Category Archives: Names of God Series

Names of God Study: Huios Anthropos

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This post will end our Names of God Series for the summer… The Lord willing it will continue in the fall. There is still so much to learn about our Triune God from His names.  The name that we will look at today is Jesus’ favorite name for Himself… Huios Anthropos

Jesus said to him,

“The foxes have holes

and the birds of the air have nests,

but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 

Matthew 8:20

 

Huios Anthropos is Son of Man in the Greek. We have already studied Huios in our Names of God study, so lets look at AnthroposAnthropos is a human being, whether male or female, generically, to include all human individuals. 

This name or title of Jesus appears in the New Testament 89 times. Here’s the kicker, 85 of those 89 are found in the Gospels and they are Jesus referring to Himself. This is why I say it is Jesus’ favorite name for Himself. The question I want us to ask and attempt to answer today is why. Why this name?

 

 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi,

He was asking His disciples,

“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

Matthew 16:13

 

Well let’s go to the Word of God and dig in. Let’s look at some of these 89 references to see what we learn about the Huios Anthropos.

 

But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.”

Matthew 9:6

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For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

Matthew 11:18-19

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And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,

Matthew 13:37

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just as the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give a ransom for many Matthew 20:28

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For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Luke 19:10

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For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.

John 5:26-27

 

From these reference we learn that Jesus, the Son of Man, has authority to forgive sins. We learn that He came eating and drinking and without any false pretense of superiority over any other man. He came sowing a good seed. He came to serve, not to be served. He came to seek and save what was lost. He has life within Himself and He also has authority to execute judgment.

Let me pause for a moment and give you a “red flag” measurement. If any man claims to be a leader, especially claims to be a leader in religious things, if any man professes to be of Christ, yet expects others to serve him and not he them… this man is not of or from God. You can know that for sure. Christ came to serve. To give His life for others. Any who claim to come in His name, but expect to be served is not of Him.

Back to our references… we see that the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost… even those who were absolutely clueless that they were lost until they met Him.

Going back to our video, let’s think about Tarzan. Tarzan lived with the apes… and he was perfectly content there. He was not seeking to get out. He was perfectly happy swinging in the trees. He saw nothing wrong with the way things were going in his life.

Then one day something happened. One day someone enters his world from outside his world and for the first time he sees who he was created to be…

 

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;

Genesis 1:26-29

 

Jesus, the Huios Anthropos, came and entered our world. He came to show us who God created us to be. He came to save us from death. He came to open our eyes and to teach us who we are and who we are supposed to be.

Jesus entered our world. He did not come as a tyrant. He did not come as a condescending dictator. He came as one of us… meeting us where we were… eating and drinking with us. Slowly teaching us by first building a relationship with us.

He came to show us that we not to be worshiping the things of this world… we were supposed to be ruling over them. We were created to have dominion on this earth, not worship it… or those who lived on it.

He also showed us the foolishness in our man-made religious systems… and how we so easily had taken even the law and gifts of God and twisted them and made them objects of idolatry.

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent? But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Matthew 12:1-8

We had even forgotten that God had said “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;(Genesis 1:29)

 

Jesus came as the Son of Man to open our eyes… that we might see. Really see.

When we begin to watch and learn about this Son of Man we cannot deny that He is different… we cannot deny that we do not measure up… we cannot deny His beauty, His mercy, His love, His power, His majesty, His might and His glory.

When we look at our selves in the presence of this Huios Anthropos we have to stop and examine and evaluate where we are in our present situation… and is it really where and who we are supposed to be.

In His presence the blind see… or the seeing become blind… so that they don’t have to see.

 

The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” So they put him out. Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him.

John 9:30-38

 

Huios Anthropos, the Son of Man.

Precious one, who do you say that He is?

Do you believe in the Son of Man?

 

 

Names of God Study: Amnos

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The Names of God study continues as we dig into more of the names and titles of our Christ. In the last post we saw that Jesus is our Archiereus, our High Priest. In this post we will see that He is also the Amnos.

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said,

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin ofthe world!”

John 1:29

Amnos is the Greek word for Lamb. The first mention of a lamb in the Scriptures is in the book of Genesis…

Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. Abimelech said to Abraham, “What do these seven ewe lambs mean, which you have set by themselves?” He said, “You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness to me, that I dug this well.” 

Genesis 21:28-30

When we look at the context of this passage of Scripture we see that these lambs in Genesis 21 are connected to covenant. They are connected to a witness. They are connected to a promise. They are connected to a relationship between two individuals. They are connected to sacrifice.

Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham raised his eyes and saw the place from a distance. Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

Genesis 22:1-7

Here we have Isaac and his father, Abraham. Abraham walking in obedience to the call of his God. He takes his son to the mountain… his son obediently follows his father. Isaac I am sure is wondering… something is different. His father is acting strange… this time something feels different… and as he looks and as he wonders… he can’t help but notice… there is no lamb. So finally he gathers the courage to ask, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

Abraham said,

“God will provide for Himself the lamb

for the burnt offering, my son.”

Genesis 22:8

 

We fast forward 2000 years and there in the Jordan River is a man named John. He stands clothed in soaking wet camel hair declaring a message of repentance. He is one voice calling out in the wilderness… calling out for Israel to prepare herself for the coming of the kingdom… He calls out for the Jew to turn their hearts back to their God… He stands there baptizing those who are willing to come and I am sure he wonders… “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

Then one day he lifts up his eyes and he sees… finally the question asked by Isaac 2000 years ago is answered…

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said,

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

John 1:29

 

There He is the Amnos! The Lamb… The Lamb who would not just cover the sin of one nation for a year, but the Lamb that would take away the sin of the world.

