Chapter Two
WE ARE GODS
(Created in the Image of God)
“You shall have no other gods before me.”
Effectively, this
declaration has the speaker technically claiming to be the pre-eminent God,
which is fine for the Lord God. However, if we say, “You shall have no other
gods before me,” we are actually saying that we are gods—or in the first-person
singular: “I am god.”
If we were Hindus, we
would have no problem with this whatsoever. Hindus believe in god-men. In
India, there are many people who claim to be living gods. A significant number
of so-called living gods have thousands of devotees; some even have devotees
numbering in the millions. For any of them to say, “You shall have no other
gods before me,” would be consistent with the beliefs to which they subscribe.
On the surface, you
might think, “So what! This is merely splitting hairs.” For those who like the
abbreviated version, this might seem an insignificant issue because they would
claim they know what they mean.
Their argument would
go along the lines of the following:
“I know that when I say, ‘You shall have no other gods before me,’ I don’t mean that I am God, and I don’t expect that you would think I meant that I was God.”
The argument is a
plausible one, and it is highly unlikely that a Christian using the abbreviated
version of the First Commandment would think that he or she is actually God.
The problem is that
the very statement implies something different to what the speaker may mean.
The truth requires us to be consistent, because if we are not consistent,
there is no authenticity in what we say and do. Unintentionally, when we are
not consistent, we will find ourselves either confused or numbered among the
hypocrites, who say one thing, but mean and do something else. Besides this, if we are Christians who desire to live
victorious lives, it is
impossible to do so if we are perpetuating falsehoods. This is the
case, whether those falsehoods are intentional or not. Only the truth will set us free; not misconceptions, nor
falsehoods.
The very statement, “You
shall have no other gods before me” is misleading when taken out of context.
Effectively, any person making this statement is asserting that he or she is
God, even if this is unintentional. Any Christian unwittingly stating, “You
shall have no other gods before me,” thinking he or she is quoting the First
Commandment, is conditioning himself or herself subconsciously to think
he or she is God. The Devil will quickly ensure that this appeals to the pride
of life that exists within each individual, and he will surreptitiously
engineer the speaker’s thoughts towards self-exaltation—it is amazing how easy
it is for the Evil One to trip a person up.
Many do not think
that the Devil exists. They ask for proof. If you are such a person consider
the following. Does a deceiver reveal himself unnecessarily? Secondly, look at
the evil that exists on this Earth. Do you really think the Creator in having
created everything good, created evil? Thirdly, are you in complete control of
your actions and never find yourself doing things you never intended to do? Fourthly,
if you find yourself doing things that were not your original intention, how
can you be completely sure that another influence is not at work upon you?
You say that the Devil doesn't
exist. Neither does the blue sky above exist. And the clouds that look solid
are merely an illusion. So how can you be absolutely sure of anything that you
see? Regardless of how knowledgeable you might think you are, what little
knowledge you possess, is merely a grain of sand upon the Earth within the
scheme of things. So what if in your estimation you are a larger grain than the
other grains? Do you want a certificate for that too? So you can gloat about your greatness, your superiority, your membership of the meritocracy. The Evil
One laughs at you, if you are such a person who measures your self-worth
against other people. He has you in his grips, because you are blind to him and
the truth about the reality of life.
We are all prisoners
of death. This commandment is designed to remind us of this fact. This
commandment points to our only hope, in the hope that we might avail ourselves
of the opportunity we have to take it, while alive on this planet. Self-examination
in respect to our existence is where truth begins and wisdom and humility are
found.
For many Christians,
the idea that we could be gods might seem bizarre, because we generally accept
that humans are not gods, and neither could any man be a god—except, Jesus
Christ; Who was God in human form! We need to distinguish between God (as in
Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe) and a god, who is a created being.
We Christians tend to
see ourselves as sinners in need of salvation rather than gods who have
supernatural powers. The Christian worldview is one that sees humankind as
fallen from a pre-eminent status with God because of rebellion, sin and evil.
There are
different views on how our fall from grace as a race—paradise lost—has affected
us. Some Christians hold to the belief that people are so utterly depraved
there is no good in them at all. Others believe that man has knowledge of
goodness and is capable of performing good acts, but this does not give any man
the right to call himself a god, or a woman any right to call herself a
goddess. In any case, what good a man might do is in vain, because that
goodness has no eternal worth. It appears that in the larger scheme of life, an
act of goodness is like a band-aid placed over an open wound that will not
heal. What is needed is a stitch. And as they say, “A stitch in time saves nine”—one
plus nine makes ten, and the job is complete. Thank you, Jesus, for providing
access to the mercy seat. At the appointed time, God has done what the ceremonial law could not do and provided access to the mercy seat[i]—for Jesus fulfilled the Law. Because we have fallen short
of the glory of God, it does not matter what treatment we devise to fix the sin
problem, it just does not work, just as putting a band-aid on a cut does not
work when stitches are required.
It is rather ironic
that the proverb, “a stitch in time will save nine” has been coined to remind
seamstresses that a broken stitch on a piece of cloth, caught in time, will save
nine more from unraveling; because when it comes to the Ten Commandments,
merely by breaking one, the other nine are brought undone. However, because
Jesus kept the Ten Commandments—and in so doing has stitched up the Devil, so
to speak, making him powerless—now all we have to do is keep one of the
commandments to be saved. This is because Jesus
has bequeathed to us His righteousness at the mercy seat, where we need
only acknowledge the First Commandment and this makes up for the other nine.
For whoever comes to know Jesus as Lord has been given the power to become a
fully-fledged child of God.
Our responsibility to
ourselves is now to follow in Jesus’ footsteps and, in so doing, thereby keep
the law ourselves; because the means by which we can keep God’s law has now
been made easy—as in easier! This is what Jesus said,
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me… For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30).
We could say
that if we are associating with the Son of God, and have been adopted into the
family of God (Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5; 1 John 3:1-2), we should think of ourselves
as gods.
The Bible Says We Are Gods
Surprisingly, the
Bible actually refers to men as gods. Psalm eighty-two, verse six, reads:
“I said, ‘You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.’” (KJ21[ii]).
