the tabernacle o$ God is amongmen, and He shall d%ell among them, and they shall

be His *eo*le, and God Himsel$ shall be among

them'" (evelation 5-

#hat i& the clima?—the out!or@in o9 the divine purpo&e o9

od in human hi&tory. 8ot that od !ould et man up to

heaven, ;ut that od !ould &o deal !ith man a& to ma@ehim 9it to receive od6& pre&ence a& a d!ellin place on

earth.

%e return no! to the clima? o9 od6& purpo&e a& revealed at

the clo&e o9 ECe@iel:

The name o$ the city $rom that day shall be, "The

Lord is there'" ()3e1iel ;-

#hat i& the con&ummation o9 divine purpo&e.

T& S4n C)4n%nt% N%- O G)!

et6& no! revie! the &even covenantal name& o9 Jehovah, or

ah!eh, in their completene&& and meditate on !hat each

one mean&. I thin@ you !ill 9ind it a ;le&&in to memoriCe

the&e in order:

1. #he $ne %ho Provide&

2. #he $ne %ho Heal&". #he $ne %ho I& $ur )anner



'. #he $ne %ho I& $ur Peace

(. #he $ne %ho I& $ur Shepherd

*. #he $ne %ho I& $ur -ihteou&ne&&

+. #he $ne %ho I& #here DPermanently Pre&ent

<ain, od6& ultimate purpo&e i& to d!ell 9orever !ith Hi&

people, and Hi& purpo&e 9or each one o9 u& individually i&

that !e &hould @no! Him a& a permanent, ind!ellin ord

—the ord !ho i& al!ay& there, riht in the mid&t o9 our

heart& and live&.

I !onder i9 you @no! the ord in thi& !ay. Have you ever

invited the ord to ma@e Hi& d!ellin in your heart and in

your li9e3 od !ant& you to do that. Je&u& &aid in

-evelation ":24,

ehold, I stand at the door and 1noc1& i$ anyone

hears <y voice and o*ens the door, I %ill come in to

him, and %ill dine %ith him, and he %ith <e'

#he ord6& de&ire, Hi& purpo&e, i& to come into you—to

ma@e your heart and li9e Hi& home, Hi& permanent d!ellin

place. In all Hi& covenantal 9ullne&&, in every one o9 tho&ea&pect& o9 Hi& covenantal nature, He !ant& to come in and

d!ell in your heart and li9e. #he ord i& a entleman,

ho!ever He !ill not pu&h Hi& !ay in. It i& up to you to open

the door. ou have to invite Him in throuh 9aith in the

&acri9ice o9 od the Son—5hri&t Je&u&—9or you.

I9 you !ould li@e to do that riht no!, here i& a ;rie9 prayeryou can &ay:



Lord Jesus Christ, I thank You that You died on the

cross for my sins and that You rose from the dead.

I invite You now to come in and dwell in my heartand be my Savior and my Lord. Amen.

8o!, ;ein to than@ Him. He !a& u&t !aitin 9or the

opportunity to come in. #he moment you opened the door,

He came in, and your li9e i& oin to ;e di99erent 9rom no!

on. #hi& reat, !onder9ul, covenant@eepin od i& not&omeone you u&t hear a;out. He i& &omeone !ho i& 9orever

there !ith you.




,& D)- G)! U- "Di-5#i--"9

%e have &een that, in the )i;le, name& are indicative o9 the

nature o9 the per&on named—they ma@e @no!n &omethin

a;out that per&on6& character and de&tiny. i@e!i&e, od6&

name&, title&, and mani9e&tation&, a& revealed to humanity in

Scripture, indicate Hi& nature and purpo&e&. et, &ometime&,

od u&e& di&ui&e& !hen He interact& !ith human ;ein&.

%hy &hould od !ant to u&e di&ui&e&3 Surely, !e thin@

He !ould ;e the la&t $ne to do &uch a thin. et the

principle that od &ometime& u&e& concealment i& &tated in

variou& place& in Scripture. Particularly, there i& thi&

thouhtprovo@in ver&e:

It is the glory o$ God to conceal a matter, but the

glory o$ 1ings is to search out a matter' (?roverbs

%e &ee here that it re&t& !ith od to conceal and !ith @in&

to &earch out. In a certain !ay, the !ord @in& repre&ent& the

hihe&t level o9 humanity. So, !e can conclude that one o9the hihe&t achievement& o9 humanity on it& hihe&t level i&

to &earch out !hat od ha& concealed. In thi& &ection o9

Po!er in the 8ame, there9ore, !e !ill ;e e?plorin !hy and

ho! od come& to u& in 9orm& that have to ;e &earched out.

#o ;ein !ith, there are three thin& od doe& not !ant todo !hen He come& to you and me.



G)! D)- N)t ,%nt T)===

O4$%+ U- ,it& Hi- P)+$

Fir&t, od doe& not !ant to overa!e u& !ith Hi& po!er.

<lthouh He !ill con9irm the truth o9 the o&pel and dra!

people to Him&el9 throuh Hi& po!er D&ee, 9or e?ample,

-oman& 1(:11/> He;re!& 2:"', He doe& not !ant u& to

receive Him merely ;ecau&e He i& allpo!er9ul. In other

!ord&, !e need not ;e a9raid that i9 !e do not receive Him,

He !ill cru&h u& in an in&tant—ta@e a!ay our ;reath andend our live&. #hat i& not a motive plea&in to od 9or u& to

receive Him. -ather, our motive &hould ;e love:

In this is love, not that %e loved God, but that He

loved us and sent His :on to be the *ro*itiation $or

our sins''' '0nd %e have come to 1no% and have

believed the love %hich God has $or us' God is love,

and the one %ho abides in love abides in God, and

God abides in him' y this, love is *er$ected %ith us,

that %e may have con$idence in the day o$ 2udgment&

because as He is, so also are %e in this %orld'

There is no $ear in love& but *er$ect love casts out

$ear, because $ear involves *unishment, and the one%ho $ears is not *er$ected in love' 8e love, because

He $irst loved us'

( .ohn /, 65=

Enti/ U- t&$)#5& B--in5-

Second, od doe& not !ant to entice u& !ith Hi& ;le&&in&.od i& a;le to ;le&& u& in every area o9 our live&. He i& a;le



to ive u& all !e need and much more. He i& a;le to heal u&,

provide u& !ith 9inancial a;undance, and &olve all our

pro;lem&. )ut He doe& not !ant u& to receive Him merely

on the ;a&i& o9 !hat !e et 9rom Him.

S%ti- M$ O#$ Int/t#% C#$i)-it

#hird, od doe& not !ant to &ati&9y mere intellectual

curio&ity. For &ome people, li9e i& li@e a i&a! puCCle made

up o9 many di99erent piece&, one o9 !hich i& la;eled od.

Some people !ant to ;e a;le to in&ert od in Hi& riht9ul place in the puCCle. )ut od i& not u&t a piece in a puCCle.

<nd i9 !e have that attitude to!ard Him, He !ill not reveal

Him&el9 to u&.

I have heard people &ay, I9 I can put od in a te&t tu;e, I6ll

;elieve in Him. #hat i& ridiculou&K <ny od that can ;e put

into a te&t tu;e i& not a od !orth ;elievin in.

et me u&t re&tate !hat od doe& not !ant to do !hen He

come& to u&: D1 He doe& not !ant to overa!e u& !ith Hi&

po!er, D2 He doe& not !ant to entice u& !ith Hi& ;le&&in&,

and D" He doe& not !ant to &ati&9y mere intellectual

curio&ity.

%hat, then, doe& od !ant3 I thin@ !e can put it thi& !ay:

od !ant& u& to de&ire Him 9or Him&el9—apart 9rom Hi&

po!er, Hi& ;le&&in&, and any other ;ene9it.

G)! L))7- At T& H%$t

%e need to realiCe that od doe& not loo@ at u& a& !e loo@



at one another. He loo@& riht do!n into the innermo&t

depth& o9 our heart&. < ver&e in 1 Samuel ma@e& thi& point

clearly and vividly. #he prophet Samuel had ;een &ent to the

hou&e o9 Je&&e to anoint one o9 Je&&e6& &on& to ;e the ne?t@in o9 I&rael. Je&&e pre&ented the 9ir&t o9 hi& &on&, Elia;,

and Samuel !a& impre&&ed. )ut od &aid, 0o not loo@ at

hi& appearance or at the heiht o9 hi& &tature, ;ecau&e I have

reected him D1 Samuel 1*:+.

Je&&e produced &even o9 hi& 9ine, up&tandin, hand&ome

&on& and pre&ented them to Samuel, &ayin, %hich i& to ;ethe @in3 Samuel !a& impre&&ed ;y each one o9 them. et

every time he !a& impre&&ed ;y the out!ard appearance,

od &aid, in e99ect, #hat i&n6t the one.

<9ter Samuel had run throuh all the &on& !hom Je&&e

pre&ented and &till there !a& no @in, Samuel a&@ed, I&n6t

there anyone el&e3 -ather reluctantly, Je&&e &aid, #here6&

one more, the youne&t, ;ut he6& out in the pa&ture& loo@in

a9ter the &heep. <& it turned out, that eihth &on—the one

they had di&rearded—!a& 0avid, the 9uture @in o9 I&rael.

<nd !hen he arrived, the ord &aid, #hi& i& the one. <noint

him.

#hen, the ord &po@e the&e !ord& to Samuel:

#or God sees not as man sees, $or man loo1s at the

out%ard a**earance, but the Lord loo1s at the heart'

( :amuel 64

od doe& not loo@ at our out!ard appearance&> He loo@& atour heart&. <t the &ame time, the ord doe& not !ant u& to



reard Him merely ;y out!ard appearance or e?ternal

attri;ute&. od !ant& u& to receive Him 9or Him&el9,

!ithout reard to Hi& tremendou& Aualitie& o9 po!er, riche&,

or !i&dom.

Someho!, in Hi& tremendou& humility, od doe& not !ant

to ;e !anted 9or !hat !e can et 9rom Him> rather, He

!ant& to ;e !anted 9or Him&el9. He arrane& &ituation& and

circum&tance& in the live& o9 every one o9 u& that !ill

&ooner or later put u& to thi& te&t: are !e &ee@in od and

;elievin in Him ;ecau&e o9 !hat !e et or ;ecau&e o9 odHim&el93

G)! I- L))7in5 F)$ P)* ,&) A$===

%hat doe& od loo@ 9or in our heart&3 #o an&!er thi&

Aue&tion, I am oin to ive you a &erie& o9 reAuirement&

9rom three pa&&ae& in the $ld #e&tament. #!o pa&&ae&

come 9rom the ;oo@ o9 P&alm& and one come& 9rom the

;oo@ o9 I&aiah. I ;elieve the&e pa&&ae& &tate very clearly

and con&i&tently !hat od really loo@& 9or in u&.

"B$)7n An! C$#-&!"

et u& loo@ at the 9ir&t reAuirement:

The Lord is near to the bro1enhearted, and saves

those %ho are crushed in s*irit' (?salm -;

<n alternative readin 9or cru&hed in &pirit i& contrite.

<ctually, ;y it& root 9rom the atin, contrite mean& u&t that —&ome;ody !ho ha& ;een cru&hed, &Aua&hed do!n,



;attered. %e u&e the !ord ;ro@en in modern &peech in u&t

the &ame !ay.

od i& loo@in 9or tho&e !ho are ;ro@en and cru&hed.0oe&n6t that &eem &trane3

H# In H%$t

Here i& the &econd pa&&ae, and the &econd reAuirement:

Though the Lord is on high, he loo1s u*on the lo%ly,but the *roud he 1no%s $rom a$ar' (?salm -;6

+I@

od loo@& 9or the lo!ly, ;ut He @no!& the proud 9rom a9ar.

I9 you a&@ my opinion, that i& !here He @eep& them—9ar

o99. Proud people really do not have acce&& to od.

C)nt$it In S*i$it

#hird, !e 9ind a mo&t ;eauti9ul pa&&ae in I&aiah. It

de&cri;e& od6& eternal lory and mae&ty—and al&o !hat

He loo@& 9or in u&:

#or this is %hat the high and lo$ty One saysEhe

%ho lives $orever B>%ho inhabits eternity" +.@C,

%hose name is holy "Hive in a high and holy *lace

BIsn>t that a%esome and im*ressive9C, but also %ith

him %ho is contrite and lo%ly in s*irit, to revive the

s*irit o$ the lo%ly and to revive the heart o$ the

contrite'" (Isaiah 4 +I@



Even thouh od i& hih and mae&tic, and even thouh He

inha;it& eternity DHi& d!ellin place, He ha& one other

d!ellin place o9 choice. He live& al&o !ith him !ho i&

contrite and lo!ly in &pirit.

In thi& pa&&ae, !e &ee clearly that od i& loo@in 9or the

contrite and the lo!ly—tho&e !ho are not proud, arroant,

&el9con9ident, or &el9reliant. In&tead, the&e are people !ho,

in many ca&e&, have pa&&ed throuh &ome @ind o9

e?perience in li9e that ha& &tripped them o9 &el9con9idence

and arroance. #hi& e?perience ha& le9t them—in the truemeanin o9 the !ord—;ro@en. #hat i& !hat od i& loo@in

9or: the lo!ly, the contrite, the ;ro@en.

5ontrite mean& ;ein enuinely &orry 9or !rondoin. ou

&ee, lot& o9 people do !ron and &u99er unplea&ant

con&eAuence&. <lthouh they !ant to et out o9 the

con&eAuence&, they are not truly &orry 9or the !rondoin.

od doe& not really !ant to con&ider tho&e people. He

!ant& to enae !ith people !ho not only !ant to et out o9

the con&eAuence&, ;ut al&o are &orry 9or the !rondoin that

;rouht them to tho&e con&eAuence&.

R/)5ni G)!'- Inn$)-t N%t#$

In the ne?t &everal chapter&, !e !ill &ee more clearly ho!

od come& to u& in di&ui&e&. He come& to u& in &uch a !ay

that i9 !e are not &en&itive enouh to loo@ 9or !hat od i&

in Hi& innermo&t nature, !e !ill not reconiCe Him. I9 !e

are concerned only !ith e?ternal& or !ith our o!n &el9i&h

end&, purpo&e&, and de&ire&, !e !ill mi&& Him.



#hat i& !hy od come& to humanity in di&ui&e&. <nd that

i& !hy it i& &o important that !e learn to reconiCe tho&e

di&ui&e&. $ther!i&e, od may come to u& and !e may mi&&

Him.



CHAPTER 1

T& C%$*nt$'- S)n

#he 9ir&t di&ui&e !e !ill e?amine i& al&o the mo&t

important and marvelou& di&ui&e in !hich od ever came

upon the &tae o9 human hi&tory. He came to u& in the

di&ui&e o9 the carpenter6& &on, @no!n in hi&tory a& Je&u& o9

8aCareth.

#hrouh prophecy, od !arned I&rael in advance that He

!a& oin to come to them in a &trane !ay.

#or a child %ill be born to us, a son %ill be given to

us& and the government %ill rest on His shoulders&

and His name %ill be called 8onder$ul Aounselor,

<ighty God, )ternal #ather, ?rince o$ ?eace'(Isaiah =6

I&n6t it remar@a;le that thi& child in Scripture i& actually

called 7ihty od3 %ho could that ;e ;ut Je&u&3

#he Scripture i& &o accurate. It &ay& t!o thin& a;out thi&

child. Fir&t, it &ay& He !ill ;e ;orn a& a child ;ut ivena& a &on. Je&u& did not ;ecome the Son o9 od throuh Hi&

incarnation. Eternally, He i& the Son o9 od. He !a& the

Son !ho !a& iven, ;ut throuh the incarnation, He ;ecame

the little child.



S4n M%$4)#- F%/t- A)#t G)!'- S)n

Je&u&6 eternal nature i& de&cri;ed el&e!here in the )i;le.

et6& read, 9or in&tance, a pa&&ae 9rom the ;oo@ o9He;re!&:

In the *ast God s*o1e to our $ore$athers through the

*ro*hets at many times and in various %ays, but in

these last days he has s*o1en to us by his :on, %hom

he a**ointed heir o$ all things, and through %hom

he made the universe' The :on is the radiance o$God>s glory and the eFact re*resentation o$ his

being, sustaining all things by his *o%er$ul %ord'

0$ter he had *rovided *uri$ication $or sins, he sat

do%n at the right hand o$ the <a2esty in heaven'

(Hebre%s 5- +I@

#hi& pa&&ae tell& u& &even marvelou& 9act& a;out the Son o9

od.

Fir&t, He i& heir o9 all. #he entire creation, the entire

univer&e, i& oin to 9ind it& con&ummation and 9ul9illment

in Him.

Second, throuh Him, od the Father made the univer&e.

He i& the creative &ource o9 all.

#hird, He i& the radiance o9 od the Father6& lory. He i& the

e?pre&&ion o9 !hat cannot ;e &een o9 the invi&i;le od. He

i& the !ay od6& lory come& into our live&.

Fourth, He i& the e?act repre&entation o9 od the Father6&



;ein. He convey& to u&, in a 9orm !e can appreciate, the

e?act nature o9 the eternal, invi&i;le od. Je&u& &aid,

<nyone !ho ha& &een me ha& &een the Father DJohn 1':/

8IG.

Fi9th, He &u&tain& all thin& ;y Hi& po!er9ul !ord. He i& the

upholdin 9orce in the entire univer&e. DHe i& the one !ho

uphold& all creation.