The Amnos could not be just any lamb… it never could be just any lamb. God always required specifics and standards. From the beginning in Exodus, with the first Passover in Egypt, all through the Old Testament with the sacrifices in the Tabernacle and Temple… the lamb had to meet the standard.

The lamb had to be perfect.

“But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King,” says the Lord of hosts, “and My name is feared among the nations.”

Malachi 1:14

It was to be partook of individually and not a bone of it was to be broken.

It is to be eaten in a single house; you are not to bring forth any of the flesh outside of the house, nor are you to break any bone of it.

Exodus 12:46

It was to be a year old.

Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old

Exodus 12:5

Have you ever wondered why a year old? If you have ever owned any livestock one thing you know is that the older an animal gets sometimes the more ornery it gets and also the less trusting it gets… a year old lamb would be easily and willingly scooped up by its master… there would be no fight or struggle. This lamb would go to its death willingly… taken to the altar by the very one who his blood would be atoning for…

Jesus did not go kicking and screaming to the cross. Our Amnos went willingly. Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world was the lamb chosen from the flock (Hebrews 2:14).  He was without blemish and without spot (Hebrews 7:26-27, 1 Peter 2:22). His blood must be sprinkled on every house. Salvation is personal. (Hebrews 9:11-14). His flesh must be eaten according to the ordinance of God  (John 6:53-55). 

God did not accept a sacrifice offered haphazardly. Not only did the lamb have to be perfect, but the one bringing the lamb also had to obey the ordinances God had laid out.

As it is with us… Yes Jesus is the Amnos, He is indeed the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, but we must come to Him in the way that God commands and we must receive all that He is and believe all that He says and obey.

 

From Genesis to Revelation we see the Amnos. We see that from the very first mention to the last the lamb is a special animal and picture for us.

Even today, just looking at a lamb we know that a lamb provides us with food and clothing and even companionship.

Not unlike our Amnos, the Lamb of God who provides us with everything we need for life. He is our food, the Bread of Life and the Living Water and He clothes us with His robe of righteousness and He offers a companionship that will never leave us or forsake us.

The very last mention of the word lamb in the Scripture is in the book of Revelation 22, we will close with this verse.

There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.

Revelation 22:3-4


Names of God Study: Archiereus

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It’s been a while since I wrote a Names of God study post. We have been on spring break at our co-op and last week was our first Monday back. I am in the process of getting back in the swing of things… well actually I don’t think I am ever in the swing of things. I just can’t seem to find a rhythm in life, but that’s okay… well at least I think I am learning that it is okay.

In the messiness of this life I am thankful that I know that I have an Archiereus…

Archiereus, is Greek for High Priest. This is the name/title of Christ that we will be focusing on today.

Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling,

consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession;

Hebrews 3:1

What exactly does it mean that Jesus is our High Priest? Archiereus means chief priest. To dig deeper into the meaning of this word we must break it down.

The first part of this word is arche and it means beginning, origin, the person or thing that commences, the first person or thing in a series, the leader, that by which anything begins to be, the origin, the active cause, the extremity of a thing, of the corners of a sail, the first place, principality, rule, magistracy, of angels and demons. 

The second part of the word is hiereus and it means: a priest, one who offers sacrifices and in general in busied with sacred rites. Hiereus‘ word origin is hieros and it means sacred, consecrated to the deity, pertaining to God, sacred Scriptures, because inspired by God, treating of divine things and therefore to be devoutly revered

Now we know the definition of the word… but, still what exactly does it mean to be the High Priest?

The first high priest we meet in Scripture is in the book of Genesis. His name is Melchizedek.

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine;

now he was a priest of God Most High.

Genesis 14:18

What we must note about this Melchizedek is that he was both a king and priest. The only time in Scripture when these two offices are held by the same person. Any other time in Scripture if a king tried to play priest… it never worked out. The office of priest was to be respected and it was sacred. We see Saul lose the throne for his entire family line when he chose to not wait on Samuel. We see Uzziah struck with leprosy when he takes upon himself to burn incense on the altar… God takes the position of priest very seriously.

So this Melchizedek is a small glimpse in the Scriptures of one who is both king and priest. One that I believe to be a theophany of Jesus Christ.

To learn more about the office of high priest we continue through the Old Testament. Aaron was the first high priest of the nation of Israel. As we study through the books of Exodus and Leviticus we discover what exactly was required of the high priest.

We see that he wore special garments:

Then bring near to yourself Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the sons of Israel, to minister as priest to Me—Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.

Exodus 28:1-2

We see that he wore a breastplate that carried the names of the tribes of Israel close to his heart:

Aaron shall carry the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment over his heart when he enters the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually. You shall put in the breastpiece of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord; and Aaron shall carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually.

Exodus 28:29-30

We see that he wore a turban on his said that had written across the front “Holy to the Lord”:

You shall also make a plate of pure gold and shall engrave on it, like the engravings of a seal, ‘Holy to theLord.’

Exodus 28:36

High Priest

We discover that the high priest had to be washed with water:

Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.

Exodus 40:12

The high priest had to be anointed with oil:

and you shall anoint them even as you have anointed their father, that they may minister as priests to Me; and their anointing will qualify them for a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.

Exodus 40:15

The high priest was responsible for making the offerings:

He shall slay the young bull before the Lord; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall offer up the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the tent of meeting.

Leviticus 1:5

The high priest was the only one allowed behind the veil:

When he goes in to make atonement in the holy place, no one shall be in the tent of meeting until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself and for his household and for all the assembly of Israel.