Jesus even referred to this. John chapter ten, verse
thirty-four, reads:
“Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your law, “I said, ‘You are gods?’“
The fact Jesus
mentioned the Scripture that says men are gods does give more weight to the
idea, even if we might struggle with the concept of humans being gods.
Most interpreters of
the Bible will work around this idea that men are gods by suggesting that the Scripture
does not actually mean what it states—that men are gods. They like to claim
Jesus made mention of this to draw attention to the unbelief of the Jews He was
addressing at the time, rather than the idea that men are gods.
The idea that men
could be gods is frightening to the many people who want to believe that they
are not responsible for the sins they commit. Gods, on the other hand, would
need to be accountable for their misdeeds, whereas humans are not. Certain
sections of the general Christian community are of the belief that they are not
accountable for their sins because they were preordained to be saved; whereas
the rest of humankind were created to be condemned to suffer eternal torment in
Hell. What these people do not appear to understand is, according to Jesus, Hell
was created for the Devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41), and not for Adam and
Eve, or any of their descendants.
Another view is
fallen angels become gods when people worship them. According to this view, men
and women cannot be gods because they are fallen biological beings and not
spirit beings. Angels are spirit beings and are like God, who is also a spirit;[iii] therefore, because they exist in the realm of the spirit, they
are capable of being worshiped.
There is evidence to
support the idea that the angels are gods in the book of Job, which says,
“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them” (Job 1:6; 2:1).
We read of further
evidence when Job is asked where he was when God created the Universe:
“When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7).
Both those references indicate angels are sons of God.
Irrespective of
anything else, it is quite clear that Jesus was making a reference to humans
having been referred to as gods in the Bible, when He said:
“Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods?’” If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?’” (John 10:34-36).
Jesus was obviously
making a point about how silly and inconsistent the thinking of the Jews was to
suggest that He was blaspheming because He said He was the Son of God. However,
this does not take away from the fact the Scripture states that the Word of God has attributed godhood to human
beings.
Such a concept is not
too difficult to accept because the Bible teaches that man was made in the
image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Obviously, this does not mean a physical image.
Rather, man was made in the image of God
to have god-likeness—Imago Dei[iv]—and essentially be a god. The significant difference
between God and us is that we are not gods without sin. If anything, we would
be fallen gods, sinful gods, or imperfect gods. Nonetheless, we have been
attributed godlike status within the Scriptures. However, just like the angels
that have left their original places of dwelling, so, too, man has lost the
original place of habitation. Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of
Eden because of their violation of faith towards God. Unfortunately, every
child is born into a sinful world marred with illness, disease, war,
destruction and death, because of Adam and Eve’s act of breaking faith with God—which
is to say, they discontinued directing their faith towards God; or, if you
like, placing their faith in God’s word to them.
Animals Possess a Soul—Not a Spirit
There
is an inner yearning within everyone to be satisfied with a relationship that
fulfills the spirit. The spirit that God has placed within every person is what
gives us our god-like status. Animals do
not possess a spirit. Animals
possess a soul,[v] but not a
spirit. We can search the Scriptures and we will find that animals do not
possess a spirit; neither will we find the term “God of the souls of all flesh”;
but we will find the expression “God of
the spirits of all flesh” (Num. 16:22; 27:16; cf. Heb. 12:9). Hence, God is
concerned with every man and woman, for He
puts a spirit within each one of us at birth.
There is an argument put forth that animals have a spirit
based on the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter three, verse twenty-one,
where it is suggested that a beast has a spirit.
However, the context of the passage is talking about death and is contrasting
the futility of life on Earth for humankind and beasts, as well as goading the
reader to consider his or her own ignorance on the matter. This is entirely different
to saying that animals actually have
a spirit, and they are made in the image of God.
In the New Testament, we are told that God is a Spirit and
those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24—KJV).
The spirit that
God places in each one of us makes us God-like. Consequently, humans are sons of God because they have
spirits. Angels are spirits; they are also called sons of God. On the other
hand, animals are not sons of God because they do not have spirits, even though
each animal possesses a soul. The spirit
within us is what distinguishes us human beings from animals. This spirit is what gives us the ability to know right from
wrong, to be able to think, speak and understand the Word of Life, the
word of truth.
The Soul that Sins
The Bible mentions in
a number of places that the soul that sins shall die. Based on these texts, the
assumption has been made that the seat of the will (i.e. volition) is in the
soul. Many teachers and preachers have propagated this misinterpretation over
the centuries, and when you think about it; it is easy to see why. Both animals
and children help give us this impression.
One friend of mine
has a cat that meows and scratches the door to go outdoors. When the cat wants
to come inside it meows and scratches the door. The cat gives the impression
that it can think because when it seeks to come inside or go outside, it scratches
the door. Other times the cat will meow and scratch at a fixed, sealed, bedroom
window that cannot be opened. The cat wants to get outside and appears to
expect the window to open, even when the back and front doors are open, as it
will sit, scratch, meow, look, then meow and scratch again, until its owner
comes and gets it. Now if the cat could think, it would realize that the window
has never opened, and the only way it has gone in and out of the house is
through the front and back doors; in which case, the cat would know it needed
to go to one of the doors to get outside. As for the cat having a will, unless it can think, it has no need for
a will—wills are required to make moral decisions.
The inability of cats
to think is evidenced particularly by the number of these furry felines that
are killed by motor vehicles on the road. Before their fatal attempt to cross
the road, it is doubtful cats’ meow to themselves, “Will I, or will I not, wait
for the traffic to go pass? No. It is more fun to run the gauntlet, and race rubber on the road.”