Si?th, He provided puri9ication 9or our &in& throuh Hi&

death on the cro&&.

Seventh, havin done Hi& !or@ on the cro&&, He &at do!n at

od6& riht hand, at the place o9 all authority, po!er, and

lory in the univer&e.

#ho&e &even 9act& reveal !ho Je&u& really i&. )ut, in hi&tory,

He came to u& in that &trane di&ui&e—the little ;a;y !ho

re! up to ;e the carpenter6& &on.

T& D%n5$ O Mi--in5 G)!

od !arned I&rael that they !ere in daner o9 mi&&in Him.

For in&tance, there i& a !ell@no!n pa&&ae in I&aiah (" thatde&cri;e& Je&u& a& the man o9 &orro!&. #hi& pa&&ae

;ein& !ith a !arnin a;out un;elie9:

8ho has believed our message and to %hom has the

arm o$ the Lord been revealed9 (verse +I@

#he arm o9 the ord i& none other than Je&u&. #he pa&&aede&cri;e& Him in Hi& human 9orm:



He gre% u* be$ore him li1e a tender shoot, and li1e

a root out o$ dry ground' (verse +I@

I&rael !a& dry round !hen Je&u& came—that i&, in &piritual

dearth and need.

He had no beauty or ma2esty to attract us to him,

nothing in his a**earance that %e should desire

him' (verse +I@

<ain, od doe&n6t !ant to ;e de&ired 9or Hi& out!ard

appearance.

He %as des*ised and re2ected by men, a man o$

sorro%s, and $amiliar %ith su$$ering' Li1e one $rom

%hom men hide their $aces he %as des*ised, and %e

esteemed him not' :urely he too1 u* our in$irmities

and carried our sorro%s, yet %e considered him

stric1en by God, smitten by him, and a$$licted' ut

he %as *ierced $or our transgressions, he %as

crushed $or our iniuities& the *unishment that

brought us *eace %as u*on him, and by his %ounds

%e are healed' (verses -5 +I@

Picture that mutilated, manled, ;eaten 9orm on the cro&&.

Picture Him dyin there, a&pin out Hi& li9e in aony,

pourin out Hi& li9e;lood. %a&n6t that a &trane di&ui&e 9or

almihty od3

#he Scripture oe& on to &ay,



8e all, li1e shee*, have gone astray, each o$ us has

turned to his o%n %ay& and the Lord has laid on him

the iniuity o$ us all' (Isaiah -6 +I@

Hi& role a& the ;earer o9 the &in& o9 the !orld !a& the

reate&t and the &trane&t o9 all od6& di&ui&e&.

,&%t T& S)n O G)! ,%- N)t

et u& loo@ at 9our thin& that the Son o9 od !a& not a& He

came to u& in human 9orm. He !a& not 9rom the rulin prie&tly ca&te. He !a& not hihly educated. He !a& not a

political leader. He !a& not a military commander.

#he&e are all role& that the !orld !ould have loo@ed 9or in

the 7e&&iah. #ho&e trait& !ould have cau&ed the !orld to

admire, re&pect, and receive Him. )ut He had none o9 them.

%hy3 )ecau&e od did not !ant to ;e received on that

;a&i&. He !anted to ;e received only ;y tho&e !ho&e heart&

!ere lo!ly and contrite— tho&e !ho !ere lonin 9or od

9or Him&el9 and not 9or !hat He had to o99er.

#rue, Je&u& !a& 9rom the @inly tri;e, the only tri;e 9rom

!hich a @in could ever come to the Je!i&h people. He !a&o9 the tri;e o9 Judah. )ut it& lory had lon ;een eclip&ed.

<nd !hen Je&u& came, He !a& u&t a root out o9 dry

round DI&aiah (":2 8IG. #hat i& ho! od came to

humanity more than t!o thou&and year& ao. Ho! 9e! have

penetrated the depth& o9 that di&ui&e.

O**)-it R%/ti)n- T) J-#-



%hen od came to earth in the di&ui&e o9 the 7an Je&u&,

!ho&e li9e ended on a cro&&, people had oppo&ite reaction&

to Him. $ne attitude di&mi&&ed Him !ith contempt a& the

carpenter6& &on. #he other received Him !ith !or&hip a& theSon o9 od. et6& ta@e a clo&er loo@ at the&e diverent

reaction&.

#he 9ir&t reaction, one o9 reection and contempt, i&

de&cri;ed in 7atthe! 1". <ppropriately enouh, in an

unmi&ta@a;le !ay, it de&cri;e& the re&pon&e to Je&u& 9rom

tho&e in Hi& o!n hometo!n o9 8aCareth.

Aoming to his hometo%n, he began teaching the

*eo*le in their synagogue, and they %ere ama3ed'

"8here did this man get this %isdom and these

miraculous *o%ers9" they as1ed' "Isn>t this the

car*enter>s son9 Isn>t his mothers name <ary, and

aren>t his brothers .ames, .ose*h, :imon and .udas9

0ren>t all his sisters %ith us9 8here then did this

man get all these things9" 0nd they too1 o$$ense at

him' ut .esus said to them, "Only in his hometo%n

and in his o%n house is a *ro*het %ithout honor'"

(<atthe% -54 +I@

#he&e people could not &ee throuh the di&ui&e. #hey had

@no!n Je&u& too lon. In a certain &en&e, they had ;een too

9amiliar !ith Him. #here i& a &ayin that 9amiliarity ;reed&

contempt, and I thin@, in lare part, that !a& true in thi&

ca&e. #he people !ho, in a &en&e, had ;een clo&e&t to Him

9ailed to 9iure out the di&ui&e. He had to o el&e!here to

;e received.



et u& loo@ no! at the oppo&ite reaction. #ho&e !ho

received Him reconiCed the di&ui&e and realiCed !ho He

really !a&.

8hen .esus came to the region o$ Aaesarea ?hili**i,

he as1ed his disci*les, "8ho do *eo*le say the :on

o$ <an is9" They re*lied, ":ome say .ohn the

a*tist& others say )li2ah& and still others, .eremiah

or one o$ the *ro*hets'" "ut %hat about you9" he

as1ed' "8ho do you say I am9" :imon ?eter

ans%ered, "Jou are the Ahrist B<essiahC, the :on o$ the living God'" .esus re*lied, "lessed are you,

:imon son o$ .onah, $or this %as not revealed to you

by man, but by my #ather in heaven'" (<atthe%

6-54 +I@

Here !a& a man !ho received the revelation o9 the Father

concernin Je&u&—a man !ho loo@ed ;eyond the

&uper9icialitie&, ;eyond !hat !a& not really important. )y

the race o9 od and the Spirit o9 od, Peter di&cerned the

true, eternal Son o9 od, the 7e&&iah, the $ne 9or !hom the

I&raelite& had ;een !aitin, ;ut !hom they 9ailed a& a !hole

to reconiCe.

H)+ ,i .)# R-*)n! T) J-#-9

%e &till have tho&e t!o alternative& today. %e can react in

one !ay or the other, u&t a& the I&raelite& could. %e need to

;e mind9ul o9 the&e !ord& 9rom the 9ir&t chapter o9 John6&

o&pel:

He came to His o%n, and those %ho %ere His o%n



did not receive Him' ut as many as received Him,

to them He gave the right to become children o$

God, even to those %ho believe in His name, %ho

%ere born not o$ blood, nor o$ the %ill o$ the $lesh,nor o$ the %ill o$ man, but o$ God' (.ohn 5-

%hat are you oin to do a;out Je&u&3 <re you oin to

reect Him3 $r are you oin to receive Him3

<re you oin to loo@ ;eneath the di&ui&e and &ee the

eternal Son o9 od3 <re you oin to !or&hip Him and!elcome Him in your li9e3 I pray that you may do thi&.



CHAPTER 11

C&i!$n

For od6& &econd di&ui&e, !e !ill loo@ at one that He

reularly u&e&. 7any time&, od come& to u& in the di&ui&e

o9 a child. oo@ at !hat Je&u& &aid:

0t that time the disci*les came to .esus and as1ed,

"8ho is the greatest in the 1ingdom o$ heaven9" He

called a little child and had him stand among them'

0nd he said "I tell you the truth, unless you change

and become li1e little children, you %ill never enter

the 1ingdom o$ heaven' There$ore, %hoever humbles

himsel$ li1e this child is the greatest in the 1ingdom

o$ heaven' 0nd %hoever %elcomes a little child li1e

this in my name %elcomes me' ut i$ anyone causesone o$ these little ones %ho believe in me to sin, it

%ould be better $or him to have a large millstone

hung around his nec1 and to be dro%ned in the

de*ths o$ the sea'" (<atthe% ;56 +I@

#hen, a little 9urther on, Je&u& &aid,

:ee that you do not loo1 do%n on one o$ these little

ones' #or I tell you that their angels in heaven

al%ays see the $ace o$ my #ather in heaven' (verse

/ +I@



G)! I!ntii- Hi- ,it& C&i!$n

od &et& reat value upon children. In 9act, a& I under&tandthe a;ove Scripture, an anel i& appointed to uard every

child. #hi& anel ha& direct acce&& to the pre&ence o9

almihty od and ha& to ive od a report on !hat happen&

to that child. <nd Je&u& &aid i9 od ;rin& u& into contact

!ith a child, and !e receive that child, !e are receivin

Je&u&. )ut, i9 !e reect that child—i9 !e re9u&e to help that

child—in reality, !e are reectin Je&u&.

#he Scripture al&o &ay& it i& !or&e yet 9or u& i9 !e do

anythin to cau&e &uch a little child to &in Dand remem;er,

our contemporary &ociety i& 9ull o9 men and !omen !ho are

doin thi&. <ccordin to Je&u&, it !ould ;e ;etter 9or &uch a

per&on to have a lare mill&tone hun around hi& nec@ and

to ;e dro!ned in the depth& o9 the &ea than to incur the uilt

o9 cau&in a child to &in.

%e &ee 9rom thi& Scripture that !hen Je&u& &et& a child

;e9ore u&, He identi9ie& Him&el9 !ith that child. $ur

re&pon&e to the child parallel& our re&pon&e to Je&u&. od6&

anel in heaven i& !atchin over that child and !atchinho! !e re&pond to the little one.

%e come ;ac@ to the &ame principle: od o9ten di&ui&e&

Him&el9 in the !ea@, the unimpre&&ive, the impro;a;le, the

unconventional. %e cannot ta@e it 9or ranted that !e !ill

@no! !hen od come& into our live&. He !ill come in

di&ui&e&, and unle&& our heart& are open, !e !ill mi&& Him.%e may ;e uilty o9 reectin od !ithout even @no!in





9ir&t. It i& to loo@ a9ter orphan& and !ido!& in their di&tre&&.

#he neative i& ne?t. It i& to @eep our&elve& 9rom ;ein

polluted ;y the !orld.

Un9ortunately, it &eem& that much o9 contemporary

5hri&tianity empha&iCe& only the neative—not ;ein

involved !ith the !orld, not ;ein polluted ;y the !orld.

%e hear much a;out @eepin our&elve& &eparate, not oin

here or there, not doin thi& or that—much o9 !hich i& o9ten

u&t human reulation&.

People !ho empha&iCe &uch thin& o9ten totally mi&& the

po&itive, the 9ir&t part, !hich i& to loo@ a9ter orphan& and

!ido!& in their di&tre&&. #he !ay !e re&pond to children in

need i& the !ay !e re&pond to od.

,&n J-#- C% T) M

I !ant to relate a per&onal e?perience in reard to thi&

&u;ect. 7y 9ir&t !i9e, ydia, and I rai&ed a 9amily o9 nine

adopted irl&. Si? !ere Je!i&h, one !a& Enli&h, one !a&

<ra;, and the youne&t !a& <9rican. %hen I married my

&econd !i9e, -uth, &he ;rouht three adopted children into

our 9amily. )et!een u&, !e !ere re&pon&i;le 9or t!elveadopted children. So, !hat I relate ne?t i& not u&t theory—it

repre&ent& a reat amount o9 e?perience.

Here i& a ;rie9 account o9 ho! ydia and I received the little

;lac@ <9rican irl !ho ;ecame our ninth adopted dauhter.

ydia and I !ere mi&&ionarie& in =enya, in ea&t <9rica, at

the time, and !e !ere very ;u&y !ith educational !or@.$ne niht, a !hite lady and a ;lac@ couple came to our



home !ith a little ;a;y !ho !a& a;out &i? month& old. #he

child !a& very &ic@ly and !a& !rapped in nothin ;ut a

dirty to!el. #hey &aid to u&, %e6ve heard that you ta@e in

children. 7y !i9e and I replied, e&, that !a& true o9 u&many year& ao, ;ut !e6re too old to do that no!. <nd

;e&ide&, !e6re too ;u&y !ith other !or@. #o that, the&e

people replied, %e6ve ;een oin around 9or three day& to

every 9amily—!hite, ;lac@, <&ian— loo@in 9or &ome;ody

to ta@e thi& little child. %e6re &o tired. %ould you u&t let u&

&it do!n and re&t 9or a;out hal9 an hour3 So !e &aid, )y

all mean&, &it do!n. <nd !e &at there !ith them.

<t the end o9 hal9 an hour, they ot up to o. <& they carried

their ;a;y pa&t me, thi& little one u&t &tretched out her hand

to!ard me, a& i9 to &ay, %hat are you oin to do a;out

me3 I turned to my !i9e and &aid, I thin@ !e6ll chane our

mind&. ydia &aid to the couple, ive me a !ee@ to et a

;a;y cri; and &ome ;a;y clothe&, and ;rin her ;ac@. So,

that6& ho! !e too@ that little <9rican irl.

I !ill tell you thi&: my li9e ha& ;een much richer 9or ta@in

that little irl. #oday, &he i& ro!n up> &he i& a ;eauti9ul

5hri&tian !oman !ho i& married and &ervin the ord. I

&hudder to thin@ !hat I could have mi&&ed i9 I had let thatopportunity o ;y—!hen Je&u& came to me in the per&on o9

that little &ic@ ;a;y.

,&%t ,i .)# D)9

$ur !orld today i& 9ull o9 children in need. <nd tho&e

children are not u&t out&ide the United State&. #here are plenty in the U.S., a& !ell. It i& in our po!er, in many ca&e&,



to help them—either directly or indirectly.

For many year&, I have &y&tematically provided &upport 9or

t!o orphan& in India and one in =orea. I &ay thi& not to ;oa&t ;ut to ma@e a point. %hat i& the ood o9 preachin i9

!e don6t practice !hat !e preach3 It doe& not co&t much,

and I am @eepin three children alive and ivin them the

opportunity to have a 5hri&tian education.

#o clo&e thi& chapter, let6& e?amine tho&e 9amiliar !ord& o9

Jame& aain:

0nyone, then, %ho 1no%s the good he ought to do

and doesn>t do it, sins' (.ames 4 +I@

Sin doe& not include u&t &in& o9 commi&&ion—!hat !e

have done !ron. 7any time&, the &in& !e commit are &in&

o9 omi&&ion— !hat !e have 9ailed to do. I9 od come& to

u& in the per&on o9 a little child, !hat are !e oin to do

a;out it3



CHAPTER 12

G)!'- M--n5$-

<nother di&ui&e od ha& u&ed many time& in hi&tory and

continue& to u&e today i& Hi& me&&ener&. It i& a principle in

Scripture—one that i& demon&trated many time& and

empha&iCed in &criptural teachin—that od identi9ie&

Him&el9 !ith tho&e !hom He &end& a& Hi& repre&entative&.

#hi& mean& the !ay !e re&pond to od6& me&&ener& i&

counted ;y od a& our re&pon&e to od Him&el9. %e cannot

reect od6& me&&ener& and claim to receive od. I am

a9raid &ome people &imply have not ra&ped thi& concept.

T& P$in/i* O I!ntii/%ti)n

et6& loo@ at !hat Je&u& &aid a;out thi& &u;ect in &ome pa&&ae& in the 8e! #e&tament. #he 9ir&t pa&&ae i& 9rom

the ;oo@ o9 John. Je&u& &aid to Hi& di&ciple&,

I tell you the truth, %hoever acce*ts anyone I send

acce*ts me& and %hoever acce*ts me acce*ts the

one %ho sent me' (.ohn -/ +I@

In thi& ver&e, !e &ee that the principle oe& all the !ay

do!n 9rom od the Father. od the Father &ent Je&u&, Hi&

Son. #ho&e !ho received Je&u& received od the Father.

5onver&ely, tho&e !ho reected Je&u& reected od the

Father. DSee John 12:'(4.

)ut the principle doe& not end there. Je&u&, in turn, cho&e



certain men—and rather unli@ely men. #hey !ere not

theoloian&, they !ere not prie&t&, and they !ere not hihly

educated. #hey !ere 9i&hermen and ta? collector& and &uch,

people !hom the !orld !ould not have e&teemed veryhihly. Je&u& made them Hi& di&ciple& and &ent them out a&

Hi& repre&entative&. <nd He &aid, in e99ect, #he !ay people

treat you i& the !ay people treat 7e. I9 they receive you,

they receive 7e> ;ut i9 they reect you, they are reectin

7e thouh they may not reconiCe it. I9 they reect 7e,

they are al&o reectin 7y Father. #hat i& a very emphatic

ver&e.

A//*t%n/ O$ R/ti)n

Je&u& &tated thi& principle o9 identi9ication—and o9

acceptance or reection—more 9ully !hen He &ent Hi& 9ir&t

di&ciple& out to preach the @indom o9 od.