Leviticus 16:17



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The high priest was taken from among then men of Israel. He was the one who would go into the presence of God on behalf of all the people of Israel. He was the one who was responsible for not only confessing his own sins but also all the sins of the people. He carried the weight of the sins of the people on his chest. Therefore this office  of priesthood was to be respected.

As we look at the Aaronic priesthood do you see the picture of our Archiereus being so clearly displayed before us? think of all that Christ experienced when He was here on earth among us… He put on this garment of flesh… He was washed with the water in the Jordan river… He was anointed with oil from a woman’s alabaster vial of perfume… He  carried the sins of the people on his heart… His mind, every thought, was Holy to the Lord… He not only made the offering  for the sins of the people of Israel and the world, but He was the offering.

However, our Archiereus is so much more!

For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness; and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself. And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”; just as He says also in another passage, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 5:1-10

Our High Priest is flesh and blood so that He might be able to sympathize with us, but He is not like the high priest of before, for He never had to make sacrifices for His own sin… The Scripture in Hebrews said that He had to be made perfect… but we know that Jesus was always perfect.

We know Scripture never contradicts Scripture so what we have to do is see what the word made actually means…

Made in the Greek is teleioo and it means: to make perfect, complete, to carry through completely, to accomplish, finish, bring to an end, to complete (perfect), add what is yet wanting in order to render a thing a full, to be found perfect, to bring to the end (goal) proposed, bring to a close or fulfillment by event of the prophecies of the Scriptures.

Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine,

He said, “It is finished!” 

And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

John 19:30

 

The word finished here is the same word as made in Hebrews

Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “See,” He says, “that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.” But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.

Hebrews 8:1-6

Jesus is our High Priest, our Archiereus. He not only made the sacrifice, He became the sacrifice. He not only became the sacrifice, but He now ever lives to make intercession for us. He remains at the right hand of God interceding on our behalf, serving as our Archiereus. The one sacrifice made for all time, but knowing that we remain in this body of flesh and that we will still struggle with the nature it contains… he stays constantly making making prayer offerings on our behalf. He has our back.

We were justified by His sacrifice and we are being made into His likeness and as we go and as we are molded He is there along side of us all the way… By His grace we are saved and by His grace He keeps us saved until one day we step out of this corruptible flesh.

Oh how I thank my Jesus that He is willing to serve us in this way…

The One who is both King and Priest.

Our All in All.

 

 

Names of God: Pascha

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As we approach the Holy Week. Let us look at this name of God in our study today, in a way that prepares us to meditate upon this season. Let us see today that our Jesus is our Pascha.

Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump,

just as you are in fact unleavened.

For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.

1 Corinthians 5:7

 

Pascha is the Greek word for Passover, and it means:

the paschal sacrifice (which was accustomed to be offered for the people’s deliverance of old from Egypt)

the paschal lamb,

the lamb the Israelites were accustomed to slay and eat on the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan (the first month of their year) in memory of the day on which their fathers, preparing to depart from Egypt, were bidden by God to slay and eat a lamb, and to sprinkle their door posts with its blood, that the destroying angel, seeing the blood, might pass over their dwellings;

Christ crucified is likened to the slain paschal lamb

We are introduced to the passover in the book of Exodus

Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover.

Exodus 12:7-11

 

When we think of this passover event many moons ago in the land of Egypt, when God called Moses to go to Pharaoh to let His people go… that they might serve Him… we often times just think of the blood that was to cover the outside frame of the door.

We rarely discuss the context of the blood on the doorpost… there was much more to this night, this Passover. Just as there was more to the freedom of the Israelites than just freedom.

Moses was sent to Pharaoh to set the Hebrews free, not just for freedom’s sake, but so that they might serve Him.

We serve the one we obey… always.

As we look back at this Passover night we see that there was much more to this night than just slaying an unblemished lamb and wiping its blood on a door. They were to:

* eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs

* Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails.

* you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire.

* eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste

 

What we so often times ignore about this first Passover is that the blood on the doorpost and lintel was simply a sign on the outside of the house of the obedience taking place on the inside of the house. The lamb’s blood on the outside doorpost on this night would mean nothing if those on the inside did not follow all of God’s instructions.

As we fast forward a couple thousand years we once again find our God giving instructions to eat…

 

Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me.

John 6:52-57

What I want us to see now is that the word “eat” in John 6:52-57 is actually two different words.

John 6:53, …unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man…

Esthio:

  1. to eat
  2. to eat (consume) a thing metaph. to devour, consume
    • to take food, eat a meal

John 6:54, He who eats my flesh…

Trogo:

to gnaw, crunch, chew raw vegetables or fruits (as nuts, almonds)

 

To me this word, trogo, tells us that we are not to partake of our Pascha in a light manner. We also need to know that He doesn’t go down easy. We have to put Him in between our teeth and chew. We must take Him as He is, straight off the tree, raw and alive and living.

He is our Pascha, our Passover, the Lamb that was slain. His precious blood put on the doorpost of our heart and the lentil of our soul that death might pass over us. We are to partake of Him as the Hebrews partook of the lamb slain in the first Passover. We are to eat all of Him, and leave nothing until morning. He went through the fire for us that we might eat of Him and be saved, that is, we who eat of Him in obedience to every Word of God.

We are to eat of Him with our loins girded with truth, the gospel of peace on our feet, and the sword of the Spirit in our hand.

In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,

Hebrews 5:7-9

 

Now lets rewind back two thousand years go…

Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household.