Children are renowned
for being stubborn during their formative years of what is often called the terrible twos. These children also are
often called self-willed, because they refuse to obey their parents, while they
explore their world and imitate what they see others do. They appear
self-willed, when, in fact, they are merely learning about their environment
without giving anything a second thought. What this means is they have not yet
learnt to exercise their volition. Learning how to exercise their volition
begins in the next stage of development, when children have sufficient
knowledge to ask why they should not turn on the gas stove, or play with
matches and light fires. Without a “why”, that is, “a reason”, children cannot
exercise their will. Before understanding why they should not perform dangerous
actions—like turning on gas stoves while playing with matches—children need to
understand what happens when they do either of those things. Once children
understand what happens, then they can make a decision to go ahead and blow
their household to kingdom come, or listen to mommy and daddy. Depending upon
how well the children are taught about the dangers of gas and lighting matches,
this will form the basis of their ability to say, “I will do what I am told” or
“I will not do what I am told.”—At this point, there would be some exegetes
(those who critically explain the meaning of Scripture) who would say the soul
that sins shall die.—And many of us might be saying, “But for the grace of God, back then when I was a child, playing with those matches would have been the
end of me.”
There are verses that
read: “if a soul sins” (Leviticus 5:1 KJV); “if a soul swears” (Leviticus 5:4
KJV); and “that soul shall be cut off from among his people” (Exodus 31:14 KJV).
On the face of it, when reading these verses, coming to the conclusion that we
think and make decisions with our soul is not too difficult. However, it is
imperative to realize that the word for “soul” is “nephesh” which is applied to
animals, fish, birds and creatures. Nephesh means “a living being”. Now,
we know animals do not think—and neither does the soul.
Hence, when we read, “if
a soul touches any unclean thing…he shall be guilty”, the translation is obviously
meant to be “if any living being
touches any unclean thing…he shall be guilty” (Leviticus 5:2). The term nephesh here could be referring
to any creature, but in this case, it specifically refers to being a human, as
animals are not the ones that are being pronounced guilty in Scripture. When
the Bible is referring to a human as a soul, the term needs to be understood
correctly. We are living beings; however, unlike animals and other creatures,
each one of us consists of a spirit, that
has been created by our Father in Heaven and, attached to the soul of a
physical body—1 Thessalonians 5:23.[vi]
Words make the Difference
To have a will, we
need to be able to decide right from wrong. This means that where our faculty
of conscience exists, this is where we will discover the seat of our will—that
is, you could say, in our throne rooms.
It is the spirit
placed within us by God at birth that enables us to make a distinction between
right from wrong; to process knowledge and exercise our volition—in other words,
our thrones, whereupon we sit and make decisions. This place is otherwise known
as the seat of our will, and exists in our spirits.
There is no record of
God ever saying to animals, “Come let us reason together.” However, in Isaiah,
chapter one, verse eighteen, we read God is encouraging us to come and reason
with Him about our violation of faith regarding Himself.
When we consider the
First Commandment, we need to see its correct perspective and not just say,
“You shall have no other gods before me.” The reason for this is misconceptions
can arise and these can lead us into breaking faith with God. For some this
might be a moot point. Nonetheless, this can be more serious than first
realized.
People brought up in
denominations where the Ten Commandments are referred to regularly, often hear
that the First Commandment is “you shall have no other gods before me”. The
reason for this is the speakers will claim that this particular wording
reflects the primary focus of the First Commandment. Thus, this is taught in
Bible colleges, Sabbath schools, Sunday schools and confirmation classes.
Subconsciously, the hearers then repeat the mantra, “You shall have no other
gods before me.”
Repeating this thought is tantamount to saying, “I am god, and
others are my inferiors.”
If we are prone to
quoting this little mantra, the Devil’s little agents work on this and subtly
convey the idea that we are better than other people, or other people are not
quite as good as us. Contrary to reason, this disposition is also very common
among people who claim that every person is born in utter depravity and nothing
good exists in anyone—except us whom God has chosen to save. Generally, we call
this deposition the sin of pride. Pride itself is the tool of Satan, which he
powers up with thoughts that put self first, and—believe it or not!—all this
goes on in our subconscious mind because we unwittingly allow Satan’s agents
access.
Therapists and
clinicians frequently exploit the power of the subconscious by using word-based
strategies to change people’s behavior; especially when using cognitive
behavioral techniques in assisting individuals to overcome difficulties such as
anxiety, self-doubt, depression and phobias—often with great success.
Likewise, people have
discovered they are able to overcome fears by reading over and over again
positive affirmations from the Bible. Logos (meaning, word) therapy is a
technique that was developed using the power of words to overcome obstacles
that prevent people from living a fulfilling life and discovering the
satisfaction each one ought to experience.
Words are a powerful
tool, because words are what distinguish gods from non-gods and animals from
human beings. Just consider the first verse of the Gospel of John:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
This has been
expressed as: “In the beginning was the idea, and the idea was God and the idea
emanated from within the depths of God’s innermost being.” For us this may seem
flippant, when in fact it is a feeble attempt by some serious theologians
trying to understand the concept of the Word emanating from God and yet being
one with God.
When we are talking
about the Word existing alongside, or with God, and yet being God, this becomes
mind-boggling. What we are talking about
is the One who has the power to calculate harmony; because He alone possesses
the full comprehensive knowledge of life and being. In the limits of our finite
existence, one thing we learn is that the spoken word and the written word can
be powerful. These words begin in the spirit of the individual. We were created
as individuals with a unique spirit placed in us at birth, and nobody “knows a person’s
thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him” (1 Corinthians
2:11). God is the exception to this, of course (Heb. 4:12-13; Rev 2:23; Rom. 8:27).[vii]
God alone can read our thoughts, since He created our spirits and
possesses the ability to retrieve everything that is imprinted within them.
This is just like a beekeeper who places frames for bees in a beehive to build
up their wax comb, develop their colony, and leave their honey for him to
collect. We leave our thoughts about everything we see, hear, smell, taste,
touch, and attitudes (we have developed) and actions imprinted within our
spirits for God to collect. In fact, all we have done will be revealed on that
wonderful day, when the angels come to collect the harvest.—Thank God, the
blood of Jesus can wipe our slate clean, so none of our unworthy deeds and
thoughts are on record (cf. Ezekiel 18:21-22).
The
Word Becomes Flesh
In the Gospel of John, chapter one, verse
fourteen, we learn “the Word became flesh and dwelt among men.” If we were to
say the Spirit of God became flesh and dwelt among men, there would be no
difference, because the Bible tells us that God and His Word are One. This
mystery of God The Father, His Word and His Spirit being One, yet distinct from
each other, we may never understand fully, but we can at least grasp the idea
of what it means for us.