8hatever to%n or village you enter, search $or some

%orthy *erson there and stay at his house until you

leave' 0s you enter the home, give it your greeting' I$

the home is deserving, let your *eace rest on it& i$ it

is not, let your *eace return to you' (<atthe% /5

- +I@

It i& a remar@a;le 9act that the me&&ener& o9 Je&u& have the

authority and the a;ility to tran&mit Hi& peace to tho&e !ho

receive them. )ut they can al&o !ithhold Hi& peace 9rom

tho&e !ho do not receive them in a !orthy !ay. Je&u&

continued,

I$ anyone %ill not %elcome you or listen to your



%ords, sha1e the dust o$$ your $eet %hen you leave

that home or to%n' (verse +I@

#o &ha@e the du&t o99 your 9eet !a& a &in o9 totallydi&o!nin &omethin. #o do &o !a& to &ay, I accept no

re&pon&i;ility 9or you. Je&u& continued Hi& in&truction to

Hi& di&ciple& !ith thi& very remar@a;le &tatement a;out

tho&e !ho reect them:

I tell you the truth, it %ill be more bearable $or

:odom and Gomorrah on the day o$ 2udgment than $or that to%n' (<atthe% / +I@

Sodom and omorrah !ere citie& that !ere uilty o9 a &in

that od utterly condemned and uded. od uded them

!ith a remar@a;le, dramatic overthro!, &ettin them 9orth a&

an e?ample to all !ho &hould indule in that &in in 9uture

time&. %hat Sodom and omorrah e?perienced !a&

terri;leK )ut Je&u& &aid it !ill ;e !or&e 9or people !ho

reect Hi& me&&ener& than it !a& 9or Sodom and omorrahK

I hope it i& ;ecomin clear ho! &eriou& it i& that !e do not

reect the me&&ener& !hom Je&u& &end&.

Je&u& continued Hi& me&&ae to Hi& di&ciple& on theiracceptance or reection:

I am sending you out li1e shee* among %olves'

There$ore he as shre%d as sna1es and as innocent as

doves' (verse 6 +I@

#here i& nothin very impre&&ive a;out a &heep. Je&u& couldhave u&ed many other 9iure& o9 &peech. He could have &aid,



I6m &endin you out li@e lion&, or li@e leopard&, or li@e

hor&e&. <ll the&e creature& have &ome @ind o9 impre&&ive

9eature. )ut a &heep ha& never impre&&ed any;ody. 8or ha&

a &heep ever terri9ied any;odyK Je&u& &aid, #hat6& ho! I6moin to &end you. ou6ll ;e in the mid&t o9 !olve&, ;ut

you6ll ;e li@e &heep.

<t the end o9 thi& chapter, Je&u& &aid,

He %ho receives you receives me, and he %ho

receives me receives the one %ho sent me' (verse / +I@

%e &ee the &ame principle aain: I9 they receive you,

they6re receivin 7e. I9 they receive 7e, they6re receivin

the Father !ho &ent 7e. )ut, i9 they reect you, they6re

reectin 7e. I9 they6re reectin 7e, they6re al&o reectin

the Father.

R/i4in5 G)!'- M--n5$- B$in5- R+%$!

Je&u& !rapped up Hi& teachin on acceptance or reection

!ith an added empha&i&, !hich i& al&o a @ind o9 principle:

0nyone %ho receives a *ro*het because he is a

*ro*het %ill receive a *ro*het>s re%ard, and anyone

%ho receives a righteous man because he is a

righteous man %ill receive a righteous man>s

re%ard' (<atthe% / +I@

%e @no! 9rom the )i;le that many o9 od6& prophet& !ere pretty &trane people. #hey !ore &trane clothe&, did



&trane thin&, turned up at une?pected moment&, and made

the mo&t un!elcome &tatement&. Sometime&, they u&t

!al@ed o99 the &tae a9ter that. ou pro;a;ly could not 9ind

a le&& conventional character than the prophet Eliahany!here in literatureK

)ut Je&u& &aid it pay& to di&cern the prophet ;eneath that

unconventional or even unaccepta;le e?terior. #he rea&on3

I9 you identi9y the prophet and receive him, you !ill receive

the &ame re!ard a& the prophet. I9 you identi9y a rihteou&

man and receive him, you !ill receive the &ame re!ard a&that rihteou& man.

od come& to u& in the 9orm o9 Hi& me&&ener&. He

identi9ie& Him&el9 !ith the one& !hom He &end& to

repre&ent Him. <nd the !ay !e receive them or reect them

i& counted a& the !ay !e receive or reect od Him&el9.

-emem;er that to reect the me&&ener& o9 Je&u& i& a !or&e

&in than that o9 Sodom and omorrah.

E@%*- O G)!'- M--n5$-

B%$%7 T& J#!5

et6& loo@ no! at t!o rather intere&tin e?ample&. #he 9ir&t

i& 9rom the $ld #e&tament—the e?ample o9 )ara@, one o9

the ude& o9 I&rael. In the time o9 )ara@, I&rael had ;een

invaded and !a& ;ein oppre&&ed ;y an alien army more

numerou&, more po!er9ul, and much ;etter eAuipped and

armed than I&rael. In that conte?t, od called on a youn

man named )ara@, !ho !a& apparently not a very !ell@no!n 9iure, to lead I&rael to victory aain&t thi& invadin



army.

)ara@ !a& a rather retirin youn man, and he did not 9eel

Auali9ied 9or the ta&@ at hand. So, he !ent to the prophete&&o9 that day, !ho&e name !a& 0e;orah, and a&@ed her to o

!ith him.

It6& clear that )ara@ really !a& not a very impre&&ive 9iure.

8everthele&&, he !a& couraeou& and o;edient. He led

I&rael6& army to victory, and the alien army !a& de9eated and

driven out.

<9ter that, 0e;orah the prophete&& &an a &on a;out the

victory, cele;ratin it and &pea@in a;out variou& tri;e& in

I&rael. Some had come to help )ara@, !hile other& had

re9u&ed. She &po@e in particular a;out one villae that i& not

mentioned aain any!here in the Scripture&, the villae o9

7eroC. #hi& i& !hat &he &aid a;out 7eroC in her &on:

"Aurse <ero3," said the angel o$ the Lord' "Aurse

its *eo*le bitterly, because they did not come to hel*

the Lord, to hel* the Lord against the mighty'"

(.udges - +I@

#he people o9 7eroC thouht they didn6t need to help )ara@,

&o they di&mi&&ed him. Perhap& they ridiculed him. )ut od

didn6t con&ider their indi99erent re&pon&e a& committed

aain&t )ara@. He rearded it a& committed aain&t Him&el9.

< cur&e came upon that villae ;ecau&e it& people had not

come to help )ara@. <nd ;y 9ailin to help )ara@, they had

9ailed to help the ord Him&el9.



J)&n T& B%*ti-t

#he &econd e?ample i& John the )apti&t. John !a& the

9orerunner, the repre&entative, &ent ;e9ore Je&u& to prepareHi& !ay. )ut Herod the #etrarch did not li@e John ;ecau&e

John Aue&tioned hi& morality, &o he had John impri&oned.

#hen, one niht, !hen a dancin irl came and plea&ed him

Dpro;a;ly !ith &ome @ind o9 &en&ual dance, Herod vo!ed

that he !ould ive her anythin &he a&@ed 9or.

She !a& the dauhter o9 the !oman !hom Herod hadunla!9ully married, and to et revene on John the )apti&t,

thi& irl a&@ed 9or hi& head. In order to @eep hi& oath, Herod

had John e?ecuted, and hi& head !a& ;rouht on a plate

riht then and there. DSee, 9or e?ample, 7ar@ *:1+2.

ater on, u&t a9ter Je&u& !a& arre&ted, He !a& ;rouht

;e9ore Herod to ;e tried:

8hen Herod sa% .esus, he %as greatly *leased,

because $or a long time he had been %anting to see

him' #rom %hat he had heard about him, he ho*ed

to see him *er$orm some miracle' He *lied him %ith

many uestions, but .esus gave him no ans%er'(Lu1e -;5= +I@

Herod had reected John the )apti&t, and he couldn6t et any

an&!er 9rom Je&u&. #he principle i&, i9 you reect od6&

&ervant& and me&&ener&, you cannot e?pect to hear 9rom

od.



CHAPTER 13

G)!'- P$-/#t! P)*

#he la&t di&ui&e !e are oin to loo@ at—one that od ha&

o9ten u&ed and &till u&e& today—i& Hi& per&ecuted people.

od &u99er& !ith Hi& per&ecuted people, and He identi9ie&

Him&el9 !ith them. #he !ay !e treat them i& rec@oned a&

the !ay !e treat od Him&el9.

S%# Un7n)+in5 P$-/#t! C&$i-t

#hi& principle i& ;rouht out &o clearly in the e?ample o9

Saul o9 #ar&u&. %hen Saul i& introduced in the 8e!

#e&tament, he i& the num;er one per&ecutor o9 that &trane

ne! &ect in Jeru&alem that came to ;e @no!n a& the

8aCarene&. He !a& 9ocu&in hi& attac@ on the people !ho9ollo!ed the %ay, tho&e !hom, today, !e !ould identi9y

a& 5hri&tian&.

8ot content !ith per&ecutin the 5hri&tian& in Jeru&alem,

Saul decided that he !a& oin to &tamp out thi& &ect in

every city. So, he o;tained authority 9rom the chie9 prie&t in

Jeru&alem to o to the city o9 0ama&cu& and there arre&t anddeal !ith any 9ollo!er& o9 Je&u& he miht 9ind there.

Ho!ever, a& Saul !a& on the !ay 9rom Jeru&alem to

0ama&cu&, he had an une?pected encounter !ith Je&u&

Him&el9. #hi& i& the de&cription o9 the encounter, and I !ant

you to note particularly the !ay in !hich Je&u& &po@e toSaul o9 #ar&u&. D$9 cour&e, Saul later ;ecame the reat



apo&tle Paul.

<ean%hile, :aul %as still breathing out murderous

threats against the Lord>s disci*les' He %ent to thehigh *riest and as1ed him $or letters to the

synagogues in Damascus, so that i$ he $ound any

there %ho belonged to the 8ay BAhristiansC,

%hether men or %omen, he might ta1e them as

*risoners to .erusalem' 0s he neared Damascus on

his 2ourney, suddenly a light $rom heaven $lashed

around him' He $ell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ":aul, :aul, %hy do you *ersecute me9"

"8ho are you, Lord9" :aul as1ed' "I am .esus,

%hom you are *ersecuting," he re*lied' "+o% get u*

and go into the city, and you %ill be told %hat you

must do'" (0cts =56 +I@

8otice !hat Je&u& a&@ed Saul. Hi& Aue&tion !a& not, %hy

are you per&ecutin 7y people3 or ...7y 9ollo!er&3 or

.. .7y di&ciple&3 He a&@ed, %hy are you per&ecutin

7e3 %hen Saul a&@ed !ho He !a&, the ord replied, I am

Je&u&, !hom you are per&ecutin.

od6& people do not &u99er alone. #hey may ;e per&ecutedterri;ly, ;ut od i& al!ay& !ith them in their &u99erin&. He

i& identi9ied !ith them i9 they are per&ecuted 9or Hi& name,

9or Hi& lory, and in o;edience to Him.

So, aain, the !ay !e treat od6& per&ecuted people i&

rearded ;y od a& the !ay !e treat Him. 7any ruler& and

leader& o9 &ociety throuhout the ae& did not under&tandthi&. #hey per&ecuted the hum;le, poor people o9 od and



didn6t realiCe that they !ere actually dealin !ith od

Him&el9 in Hi& people. %e need to under&tand that Je&u&

identi9ie& Him&el9 !ith Hi& per&ecuted people.

M%7 S#$ .)# A$ On G)!'- Si!

It i& particularly important to under&tand thi& truth a& thi&

ae dra!& to it& clo&e. #he rea&on3 Je&u& Him&el9 !arned

Hi& 9ollo!er& that in the la&t day&, there !ill ;e !orld!ide

per&ecution o9 5hri&tian&, the 9ollo!er& o9 Je&u&. #hi& i&

!hat the ord &aid in 7atthe! 2':

.esus ans%ered "8atch out that no one deceives

you' #or many %ill come in my name, claiming, >I

am the Ahrist B<essiahC,> and %ill deceive many'

Jou %ill hear o$ %ars and rumors o$ %ars, but see to

it that you are not alarmed' :uch things must

ha**en, but the end is still to come' +ation %ill rise

against nation, and 1ingdom against 1ingdom' There

%ill be $amines and earthua1es in various *laces'

0ll these are the beginning o$ birth *ains'" (<atthe%

5; +I@

<ll around the !orld today, !e are &eein !hat Je&u&de&cri;ed in the&e ver&e&. #ho&e occurrence& are the ;irth

pain& o9 a ne! ae. #he ord added, in re9erence to thi&

period,

Then you BHis disci*lesC %ill be handed over to be

*ersecuted and *ut to death, and you %ill be hated

by all nations because o$ me' (verse = +I@



<ain, there i& oin to ;e !orld!ide per&ecution o9 the

9ollo!er& o9 Je&u&. et6& ;e on our uard that !e never ta@e

the !ron &ide. et6& ;e care9ul never to allo! our&elve& to

;ecome identi9ied in any !ay !ith the per&ecutor& o9 the people o9 Je&u&. I9 !e do, !e are oin to have to an&!er to

od a& i9 !e had treated od Him&el9 that !ay.

S&)+in5 M$/ #%ii- U- F)$ M$/

$n a more po&itive note, !e can ;e amon tho&e !ho

receive the people o9 od and &ho! mercy to them. I9 !edo &o, !e !ill, in turn, Auali9y 9or od6& mercy. et6& re9er

to the pa&&ae o9 Scripture in 7atthe! that !e noted earlier:

0nyone %ho receives a *ro*het because he is a

*ro*het %ill receive a *ro*het>s re%ard, and anyone

%ho receives a righteous man because he is a

righteous man %ill receive a righteous man>s

re%ard' (<atthe% / +I@

#hi& pa&&ae tal@& a;out our a;ility to penetrate the di&ui&e

— to &ee !ho it i& !e are dealin !ith and to accept him 9or

!hat he i& in od and 9or ho! od &ee& him. %hen that

happen&, !e Auali9y 9or the &ame re!ard a& that per&on. I9the per&on i& a prophet, !e Auali9y 9or a prophet6& re!ard. I9

the per&on i& a rihteou& man, !e Auali9y 9or a rihteou&

man6& re!ard.

%hat Je&u& &aid ne?t come& do!n to &ome very ;a&ic

re&pon&e&:

I$ anyone gives even a cu* o$ cold %ater to one o$



these little ones because he is my disci*le, I tell you

the truth, he %ill certainly not lose his re%ard'

(verse +I@

In other !ord&, !e are oin to ;e uded ;y od 9or the

!ay !e deal !ith od6& people, e&pecially !hen they are

;ein per&ecuted. E&pecially !hen they are in need.

E&pecially !hen it !ould ;e ea&y to turn our ;ac@& on them.

%e could &ay, It6& their 9ault. #hey &houldn6t have ;een &o

reliiou&. #hey &hould have ;een more care9ul a;out ho!they &po@e. #here i& oin to ;e real pre&&ure to turn

aain&t od6& per&ecuted people a& thi& ae come& to it&

clo&e. )ut remem;er, i9 !e turn aain&t them, !e are

turnin aain&t od Him&el9.

H)n)$in5 O#$ J+i-& B$)t&$- An! Si-t$-

%e have &een that Je&u& identi9ie& Him&el9 !ith Hi& people

!ho are per&ecuted. I !ant to add an important empha&i&:

thi& include& tho&e !ho are Hi& ;rother& ;y natural ;irth—

that i&, the Je!i&h people.

In -evelation (:(, Je&u& i& called the ion o9 the tri;e o9Judah D8IG. In other !ord&, He i& eternally identi9ied in a

&pecial !ay !ith Judah. DJudah i& the name 9rom !hich !e

et the !ord& 9e! and Je!i&h Je&u&, in a certain &en&e, i&

eternally identi9ied !ith the Je!i&h people. <nd the !ay !e

treat the Je!i&h people i& oin to ;e rec@oned to u& a& the

!ay !e have treated their reat Elder )rother, their =in,

!hom mo&t o9 them have not yet reconiCed—Je&u&Him&el9.



Pre&ently, !e &ee I&rael ;ecomin more and more the 9ocu&

o9 !orld leader& and overnment&. Every day, !e read

&omethin in the paper or &ee &omethin on the ne!& a;outI&rael. #hat tiny nation o9 u&t under &i? million people i&

the 9ocu& o9 !orld ne!& and lo;al attention. #hi& i& not an

accident. od ha& arraned it ;ecau&e He i& oin to ude

the nation& ;y the !ay they relate to I&rael.

et6& loo@ at a rather lenthy pa&&ae 9rom 7atthe! 2( to

&ee ho! Je&u& ;rouht thi& out &o clearly.