Exodus 12:3

A person could not just walk up to another’s lamb’s and grab a hyssop and smear blood on their outside doorpost and then walk inside their house and go to sleep, ignoring the rest of God’s instructions, and actually expect the death angel to pass over his home. They were each one to eat of the lamb. It was about much more than smeared blood. It was about personal consummation and individual obedience.

Our salvation is about much more than just being covered in the blood… Or claiming we are covered in the blood. It’s about what is going on inside the house under that blood. The outside is for display. The inside is what is saved. Remember the Hebrews left those blood stained doorpost in Egypt…

Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb.

Exodus 12:4

Notice that God expected only what each man should eat.

Precious one, this walk of faith and obedience is not issued out by an unjust God. When He stands before us and says eat and obey… Know that He is never, and will never, ever, put more on your plate than you can chew.

If He has set it before you, it is because He knows you can get it down.

However, beloved of God notice that there were NO unnecessary side dishes on that night. There was no big honkin’ slice of cake with overloaded icing for dessert. When it came time, this night, to sit before the Passover table and partake of that pascha lamb they were to clear their plate of everything and eat only what God had commanded them.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…

Hebrews 12:1

Names of God: Soter

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We continue in our names of God study. This may be the first time you have read about our names of God study. If it is, go ahead and jump in with us! You can dig into all the other names we have studied at Names of God Study.

Today we will be looking at the name/title Soter.

for today in the city of David

there has been born for you a Savior,

who is Christ the Lord.

 Luke 2:11

 

Soter is the Greek word for Savior and it means savior, deliverer, preserver. 

Jesus, the Logos made flesh, is not only our Parakletos, but He is our Savior.

This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

1 Timothy 2:3

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whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ

our Savior

Titus 3:6

 

The root word of Soter is Sozo and it means to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction, save one (from injury or peril) to save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health, to preserve one who is in danger of destruction, to save or rescue.

As we look at this root word definition we see a little deeper the despair of our situation. We see that Jesus is our Savior, but we also see why we need a Savior. We need rescued from danger. We need rescued from the destruction that we are headed to because of our sin. We need someone to save us from our peril. We are suffering from the effects of our sin, from our own choices, and from the choices of others. We are sick in our sin, spreading it on to our children and our children’s children. We need to be healed. We need to be restored. We need to be saved. Then in our salvation, in our restoration, we need someone to preserve us in it because we can’t preserve ourselves.

We are all in the same state. We all, every one of us, need a Savior. If we stop long enough to be honest with ourselves we can’t help but see this need. Even the Disney Channel recognizes that it is not the goodness of man that we all have in common… but it is indeed sin.

for all have sinned

and fall short

of the glory of God

Romans 3:23

 

We all need a Savior and there is only ONE who is able to do the kind of saving that we need.

 

Therefore He is able also to save forever

those who draw near to God through Him,

since He always lives to make intercession for them

Hebrews 7:25

 

Many times throughout history and even throughout our own lives we find ourselves needing help. We will cry out for help. In that time of need, someone may come. They may come and they may save us at that time, in that moment, from that danger… but then they are gone.  Sometimes God allows times of distress in our lives just so that we will call out for help…

Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their oppressors who oppressed them,

But when they cried to You in the time of their distress,

You heard from heaven, and according to Your great compassion

You gave them deliverers who delivered them from the hand of their oppressors.

Nehemiah 9:27

 

Nehemiah is reminding us of the time of the judges in Israel. As long as the judge lived and led them, then the people obeyed God, but as soon as the judge died, they went right back to living however they pleased.

Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals, and they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the Lord to anger. So they forsook the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had spoken and as the Lord had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed. Then the Lord raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of theLord; they did not do as their fathers. When the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them. But it came about when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways.

Judges 2:11-19

 

Yes, God will even allow distress in our lives to lead us to look for a savior, but He never wants us to get satisfied in a temporary salvation. He wants our cry for THE SAVIOR.

He wants our cry for the One who delivers not from a sin, but from the sin. The One who is able to lead us for all time because He doesn’t die. The One who is able to save forever.

The One who is able to save because he was born to save…

for today in the city of David

there has been born for you a Savior,

who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:11

 

The One who is able to save because he died to save…

For while we were still helpless,

at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

For one will hardly die for a righteous man;

though perhaps for the good man

someone would dare even to die.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us,

in that while we were yet sinners,

Christ died for us.

Romans 5:6-8

The One who is able to save because He didn’t come to save one nation, one people, for just a small amount of time… but He came to save the world for all time.

and they were saying to the woman,

“It is no longer because of what you said that we believe,

for we have heard for ourselves

and know that this One

is indeed the Savior of the world.”

John 4:42

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We have seen and testify

that the Father has sent the Son

to be the Savior of the world.

1 John 4:14

 

The One who is able to save because He came to destroy not that one sin, that one bondage, at that one time of the cry… but He came to destroy the works of the devil!

the one who practices sin is of the devil;

for the devil has sinned from the beginning.

The Son of God appeared for this purpose,

to destroy the works of the devil.

1 John 3:8

The word destroy in this verse is Luo and it means to loose any person (or thing) tied or fastened bandages of the feet, the shoes, to loose one bound, i.e. to unbind, release from bonds, set free, of one bound up (swathed in bandages), bound with chains (a prisoner), discharge from prison, let go, to loosen, undo, dissolve, anything bound, tied, or compacted together, an assembly, i.e. to dismiss, break up, laws, as having a binding force, are likened to bonds, to annul, subvert, to do away with, to deprive of authority, whether by precept or act

Let this definition just soak in for a moment… take the time to apply it to what you think binds you today.