Humans have a spirit
placed in their innermost being at birth. This comes from God who creates
everything by His Word of power. There is a difference, of course, between the
Word of God becoming flesh, and God creating a spirit by the power of His Word
and placing it within flesh. The Word of God is actually God Himself; whereas a
created spirit is a separate entity that God has brought into existence, which
has the ability to communicate with God through knowledge and understanding.
This is the higher realm of the spirit, rather than the lower realm of the
flesh, where the irrational instincts of the biological creature (otherwise
known as the realm of the soul) are experienced but cannot be appreciated by
the soul itself.
Appreciation means
more than being grateful for something. We can be grateful for what somebody
does for us in meeting a need. However, appreciation requires more knowledge
than just being thankful for having a need met; yet both gratitude and
appreciation require knowledge and are sentiments that belong to the spiritual
realm, not the flesh. To be able to
appreciate something is to have the ability to evaluate its worth. This takes
into account the intrinsic nature and qualities something might possess, and
the magnitude and significance of its abilities to interact and successfully
cope with its surrounding environment. We might not be able to have the
appreciation that God has for everything that exists, but we have the inherent
ability that enables us to appreciate everything we encounter, even life
itself, and be God-like; rather than be controlled by the impulses and desires
and negative emotive tendencies of the flesh. We have the choice to be God-like
or soulish. This is why Romans chapter eight, verse five, says:
“Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.”
When the spirit is in control, the intellect produces sounder thinking;
especially if the mind is being renewed (Romans 12:2). In which case, the flesh
is subdued and the soul with its carnal desires of worldly lust is in the
process of being overcome.
The difference
between the Word of God that was placed in the soul and body of the baby Jesus,
and the spirit that is placed in us humans, we could say is like chalk and
cheese. To be more realistic, it is like contrasting life with death. While the
human spirit has the power to think, it does not have the power of an
indestructible life; whereas the very Word of Life, the Word of God Himself
possesses this power (Hebrews 7:16).
However, the Word of God emptied Himself of His glory—but not His
inherent nature—and took on the form of human flesh (Philippians 2:7); so that
He might prove beyond doubt it is possible to keep the just requirements of the
Law, even though no one else appears to have been able to do so. At the age of twelve, Jesus, the Word of God
in human form, understood Who His Father was and honored Him (Luke 2:42-49).
Jesus did not listen to men, but to His Father in Heaven. Unlike us, Jesus
always had ears to hear what the Spirit was saying. Jesus did not give in to
the flesh—not even once!
The First Commandment: “Hear, O Israel”
“And God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me”‘-–Exodus 20:1-3.
Firstly, it is important to understand that God spoke these words stating Who He was. Jesus Himself emphasizes this fact when He is asked, “What is the First Commandment. Jesus answers, beginning with:
“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God…” (Mark 12:29).
Even though
Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy chapter six, verse four, what is important for us
to understand is God actually spoke these words, and this forms part of the
commandment, which is to, first, hear
the words of the Lord our God.
That faith comes from
hearing, and hearing means listening to the words of God is no accident. Paul,
the Apostle, wrote,
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17).
We learn that
the faculty of hearing is what enables faith to come about. The righteous Job
had heard of God in a way that generated such faith in him, he repented of the
sins of his youth. Job’s faith from hearing of God enabled him to survive his
persecution and physical assault by the Devil, even though he had others
telling him to curse God and die. Unless we hear God Himself, or the words of
an anointed one, we will struggle to develop faith. Without faith, it becomes
impossible to please God. This is why Jesus said that the first and most important
commandment begins with “Hear, O Israel…” (Mark 12:29), which equates to what
we read in Exodus at the beginning of the First Commandment: “And God spoke all
these words, saying…”
Jesus used the term “ears
to hear” a number of times in the Gospels. In the book of Revelation, chapters
two and three, we learn that we need to have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying, and this is reiterated seven
times. We might think that it is not difficult to hear because we have ears.
But are our ears tuned into the voice of the Spirit of God, to hear what the
Father is saying? Have we found the right gospel frequency? Or, are we like
those of whom Jeremiah says that they have ears but are not inclined to listen
(Jeremiah 25:4)?
Is He Our Lord?
Secondly, in the
First Commandment we are told Who God is. Without knowing Who God is, it is
impossible to know God. The same applies to a boy who is born out of wedlock, and
does not know who his father is. He could accidentally run into his father,
move on and still not know him. If we do not know Who God is, then He cannot be our Lord.
Salvation is promised
to all who know God as Lord. We need to know that God is also our Lord. The
Psalmist says:
“Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords!” (Psalm 136:2-3a. KJV).
For there are many
who would be called “lord”, but only one who can be called “the Lord of lords”.
To know God as Lord means to recognize Him as the One who is worthy of our service
and devotion; the One Who reigns over death and for Whom we have a reason to
give thanks. For we who confess Jesus as Lord, and believe in our hearts that
God raised Him from the dead, shall be saved (Romans 10:9).
The Relevance of Egypt
In this, the First
Commandment, we see that God is worthy to be called Lord because:
“He bought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Exodus 20:2).
There is a problem with this statement,
though, because: When were we brought out of the land of Egypt by God?
The truth is we may
not have been to Egypt, let alone have been a slave there. Not only do we have
a problem with the relevance of Egypt for the Christian today, we also have a
similar problem with the relevance of the Ten Commandments being applicable
today. Yet, unbelievable as it may seem, both Egypt[viii] in this context and the Ten Commandments are relevant to
us all today.
First, though, we
will address some issues regarding the Ten Commandments, and then we will
consider the relevance of Egypt and what this means for us.
Not Given to the Fathers
Interestingly, in
Deuteronomy chapter five, we learn that God made a covenant with the people of
Israel, which was not the same covenant made with their fathers:
“The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me” (Deuteronomy 5: 2-7).