8hen the :on o$ <an comes in his glory, and all the

angels %ith him, he %ill sit on his throne in heavenly

glory' 0ll the nations %ill be gathered be$ore him,

and he %ill se*arate the *eo*le one $rom another as

a she*herd se*arates the shee* $rom the goats' He

%ill *ut the shee* on his right and the goats on his

le$t' Then the ing %ill say to those on his right Bthe

shee*C, "Aome, you %ho are blessed by my #ather&

ta1e your inheritance, the 1ingdom *re*ared $or you

since the creation o$ the %orld' #or I %as hungry

and you gave me something to eat, I %as thirsty and

you gave me something to drin1, I %as a strangerand you invited me in, I needed clothes and you

clothed me, I %as sic1 and you loo1ed a$ter me, I

%as in *rison and you came to visit me'" Then the

righteous %ill ans%er him, "Lord, %hen did %e see

you hungry and $eed you, or thirsty and give you

something to drin19 8hen did %e see you a stranger

and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you9 8hen did %e see you sic1 or in *rison and go



to visit you9" The ing %ill re*ly, "I tell you the

truth, %hatever you did $or one o$ the least o$ these

brothers o$ mine, you did $or me'" Then he %ill say

to those on his le$t, "De*art $rom me, you %ho arecursed, into the eternal $ire *re*ared $or the devil

and his angels' #or I %as hungry and you gave me

nothing to eat, I %as thirsty and you gave me

nothing to drin1, I %as a stranger and you did not

invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe

me, I %as sic1 and in *rison and you did not loo1

a$ter me'" They also %ill ans%er, "Lord, %hen did%e see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or

needing clothes or sic1 or in *rison, and did not

hel* you9" He %ill re*ly, "I tell you the truth,

%hatever you did not do $or one o$ the least o$ these,

you did not do $or me'" Then they %ill go a%ay to

eternal *unishment, but the righteous to eternal li$e'

(<atthe% -56 +I@

%hat !e do 9or the ;rother& and &i&ter& o9 Je&u&, !e do 9or

Him. %hat !e do not do 9or Hi& ;rother& and &i&ter&, !e do

not do 9or Him.

%hat !ere the round& 9or puni&hment 9or tho&e in thea;ove pa&&ae3 In e99ect, they had 9ailed to reconiCe Je&u&

in Hi& per&ecuted people. In per&ecutin and &idin aain&t

tho&e people, or in nelectin them, they had ta@en their

&tand aain&t almihty od Him&el9.

#hi& i& a &eriou& thouht, !hether !e apply it to the

di&ciple& o9 Je&u& or to the people o9 Je&u& ;y natural ;irth —the Je!i&h people. Spea@in concernin the Je!i&h



people, the prophet Mechariah &aid, in one conci&e &entence,

8hoever touches you touches the a**le o$ his

BGod>sC eye' (echariah ; +I@

-emem;er that !arnin !hen you &pea@ a;out the Je!i&h

people, !hen you thin@ a;out them, !hen you e?pre&& your

attitude concernin them. %hen you touch them, you are

touchin the mo&t &en&itive part o9 od—the very apple o9

Hi& eye. et6& ;e on our uard.




JESUS' NATURE AND PURPOSES

< &pecial atmo&phere—di99erent 9rom all other &ea&on& o9

the year—i& enerated in countrie& !here the 5hri&tma&

&ea&on i& pu;licly honored and cele;rated. In my o!n li9e, I

can remem;er ho!, !hen I !a& a youn per&on Deven

thouh I !a& at that time an un;eliever and 9ar 9rom od,

the 5hri&tma& &ea&on touched my heart !ith &pecial

emotion& each year. #hey !ere emotion& I could not e?plain

—one& that I partly de&ired and partly 9eared.

Someho!, tho&e emotion& reminded me o9 a mi&&in

dimen&ion in my li9e that I needed to ma@e me a complete

per&on. Sad to &ay, tho&e emotion& didn6t la&t lon into the

8e! ear. 8everthele&&, I never totally 9orot them. #hey!ere al!ay& there &ome!here in the ;ac@round.

It i& e&&ential that !e @eep 5hri&t at the center o9 5hri&tma&.

%ithout 5hri&t, 5hri&tma& lo&e& any real or permanent

&ini9icance. Un9ortunately, 9or many people in

contemporary %e&tern culture, thi& &ea&on i& o9ten

a&&ociated !ith materiali&m, commerciali&m, and &el9indulence. Scripture ha& a very clear !arnin 9or u& a;out

thi&:

#or the one %ho so%s to his o%n $lesh shall $rom the

$lesh rea* corru*tion, but the one %ho so%s to the

:*irit shall $rom the :*irit rea* eternal li$e'(Galatians 6;



In all our thouht&, !ord&, and action&, even the !ay !e

&pend our time and money, !e are al!ay& &o!in

&omethin !e !ill et ;ac@, or reap. Scripture &ay& that!e can &o! to the 9le&h—to the carnal, to the material, to

&el9—;ut !e !ill reap only corruption, di&appointment, and

9ru&tration. et i9 !e &o! to the Spirit o9 od, !e !ill reap

eternal li9e. %e !ill have richer, 9uller, and more a;undant

live&, the @ind o9 live& Je&u& came to ;rin u&.

In order not to &u99er the 9ru&tration o9 reapin 9rom the9le&h, !e mu&t &o! to the Spirit. $ne &pecial !ay to do thi&

i& to @eep our heart& and mind& 9ocu&ed on Je&u&. #he

purpo&e o9 thi& &ection o9 the ;oo@, then, i& to help u& do

thi& ;y deepenin our under&tandin o9 Je&u&6 nature and

purpo&e& throuh an e?amination o9 ten o9 Hi& title&.



CHAPTER 18

,)n!$# C)#n-)$

<& I &tated earlier, !e need to under&tand that in the )i;le,

name& and title& are &ini9icant. Every ;i;lical name ha& a

&peci9ic meanin, and thi& applie&, a& !ell, to the name& and

title& o9 od. In addition, name& o9ten indicate &omethin

&pecial a;out the character or de&tiny o9 the per&on to !hom

they are iven.

#hi& a&&ociation applie& particularly to the many title& iven

to Je&u&. Each tell& u& &omethin &pecial and important

a;out Him. $ut o9 the many title& iven to Je&u&, I have

cho&en certain one& that, I ;elieve, !ill e&pecially ;le&& you.

#he 9ir&t t!o title& !e are oin to loo@ at come 9rom the ;oo@ o9 I&aiah:



and His name %ill be called 8onder$ul

Aounselor'''''''' ?rince o$ ?eace' (Isaiah =6

In thi& chapter, !e !ill 9ocu& on the title %onder9ul

5oun&elor. I !ould li@e to di&cu&& the meanin o9 thi& title

throuh another prophecy a;out the comin 7e&&iah, al&o

9rom the ;oo@ o9 I&aiah:

#hen a &hoot !ill &prin 9rom the &tem o9 Je&&e, and a ;ranch 9rom hi& root& !ill ;ear 9ruit. <nd the Spirit o9 the





Je&u& &ee& riht to the heart o9 every pro;lem and every

per&on. #hird, Hi& coun&el include& direction. He ha&

the an&!er. 8ot only doe& He &ee the pro;lem, ;ut He al&o

o99er& the &olution.

T+) In-t%n/- O J-#- A- C)#n-)$

et u& loo@ at t!o illu&tration& in the o&pel& o9 Je&u& a& the

%onder9ul 5oun&elor. %e !ill ;ein !ith one that involve&

the callin o9 Hi& 9ir&t di&ciple&.

0s .esus %as %al1ing beside the :ea o$ Galilee, he

sa% t%o brothers, :imon called ?eter and his

brother 0ndre%' They %ere casting a net into the

la1e, $or they %ere $ishermen'

"Aome, $ollo% me," .esus said, "and I %ill ma1e you

$ishers o$ men'" 0t once they le$t their nets and

$ollo%ed him' (<atthe% ;5/ +I@

From all the potential di&ciple&, Je&u& pic@ed t!o men !ho

!ere &imple, plain 9i&hermen. #hey had no reat education,

no a&&ociation !ith prie&tly o99ice or !ith teacher& o9 the

la!. #hey !ere u&t 9i&hermen. )ut Je&u&, the %onder9ul5oun&elor, &a! &omethin in tho&e men. He @ne! !hat He

could ma@e out o9 them. So, He &aid, in e&&ence, I9 you6ll

commit your&elve& to 7e, i9 you6ll 9ollo! 7e, I6ll ma@e you

9i&her& o9 men.

ou need to under&tand that !hat i& important in your

relation&hip !ith Je&u& i& not !hat you are !hen you &tart ;ut !hat He i& oin to ma@e o9 you. Hi& !onder9ul coun&el



&ee& in all tho&e !ho come to Him !hat they can ;e i9 they

yield to Him.

#he &econd e?ample i& Je&u&6 encounter !ith the rich younruler:

0s .esus started on his %ay, a man ran u* to him

and $ell on his 1nees be$ore him' "Good teacher,"he

as1ed, "%hat must I do to inherit eternal li$e9" "8hy

do you call me good9" .esus ans%ered' "+o one is

goodEeFce*t God alone' Jou 1no% the command5ments >Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do

not steal, do not give $alse testimony, do not de$raud,

honor your $ather and mother'>" "Teacher," he

declared, "all these I have 1e*t since I %as a

boy'".esus loo1ed at him and loved him' "One thing

you lac1," he said' "Go, sell everything you have

and give to the *oor, and you %ill have treasure in

heaven' Then come, $ollo% me'"0t this the man>s

$ace $ell' He %ent a%ay sad, because he had great

%ealth' (<ar1 /45 +I@

Je&u& loo@ed riht into the heart o9 that youn man. He

loved him. He !anted the ;e&t 9or him. )ut He had to tellhim the truth.

#he youn ruler &aid, I6ve @ept all the commandment&.

Intere&tinly enouh, the commandment not to covet i& not

mentioned there. Je&u& &a! that there !a& u&t one ;arrier to

!hat od had 9or that youn man, and that !a& hi&

po&&e&&ion&. He !a& ;ound ;y the material. Je&u& loo@edriht do!n into hi& heart and &aid, #here6& u&t one thin



you have to do. Sell all you have and 9ollo! 7e.

Je&u& didn6t &ay that to every;ody, ;ecau&e He @ne! the

particular hindrance in each li9e. )ut to thi& youn man, He&aid, in e99ect, 7oney and po&&e&&ion& are your hindrance.

I9 you !ant !hat I have to o99er, you6ll have to let them o.

So, i9 you have a pro;lem or a need, remem;er that there i&

a %onder9ul 5oun&elor, Je&u&. Hi& o99ice i& open t!enty

9our hour& a day. 0on6t ;e a9raid to o to Him.



CHAPTER 1

P$in/ O P%/

<& !e have e&ta;li&hed, each o9 Je&u&6 title& tell& u&

&omethin &pecial and important a;out Je&u& Him&el9. et

u& return to I&aiah /:*, !here !e 9ind a &econd title:



and His name %ill be called'''''' ?rince o$ ?eace'

#here i& a certain empha&i& on overnment in the a;ove

prophecy. It &ay&, < child !ill he ;orn..., a &on !ill ;e

iven...> and the overnment !ill re&t on Hi& &houlder&.

#he title in thi& ver&e that particularly empha&iCe& Hi&

character a& a ruler i& Prince o9 Peace.

%e have to under&tand that the !ord prince in the Scripture&

al!ay& de&inate& a ruler. Prince i& not u&t a title ained

throuh 9amily inheritance. It repre&ent& &omeone !ho i& an

active ruler, re&pon&i;le 9or overnment. #hi& i& one 9eature

;rouht out here in reard to the !onder9ul 5hild !ho !a&

to come.

P%/ A//)*%ni- Ri5&t)#- G)4$nnt

#!o thin& in our e?perience and in human hi&tory can

never ;e &eparated 9rom one another: the 9ir&t i& rihteou&

overnment and the &econd i& peace. #hi& corollary i& trueo9 individual&, o9 nation&, and even o9 !hole civiliCation&.



$nly in&o9ar a& there i& rihteou& overnment can there ;e

peace.

%e have a very limited and incomplete picture o9 peace inour contemporary &ociety. %e thin@ there i& peace a& lon a&

there i&n6t open !ar. <& lon a& nation& are not actually

9ihtin one another !ith military !eapon&, !e &ay there i&

peace, ;ut that i& utterly ridiculou&.

%henever there i& ;itterne&&, hatred, &lander, accu&ation, or

&y&tematic attempt& to undermine other nation&, outdo them,and ;rin them do!n, there i& no peace. #he He;re! !ord

9or peace, &halom, implie& much more than that. It& root

meanin i& completene&&, and it al&o contain& the idea o9

order. #rue N peace i& order and completene&&.

G)!'- G)4$nnt On E%$t&

#he ood ne!& o9 the o&pel i& the e&ta;li&hment o9 od6&

rihteou& overnment, !hich i& called Hi& @indom in the

Scripture&. DSee, 9or e?ample, 7atthe! *:"". 7any o9 u&

have mi&&ed thi& truth. Here i& the ood ne!&: od i& oin

to e&ta;li&h Hi& rihteou& overnment throuh Je&u&.

-emem;er that the !ord o&pel mean& ood ne!&.

et6& loo@ at the proclamation o9 the o&pel a& it i& iven in

variou& pa&&ae& in 7atthe!.

In those days .ohn the a*tist came, *reaching in

the Desert o$ .udea and saying, "e*ent, $or the

1ingdom o$ heaven is near'" (<atthe% -5 +I@



John the )apti&t !a& the 9ir&t one to proclaim the o&pel

me&&ae. He &aid od6& @indom—Hi& overnment—!a&

comin. < little 9urther on, !e read the 9ir&t recorded !ord&

Je&u& preached pu;licly:

#rom that time on .esus began to *reach, "e*ent,

$or the 1ingdom o$ heaven is near'" (<atthe% 4

+I@

.esus %ent throughout Galilee, teaching in their

synagogues, *reaching the good ne%s o$ the1ingdom, and healing every disease and sic1ness

among the *eo*le' (verse - +I@

8otice aain that the ood ne!& i& the @indom—od6&

overnment comin to earth. <nd !e are oin to ;e a;le to

enoy the ;ene9it& o9 that overnment.

ater, in de&cri;in Hi& proram to ;rin thi& ae to a clo&e,

Je&u& &aid,

0nd this gos*el Bgood ne%sC o$ the 1ingdom %ill be

*reached in the %hole %orld as a testimony to all

nations, and then the end %ill come' (<atthe% +I@

<ll nation& have a riht to hear—at lea&t once—that od i&

oin to &et up Hi& @indom in the Per&on o9 Je&u&, the

Prince o9 Peace. #hat i& the only hope 9or peace 9or

humanity.





J-#- I- T& An-+$ F)$ N%ti)n-

et6& con&ider ho! thi& truth applie& to our contemporary

&ituation. $ne o9 the mo&t con&picuou& 9eature& o9 the !orldcondition today i& the dearth o9 true leader&hip—mainly in

the political realm, ;ut in other area&, al&o. #here &eem to ;e

u&t t!o alternative& o99ered to humanity. #he 9ir&t i&

dictatorial oppre&&ion, or totalitariani&m. #he &econd i&

!ea@, ine99ectual leader&hip that doe&n6t really lead ;ut

merely 9ollo!& !here the multitude !ant& to o. It&

deci&ion& are o9ten overned ;y the Harri& or allup poll&.#hat i& not leader&hip.

People are 9aced, there9ore, !ith t!o un!elcome choice&.

#hey are a9raid o9 oppre&&ion, ;ut they are tired o9 the

con9u&ion that re&ult& 9rom ine99ectual leader&hip. %hat i&

the &olution3 <ctually, Je&u& i& the only &olution. <nd

humanity i& ;ein prepared to accept that &olution.

Humanity i& ;ein 9aced !ith the 9act that there mu&t ;e

ood overnment i9 there i& to ;e peace. Humanity i& al&o

;ein con9ronted !ith the 9act that man, in hi& o!n

unreenerate, re;elliou& nature, cannot o99er truly ood

overnment. So, od6& an&!er i& Je&u&, the Prince o9 Peace.

J-#- I- T& An-+$ F)$ .)#

)ut, than@ od, you don6t have to !ait until the 9uture to

e?perience the peace that Je&u& ;rin&. I9 you !ill !illinly

yield to the lord&hip o9 Je&u& in your li9e, you can have that

peace riht no!. Paul &aid,

"The %ord Bthe gos*elC is near you& it is in your





CHAPTER 1;

T& ,)$! O G)!

#he title o9 Je&u& !e !ill loo@ at in thi& chapter i& 9ound

mainly in the !ritin& o9 John: #he %ord o9 od. #o ;ein,

let6& loo@ at the openin ver&e o9 John6& o&pel:

In the beginning %as the 8ord, and the 8ord %as

%ith God, the 8ord %as God' (.ohn +I@

T& T)t% Min! An! C)#n- O G)!

8otice that in the a;ove ver&e, the term the %ord i& u&ed

three time&. #he $ne &o de&inated i& Je&u& in Hi& eternal

nature— not Je&u& the &on o9 7ary, ;ut Je&u& the Son o9

od, the $ne !ho !a& eternally, ;e9ore creation, !ith od.#he $ne !ho i& Him&el9 od, the &econd Per&on o9 the

odhead.

The 8ord became $lesh and made his d%elling

among us' 8e have seen his glory, the glory o$ the

One and Only, %ho came $rom the #ather, $ull o$

grace and truth' (.ohn +I@

<ain, the %ord i& a title o9 Je&u&. He i& the one and only

Son, the eternal, ;eotten Son. He i& not created ;ut

;eotten. He i& eternal, o9 one nature and ;ein !ith the

Father Him&el9. <& &uch, He, the %ord, ;ecame 9le&h—the

incarnation—and lived 9or a !hile amon u&. It !a& theeternal %ord that came into human hi&tory a& the little ;a;y



!ho !a& ;orn in the maner at )ethlehem and !ho re! up

to ;e the carpenter6& &on.