The authority, binding force, chains of the works of the devil in which he bound you because of your sin… Jesus came to loose you, to make them let go of you, to set you free from them and from Satan himself.

Let’s look at Hebrews 7:25 again… this time in the KJV.

Wherefore he is able also to save them

to the uttermost

that come unto God by him,

seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

Hebrews 7:25 (KJV)

 

The word uttermost in this verse is Panteles and it means all complete, perfect, completely, perfectly, utterly

Jesus, our Soter, our Savior. The One who is able to save… not for just yesterday, not for just today, not for just tomorrow… but forever and to the uttermost.

 

Names of God: Parakletos

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Last week we saw that Jesus is the Logos. This week we will see that He is our Parakletos.

My little children,

I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.

And if anyone sins,

we have an Advocate with the Father,

Jesus Christ the righteous;

and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins;

and not for ours only,

but also for those of the whole world.

1 John 2:1-3

Parakletos is the Greek translation of the word Advocate. Jesus is our Advocate with the Father. The word Parakletos means summoned, called to one’s side, esp. called to one’s aid, one who pleads another’s cause before a judge, a pleader, counsel for defense, legal assistant, an advocate, one who pleads another’s cause with one, an intercessor.

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.

Hebrews 2:14-18

Our Parakletos is able to come to our aid because He is able. He is able because He is the Logos that became flesh and dwelt among us. He is a worthy Advocate because He knows us and He understands us… He has literally walked in our shoes and lived in our skin. He came to this earth and lived with us and He died for us, and He was buried, and three days later He was raised to never die again. Today He lives still. His ministry continues as He sits at the right hand of the Father and serves as our Great High Priest before Him.

The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

Hebrews 7:23-27

 

He ever lives to make intercession on our behalf. When we call on His name He comes to our side and He stands with us. He is our go-between to the Father. We who believe, have today, in our Parakletos, the relationship with the Father that Job cried out for in the days of old…

 

“For He is not a man as I am that I may answer Him,

That we may go to court together.

“There is no umpire between us, 

Who may lay his hand upon us both.

“Let Him remove His rod from me,

And let not dread of Him terrify me.

“Then I would speak and not fear Him;

But I am not like that in myself.

Job 9:32-35

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“O earth, do not cover my blood,

And let there be no resting place for my cry.

“Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven,

And my advocate is on high.

“My friends are my scoffers;

My eye weeps to God.

“O that a man might plead with God

As a man with his neighbor!

Job 16:18-21

Job cried out to God for an Advocate. He cried out to God for an umpire to call the shots on the field. We have what Job cried out for… We have WHO Job longed for. Have you ever considered the magnitude of this reality. The reality that the Creator of the Universe made a way for you to have representation before His throne… a court appointed attorney… one that just is not going through the motions, but One that gave His life and is giving His eternity to eternally represent you as your personal legal representative before the highest court of all creation. Has the magnitude of this truth ever really resonated within you… or are you like the majority of modern American man who casually consider it your due right to have representation before the court even when you know beyond the shadow of a doubt you stand their guilty on all charges and yet you are hoping for a legal loop hole to jump through that will keep you from reaping the consequences of your crime on his earth?

Jesus has come as our Parakletos, but we must never forget that He does not negate, belittle, or malign the Law in order to set us free from our charges… He fulfilled the Law and yet He still chose to suffer the consequences of our sin on our behalf… this is why He says

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 

I will ask the Father,

and He will give you another Helper,

that He may be with you forever; 

that is the Spirit of truth,

whom the world cannot receive,

because it does not see Him or know Him,

but you know Him because He abides with you

and will be in you.

John 14:15-17

If we have Jesus as our Parakletos, then we must understand what all He went through in order for us to be able to have Him as such… and in this we should willingly and earnestly desire to keep His commandments. If we love Him our obedience to His Word should follow. It should follow because He doesn’t leave us alone to follow it… He not only intecedes on our behalf before the Father, but He also sends us a Helper to not just live with us… but IN US.

The word Helper in the Greek here is Parakletos. Yes, the same word for Advocate from 1 John 2:1-3. You see Jesus pleads for us on high and the Holy Spirit pleads with us with in. The Holy Spirit is here within us pleading with us, aiding us, interceding for us. He has summoned to our side to lead us in the way that we should go, to strengthen us to walk in obedience to the commands of God, to correct us when we stray, and to guide us to our Advocate on High so that we might call on His name and be represented before the Father… and Jesus, our Parakletos, pleads with the Father not on behalf of our righteousness… but on behalf of His.

He is with us and in us that we might not sin as children of God… but if we do sin… He is there to intercede on our behalf and to be the propitiation for our sin… because our justification is not determined by our righteousness… but by His sacrifice  Our forgiveness is not based on our ability to ask for it, but by the very fact that it was God’s desire to grant it. He made the way for forgiveness long before we even realized we needed it.

And if He did not come and seek us out, and draw us to confession and repentance, we, left to ourselves, would die in our sin because we would never come out of our little hiding places. We would continue to point our fingers at others instead of ourselves. And we would miss the beautiful joy of grace…

 

Names of God: Logos

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I love this study on the Names of God series. Last week was Valentines week, so in our names of God study we saw that Jesus is the Beloved. This week we saw that He is Logos.

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God. 

He was in the beginning with God. 

All things came into being through Him,

and apart from Him

nothing came into being that has come into being. 

In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 

The Light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness did not comprehend it. 