The fathers were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is quite clear in the Bible, as evidenced when Moses
saw the burning bush that was not consumed and God commissioned him to go down
to Egypt:
“God also said to Moses, ‘Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:15a).
It is very clear who
the fathers are, and according to the Scriptures, they had not been given the
Ten Commandments as a covenant. Yet it needs to be pointed out that Abraham
kept all of God’s commandments, statutes and laws, as well as keeping
His charge and obeying His voice (Genesis 26:5). While this implicitly includes
the Decalogue, there was no covenant like the Mosaic covenant made with
Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. The Scripture has no record of any covenant being
made with any of the fathers charging them to keep the Ten Commandments,[ix] like there was a covenant made with the Israelites, who
had been rescued from Egypt.—This does not mean we should break the Ten
Commandments carte blanche though, that grace upon grace might be extended to
us (Romans 6:1-2).
The covenant made
with the Israelites after their rescue from the oppression of Pharaoh was for a
good reason. God had to set up an appointed time to demonstrate His
righteousness to all of Creation and legally lay claim to what was lost when
Adam forfeited his right to reign on Earth to Lucifer, the now ex-Archangel;
who is otherwise known as Satan and the Devil—among other names.
Some major cosmic
declarations[x] were taking place at the time of the Israelites’
deliverance from Egypt and these were seen in everything God commanded Moses to
copy from the Heavenly Sanctuary (Hebrews 8:5). Much of what occurred during
this period, and what Moses was ordained to institute and perform was full of
typology that represented greater truths about God’s purpose for humankind. God
in His wisdom ordained this so that those who truly wanted to know Him would
seek Him and find Him, while for others, the events that happened and the
requirements of the covenant would seem like nonsense.
The Ten Commandments
were given specifically to the Israelites, along with the sacrifices and
redemptive model that Moses copied from the Heavenly Sanctuary. The aim was for
these to become a tutor until the full truth was revealed (Galatians 3:24). The
commandments, statutes, laws and charge that were given to Moses included the
weightier matters of the law (faith, justice and mercy). However, the blood of bulls and goats could
not provide the efficacy of grace and truth that was needed for salvation.
Neither could the blood of goats and bulls act as a shield to protect the
sinner against the accusation of the Ten Commandments. This is why it is
written that the Law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ—Jesus did what the Mosaic Law could not do through the blood of animals
and provided salvation power through His death and resurrection. However, the
many regulations of the Ceremonial Law did provide the knowledge of God and how
men were to be redeemed from the bondage of sin and death. As for the Ten Commandments, they have always
been of value, except no human being appears to have been able to keep
them—that is, apart from Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God.
To keep the Ten
Commandments—and fulfill the Royal Law (James 2:8) by walking in the Spirit—a
person needs to, first of all, understand that they have to heed the voice of
God. This is what the First Commandment is really about. We need to know
who God is and obey His voice, which we do because He is our Lord. The reason
God is our Lord is because He has rescued us from the slavery of sin and the
bondage of death. If we do not know the reason why we need to know God, then it
is impossible for God to be our Lord. Essential to knowing God and being saved
from a life of futility is reasoning with God as to why we need Him in our life.
God invites us to “come and reason with Him”.
The Relevance of the Ten Commandments
Abraham is the father
of the faithful; that is, of all who believe and continue in faith—even those
who were given the law had to walk by faith (Romans 4:11-12). There is no
Scripture stating that a covenant was made with Abraham to keep the Ten
Commandments, or any law or statute. However, the Apostle Paul does say the
gospel was preached to Abraham (Galatians. 3:8), and this throws new light on
the subject.
The gospel, which
many claim came after the law, actually was before the law. What this
means is the law is contained within the
gospel. This has to be the case if there is to be any continuity in the
progressive revelation of Bible truth. The Apostle Paul strongly implies that
the law is contained in the gospel. This is evident when Paul says that we who
have been set free from sin are now
obedient from the heart to a standard
of teaching to which we are now
committed in the gospel (Romans 6:17-19). Now that we know the gospel
came before the law, and since the gospel upholds the law (Rom. 3:31; Matt.
5:17-19), this helps explain why Abraham was able to obey God’s voice, keep His
charge, His commandments, His statutes and His Laws (Genesis 26:5).
The ceremonial laws were of no effect since
they merely pointed to what was to come. The
Ten Commandments are different to the ceremonial laws because they have to be kept perfectly in order for a person to be righteous,
and Jesus has done this. The laws
concerning redemption via the means of bulls and goats and lambs and doves and
cereal offerings and observance of Sabbaths and feast days that speak of faith,
justice, mercy and the love of God are no longer applicable. This is because
they were ineffectual, even when observed. These ceremonial laws were to be
instructive of the true reality that was to come through the death and resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus fulfilled the Ten Commandments
and this was ratified in His death and resurrection; nevertheless, they still need to be upheld (Romans 3:31).
They are cited in the Gospels and by the New Testament writers as still binding. The Apostle to the
Gentiles declares that nothing matters
except keeping the commandments of
God (1 Corinthians 7:19). Effectively, the Ten Commandments point out what
is required of us in our dealings with God and with each other. As Paul states,
if it was not for the Ten Commandments, he would not have known what it was to
sin (Rom. 7:7; cf. 3:20). The Ten Commandments are still relevant today
and need to be understood as being fulfilled in Christ. However, the Ten
Commandments need to be seen in the correct light and not misinterpreted so
they become a stumbling block that prevents their fulfillment being found in us. We need to understand that the
prism of our mind, when enlightened by the Holy Spirit, enables us to fathom
how the light of the gospel fans out into the beautiful spectrum of salvation
knowledge that enables us to fulfill the Ten Commandments; that is, the royal
law of righteous love (James 2:8).
The Distortion of the First Commandment
There is a difficulty
with the first of the Ten Commandments in that unless we were rescued from
Egypt as a slave under Pharaoh, how can this commandment apply to us?
This difficulty of
location and historical application is one of the reasons why the First Commandment
is abbreviated to “you shall have no gods before me”. Dishonest and ignorant
religious leaders prefer to avoid having to answer this question, because it
puts them on the spot and makes them feel helpless when trying to influence
those trusting souls who are looking to them for guidance.