Je&u& not only came once a& a ;a;y, ;ut Scripture ma@e& itcleat He al&o i& comin ;ac@ aain in po!er and in lory to

ude and to rein. #here i& a vivid picture o9 Hi& 9uture

comin in the ;oo@ o9 -evelation. $nce aain, in thi&

conte?t, He i& called the %ord o9 od. John the -evelator

&ay& thi&:

I sa% heaven standing o*en and there be$ore me %asa %hite horse, %hose rider is called #aith$ul and

True Bthe rider is .esusC' 8ith 2ustice he 2udges and

ma1es %ar' His eyes are li1e bla3ing $ire, and on his

head are many cro%ns' He has a name %ritten on

him that no one 1no%s but he himsel$' He is dressed

in a robe di**ed in blood, and his name is the 8ord

o$ God' (evelation =5- +I@

So, there aain i& the %ord in Hi& loriou& mae&ty,

comin to ude and to rein, !earin many @inly cro!n&,

dre&&ed in a ro;e dipped in ;lood D!hich &pea@& o9 Hi&

&acri9ice o9 Him&el9 on the cro&&, and Hi& name i& the %ord

o9 od. #he ree@ !ord tran&lated %ord i& loo&. It i& a!ord that i& u&ed Auite 9reAuently today in variou& conte?t&.

%e need to under&tand a little a;out thi& term.

< 9riend o9 mine i& a ree@ $rthodo? prie&t !ho&e native

lanuae i& ree@. DI al&o &tudied ree@ my&el9 9rom the

time I !a& ten year& old. #hi& 9riend ave me a lecture on

the meanin o9 the !ord loo& that I never 9orot. He &aid,oo& i&n6t u&t a &po@en !ord. oo& mean& 6mind,6 it





#he !ord la&t i& &ini9icant. Je&u& i& the la&t !ord o9 od.

#he prophet& had much to &ay, ;ut !hen od !anted to &ay

everythin, to &um it all up, He &ent Hi& Son. #hi& i& ho!

the Son i& de&cri;ed:

'''%hom he a**ointed heir o$ all things, and through

%hom he made the universe' The :on is the radiance

o$ God>s glory and the eFact re*resentation o$ his

being, sustaining all things by his *o%er$ul %ord'

0$ter he had *rovided *uri$ication $or sins, he sat

do%n at the right hand o$ the <a2esty in heaven'(verses 5- +I@

Je&u& i& the %ord o9 od—the 9ull, complete revelation and

un9oldin o9 all that od i&, o9 all that od !ant& to &ay. et

me empha&iCe that !ithout revelation, man cannot @no!

od.

<t one time, I !a& a pro9e&&ional philo&opher, a teacher o9

philo&ophy. I &tudied many philo&ophical &y&tem& in !hich

philo&opher& tried ;y mere natural rea&onin to arrive at an

under&tandin o9 !hether there i& a od and, i9 &o, !hat

od i& li@e. I di&covered that each one o9 them came to a

di99erent conclu&ion.

%hat that &ho!ed me i& that mere rea&onin and human

intellience cannot ive u& a true or accurate picture o9 od.

%e are dependent on od6& o!n &overein revelation o9

Him&el9 i9 !e are to @no! !ho od i& and !hat He i& li@e.

It plea&ed od to ive u& thi& total revelation o9 Him&el9 in

the Per&on o9 Hi& Son, the %ord made 9le&h, the $ne in!hom od ha& &aid all He ha& to &ay. Je&u& i& that revelation



o9 od, the %ord o9 od. He i& the $ne !ho &ho!& u& !hat

od i& really li@e. #he $ne !ho open& up the very heart,

nature, and ;ein o9 od. #he $ne !ho reveal& to u& the

mercy o9 od, the 9aith9ulne&& o9 od, and the !i&dom o9od. #he $ne !ho ive& u& a true picture o9 od.

J-#- R4%- ,&%t G)! T& F%t&$ I- Li7

It i& &o pathetic to &ee people !ith 9al&e picture& o9 od.

%hen I !a& in Eypt, I &a! the remain& and the relic& o9 a

pharaoh6& empire. <nd I !a& u&t &hoc@ed ;y the di99erent picture& they had o9 od, &ome e?tremely de;a&ed and

horri;le. #!o o9 their main od& !ere repre&ented ;y the

co;ra and the vulture. <nother od !a& the ac@al. 5an you

imaine picturin od li@e that3

It i& Je&u& !ho tell& u& and &ho!& u& !hat od the Father i&

really li@e.

#he mo&t important conclu&ion o9 Je&u& a& od6& la&t !ord

i& that He i& the 9ull and 9inal revelation. I9 !e reect that

revelation, !e cannot e?pect to hear 9rom od in any other

!ay, 9or there i& no other !ay. Je&u& &aid, I am the !ay...>

no one come& to the Father, ;ut throuh 7e DJohn 1':*,empha&i& added. ou cannot reect Je&u& and come to the

Father.

)elieve in Him and receive Him ;y a&@in Him to come

into your li9e. $pen your heart and mind to Him today. He

!ill &ho! you the real nature o9 od the Father. ou !on6t

;e ropin or !onderin. ou !ill have a clearunder&tandin, an ever increa&in and ;rihter revelation o9



the true nature and Per&on o9 od.

7ay od help you to receive Him today i9 you have never

done &o ;e9ore. I9 you have received Him, I pray that you!ill continue to ;e receptive to Him and remain open to Hi&

revelation o9 the Father.



CHAPTER 1<

T& L% O G)!

John the )apti&t !a& &ent ;e9ore Je&u& a& Hi& 9orerunner to

prepare the !ay ;e9ore Him. #hen, the time came 9or John

to introduce Je&u& pu;licly to I&rael. et6& loo@ at thi&

account in the o&pel o9 John:

The neFt day .ohn sa% .esus coming to%ard him

and said, "Loo1, the Lamb o$ God, %ho ta1es a%ay

the sin o$ the %orld! This is the one I meant %hen I

said, 0 man %ho comes a$ter me has sur*assed me

because he %as be$ore me'> I mysel$ did not 1no%

him, but the reason I came ba*ti3ing %ith %ater %as

that he might be revealed to Israel'" (.ohn =5-

+I@

John the )apti&t came to prepare the I&raelite& 9or the

@indom o9 od and to reveal the 7e&&iah to them. %hen

he ave them thi& revelation, the &tatement he u&ed !a&,

oo@, the am; o9 od, !ho ta@e& a!ay the &in o9 the

!orldK

T&$ S/$i*t#$% A--)/i%ti)n- In T& L%

%hat doe& thi& particular title, #he am; o9 od, tell u&

a;out Je&u&3 I &ue&t to you that there are three main

a&&ociation& in Scripture in reard to a lam;. -emem;er that

all I&rael !a& very 9amiliar !ith thi& animal. It ha& played auniAue part in their hi&tory 9rom the time o9 their e?odu&



9rom Eypt on!ard. So, there !a& not a &inle I&raelite

li&tenin to John 9or !hom the !ord lam; did not have a

very &pecial meanin.

Here are the three a&&ociation& I &ee in the lam;:

Fir&t, the lam; i& a picture o9 mee@ne&&. #hi& i& not an

animal that 9iht&. It doe& not have talon&, cla!&, or 9an&. It

i& a mee@ animal.

Second, a lam; i& a picture o9 purity. I9 you o out in the9ield& in the &printime and loo@ at the ne!;orn lam;&, they

loo@ &o clean and !hite and 9lu99y. #here i& &omethin a;out

them that ma@e& you !ant to u&t pic@ them up and cuddle

them.

#hird—and thi& i& the mo&t important o9 all—in the hi&tory

o9 I&rael, the lam; !a& od6& appointed &acri9ice to provide

redemption and protection. For the Je!&, the lam; !a&

particularly a&&ociated !ith one o9 their mo&t &olemn and

important reliiou& commemoration&, one that i& &till

cele;rated all over the !orld today ;y Je!i&h people: the

Pa&&over.

T& P%--)4$ L%

#he oriinal account o9 ho! od intended I&rael to

cele;rate the Pa&&over, a& iven to the I&raelite& throuh

7o&e&, i& recorded in E?odu& 12. ou !ill &ee that the

!hole Pa&&over, a& ordained ;y od, centered around a

lam;> !ithout a lam;, there could ;e no Pa&&over:



Then <oses summoned all the elders o$ Israel and

said to them, "Go at once and select the animals $or

your $amilies and slaughter the ?assover lamb' Ta1e

a bunch o$ hysso*, di* it into the blood in the basinand *ut some o$ the blood on the to* and on both

sides o$ the door $rame' +ot one o$ you shall go out

the door o$ his house until morning' 8hen the Lord

goes through the land to stri1e do%n the )gy*tians,

he %ill see the blood on the to* and sides o$

the door $rame and %ill *ass over that door%ay, and

he %ill not *ermit the destroyer to enter your housesand stri1e you do%n'" ()Fodus 5- +I@

#he entire deliverance o9 I&rael 9rom udment and !rath

depended on the lam; and it& ;lood. #hey had to apply the

;lood upon the out&ide& o9 the hou&e& in !hich they lived.

#hat !ord Pa&&over i& intere&tin. In He;re!, it i& Pe&ach.

7any year& ao, I !a& &tudyin He;re! at the He;re!

Univer&ity in Jeru&alem. %hile my !i9e, -uth, and I !ere

there, !e read the account o9 a hurricane that !a&

approachin our home in &outhea&t Florida. $9 cour&e, !e

!ere prayin earne&tly, and od did a marvelou& thin. Ju&t

at the la&t moment, !hen the hurricane !a& a;out one houra!ay, !ithout any o;viou& rea&on, it chaned cour&e and

pa&&ed ;y our home city !ithout doin any damae.

Intere&tinly enouh, in our cla&&, !e !ere &tudyin a

He;re! ne!&paper that reported thi& incident, and !hen it

&po@e a;out the hurricane pa&&in ;y, it u&ed the !ord

9rumpe&ach, !ho&e root !ord i& the &ame a& the !ord 9orPa&&over. #he other &tudent& in the cla&& a&@ed, %hat doe&



that mean3 <nd I &aid, ou ouht to @no! !hat that

mean&. #hat i& the !ord 9or Pa&&over.

#hi& !a& &uch a vivid illu&tration to me o9 !hat thePa&&over mean&: it mean& that the hurricane o9 od6& !rath

and udment !a& de9lected. It pa&&ed ;y ;ecau&e o9 the

;lood o9 the Pa&&over lam;.

A T* F#i! In J-#-

#he Pa&&over lam; !a& a type that !a& 9ul9illed in Je&u&, theam; o9 od. Fir&t, !e have thi& prophetic picture in I&aiah:

He %as o**ressed and a$$licted, yet he did not o*en

his mouth& he %as led li1e a lamb to the slaughter Ba

*icture o$ mee1nessC, and as a shee* be$ore her

shearers is silent, so he did not o*en his mouth'

(Isaiah -4 +I@

< ood many year& ao, I !or@ed on a 9arm !ith &heep, and

I noticed ho! amaCinly accurate that Scripture i&. %hen

you ta@e a &heep to ;e &horn, it !ill ;leat loudly all the !ay

until you actually pic@ up the &hear& and &tart clippin o99

the !ool. <t that moment, the &heep ;ecome& a;&olutely&ilent. Ho! accurate the Scripture i& !hen it &ay&, <& a

&heep ;e9ore her &hearer& i& &ilent, &o he Je&u& did not

open hi& mouthK6

#he 9ul9illment o9 thi& ver&e i& recorded in the o&pel&. et

u& loo@ in 7ar@6& o&pel at the account o9 Je&u& ;e9ore the

Sanhedrin:



The chie$ *riests and the %hole :anhedrin %ere

loo1ing $or evidence against .esus so that they could

*ut him to death, but they did not $ind any' <any

testi$ied $alsely against him, but their statements didnot agree''''Then the high *riest stood u* be$ore

them and as1ed .esus, "0re you not going to

ans%er9 8hat is this testimony that these men are

bringing against you9" ut .esus remained silent

and gave no ans%er' (<ar1 56, 6/56 +I@

#here Je&u& !a&, the &heep ;e9ore the &hearer&, a;&olutely&ilent. #he &ame thin happened ;e9ore Pilate, the -oman

overnor:

The chie$ *riests accused him o$ many things' :o

again ?ilate as1ed him, "0ren>t you going to

ans%er9 :ee ho% many things they are accusing you

o$'" ut .esus still made no re*ly, and ?ilate %as

ama3ed' (<ar1 -5 +I@

T& B))! O T& L%

#he ;lood o9 the Pa&&over lam; &aved Dredeemed the

I&raelite& 9rom ;ein de&troyed D&ee E?odu& 12:212", &othey could ;e ;rouht out o9 Eypt and ;e led to the

Promi&ed and. )ut the ;lood o9 Je&u&, the am; o9 od,

provide& eternal &alvation 9or all !ho ;elieve in Hi& atonin

death and !ho receive Him a& their Savior and ord. #hi& i&

&tated clearly many time& in the 8e! #e&tament. For

in&tance, it &ay& in He;re!&,

8hen Ahrist came as high *riest o$ the good things



that are already here, he %ent through the greater

and more *er$ect tabernacle that is not man5made,

that is to say, not a *art o$ this creation' He did not

enter by means o$ the blood o$ goats and calves& buthe entered the <ost Holy ?lace once $or all by his

o%n blood, having obtained eternal redem*tion'

(Hebre%s =5 +I@

#he ;lood o9 Je&u& o;tained eternal redemption 9or every

;eliever.

#or you 1no% that it %as not %ith *erishable things

such as silver or gold that you %ere redeemed $rom

the em*ty %ay o$ li$e handed do%n to you $rom your

$ore$athers, but %ith the *recious blood o$ Ahrist, a

lamb %ithout blemish or de$ect' ( ?eter ;5=

+I@

It too@ the ;lood o9 Je&u&, the am; o9 od—od6& &inle&&,

eternal Son—to provide eternal redemption. #he ;lood o9

the Pa&&over lam; !a& a type, a 9iure. It provided

temporary redemption. It had to ;e rene!ed every year. )ut

!hen Je&u& &hed Hi& ;lood and entered into the holie&t, that

!a& once and 9or all. It never had to ;e repeated. He hado;tained eternal redemption.

A P%tt$n F)$ U-

Finally, !e &ee that the nature o9 Je&u& a& the am; o9 od

provide& an e?ample and a pattern that !e need to learn to

9ollo! in our live&.



#o thi& you !ere called, ;ecau&e 5hri&t &u99ered 9or

you, leavin you an e?ample, that you &hould 9ollo!

in hi& &tep&. "He committed no sin, and no deceit

%as $ound in his mouth'" 8hen they hurled theirinsults at him, he did not retaliate& %hen he su$$ered,

he made no threats' ( ?eter 5- +I@

#here Je&u& !a&—the &potle&&, mee@ am; o9 od—

&tandin ;e9ore Hi& accu&er&, o99erin no de9en&e, no

retaliation. #hat i& the lam; nature in the Son o9 od.

od ma@e& it very clear that !e !ho are ;eliever& and

9ollo!er& o9 Je&u& have to reproduce that lam; nature. He

&et u& an e?ample to 9ollo!: 6He committed no &in, and no

deceit !a& 9ound in hi& mouth.6 %hen they hurled their

in&ult& at him, he did not retaliate> !hen he &u99ered, he

made no threat&3 #hat i& part o9 the nature o9 Je&u& that od

!ant& to !or@ in each one o9 u&.



CHAPTER 1>

T& Li)n O T& T$i O J#!%&

For thi& chapter, I have deli;erately cho&en a title that i& in

the &trone&t po&&i;le contra&t to that o9 the previou&

chapter. %hat t!o animal& could ;e in reater contra&t to

each other than a lam; and a lion3 et Je&u& com;ine& the

Aualitie& o9 ;oth !ithin Him&el9. #hi& 9act illu&trate& a

principle that I have already &tated: each title o9 Je&u&

reveal& &ome important a&pect o9 Hi& !onder9ul, many

&ided nature.

"T& Li)n H%- T$i#*&!"

#he title #he ion o9 the #ri;e o9 Judah i& 9ound in the ;oo@

o9 -evelation. In chapter (, John the -evelator de&cri;ed avi&ion he !a& permitted to !itne&& in heaven. It i& a &cene o9

mae&ty and randeur, and it portray& the very throne o9

od. #hi& i& !hat John &a! in the place !here od6& throne

&tand&:

Then I sa% in the right hand o$ him %ho sat on the

throne a scroll %ith %riting on both sides and sealed %ith seven seals' 0nd I sa% a mighty angel

*roclaiming in a loud voice, "8ho is %orthy to

brea1 the seals and o*en the scroll9" ut no one in

heaven or on earth or under the earth could o*en

the scroll or even loo1 inside it' (evelation 5-

+I@



#hi& &croll !a& the revelation o9 !hat lay ahead in human

hi&tory and de&tiny up to the clo&e o9 the pre&ent ae. $9

cour&e, John loned to @no! !hat od !a& &ee@in to

reveal. )ut the le&&on here i& that &trenth did not prevail toopen the &croll. #houh it !a& a mihty anel !ho

proclaimed in a loud voice, no one re&ponded, no one !a&

!orthy. So John !a& deeply rieved, and he !rote,

I %e*t and %e*t because no one %as $ound %ho %as

%orthy to o*en the scroll or loo1 inside' Then one o$

the elders said to me, "Do not %ee*! :ee, the Lion o$ the tribe o$ .udah, the oot o$ David, has trium*hed'

He is able to o*en the scroll and its seven seals'"

(evelation 5 +I@

#he ion o9 the tri;e o9 Judah i& Je&u&. He i& al&o the

-oot o9 0avid the one out o9 !hom 0avid received hi&

@inly authority.