John 1:1-5

Logos is the Greek word for Word and it means of speech, a word, uttered by a living voice, embodies a conception or idea, what someone has said, a word, the sayings of God, decree, mandate or order, of the moral precepts given by God. It comes from the root word lego which means to say, to speak, affirm over, maintain, to teach, to exhort, advise, to command, direct, to point out with words, intend, mean, mean to say, to call by name, to call, name, to speak out, speak of, mention

Now in Genesis 1:1 we read “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth“. Here begins our time, the creation of the heaven and the earth, but John 1:1 takes us even before the creation. It takes us to eternity. In the beginning was the Word and it was the Word that created the beginning of creation. Jesus, the Word was in the beginning, was with God, and is God. All things were spoke into existence by Him, the Word.

He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Colossians 1:17

 

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.

Hebrews 1:1-3

Just as the laminin in our physical bodies is the glue that holds us together and tells the cells what its job is in the body. So the Word, the Logos, is the glue that holds the church, the body of Christ, together and it is the Word that tells us what our job is in the body. As long as we stay in the Word, in Jesus, He will hold us together.

It doesn’t matter what we are going through. If we will just take in the Word, build up our Logos intake, then we will be held together. I can promise you that the glue of the Word will hold you.

Then as we look further into John 1, we see that this Logos, that holds us together, that holds the church together, that holds the universe together. The Logos that was in the beginning, the Logos that was with God, the Logos that is God… this is the Logos that became flesh… Became flesh and dwelt among us.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

John 1:14-18

Herbert Lockyer shares that “As the spoken word reveals our invisible thoughts the Living Word reveals the invisible God.” He also shares that “Christ came not as a Word of God, but the Word, the only revelation of God to man, and He declared all God had to say to man. In Creation, He was the expression of divine power, but in His Incarnation He became the revelation of the divine character. He is the Word, cleansing from sin, and if hid in our heart, will keep us clean.”

How can a young man keep his way pure?

By keeping it according to Your word.

With all my heart I have sought You;

Do not let me wander from Your commandments.

Your word I have treasured in my heart,

That I may not sin against You.

Psalm 119:9-11

 

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you,

with all wisdom teaching

and admonishing one another

with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Colossians 3:16

Names of God: Agapao

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We continue in our names of God study today.

In our last lesson we saw that Jesus is the Teacher.

Today we will see that He is the Agapao. 

In love He predestined us to adoption as sons 

through Jesus Christ to Himself, 

according to the kind intention of His will, 

to the praise of the glory of His grace, 

which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Ephesians 1:5-6

 

Agapao is the Greek word for Beloved and it means to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly…

The beautiful thing about this name (or title) of our Jesus is that this is the name that God the Father calls Him from the heavens as He introduces and confirms Him to those He came to save.

After being baptized,

Jesus came up immediately from the water;

and behold, the heavens were opened,

and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove

and lighting on Him,

and behold, a voice out of the heavens said,

“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

Matthew 3:16-17

As Jesus was coming up out of the baptismal Jordan the heavens opened up and God declared to all… this is my Beloved

This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: 

“Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; 

My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; 

I will put My Spirit upon Him,

and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

Matthew 12:17-18

Here He was, the Beloved. The Promised One. The One in whom the soul of God was pleased because it was the soul of God in human flesh. Here God declared to all His Love for this One who would die a sinners death on that wretched Roman cross. The Father cried out from heaven and said Here! Do you see Him. I love Him. I dearly love Him. No matter what His accusers say of Him… No matter what human judge condemns Him… My soul is well-pleased in Him. In Him. The very soul of God, is well pleased in this One that is His dearly loved… the Agapao, the Beloved.

Then the crazy of crazy of all this is that even though much of mankind exulted with the demons of hell on the day that the Beloved bled and died on that cross, the Beloved still chose to return for us… Risen from the dead in resurrection power and glory and coming to the rescue of any and all who believe and call on His name, Jesus, Iesous, Jehovah-Saves.

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness,

and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son

Colossians 1:13

Not only does He rescue us, but now the Beloved calls us beloved…

So, as those who have been chosen of God,

holy and beloved,

put on a heart of compassion,

kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;

bearing with one another, and forgiving each other,

whoever has a complaint against anyone;

just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

Beyond all these things put on love,

which is the perfect bond of unity.

Colossians 3:12-14

 

What unites God the Father and God the Son is Love. Jesus is His Beloved, He called Him My Beloved. It is a soul to soul love. Then what unites us with Christ is His love for us. He, the Beloved, calls us beloved…

Before I met my husband, I did not know his family. My husbands family loved him. He was their beloved son… but then my husband united with me in love. Their beloved now called me beloved… and when he took me to his family I came in as His beloved, and then I became their beloved as well.

We become the beloved of God because His Beloved unites with us in love and He brings us to His Father and we become the Father’s beloved, holy and beloved…

It’s beautiful isn’t it.

This crazy thing called love… <3

Just for fun here’s a little Looney Tunes love… my favorite line is the last… “The game of love is never called because of darkness.

Names of God: Didaskalos

 

Today we continue in our Names of God series with another one of my favorite titles/names of Christ… Today we will be learning that Jesus is Didaskalos.

Then a scribe came and said to Him,

“Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”

Matthew 8:19

Didaskalos is the Greek word for teacher and it means: a teacher, in the NT one who teaches concerning the things of God, and the duties of man one who is fitted to teach, or thinks himself so, the teachers of the Jewish religion, of those who by their great power as teachers draw crowds around them, by preeminence used of Jesus by himself, as one who showed men the way of salvation.