Over the centuries,
religious authorities have tried to come up with many innovative ideas for
dealing with the tricky elements contained within this commandment. When
questioned, ignorant religious leaders have obviously avoided speaking about
the issue because it arouses inner conflicts, which would eat at the fabric of
their own beliefs. For many it has been better to remain compliant with church
dogma and be close-minded rather than seek the truth. (Church dogma consists of
those doctrines, which are not found in
the Bible but are said to be based on some biblical teaching.) Hence, it is
easier to promote the First Commandment as being “you shall have no other gods
before me” and not have to soul-search as to whether one really knows God as
Lord; neither does one have to delve into lengthy explanations and try to
justify church dogma.
Regardless of which
denomination or congregation we attend, the truth is we will find that the
teachers and leaders will admit that they were not delivered from Egypt and
have never been slaves in that country. Those that insist on the authority of
the Ten Commandments prefer to avoid having to explain the Egypt problem. This
is because it contains typology, which can become a can of worms, where tricky
questions somehow get entangled with every attempted explanation. However, when
pushed for, the explanation is that in the context of the First Commandment of
the Decalogue, Egypt becomes a figure, or a type, representing “the world
system” and is instructive of an important truth for all people.
The Literal and the Figurative
The Bible has many
ideas with more than one meaning. There is the literal application and then
often there is a figurative application that may point to a deeper meaning or
prophetic outcome. This is referred to as typology and the meanings are
revealed in other passages of the Bible.
An example of
typology is the story of Ishmael and Isaac. In the New Testament book of
Galatians, the Apostle Paul explains that the mothers of each of these two
children were symbolic representations of being born into a people who were
under the law and people being born free from the law. Hagar’s child represented
a nation that was enslaved and Sarah’s child represented a people who had been
promised an inheritance. We can take this a little further and say that Ishmael
(and his descendants) represented being born as a slave to the god of this
world and Isaac is representative of being born into the kingdom of God (Gal.
4:22-5:1).
The Symbolism of Egypt
In the Bible, Egypt
is symbolic of the world. This is the world even as we know it today. The
Pharaoh who ruled in Egypt figures as a type of the Devil, who is the god of
this world. When Pharaoh enslaved the children of the promise, who are Abraham’s
offspring, it is the same as people being born into this world and being
enslaved by the god of this world. In the book of Second Corinthians, we learn
that the god of this world blinds the minds of unbelievers to keep them from
seeing the truth and being set free from ignorance (2 Cor. 4:4). The book of
Ephesians tells us that the god of this
world is the prince of the power of
the air who is at work in people, causing them to follow a course of
disobedience (Eph. 2:2). This disobedience leads to civil unrest and violence,
and all other forms of evil and rebellion against God, which, of course, leads
to punishment and death. This is what Adam and Eve discovered when they broke
faith with God and were cast out of the Garden of Eden and eventually died.
Egypt Represents the World
The First Commandment
now has relevance for us because we can see that if Egypt represents the world
and the god of this world is the Devil, then we need to be delivered from his
influence. There is a need to distinguish between the god of this world and the
Lord God Almighty, Creator of the Universe. The god of this world has the right
to rule Earth because Adam broke faith with God to follow the deceptions of the
Archangel Lucifer, who had been given charge of him. Lucifer was jealous of his
pre-eminence in the Creation and could not bear losing out to what God was
offering humankind. God was giving humans the ability to reproduce and give
birth to a new race that would be able to choose (whether or not) to become one
with Almighty God Himself, and have a higher status in Creation than the most
admired archangel of all the angels.
The following Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version produce evidence that when considering types in the Bible there need be no uncertainty that Pharaoh is depicted as the Devil. The Devil is also that Ancient Serpent, who also is called a lion that
attempts to devour people, and Egypt is the world where the Lord Jesus was
crucified.—Even though Jesus was crucified at Golgotha, He was in the world,
but not of the world; He was made sin on our behalf, even though He never
sinned.
“Son of man, raise a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: ‘You consider yourself a lion of the nations, but you are like a dragon in the seas; you burst forth in your rivers, trouble the waters with your feet, and foul their rivers”’ (Ezekiel 32:2).
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
“Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people” (Proverbs 28:15).
“And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Revelation 12:9).
“Their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified” (Revelation 11:8).
We sometimes think
that the Devil has no hold over us, and we have no need for any deliverance.
Yet this is why God has spoken through the prophet Isaiah and said,
‘“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord’ (Isaiah 1:18).
God evidently says that
we are in need of deliverance.
Did You Ask To Be Born?
Just minutes before I
became a Christian; I was on my knees telling God the reasons why life on this
planet stunk as far as I was concerned.—Let’s be honest, now. Living in a
sinful world is not sweet. Besides, when did we have a say in being born?
I put the question to
God. I said, I did not ask to be born into this futile existence where the only
certainty is death. What is the point of being born only to die? This is how I
reasoned with God. I presented my argument to God. This is what God expects us
to do. When we come to God and we tell him our reasons why we believe we should
not be judged, or we should have a better life, it is then up to the Lord God to answer.
Which is only right—don’t you think? Well, I think it is only fair; so I presented
my case before God, and He answered me; only, for me, it was a long earnest
session before I realized the need to state my case, so that I could receive a
satisfactory answer.