<t thi& point, John loo@ed to!ard the throne e?pectin to

&ee thi& lion, ;ut he &a! &omethin very di99erent.

Then I sa% a Lamb, loo1ing as i$ it had been slain,

standing in the center o$ the throne, encircled by the $our living creatures and the elders' He had seven

horns and seven eyes, %hich are the seven s*irits o$

God sent out into all the earth' (verse 6 +I@

A G$%t P%$%!)@

5an you &ee the deli;erate parado?3 Je&u& !a& proclaimeda& the ion, ;ut !hen John loo@ed, he &a! a &lain am;.



John continued,

He Bthe LambC came and too1 the scroll $rom the

right hand o$ him %ho sat on the throne' 0nd %henhe had ta1en it, the $our living creatures and the

t%enty5$our elders $ell do%n be$ore the Lamb' )ach

one had a har* and they %ere holding golden bo%ls

$ull o$ incense, %hich are the *rayers o$ the saints'

0nd they sang a ne% song "Jou are %orthy to ta1e

the scroll and to o*en its seals, because you %ere

slain, and %ith your blood you *urchased men $orGod $rom every tribe and language and *eo*le and

nation'" (evelation 45= +I@

-emem;er in the la&t chapter a;out the am; o9 od, I

pointed out that it !a& throuh one am;6& ;lood that

redemption !a& provided. #he Pa&&over lam; provided

temporary redemption. )ut Je&u&, the eternal Son o9 od,

the am; o9 od, provide& eternal redemption throuh Hi&

;lood.

So you &ee aain the deli;erate parado?: the am; ha&

;ecome the ion. <l&o, in connection !ith the title the

ion o9 the tri;e o9 Judah Dver&e (, notice that thi& i& aneternal picture and an eternal title o9 Je&u&. It i& Je&u&

e?alted 9orever at od6& riht hand. He i& &till called the

ion o9 the tri;e o9 Judah. #hat de&ination i& very

&ini9icant.

Je&u& did not identi9y Him&el9 only temporarily !ith

humanity throuh the incarnation. He ;ecame man 9orever!ithout lo&in Hi& identity a& od. Furthermore, Hi&





9ear9ul. He i& a!ein&pirin. %e could ;e 9rihtened o9 Him.

)ut !e mu&t under&tand thi& ;eauti9ul truth: i9 !e receive

the am;, !e don6t need to 9ear the ion.

An Et$n% P$in/i*

<n eternal principle i& repre&ented in the compo&ite picture

o9 Je&u& a& the am; and the ion: in od6& economy,

mee@ne&& i& the appointed !ay to true &trenth. #hat

principle i& very di99erent 9rom the human vie!point. od

&ay&, in e99ect, I9 you !ant to ;ecome &tron, you have to ;ecome !ea@. I9 you !ant to ;e e?alted, you have to

;ecome lo!ly.

Paul !rote in 1 5orinthian& a;out the @ind o9 people !hom

od receive& a& Hi& o!n:

8here is the %ise man9 8here is the scholar9

8here is the *hiloso*her o$ this age9 Has not God

made $oolish the %isdom o$ the %orld9 #or since in

the %isdom o$ God the %orld through its %isdom did

not 1no% him, God %as *leased through the

$oolishness o$ %hat %as *reached to save those %ho

believe, .e%s demand miraculous signs and Gree1sloo1 $or %isdom, but %e *reach Ahrist cruci$ied a

stumbling bloc1 to .e%s and $oolishness to Gentiles,

but to those %hom God has called, both .e%s and

Gree1s, Ahrist the *o%er o$ God and the %isdom o$

God' ( Aorinthians /5 +I@

Here i& the application:



#or the $oolishness o$ God is %iser than man>s

%isdom, and the %ea1ness o$ God is stronger than

mans strength' (verse +I@

<ll o9 thi& i& repre&ented in the am;. It &eem& 9ooli&h to

the natural mind, ;ut the ultimate revelation o9 od6&

!i&dom and o9 od6& &trenth i& contained in the am;.

8ote !hat Paul &aid a;out hi& o!n e?perience&:

To 1ee* me $rom becoming conceited because o$these sur*assingly great revelations, there %as given

me a thorn in my $lesh, a messenger o$ :atan, to

torment me' Three times I *leaded %ith the Lord to

ta1e it a%ay $rom me' ut he said to me, "<y grace

is su$$icient $or you, $or my *o%er is made *er$ect in

%ea1ness'" There$ore I %ill boast all the more gladly

about my %ea1nesses, so that Ahrist>s *o%er may

rest on me' That is %hy, $or Ahrist>s sa1e, I delight in

%ea1nesses, in insults, in hardshi*s, in *ersecutions,

in di$$iculties' #or %hen I am %ea1, then I am

strong' ( Aorinthians 45/ +I@

#hat i& the le&&on o9 the am; and the ion. I9 you !ant to ;e &tron !ith od6& &trenth, you have to ;e !ea@ in your

o!n &trenth. I9 you !ant to ;e e?alted, you have to ;e

hum;led. #he !ay to ;ecome a lion i& to &tart a& a lam;.

#hat i& the !i&dom o9 od, ;ut it i& 9ooli&hne&& to men. It i&

the &trenth o9 od, ;ut it i& con&idered !ea@ne&& in man6&

eye&.

#han@ od, Je&u& proved, once and 9or all, that the



9ooli&hne&& o9 od i& !i&er than man6& !i&dom and the

!ea@ne&& o9 od i& &troner than man6& &trenth. It i& all

&ummed up in the am; !ho ;ecame the ion.



CHAPTER 1

S%4i)$

#he title I am pre&entin in thi& chapter i& perhap& the

&imple&t and yet the mo&t !onder9ul o9 all the title& o9 Je&u&.

It i& Savior.

S%4%ti)n I- In A P$-)n

T& R4%ti)n Gi4n B T& An5

#he title Savior !a& iven ;y revelation throuh an anel to

Jo&eph !hen 7ary !a& e&pou&ed to him ;ut they !ere not

yet married. #he anel &aid,

.ose*h son o$ David, do not be a$raid to ta1e <aryhome as your %i$e, because %hat is conceived in her

is $rom the Holy :*irit' :he %ill give birth to a son,

and you are to give him the name .esus, because he

%ill save his *eo*le $rom their sins' (<atthe% /'5

+I@

#he anel6& &tatement, ou are to ive him the name Je&u&, ;ecau&e he !ill &ave hi& people 9rom their &in&3 indicate&

that the name Je&u& mean& Savior, yet !e al&o @no! thi&

9rom the oriin o9 the !ord. In He;re!, the name Je&u& i&

e&hua, !hich i& another 9orm o9 a 9amiliar name 9rom the

$ld #e&tament, eho&hua, or Jo&hua. #he name e&hua, or

eho&hua, mean& &alvation o9 the ord.





arm&. )ut in that little in9ant, Je&u&—in that Per&on—!a&

od6& &alvation.

J-#- St%tnt T) %//&%#-

ater, in the pu;lic mini&try o9 Je&u&, there came a time

!hen He invited Him&el9 to the hou&e o9 a ta? collector

named Macchaeu&.

Every;ody thouht that Macchaeu& !a& not ood enouh to

have Je&u& come to hi& hou&e, and they ;ean to murmur.)ut a9ter Je&u& had entered the hou&e, He &aid to Macchaeu&,

#oday &alvation ha& come to thi& hou&e, ;ecau&e thi& man,

too, i& a &on o9 <;raham. For the Son o9 7an came to &ee@

and to &ave !hat !a& lo&t. Du@e 1/:/14 8IG

Ho! did &alvation come to the hou&e o9 Macchaeu&3

Salvation came in the Per&on o9 Je&u&. %hen Je&u& came

into that hou&e, !elcomed and received ;y Macchaeu&, then

&alvation entered the hou&e.

od6& &alvation i& not u&t in la! or reliion> it i& in a

Per&on. %e have to @no! the Per&on to @no! &alvation.

T& T-ti)n O O!

T-t%nt P$)*&/

#he &ame principle i& indicated prophetically in the $ld

#e&tament. For in&tance, in the P&alm&, !e 9ind a prayer o9

0avid that i& Auite remar@a;le. 0avid !a& under much

oppre&&ion> he had many enemie&, and hi& li9e !a& indaner, &o he prayed the&e !ord&:



Aontend, O Lord, %ith those %ho contend %ith me&

$ight against those %ho $ight against me' (?salm

- +I@

#hen, he continued,

:ay to my soul, "I am your salvation'" (verse - +I@

#hat i& an e?traordinary prayer. 0avid did not u&t &ay,

Save me. He &aid, Pre&ent our&el9 to me a& my

&alvation. od recorded that prayer o9 0avid, and athou&and year& later, He an&!ered it !hen He &ent Je&u&.

<nythin le&& than od i& not enouh 9or &alvation.

<ain, the &alvation o9 Je&u& !a& prophetically 9ore&ho!n

;y I&aiah:

Then you %ill say on that day, "I %ill give than1s to

Thee, O Lord& $or although Thou %ast angry %ith

me, Thine anger is turned a%ay, and Thou dost

com$ort me' ehold, God is my salvation, I %ill trust

and not be a$raid& $or the Lord God is my strength

and song, and He has become my salvation'"

(Isaiah 5

%e &ee here the &ame principle. #hi& pa&&ae repre&ent&

od6& per&on, od6& child, or the people o9 od a& under the

aner o9 od. #hen, od6& aner i& turned a!ay, and He

com9ort&. <t that revelation, the e?planation i&, od ha&

;ecome my &alvation.

)ear in mind that anythin le&& than od Him&el9 i& not





#he ree@ !ord tran&lated healed i& &oCo, or

&aved—our 9aith ha& &aved you3 It !a& not u&t the

&alvation o9 her &oul. It !a& the healin o9 her ;ody.

#he &ame !ord i& u&ed 9or deliverance 9rom mental illne&&

and demonic oppre&&ion. In u@e , !e read a;out a

demoniac !ho had a leion o9 demon&. %hen he came to

Je&u&, the ord drove out the demon& and healed him. et6&

read the end o9 the account:

The *eo*le %ent out to see %hat had ha**ened'8hen they came to .esus, they $ound the man $rom

%hom the demons had gone out, sitting at .esus>

$eet, dressed and in his right mind& and they %ere

a$raid' Those %ho had seen it told the *eo*le ho%

the demon5*ossessed man had been cured'

(Lu1e ;-5-6 +I@

#he ree@ !ord tran&lated cured i& &oCo, or &aved. So

!e &ee that deliverance 9rom mental &ic@ne&& and demonic

oppre&&ion i& part o9 the &alvation that i& in Je&u&.

#he &ame !ord i& al&o u&ed a;out &omeone ;ein ;rouht

;ac@ 9rom death. Je&u& !ent to the hou&e o9 Jairu&, a ruler o9 the &ynaoue !ho&e dauhter had u&t died. )ut Je&u& &aid,

0on6t ;e a9raid> u&t ;elieve, and &he !ill ;e healed Du@e

:(4 8IG. <ain, the ree@ !ord 9or healed i& &oCo, or

&aved.

Paul al&o u&ed the !ord in &pea@in o9 hi& con9idence in

od6& po!er to @eep him to the end o9 hi& li9e. He &aid in 2#imothy ':1, #he ord !ill re&cue me 9rom every evil



attac@ and !ill ;rin me &a9ely to hi& heavenly @indom6

D8IG. In ree@, the !ord tran&lated ;rin me &a9ely i&

&oCo: #he ord... !ill &ave me to hi& heavenly @indom

So, &alvation mean& od6& onoin pre&ervation o9 Hi& people, a& !ell.

Salvation i& od6& total provi&ion 9or every need o9

humanity, in time and 9or eternity.



CHAPTER 2

C&$i-t )$ M--i%&

<& !e put the&e title& toether and meditate on the

&ini9icance o9 each, !e &ee Je&u& Him&el9 in a much clearer

and 9uller !ay. I !ill no! introduce another title that i&

&imple and meanin9ul: 5hri&t.

C&$i-t An! M--i%& H%4 I!nti/% M%nin5-

Some people do not realiCe that 5hri&t i& a title. et me u&t

ta@e a moment to e?plain to you the ;ac@round o9 the

!ord. It i& ta@en 9rom the 8e! #e&tament ree@ !ord

chri&to&, meanin, very &imply and de9initely, anointed. It

actually implie& ;ein anointed !ith oil.

5hri&to&, in turn, i& a repre&entation o9 a !ord already

9amiliar in the $ld #e&tament in He;re!. #he He;re! !ord

i& ma&hiach, !hich mean& e?actly the &ame thin:

anointed. In Enli&h, !e have chaned it into 7e&&iah.

So, the title& 5hri&t in the 8e! #e&tament and 7e&&iah in

the $ld #e&tament mean one and the &ame thin: <nointed$ne. Furthermore, they re9er to one and the &ame Per&on,

Je&u&. It i& remar@a;le that many 5hri&tian& do not realiCe

that 5hri&t i& the &ame a& 7e&&iah. It i& eAually remar@a;le

ho! many Je!i&h people do not realiCe that 7e&&iah i& the

&ame a& 5hri&t. )ut !hichever title !e u&e, !e mean the

<nointed $ne.



et6& loo@ at the me&&ae iven ;y the anel to the

&hepherd& at the time o9 Je&u&6 ;irth. #he anel &aid,

Today in the to%n o$ David a :avior has been bornto you& he is Ahrist the Lord' (Lu1e +I@

So, the Savior i& the 5hri&t—the <nointed $ne. #hi& !a&

the 9ul9illment o9 od6& lon&tandin promi&e to I&rael that

He !ould one day &end them an <nointed $ne !ho !ould

;e t!o thin&: a deliverer and a @in. #hi& !a& a 9amiliar

concept to them, a& !e !ill &ee in the 9ollo!in e?ample&.

An)int! T) Di4$ An! R#

In the ;oo@ o9 Jude&, od &ent men o9 Hi& choo&in !ho

;ecame deliverer& and ruled I&rael 9or a !hile. Each one o9

tho&e ude& o!ed hi& a;ility to deliver I&rael to the

anointin o9 the Holy Spirit upon him. <9ter that, !hen od

ave I&rael @in&, the @in& !ere &et apart ;y the ceremony

o9 anointin !ith oil. #hi& !a& true o9 I&rael6& 9ir&t @in,

Saul.

Then :amuel too1 a $las1 o$ oil and *oured it on

:aul>s head and 1issed him, saying, "Has not the Lord anointed you leader over his inheritance9" (

:amuel / +I@

#o ;e leader over od6& inheritance, a man had to ;e

anointed !ith oil. #he oil, o9 cour&e, i& a picture, or type, o9

the Holy Spirit.

#hi& 9act i& ;rouht out even more clearly in the ca&e o9



I&rael6& &econd @in, 0avid. od &ent Samuel to the hou&e

o9 Je&&e to anoint the @in, and the appointed @in !a& the

youne&t &on, 0avid. In 1 Samuel 1*:1", !e read,

:o :amuel too1 the horn o$ oil and anointed him

BDavidC in the *resence o$ his brothers, and $rom

that day on the :*irit o$ the Lord came u*on David

in *o%er' (+I@

Here !e &ee 0avid ;ein &et apart ;y the anointin !ith oil

to ;e the deliverer and @in 9or I&rael. #he inner meanin o9the anointin i& ;rouht out in the &econd part o9 the ver&e:

9rom that day on the Spirit o9 the ord came upon 0avid in

po!er66 In @eepin !ith thi&, the 5hri&t, or the 7e&&iah, i&

the $ne anointed !ith the po!er o9 the Holy Spirit to ;e a

0eliverer and a -uler.

T& G$%t-t Di4$$ An! ?in5

#hat there !a& to ;e a reater 0eliverer and -uler to come,

even reater than 0avid, i& &tated in variou& place& in the

$ld #e&tament, includin the eleventh chapter o9 I&aiah:

Then a shoot %ill s*ring $rom the stem o$ .esse, anda branch $rom his roots %ill bear $ruit' BIt *romises

that this Deliverer and ing %ill come $rom the line

o$ David'C 0nd the :*irit o$ the Lord %ill rest on

Him, the s*irit o$ %isdom and understanding, the

s*irit o$ counsel and strength, the s*irit o$

1no%ledge and the $ear o$ the Lord' 0nd He %ill

delight in the $ear o$ the Lord, and He %ill not 2udgeby %hat His eyes see, nor ma1e a decision by %hat



His ears hear& but %ith righteousness He %ill 2udge

the *oor, and decide %ith $airness $or the a$$licted o$

the earth& and He !ill &tri@e the earth !ith the rod o9

His mouth, and %ith the breath o$ His li*s He %ill slay the %ic1ed' (Isaiah 5

Here i& od6& rihteou& =in !ho i& a;&olutely 9air,

impartial, and di&cernin in all Hi& udment& and in the

admini&tration o9 Hi& @indom.