Jesus is our Teacher. He is Didaskalos. Even those who deny His Deity will profess that His teachings are amazing. Even those who refuse to acknowledge Him as the Son of God and the Only Way unto salvation study His teachings and marvel at them. Many that deny Him as Lord still seek to understand His teachings on love, humanity, justice, and mercy.

When we go to the Old Testament in the book of Isaiah we see that God pointed to the day that the Didaskalos would come…

Although the Lord has given you bread of privation

and water of oppression,

He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself,

but your eyes will behold your Teacher.

Isaiah 30:20

When these words were spoken through the prophet Isaiah the nation of Israel was living in rebellion towards their God. Their worship of Him had become simply a religious ritual. They also had added the worship of false gods into the temple of the One True Living God… It was a sad day. God would discipline His people with bread of privation and water of oppression, but because He loved them with an everlasting love and was bound in covenant to them, He would one day also send them the Bread of Life and the Living Water… He would send the Teacher.

The word Teacher in the Hebrew, here in Isaiah 30:20 is Mowreh and it means, (early) rain, and it comes from  the word  Yarah which means to throw, to cast, lay, set, to shoot arrows, to throw water, rain, to point out, show, to direct, teach, instruct

I read this definition and I thought how true this is of the Word of God, the Word made flesh, Jesus came to throw water in our face…

When Jesus came on the scene teaching, His teachings came to wake people up out their slumber.

His watchmen are blind,
All of them know nothing.
All of them are mute dogs unable to bark,
Dreamers lying down, who love to slumber;

Isaiah 59:10

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For this reason it says,“Awake, sleeper,

And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”

Ephesians 5:14

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Jesus was going throughout all Galilee,

teaching in their synagogues

and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,

and healing every kind of disease

and every kind of sickness among the people.

Matthew 4:23

When Didaskalos showed up teaching, His words shot throw the hearts of those who listened. His teachings pointed out things the scribes and pharisees could not see. He came and He taught people the law of God in a way in which they had never heard it… He came and He taught and the crowds came to hear Him speak and teach.

When Jesus saw the crowds,

He went up on the mountain;

and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.

He opened His mouth and began to teach them…

Matthew 5:1-2

People would come from all over to hear Him teach because He did not teach with mere repetition and rote…

Jesus did not teach in a way that left people staring into a zoned out space and drooling in their sleep… He taught with authority and power.

When Jesus had finished these words,

the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 

for He was teaching them as one having authority,

and not as their scribes.

Matthew 7:28-29

Now here’s the thing that got me as a teacher and writer and speaker… I tend to judge my efficiency according to how many “likes” and “shares” and “repost” I receive. The enemy of my soul is very good at heaping condemnation and ineptness upon me by using the lack of “crowd” against me. However as I studied this lesson my God brought me to tears and to my knees as He showed something I hadn’t really seen before…

Yes Jesus taught and the crowds came to hear Him… but it was the recorded one on one, face to face ,and heart to heart moments of His teaching that were the most amazing and life changing and poignant for humanity.

In John 3:1-21 when Jesus shared that one must be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven, when He shared that God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life… when He shared these truths of salvation it was with Nicodemus alone. It was one on one, face to face, and heart to heart… and Nicodemus would never be the same.

In John 4:7-26 when for the first recorded time in Scripture, Jesus reveals Himself as the Messiah. He says, “I who speak to you am He.” it was to one woman, the woman at the well. He was one on one, face to face, and heart to heart with this woman… and this woman would never be the same.

Precious one, we may join the crowds to hear someone speak an teach amazing things. I have been there at the conferences when the teacher taught and the people cried and shouted and walked away exclaiming how great the message was… but it only changed them long enough to get out to the parking lot. It only changed them long enough to meet their current need… it was not enough to change them.

If we choose to keep Jesus on the mountain, if we choose to leave His Word at the podium on the stage, if we choose to remain a part of the crowd… then we can take Him or leave Him. We can remain apathetic and unchanged… but if we choose rather to leave the crowd as the disciples did…

When Jesus saw the crowds,

He went up on the mountain;

and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.

He opened His mouth and began to teach them

Matthew 5:1-2

We cannot remain the same.

Precious one, don’t leave Him on the mountain! Don’t stay a part of the crowd. Don’t keep the Didaskalos at a distance. Come to Him and sit at His feet. If you are in a group that ridicules the Teacher, that mocks the Christ, that sets up legalism over grace, that preaches a religion instead of a relationship, and you might be afraid to come boldly out of the crowd because you are just not sure about this Jesus, this Teacher, this Didaskalos, then my friend come as Nicodemus came, come at night, come alone… open the Word of God and ask the Teacher to teach you one on one, face to face, and heart and to heart. He will!

Maybe you are involved in a lifestyle that has covered you in shame. Maybe you are shunned by society. Maybe you are mocked. Maybe you fear the rejection of the church, of those who profess to be Christians, maybe you even fear the rejection of Christ… maybe you have to come to sneak out to get nourishment for yourself when you know no one will be around because you don’t want to be subjected to the judgmental stares and offhanded remarks and sneers…  then beloved come as the woman at the well came. Come and open the Word of God and ask the Teacher for a drink. He will give you His living water and you will never thirst again.

When we come to Him He will teach us… He has promised He would… He will teach us Himself if we will just simply leave the crowd and come and sit at His feet. Then He will give us His Spirit and His Spirit will teach us all things and bring to remembrance all that He has taught us…

“These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father will send in My name,

He will teach you all things,

and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

John 14:25-26

I can testify to you that if you come with a seeking heart, the Teacher will indeed teach.

O how I love Your law!

It is my meditation all the day.

 Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,

For they are ever mine.

 I have more insight than all my teachers,

For Your testimonies are my meditation.