Actually, this
question of, “What is our purpose for existence?” is so much a part of our
lives that people are always speculating in one form or the other about the
reason why they are here on Earth. People will say they do not like talking
about politics and religion, but they cannot avoid talking about their purpose
for existence from time to time. Within every person, there is the nagging
question of Why was I born? Many
people seek out means to quench the inner thirst for this knowledge. Alcoholic
beverages seem to be the most common means used to quench the inner thirst
because it also dulls the mind and inhibits sound reasoning. Drugs are another
means that are used to avoid, somehow, the inner torment of not having a
relationship with God. In some cultures, drugs are used to produce
hallucinogenic states of mind and, because the inner pain is transformed into a
surreal psychedelic state of consciousness, the users convince themselves that
they have discovered the supernatural, or the place where the afterlife is
found.[xi]
Finding the Answer
One day I was reading
the book of Ephesians on my lounge room floor. I had been a Christian for about
nine months. I was attending a fellowship group led by a former Methodist
minister who was assisted by a preacher from a Baptist background. At the time,
there was much comment about how profound the book of Ephesians was because it
spoke about the purpose of God from the beginning of time. I decided to read
the book of Ephesians until I understood it. I am not sure exactly how many
times I read and re-read the book at that sitting, but after about four hours,
I gave up—exasperated. I looked up and, in utter hopelessness, told God that I
did not know what it meant at all. Amazingly, before my very eyes, as if
written in little clouds of fluffy cotton balls, these words appeared:
“Harmony is the fulfillment of life acquiring possession of oneness. One God Creator of all things in wisdom gave man the option of perfection or imperfection in order that those whom are His would come to the knowledge of the truth in Christ Jesus thus perfecting individuality in oneness.”
I took that vision to
mean that the whole purpose of God was to bring about harmony by giving people
a choice as to whether or not they wanted to develop their individuality
towards being perfect, yet at the same time being different to
others—unique—and having a harmonious relationship with each other and the God
of the Universe.
When God speaks to us
through Isaiah and calls us to come and reason together with Him, we are told:
“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword” (Is. 1:18-20).
We have the option to
choose for ourselves whether we want what is perfect or whether we are content
to settle for the imperfect; whether we want to conform to God’s ideals or do
our own thing; whether we want to have promised-land living or a never-ending
wilderness experience; whether we want God’s will in our lives or not.
Individuality and Social Cohesion
The
biggest issue for social cohesion appears to be people wanting to be
individuals, separate from others, and doing their own thing whenever they
choose. It is only when we recognize that this is futility that we can do
something to rectify the matter. The reason individuality in isolation needs to
be addressed is the social consequences are too harmful—destructive, even. Not
only are people separating themselves from each other, they are also separating
themselves from God. It is only when we reunite with God and become part of His
kingdom that we can do something about truly becoming individuals who are
appreciated for our contributions, and our individuality. If we break faith, we
find ourselves unable to relate to the person with whom we were in relationship
with and unable to be appreciated for whom we are. True individuality is found
in acceptance and not in being rebellious.
This is what God is saying to us. “If you want to have the
very wealth of being, the riches of life, you need to enter into a relationship
with Me.” This relationship requires that we keep faith with the Father and do
not walk in our own ways irrespective of what another might think or desire. To
walk our own way is one thing, but it leads to breaking faith with God. To
break faith with God means that we commit sin against God.
Sin is the breaking of faith between two individuals. We
sin against other people when we break faith by being disloyal to the truth and
each other. The only way we can make amends for this is through confession of
our sin and acceptance of our need for the other party.
Sin, by the way, is really lawlessness, or willful
transgression of the law. This is how sin is defined in the Bible. The first
letter of John, chapter three, verse four, clearly states,
“Whoever commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness” (RSV).
Situational Ethics is Rationalized Sin
Sin is a form of
anarchy. Anarchy is a state where nobody listens to another person, and
everybody does what he or she thinks, regardless of consequences. In a way, sin
is like the idea of situational ethics or situational morality. Depending on
the situation, each person decides what is right or wrong to do.
“Today I will do it with you.” However, the next day: “I do not love you anymore, so what I said yesterday is no longer true.”
Situational ethics is
sin. It is all about what is right for me, and not what is right for you. It is
all about me feeling good, regardless of what happens to you. Situational
ethics is a secular sanctioned view that condones breaking faith with each
other. This approach is so common; it is no wonder this world is in such a mess
today.
When God delivered the
Hebrew slaves from the hands of the Egyptians, a covenant was made. This
covenant was a faith covenant. The promise was that if the people whom God
delivered from Egypt were to acknowledge Him as Lord God Almighty and always
keep His commands by obeying His voice, all would be well with them and their
children forever. This promise also applies to us today.
First Commandment: Hear God’s Voice
We can be sure about one
thing; the First Commandment is not about any one of us saying, “You shall have
no other gods before me.”
The First Commandment is
about hearing God’s voice and
appreciating the fact that we have been saved from being alone and isolated from
true love, and having to face death without any hope of something better in
life. This commandment will have real meaning to us if God is our Savior and
the Lord of our lives, because, if this is the case, we will know Who is the
Lord our God, and we will have a meaningful relationship with Him.
The First Commandment
also contains typology. As we have already discussed, typology is symbolism that
has a broader application beyond the strict literal sense in which a type
is used. In this case, there is meaning inherent in the First Commandment that
applies to us, as well as those who were brought out of the Land of Egypt at
the time of Moses. The fact that the First Commandment contains this symbolism
(by using types) also means there may be other commandments of the Decalogue
that have a broader application than the strict literal sense, which
appears to apply only to the Israelites. It is important that this be borne
in mind because, if we are not consistent in interpreting the
Scriptures, we will find ourselves breaking faith with God. Our aim is to
understand God, not to break faith with God.
When Jesus was asked, “What
is the greatest commandment?” He replied by quoting Deuteronomy, which reads:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might”’ (Deut. 6:4-5).
This equates to loving
the Lord God with our spirit, our soul and our body (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
Actually, Jesus also incorporated the word mind in the gospel of Mark:
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength”[xii] (Mark 12:30).
The idea of “mind” as
used by Jesus in this verse incorporates our innate ability to make moral
decisions through the conscious mental application of our reasoning faculty,
which the Apostle Paul refers to as the intellect that needs to be renewed
(Romans 12:2). Faulty reasoning develops conditioned neural pathways within our
brains that need to be reconditioned. The Holy Spirit does this by purging
incorrect thinking patterns within our minds that are contaminated by sin, so
that they can be replaced by the purity of thought that comes with a
transformed mind focused on understanding and knowing the One and Only true
God, Who is Lord of Heaven and Earth.