#he &ame promi&e i& iven aain later in I&aiah, !here the7e&&iah i& portrayed. Spea@in in the 9ir&t per&on, He &ay&,

The :*irit o$ the Lord God is u*on me, because the

Lord has anointed me to bring good ne%s to the

a$$licted& He has sent me to bind u* the

bro1enhearted, to *roclaim liberty to ca*tives, and

$reedom to *risoners' (Isaiah 6

Here, aain, it all depend& on the anointin o9 the Holy

Spirit. #he $ne !ho i& thu& anointed ;y the Holy Spirit i&

the $ne !ho i& &ent ;y od !ith a me&&ae o9 mercy, love,

race, and healin po!er, to ;ind up the ;ro@enhearted and

to proclaim li;erty to captive& and 9reedom to pri&oner&.#hat !a& the promi&e o9 the 7e&&iah, the 5hri&t, the

<nointed $ne. <ll od6& promi&e& a;out the <nointed

7e&&iah, the 5hri&t, the 0eliverer, and the =in 9ound their

9ul9illment in Je&u& o9 8aCareth.

J-#- I- An)int! B T& H) S*i$it

et6& loo@ at three pa&&ae& 9rom the 9ourth chapter o9



u@e6& o&pel that ;rin out thi& 9act. %hen the Holy Spirit

came upon Je&u& at the river Jordan, Je&u& ;ecame the

<nointed, the 7e&&iah. From eternity, He !a& de&tined to ;e

the <nointed, ;ut at a certain point in hi&tory, !hen the HolySpirit came upon Him, He ;ecame the <nointed in actual

e99ect. #hi& i& the de&cription o9 !hat happened to Je&u&

a9ter Hi& ;apti&m in the Jordan ;y John the )apti&t.

.esus, $ull o$ the Holy :*irit, returned $rom the

.ordan and %as led about by the :*irit in the

%ilderness' (Lu1e

8ote that He !a& 9illed !ith the Holy Spirit and He !a& led

;y the Holy Spirit. #he anointin !a& upon Him. #hen, a9ter

Hi& temptation in the !ilderne&&, the Scripture &ay&,

.esus returned to Galilee in the *o%er o$ the :*irit&

and ne%s about Him s*read through all the

surrounding district'

(Lu1e

%e &ee that, in ver&e 1, He !a& 9illed !ith the Holy Spirit

and led ;y the Spirit, and that, ;y ver&e 1', He !a&

empo!ered ;y the Spirit. He !a& truly the ma&hiach, the7e&&iah> the chri&to&, the <nointed.

8e?t, !e read ho! Je&u& declared that He !a& the

9ul9illment o9 od6& promi&e. He entered the &ynaoue in

8aCareth and read I&aiah *1:1, !hich !e already loo@ed at,

and applied it to Him&el9:

0nd the boo1 o$ the *ro*het Isaiah %as handed to



Him B.esusC' 0nd He o*ened the boo1, and $ound

the *lace %here it %as %ritten, "The :*irit o$ the

lord is u*on <e, because He anointed <e to *reach

the gos*el to the *oor' He has sent <e to *roclaimrelease to the ca*tives, and recovery o$ sight to the

blind, to set $ree those %ho are do%ntrodden, to

*roclaim the $avorable year o$ the Lord'" (Lu1e

45;

#hen, Je&u& clo&ed the ;oo@, and in !ord& o9 tremendou&

hi&torical &ini9icance, He &aid to them, #oday thi&Scripture ha& ;een 9ul9illed in your hearin Dver&e 21. In

other !ord&, Je&u& !a& &ayin, I am the $ne> I am the

<nointed. #he Spirit o9 the ord i& upon 7e. <nd He !ent

9orth 9rom that moment a& the 0eliverer, ;rinin relea&e to

the captive& and recovery o9 &iht to the ;lind, &ettin 9ree

tho&e !ho !ere do!ntrodden, and proclaimin the o&pel to

the poor.

T& An)int! On

#hi& marvelou& mini&try o9 Je&u&, the <nointed, the 5hri&t,

the 7e&&iah, i& &ummed up ;y Peter in one ver&e. <& he !a&

&pea@in to the hou&ehold o9 5orneliu&, Peter de&cri;ed!hat he had !itne&&ed in the mini&try o9 Je&u&:

Jou 1no% o$ .esus o$ +a3areth, ho% God anointed

Him %ith the Holy :*irit and %ith *o%er, and ho%

He %ent about doing good, and healing all %ho

%ere o**ressed by the devil& $or God %as %ith Him'

(0cts /-;



#hat i& a &ummation o9 the mini&try o9 Je&u& a& the 7e&&iah,

the <nointed, the 5hri&t. od anointed Him !ith the Holy

Spirit. od !a& !ith Him. <nd in the po!er o9 that

anointin, He !ent a;out doin ood and healin all !ho!ere oppre&&ed ;y the devil.

It al!ay& ;le&&e& me to &ee that healin i& attri;uted to od

and &ic@ne&& to the devil. <l&o, in that ver&e !e have all

three Per&on& o9 the odhead. od the Father anointed

Je&u& the Son !ith the Spirit, and the re&ult !a& healin and

deliverance 9or all humanity. %hat a ;le&&ed me&&ae—theme&&ae o9 the 5hri&t.



CHAPTER 21

T& A*&% An! T& O5%

Je&u&6 title #he <lpha and the $mea empha&iCe& that He

proceed& out o9 eternity and &pan& all time. John the

-evelator !rote a;out the vi&i;le return o9 Je&u& in lory:

Loo1, he is coming %ith the clouds, and every eye

%ill see him, even those %ho *ierced him& and all

the *eo*les o$ the earth %ill mourn because o$ him'

:o shall it be! 0men' "I am the 0l*ha and the

Omega," says the Lord God, "%ho is, and %ho %as,

and %ho is to come, the 0lmighty'" (evelation 45

; +I@

#o under&tand the 9ull meanin o9 the title #he <lpha andthe $mea, !e need to 9amiliariCe our&elve& a little !ith the

ree@ alpha;et. %hile in the Enli&h alpha;et, a i& the 9ir&t

letter and C i& the la&t, the ree@ alpha;et ;ein& !ith the

letter alpha and end& !ith the letter omea.

%e have already &een that Je&u& i& the %ord o9 od. %hen

Je&u& &ay&, I am the <lpha and the $mea He mean& thatHe i& the complete %ord o9 od. Everythin that od ha& to

&ay i& &ummed up in Him. It al&o mean& that everythin od

doe& ;ein& and end& !ith Je&u&. He i& the ;einnin and

the endin.

%here it &ay&, the ord od, 6!ho i&, and !ho !a&, and!ho i& to come,6 it i& the &ame picture. od i& no!, He !a&



in the pa&t, and He !ill ;e—all at once. He i& the <lpha and

the $mea.

T& B5innin5 An! T& C#in%ti)n

#hi& truth ha& a particular application to the clo&e o9 the

pre&ent ae, ;ecau&e the ae i& oin to clo&e in Je&u&. He i&

oin to ;e the $ne !ho !ill ;rin thi& ae to it& clo&e. <&

He !a& <lpha at the ;einnin, &o He !ill ;e $mea at the

end. #hi& truth i& ;rouht out in the ;oo@ o9 He;re!&, !here

the !riter &aid,

In the *ast God s*o1e to our $ore$athers through the

*ro*hets at many times and in various %ays, but in

these last days he has s*o1en to us by his :on, %hom

he BGodC a**ointed heir o$ all things, and through

%hom he made the universe' (Hebre%s 5 +I@

%e &ee 9rom thi& pa&&ae that Je&u& !a& at the ;einnin o9

creation. #hrouh Him, od made the univer&e. He !a&

<lpha. He i& al&o the appointed heir o9 all thin&.

Everythin i& oin to ;e &ummed up and come to it&

culmination in Je&u&.

<& the 5reator, He i& <lpha. <& the heir o9 all thin&, He i&

$mea. He &pan& all time. He proceed& out o9 eternity, on

throuh time, and into eternity. He i& the Eternal, the

Uncreated, the $nly )eotten o9 the Father, the )einnin

and the End.

%e need to under&tand that od ha& a dual relation&hip !ithtime: He tran&cend& time, ;ut He al&o operate& !ithin time.



od !or@& in time, ;ut He Him&el9 i& out&ide o9 time and

;e9ore time. It i& hard 9or the human mind to comprehend

thi& concept, ;ut there are ;eauti9ul picture& in Scripture that

pre&ent it to u&. For in&tance, the p&almi&t addre&&ed od!ith the&e !ord&:

e$ore the mountains %ere horn or you brought

$orth the earth and the %orld, $rom everlasting to

everlasting you are God' (?salm =/ +I@

In a &en&e, there i& al!ay& a pre&ent ten&e !ith od, ;ut Hei& 9rom everla&tin to everla&tin. He i& 9rom eternity to

eternity. He comprehend& all time. He i& the ;einnin and

the endin, the <lpha and the $mea.

C&$i-t'- Ti--n--

Prophetically, thi& truth !a& &peci9ically applied to the

comin 7e&&iah, the comin =in, 9ul9illed in Je&u&. For

in&tance, 7icah the prophet &aid o9 the 7e&&iah !ho !a& to

come,

ut you, ethlehem )*hrathah, though you are

small among the clans o$ .udah, out o$ you %illcome $or me one %ho %ill be ruler over Israel,

%hose origins are $rom o$ old, $rom ancient times,

(<icah +I@

%hat a clear prediction o9 the ;irth o9 Je&u&K It !a& 9oretold

that the 7e&&iah !a& to come out o9 )ethlehem, the city o9

0avid, and that He !a& to ;e the $ne !ho !a& to rule 9orod Hi& people I&rael. #hen, it &ay& at the end, %ho&e



oriin& are 9rom o9 old, 9rom ancient time&.

<lthouh He !a& ;orn a& the ;a;e in the &ta;le in

)ethlehem, Hi& oriin i& 9rom eternity. He i& <lpha and$mea. He came into time, ;ut He !a& not o9 time. He !a&

9rom eternity> He i& to eternity.

Je&u& &aid the &ame a;out Him&el9. He !a& &pea@in to the

Je!i&h people a;out their relation&hip—and Hi& relation&hip

—to <;raham. #hey !ere claimin that they !ere

de&cendent& o9 <;raham, in e&&ence &ayin that !a& all thatreally mattered. )ut Je&u& &aid &omethin to them that

a;&olutely &tartled and &hoo@ them:

"Jour $ather 0braham re2oiced at the thought o$

seeing my day& he sa% it and %as glad'" "Jou are

not yet $i$ty years old," the .e%s said to him, "and

you have seen 0braham!" "I tell you the truth,"

.esus ans%ered, "be$ore 0braham %as born, I am!"

(.ohn ;65; +I@

#hat i& Hi& eternity. #hat i& Hi& timele&&ne&&. Je&u& !a&

;orn into time, into human hi&tory, ;ut He i& 9rom ;e9ore

time. He i& the <lpha and the $mea, the ;einnin and theendin, the 9ir&t and the la&t.

A*&% An! O5% In O#$ Li4-

#he title #he <lpha and the $mea al&o depict& the place o9

Je&u& in our individual live&. It i& not &olely in relation&hip

to creation and the univer&e that He i& <lpha and $mea, ;ut it i& al&o the po&ition that He occupie& in the li9e o9 each



one o9 u& !ho ;elieve& in Him. Here i& !hat the !riter o9

He;re!& &aid:

There$ore, since %e are surrounded by such a greatcloud o$ %itnesses, let us thro% o$$ everything that

hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let

us run %ith *erseverance the race mar1ed out $or us'

Let us $iF our eyes on .esus, the author and *er$ecter

o$ our $aith' (Hebre%s 5 +I@

Je&u& i& the author, or the ;einner Dthe <lpha, and the per9ecter, or the completer Dthe $mea. <& lon a& !e @eep

our eye& on Je&u&, !e 9ind in Him and throuh Him

everythin !e need. #here i& nothin out&ide o9 Je&u& that

!e need. He &pan& our !hole need, 9rom <lpha to $mea.

#he important reminder i& that !e mu&t not ta@e our eye&

o99 Je&u&. %e mu&t not thin@ that &omeho! Je&u& i&n6t a;le

to provide all that !e need and &tart loo@in in &ome other

direction. He can. He i&. He i& od6& !hole alpha;et, 9rom

<lpha to $mea.

G)!'- Et$n% P#$*)-

<ain, in Ephe&ian&, !e &ee a ;eauti9ul picture o9 od6&

dealin& !ith u& in 5hri&t:

#or he BGodC chose us in him BAhristC be$ore the

creation o$ the %orld to be holy and blameless in his

sight' In love he *redestined us to be ado*ted as his

sons through .esus Ahrist, in accordance %ith his *leasure and %illEto the *raise o$ his glorious



grace, %hich he has $reely given us in the One he

loves' In him %e have redem*tion through his blood,

the $orgiveness o$ sins, in accordance %ith the riches

o$ God>s grace that he lavished on us %ith all%isdom and understanding' 0nd he made 1no%n to

us the mystery o$ his %ill according to his good

*leasure, %hich he *ur*osed in Ahrist, to be *ut into

e$$ect %hen the times %ill have reached their

$ul$illmentEto bring all things in heaven and on

earth together under one head, even Ahrist'

()*hesians 5/ +I@

)e9ore creation—;e9ore time ever ;ean—od cho&e u& in

5hri&t to ;e Hi&. #hat !a& Hi& eternal purpo&e. #hen, in

time, He called u&. He revealed Je&u& to u&. He tran&9ormed

u&. He made u& into Hi& children. <nd then, a;ove all that,

He made @no!n to u& the my&tery o9 Hi& ultimate purpo&e:

He made @no!n to u& the my&tery o9 hi& !ill accordin to

hi& ood plea&ure, !hich he purpo&ed in 5hri&t, to ;e put

into e99ect !hen the time& !ill have reached their

9ul9illment36

%hen time !ill have run it& cour&e, od6& purpo&e i& thi&:

to ;rin all thin& in heaven and on earth toether underone head, even 5hri&t It all &tarted in 5hri&t, ;e9ore time

ever ;ean. It !ill all end and 9ind 9ul9illment and

completion in 5hri&t, a9ter time ha& ended.

5hri&t i& the <lpha and the $mea, the ;einnin and the

endin, the 9ir&t and the la&t. He i& all that !e need. He i&

the entire alpha;et, 9rom <lpha to $mea.



CHAPTER 22

T& B$i5&t M)$nin5 St%$

i@e #he <lpha and the $mea, the title !e are oin to

&tudy in thi& chapter i& ta@en 9rom the ;oo@ o9 -evelation.

<t the end o9 the ;oo@, Je&u& &po@e to John the -evelator,

&ayin,

I, .esus, have sent my angel to give you this

testimony $or the churches' I am the oot and the

O$$s*ring o$ David, and the bright <orning :tar'

(evelation 6 +I@

<ctually, there are t!o title& in thi& ver&e: the -oot and the

$99&prin o9 0avid and the ;riht 7ornin StarK6 I9 !e

loo@ 9or a moment at #he -oot and the $99&prin o9 0avid,!e &ee that it corre&pond&, in a certain &en&e, !ith the title

!e loo@ed at in the previou& chapter, #he <lpha and the

$mea. )ut it ha& &pecial application to 0avid and hi&

hou&e. <& -oot, Je&u& !a& <lpha to 0avid6& hou&e. <&

$99&prin, He i& $mea. He i& the $ne 9rom !hom they

!ere initiated, ;ut al&o the $ne in !hom they !ill 9ind

9ul9illment.

#he title !e !ant to 9ocu& on 9rom thi& ver&e, ho!ever, i&

#he )riht 7ornin Star. #he term mornin &tar i& u&ed ;y

&ome to re9er to the &un.



J-#-( T& R%!i%n/ O T& "S#n"

Je&u& i& called the mornin &tar, or the &un, ;ecau&e o9

certain &peci9ic and uniAue 9eature& o9 the &un in our !orld.I !ill empha&iCe t!o o9 the&e 9eature&.

Fir&t, the &un i& the &ole, univer&al &ource o9 liht and heat

9or the earth> there9ore, it i& the &ource o9 li9e it&el9. %ithout

the &un, there can ;e no li9e in our !orld. It &upplie&

every!here ;oth liht and heat.

Second, the &un, ;ecau&e o9 the 9act that it ri&e& and &et&—

appear& and di&appear&—al!ay& carrie& !ith it the promi&e

o9 &unri&e a9ter dar@ne&&.

Uni4$-% S)#$/ O Li5&t An! H%t

For &ome Scripture& corre&pondin to the 9ir&t application—

the &un a& the earth6& univer&al &ource o9 liht and heat—let

u& ;ein !ith P&alm 1/. #hi& p&alm provide& a vivid and

;eauti9ul picture o9 the heavenly ;odie&—the &un, in

particular. #he p&almi&t !rote,

In the heavens he BGodC has *itched a tent $or the sun, %hich is li1e a bridegroom coming $orth $rom

his *avilion, li1e a cham*ion re2oicing to run his

course' It rises at one end o$ the heavens and ma1es

its circuit to the other, nothing is hidden $rom its

heat' (?salm =56 +I@

I&n6t that de&cription ;eauti9ul3 #he heaven& are li@e the tent9or the &un. #he&e ver&e& &pea@ o9 ;oth the ;eauty and the





#he &u;&tance o9 the &un repre&ent& od the Father. 8o;ody

ha& ever &een the &u;&tance o9 the &un> no;ody ha& ever

&een od the Father. #he mani9e&t ;rihtne&&—the radianceo9 the &un—repre&ent& od the Son. #he ray& that convey

that ;rihtne&& to u&, that ma@e it po&&i;le 9or u& to actually

&ee that ;rihtne&&, repre&ent od the Holy Spirit.