 I understand more than the aged,

Because I have observed Your precepts.

 I have restrained my feet from every evil way,

That I may keep Your word.

 I have not turned aside from Your ordinances,

For You Yourself have taught me.

 How sweet are Your words to my taste!

Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

 From Your precepts I get understanding;

Therefore I hate every false way.

Psalm 119:97-104

And never forget that it’s not about the crowds.

Mom… Dad… think about the opportunity you have to teach the beautiful truths of God one on one, face to face, and heart to heart with your child. Don’t leave the teaching of the Word of God to the preacher at a distance… don’t leave it at the podium on Sundays. Never underestimate the power of your one on one with your child.

Pastor, teacher, writer never forget its not about how many come… its about who leaves changed.

Names of God: Akrogoniaios

We continue in our Names of God series…

Today we will see that our Jesus is the Akrogoniaios.

For this is contained in Scripture:

“Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone,

And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

1 Peter 2:6

Akrogoniaios is the Greek word for Cornerstone and it means placed at an extreme corner, the corner foundation stone. Jesus is the Cornerstone. He is Akrogoniaios.

As look further at this verse, we also see that He is the choice stone. Choice in the Greek is eklektos and it means picked out, chosen, chosen of God, choice, select, best of its kind, excellence, preeminent. The word stone is lithos and it means a stone, of small stones, of building stones, of Christ.

So Jesus is the Cornerstone. He is the choice stone and He is the tested and costly stone.

Therefore thus says the Lord God,

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone,

A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.

He who believes in it will not be disturbed.

Isaiah 28:16

He is the Cornerstone and this Cornerstone comes from the house of Judah…

For the Lord of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah,

And will make them like His majestic horse in battle.

From them will come the cornerstone,

From them the tent peg,

From them the bow of battle,

From them every ruler, all of them together.

Zechariah 10:3-4

Not only the Cornerstone, but also the tent peg… I have a funny, yet pertaining story to share about the tent peg…

I was talking with my husband about some BIG PLANS I had come up with for a children’s ministry event. I was going to take our gym and transform it into an indoor campground. I was going to build a big “campfire” in the middle with lights and tissue paper and logs and limbs and everyone cold bring their tent and pop it in the gym… and while I am expounding in all my excitement in what I thought was a well planned out event… my husband looks at me and says, Nicole how are you going to stake the tents? You can’t drive the stakes in the gym floor…

Ugh! Well, that burst my bubble. The plan would never work because the tents were useless if they could not be properly staked to the ground.

Christ is the Cornerstone and He is the tent peg. Our house, our plans, no matter how grand or greatly connived or conceived will not stand if Christ is not the one that has them held firmly to the ground. He must be the beginning peg from which everything else is popped up and held.

He is the beginning of the tent and He is the beginning of the house, the beginning of the foundation, the Cornerstone, the Akrogoniaios

 

He is the Cornerstone and for the rest of the house to stand it must be evenly lined up and connected to the first stone, the cornerstone. If we are connected to this cornerstone, this foundational wall, then we too are a part of His house…

Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of ourconfession; He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house. For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.

Hebrews 3:1-6

Jesus our Cornerstone is the Choice Stone, the Tested stone, the Costly Stone, and He is also the Living Stone. He is the Living Stone and those who come to Him come as living stones and they come to be apart of the building up of His house…

And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men,

but is choice and precious in the sight of God,

you also, as living stones,

are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood,

to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:4-5

Jesus is the Cornerstone of the house of God and if we are to be a part of this house then we must come to Him and through Him… because as we have already learned in our study of His names, not only is He the Rock from which the Cornerstone is hewn by which the house is built and the foundation is begun but He also is the Door of entrance into the house and not only is the Door, but He is the Bridegroom that carries His bride over the threshold of that Door and He not only is the Bridegroom of the house and the Door to the house, but He also is the Light in and of the house… oh my goodness are you shouting yet?!? This is our Jesus!

for through Him

we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,

but you are fellow citizens with the saints,

and are of God’s household, 

having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,

Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,

in whom the whole building,

being fitted together,

is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,  

in whom you also are being built together

into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:18-22

It is only through Jesus that we have access to the house and it is only Jesus who is the Cornerstone of the house… He must be the foundation. It doesn’t matter who lays the next brick or how they lay it as long as it is connected and laid in line with the Cornerstone.

What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:5-11

What then is Baptist? What then is Assembly of God? What then is Church of Christ? What then is Nazarene? What then is Presbyterian? What then is Catholic? Only servants through whom you have been taught and given an opportunity to hear the Word… maybe here the seed was planted, maybe here the seed was watered, maybe here the soil was worked… but only God can cause the seed to grow.

It doesn’t matter who planted. All that matters is that the seed was planted in Christ. If the seed is not planted in Christ, then the seed will rot in the ground. If Jesus is not the foundation’s Cornerstone then it doesn’t matter how strong the building appears, it will collapse.

However, if you come as a living stone to the Living Stone and you are of the house of God then one day…

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west. And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall. The city is laid out as a square,…

Rev 21:1-4, 9-15

 

You can come to the Cornerstone and become a part of the house… and let me tell you from experience that as the Word declares, you will never be disappointed or you will come to the Cornerstone and you will stumble over Him and He will even offend you by His Word…

For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,” and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word…

1 Peter 2:4-8

If you stumble over the Cornerstone, it s because you are disobedient to the Word… but those who come to the Word to obey it… they find that the foundation on which has been laid with this Cornerstone is strong, firm, steady, solid, dependent, steady, unwavering, trustworthy, no matter the storm.