The First Commandment is
not “you shall love your god” as
many people seem to think. Your god could be anyone or anything. It is,
firstly, hear, or listen to the words that God is speaking. For
the Lord is One and there is no other God. Then the commandment says, we are to
love God and must know Him personally as Lord—not merely know of God and
believe He exists. We need to love Him with our whole being and
all our strength. If we do love God, we will keep His commandments
and, because of this, live a life of much blessing. This is God’s promise to
us. This promise is found in Deuteronomy chapter six, verse three.
God’s Principles Do Not Change
We have the ability to make choices and take hold
of God’s promises because we are gods, not animals. We each have a spirit,
which was created to have fellowship with the God of gods—our God. This may
seem strange, but Jesus Himself, called the Father not only our Father and His
Father, but our God and His God, too (John 20:17). We are not mere animals with
a soul; we are gods; we are spirit beings, designed to worship and have
fellowship with the Father of spirits (Hebrews 12:9). Nothing has changed. The
Father’s purpose has always been the same.
Many people
claim that Jesus did away with the Old Testament and what is written in the
books of Moses is no longer valid today. However, for those of us who
actually read the Bible and note what it says, one of the remarkable
discoveries we have been able to make is how the principles of God do
not change. Another discovery is God Himself does not change in His
requirements for having a relationship with Him. That which was applicable to
Adam and Eve is still applicable to us today. That which was written in the Law
of Moses and had significance for salvation is still applicable today. The
fact that people were required to walk in the truths of God is still applicable
today—even though they were given by God to Israel nearly some three thousand,
five hundred (3500) years ago. There may be a cultural shift, but the truth
remains. Hence, Jesus and the Apostles all quoted the Old Testament, even when
it came to declaring what is now known as the New Commandment, and even the First
Commandment; which is, we shall learn to hear the voice of the Lord God,
and love Him with all our heart, our soul, our mind and our strength. This is
the only way we can be delivered from the futility of being born—only to die.
NEXT CHAPTER: CLICK ON OLDER POSTS BELOW
[i]The Mercy Seat was
located on top of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies within the
Tabernacle of Moses, where only the High Priest went once a year to make
atonement for the sins of Israel. He did this by sprinkling blood over the
Mercy Seat. The Mercy Seat represented the throne of God. We all have access to
the throne of God and His mercy through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.,
because we are covered by Jesus’ eternal blood from the accusations of the Evil
One.
[ii] The King James 2000 Bible, copyright © Doctor of Theology Robert A.
Couric 2000, 2003. Used by permission
[iii] The idea of God being
a Spirit requires us to understand that this does not mean that God is like one
of many finite spirits, rather that God is the one and only Infinite Spirit,
whereas all the other spirits are finite beings.
[iv] Theological term
referring to the attributes found in man that inherently reflect the image of
God and ascribe value to his existence.
[v] Genesis 2:7 “The breath of life i.e., breath producing
life, does not denote the spirit by which man is distinguished from the
animals, or the soul of man from that of the beasts, but only the life-breath
(vid.,1 Kings 17:17). It is true, נשׁמה generally signifies the human soul, but
in Genesis 7:22 חיּים נשׁמת־רוּח is used of men and animals BOTH; and should any one explain this
on the ground that the allusion is chiefly to men, and the animals are
connected per zeugma, or should he press the ruach attached, and deduce from
this the use of neshamah in relation to men and animals, there are several
passages in which neshamah is synonymous with ruach (e.g., Isaiah 42:5;Job
32:8; Job 33:4), or חיים רוח applied to animals (Genesis 6:17; Genesis 7:15),
or again neshamah used as equivalent to nephesh (e.g., (Joshua 10:40, cf.
Joshua 10:28, Joshua 10:30, Joshua 10:32). For neshamah, the breathing, πνοή,
is “the ruach in action” (Auberlen). Beside this, the man formed from the dust
became, through the breathing of the “breath of life a חיּה נפשׁ, an animated,
and as such a living being; an expression which is also applied to fishes,
birds, and land animals (Genesis 1:20-21, Genesis 1:24, Genesis 1:30), and
there is no proof of pre-eminence on the part of man— Keil and Delitzsch Biblical
Commentary on the Old Testament
[vi] Theologians have
often tried to interpret Scripture in the light of philosophy and, also,
psychology; rather than the other way around. We are triune beings that possess
a spirit, a soul and a body and not a soul and body only— or only a physical
body, as some theologians have suggested.
Psychology has its place and deepens our understanding when it agrees
with the Scriptures
[vii] The scriptural
evidence is that Satan cannot read a person’s innermost thoughts, rather
familiar spirits that know our minds from what we do and say, will put thoughts
into our head. These are called familiar spirits because they are very familiar
with what we do and say. In the Old Testament, they are forbidden to be
consulted. Although, unfortunately, too many Christians think that they are
hearing from God, when in fact they are being given instructions from a
familiar spirit.
[viii] It is worth noting
that God ensured Jesus went to Egypt, so that prophecy could be fulfilled, “Out
of Egypt, I called my Son” (Matt. 2:15).
[ix] Not making a covenant
with Abraham to keep the Ten Commandments, does not negate the requirement of
the Ten Commandments needing to be kept by Abraham—this he did by putting his
faith in the promises of God. And Jacob did likewise.
[x] Israel being God’s
firstborn and God slaying Pharaoh’s firstborn because he refused to let God’s
son go (Exodus 4:22-23) has greater
implications beyond the physical realm and refers to the first born of death being
slain by Christ (1 John 3:8; Is. 53:12;
2 Cor. 5::21; Job 18:13; Lk 11:20-22; Heb. 2:14b; Rom. 1:4; Eph. 4:8-10;
Col. 1:18;).
[xi] Rabi Maharaj was a
Brahmin priest and a boy guru before he came to Christ. He tells of how he
could identify with what people were describing when taking drugs, because that
is what he experienced when in a meditation trance as a Hindu guru and was
experiencing out-body-experiences (OBEs) astral travelling in the spirit
world.—His autobiography is entitled Death
Of A Guru.
[xii] “Strength” is used
here by the ESV instead of “might”. Essentially, the words are synonymous, and
the quotation is drawn from Deuteronomy.
No comments:
Post a Comment