Intere&tinly enouh, the&e ray& are re9racted in the rain;o!

into &even color&, the di&tinctive num;er o9 the Holy Spirit.

#hat i& u&t a little para;le 9rom nature.

)y analoy, there9ore, the &u;&tance o9 the &un i& od the

Father, the radiance o9 the lory o9 the &un i& Je&u& 5hri&t

the Son, and the ray& that convey that radiance to you and

me are the Holy Spirit.

P$)i- O S#n$i- At$ D%$7n--

#he &econd characteri&tic I cited a;out the &un, a& it

repre&ent& Je&u&, i& that it al!ay& carrie& !ith it the promi&e

o9 &unri&e a9ter dar@ne&&. #hi& &piritual reality i& clearly

predicted in 7alachi:

"#or behold, the day is coming, burning li1e anoven, and all the *roud, yes, all %ho do %ic1edly

%ill be stubble' 0nd the day %hich is coming shall

burn them u*," says the Lord o$ hosts, "that %ill

leave them neither root nor branch' ut to you %ho

$ear B>revere" +I@C <y name the :un o$

ighteousness shall arise %ith healing in His %ings&

and you shall go out and gro% $at li1e stall5$edcalves' (<alachi 5 +.@



Scripture !arn& u& there i& comin a time o9 od6& !rath

and indination on the !ic@ed and the re;elliou&. )ut at the

&ame time, in the mid&t o9 the !arnin, od ive& u& a promi&e o9 deliverance and help that come& in the Per&on o9

the Sun o9 -ihteou&ne&&—the ord Je&u&.

$ut o9 the mid&t o9 all the anui&h, the tri;ulation, and the

dar@ne&&, there i& oin to ari&e that )riht 7ornin Star,

the Sun o9 -ihteou&ne&&, !ith healin in it& !in&. It i&

oin to ;rin deliverance and healin, re&t and peace totho&e !ho revere, or 9ear, od6& name.

Peter, &pea@in a;out the promi&e o9 the comin o9 the ord

Je&u& in lory, &aid it reAuire& preparation on our part. #here

ha& to ;e an inner preparation ;e9ore the Sun o9

-ihteou&ne&& !ill ari&e 9or u& !ith healin and

deliverance. #hat mean& &omethin ha& to happen in&ide

each one o9 u& per&onally. It i& important 9or u& to

under&tand thi&. Peter !rote,

8e did not $ollo% cleverly invented stories %hen %e

told you about the *o%er and coming o$ our Lord

.esus Ahrist, but %e %ere eye%itnesses o$ hisma2esty' #or he received honor and glory $rom God

the #ather %hen the voice came to him $rom the

<a2estic Glory, saying, "This is my :on, %hom

Hove& %ith him I am %ell *leased'" 8e ourselves

heard this voice that came $rom heaven %hen %e

%ere %ith him on the sacred mountain' ( ?eter

65; +I@





a;&olutely con9ident. It !ill ;e li@e a &tar ri&in in our

heart&. It !ill ;e there until the day da!n& until the actual

reat event ta@e& place, until the Sun o9 -ihteou&ne&&

ari&e& out o9 the dar@ne&& o9 anui&h and tri;ulation to ive9re&h liht and hope to the people o9 thi& earth.

So, cultivate the a!arene&& that Je&u& i& comin. et it ;e a

&tar that ri&e& in your heart.



CHAPTER 23

?in5 O ?in5- An! L)$! O L)$!-

#he la&t title that I have cho&en i& =in o9 @in& and ord o9

lord&. #hi& title i& al&o ta@en 9rom the ;oo@ o9 -evelation. In

-evelation 1+, !e have a picture o9 the reat, lo;al, end

time con9lict in !hich Satan and the ruler& a&&ociated !ith

him !ill actually ;e alined in open !ar aain&t od and

Hi& appointed ruler, Je&u&. #hi& i& part o9 the de&cription:

The ten horns you sa% are ten 1ings %ho have not

yet received a 1ingdom, but %ho $or one hour %ill

receive authority as 1ings along %ith the beast

B0ntichristC' They have one *ur*ose and %ill give

their *o%er and authority to the beast' They %ill

ma1e %ar against the Lamb B.esusC, but the Lamb%ill overcome them because he is Lord o$ lords and

ing o$ 1ingsE and %ith him %ill be his called,

chosen and $aith$ul $ollo%ers' (evelation 45

+I@

It al!ay& ;le&&e& me that Je&u& doe& not !ant to !in the

victory on Hi& o!n. He !ant& to &hare it !ith Hi& 9ollo!er&.#hat i& u&t li@e Him—He !ant& to ;rin u& in on

everythin, even Hi& victory.

T& Uti%t R#$

In an earlier chapter, !e &a! that the am; i& al&o the ion.In the a;ove pa&&ae, the am; i& called ord o9 lord& and



=in o9 @in&6 D-evelation 1+:1' 8IG. <ain, there i& a

deli;erate parado? in a am; that i& the ord o9 lord& and

=in o9 @in&.

#hi& &ame title i& u&ed a little 9urther on in the ;oo@ o9

-evelation, !here !e have the revelation o9 Je&u& ready to

return 9rom heaven in po!er and lory to ude the earth

and to ta@e over it& @indom&. John !rote,

I sa% heaven standing o*en and there be$ore me %as

a %hite horse, %hose rider B.esusC is called #aith$uland True' 8ith 2ustice he 2udges and ma1es %ar' His

eyes are li1e bla3ing $ire, and on his head are many

cro%ns' BThe many cro%ns re*resent all the

1ingdoms that are His by right'C He has a name

%ritten on him that no one 1no%s but he himsel$' He

is dressed in a robe di**ed in blood, and his name,

is the 8ord o$ God' The armies o$ heaven %ere

$ollo%ing him, riding on %hite horses and dressed in

$ine linen, %hite and clean' Out o$ his mouth comes

a shar* s%ord %ith %hich to stri1e do%n the nations'

"He %ill rule them %ith an iron sce*ter'" He treads

the %ine*ress o$ the $ury o$ the %rath o$ God

0lmighty' On his robe and on his thigh he has thisname %ritten ing o$ 1ings and Lord o$ lords'

(evelation =56 +I@

Je&u& i& here pre&ented very clearly and emphatically a& the

ultimate ruler o9 the univer&e. #hi& pa&&ae depict& the

e&ta;li&hment o9 Hi& authority aain&t all oppo&ition.



J-#-' P%t&: F%it&#n--(

R-#$$/ti)n( R#$-&i*

et6& remind our&elve& o9 the path ;y !hich Je&u& came tothi& po&ition. #hi&, too, i& revealed in the ;oo@ o9

-evelation:

Grace and *eace to you $rom him %ho is, and %ho

%as, and %ho is to come BGod the #atherC, and $rom

the seven s*irits be$ore his throne Bthe Holy :*iritC,

and $rom .esus Ahrist, %ho is the $aith$ul %itness,the $irstborn $rom the dead, and the ruler o$ the

1ings o$ the earth' (evelation 5 +I@

#here i& a certain &eAuence that !e need to o;&erve. Fir&t,

Je&u& !a&, in Hi& humanity, the 9aith9ul !itne&&3 the $ne

!ho never turned 9rom the truth, the $ne !ho &po@e the

truth even a;out Him&el9, thouh it co&t Him Hi& li9e. He

!a& the 9aith9ul !itne&&.

#hen, ;ecau&e Je&u& !a& the 9aith9ul !itne&&, od

vindicated Hi& 9aith9ulne&& and Hi& rihteou&ne&& and rai&ed

Him 9rom the dead. So, He ;ecame the 9ir&t;orn 9rom the

dead3 the 9ir&t per&on ever to ri&e in re&urrection out o9death, never to die aain—the 9ir&t;orn meanin that

other&, Hi& ;elievin people, !ere to 9ollo! Him in

re&urrection.

#hird, a& the 9ir&t;orn 9rom the dead, the head o9 a ne!

creation, He i& al&o the ruler o9 the ne! order. He i& the

ruler o9 the @in& o9 the earth3



J-#- R/i4- A#t&)$it

F$) T& F%t&$

et6& loo@ at tho&e !ord& once more. He i& the 9aith9ul!itne&&, the 9ir&t;orn 9rom the dead3 and, there9ore, the

ruler o9 the @in& o9 the earth D-evelation 1:( 8IG. It i&

important to &ee, al&o, that Je&u& receive& Hi& authority 9rom

the Father. He doe& not !re&t it 9or Him&el9. It i& con9erred

upon Him ;ecau&e He ha& de&erved it. He ha& merited it. He

ha& 9ul9illed the condition& 9or it.

Paul &tated thi& truth in &ome !onder9ul and ;eauti9ul !ord&

!ritten to #imothy:

In the sight o$ God, %ho gives li$e to everything, and

o$ Ahrist .esus Bthe <essiah .esusC, %ho %hile

testi$ying be$ore ?ontius ?ilate made the good

con$ession B%as the $aith$ul %itnessC, I charge you to

1ee* this command BTimothy>s ministryC %ithout

s*ot or blame until the a**earing o$ our Lord .esus

Ahrist, %hich God %ill bring about in his o%n time

EGod, the blessed and only uler, the ing o$ 1ings

and Lord o$ lords, %ho alone is immortal and %ho

lives in una**roachable light, %hom no one has seen or can see' To him be honor and might $orever'

0men' ( Timothy 6-56 +I@

It i& od the Father !ho !ill ;rin a;out the appearin—

the return in lory—o9 the ord Je&u& 5hri&t. <nd o9 od

the Father, it &ay&, He i& the ;le&&ed and only -uler. #he

=in Jame& Ger&ion u&e& Potentate, a tremendou&ly po!er9ul !ord. He i& the =in o9 @in& and ord o9 lord&3



It i& intere&tin to @no! the real meanin o9 that phra&e in

the oriinal ree@: the =in o9 all !ho are @inin it and

the ord o9 all !ho are lordin it. 8o matter !hat men mayclaim to ;e, no matter !hat po!er they may appropriate 9or

them&elve&, od the Father i& the =in o9 all and the ord

o9 all. He imparted thi& authority to Hi& cho&en, !ell

;eloved, and 9aith9ul Son, the ord Je&u&. <nd, out o9 the

impartation o9 that authority, Je&u& i& =in o9 @in& and

ord o9 lord&.

R#$ O T& Uni4$-

#hat ;eauti9ul title applied to Je&u& ha& a very &peci9ic

meanin. =in& and lord& are ruler&. It mean& that Je&u& i&

the -uler o9 all ruler&, overnor over all overnment&.

Particularly under Hi& authority are all earthly ruler& and

overnment&. He i& directly over them, and all mu&t ;o! to

Him.

Hence, Je&u& !ear& on Hi& head tho&e many cro!n&

D-evelation 1/:12 8IG. #he ree@ !ord 9or cro!n& i&

diadema, 9rom !hich !e et the Enli&h !ord diadem.

#he&e are not cro!n& that repre&ent victory in an athleticconte&t> that type o9 cro!n i& identi9ied ;y another !ord.

In&tead, it i& the royal !ord, diadem. He ha& many cro!n&

;ecau&e all @in& 9ind their authority and their riht to rule

9rom Him.

od ha& a &pecial me&&ae to ruler& concernin Je&u&.

Sometime&, !e do not realiCe that od &ay& &ome thin&e&pecially to ruler& and leader&. et6& loo@ at the !hole o9





#hi& p&alm ;rin& a &pecial me&&ae, and a timely one 9or

today—a me&&ae to the ruler& o9 earth: ;e reconciled !ith

od throuh Je&u&. =i&& the Son, ;ecau&e i9 Hi& aner9lare& up, He !ill ;rin udment on you that you cannot

re&i&t.

#he e&ta;li&hment o9 the @indom o9 Je&u& i& the only

&olution to earth6& pro;lem& and the only hope 9or earth6&

people&. #han@ od, He i& the =in o9 @in& and ord o9

lord&. 5ome Auic@ly, ord Je&u&K



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

0ere@ Prince D1/1(244" !a& ;orn in India o9 )riti&h parent&. He !a& educated a& a &cholar o9 ree@ and atin at

Eton 5ollee and =in6& 5ollee, 5am;ride in Enland.

Upon raduation he held a 9ello!&hip DeAuivalent to a

pro9e&&or&hip in <ncient and 7odern Philo&ophy at =in6&

5ollee. Prince al&o &tudied He;re!, <ramaic, and modern

lanuae& at 5am;ride and the He;re! Univer&ity in

Jeru&alem. <& a &tudent, he !a& a philo&opher and &el9

proclaimed ano&tic.

%hile in the )riti&h 7edical 5orp& durin %orld %ar II,

Prince ;ean to &tudy the )i;le a& a philo&ophical !or@.

5onverted throuh a po!er9ul encounter !ith Je&u& 5hri&t,

he !a& ;aptiCed in the Holy Spirit a 9e! day& later. $ut o9thi& encounter, he 9ormed t!o conclu&ion&: 9ir&t, that Je&u&

5hri&t i& alive> &econd, that the )i;le i& a true, relevant, up

todate ;oo@. #he&e conclu&ion& altered the !hole cour&e o9

hi& li9e, !hich he then devoted to &tudyin and teachin the

)i;le a& the %ord o9 od.

0i&chared 9rom the army in Jeru&alem in 1/'(, he married

ydia 5hri&ten&en, 9ounder o9 a children6& home there. Upon

their marriae, he immediately ;ecame 9ather to ydia6&

eiht adopted dauhter&—&i? Je!i&h, one Pale&tinian <ra;,

and one Enli&h. #oether, the 9amily &a! the re;irth o9 the

&tate o9 I&rael in 1/'. In the late 1/(4&, they adopted

another dauhter !hile Prince !a& &ervin a& principal o9 ateacher trainin collee in =enya.



In 1/*", the Prince& immirated to the United State& and

pa&tored a church in Seattle. In 1/+", Prince ;ecame one o9

the 9ounder& o9 Interce&&or& 9or <merica. Hi& ;oo@ ShapinHi&tory throuh Prayer and Fa&tin ha& a!a@ened

5hri&tian& around the !orld to their re&pon&i;ility to pray

9or their overnment&. 7any con&ider underround

tran&lation& o9 the ;oo@ a& in&trumental in the 9all o9

communi&t reime& in the USS-, Ea&t ermany, and

5Cecho&lova@ia.

ydia Prince died in 1/+(, and Prince married -uth )a@er

Da &inle mother to three adopted children in 1/+. He met

hi& &econd !i9e, li@e hi& 9ir&t !i9e, !hile &he !a& &ervin

the ord in Jeru&alem. -uth died in 0ecem;er 1// in

Jeru&alem, !here they had lived &ince 1/1.

Until a 9e! year& ;e9ore hi& o!n death in 244" at the ae o9

eihtyeiht, Prince per&i&ted in the mini&try od had called

him to a& he traveled the !orld, impartin od6& revealed

truth, prayin 9or the &ic@ and a99licted, and &harin hi&

prophetic in&iht& into !orld event& in the liht o9 Scripture.

Internationally reconiCed a& a )i;le &cholar and &piritual

patriarch, 0ere@ Prince e&ta;li&hed a teachin mini&try that&panned &i? continent& and more than &i?ty year&. He i& the

author o9 more than 9i9ty ;oo@&, &i? hundred audio

teachin&, and one hundred video teachin&, many o9 !hich

have ;een tran&lated and pu;li&hed in more than one

hundred lanuae&. He pioneered teachin on &uch

round;rea@in theme& a& enerational cur&e&, the ;i;lical

&ini9icance o9 I&rael, and demonoloyO&piritual !ar9are.



Prince6& radio proram, !hich ;ean in 1/+/, ha& ;een

tran&lated into more than a doCen lanuae& and continue&

to touch live&. 0ere@6& main i9t o9 e?plainin the )i;le and

it& teachin in a clear and &imple !ay ha& helped ;uild a9oundation o9 9aith in million& o9 live&. Hi&

nondenominational, non&ectarian approach ha& made hi&

teachin eAually relevant and help9ul to people 9rom all

racial and reliiou& ;ac@round&, and hi& teachin i&

e&timated to have reached more than hal9 the lo;e.

In 2442, he &aid, It i& my de&ire—and I ;elieve the ord6&de&ire—that thi& mini&try continue the !or@, !hich od

;ean throuh me over &i?ty year& ao, until Je&u& return&.

0ere@ Prince 7ini&trie& per&i&t& in reachin out to ;eliever&

in over 1'4 countrie& !ith 0ere@6& teachin, 9ul9illin the

mandate to @eep on until Je&u& return&. #hi& i& e99ected

throuh the outreache& o9 more than thirty 0ere@ Prince

o99ice& around the !orld, includin primary !or@ in

<u&tralia, 5anada, 5hina, France, ermany, the

8etherland&, 8e! Mealand, 8or!ay, -u&&ia, South <9rica,

S!itCerland, the United =indom, and the United State&.

For current in9ormation a;out the&e and other !orld!ide

location&, vi&it [email protected]

http://www.derekprince.com/

http://www.derekprince.com/



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Power in the Name Derek Prince