Chapter 63

IT ALL COMES FROM GOD

Matthew 16:16-17

 

Before we begin our study let us pray.

 

          Dear Heavenly Father, Almighty God,

                    We come before You in the name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Father God, as we read and contemplate Your Word please open our eyes, our ears, and our hearts so we can correctly understand and comprehend what You are teaching us. Help us, Lord God, to truly begin to see and appreciate the incredible Grace and Mercy You have extended and are continuing to extend to each and every one of Your children.

Amen

 

          This study is divided into the following partitions: (1) The creation, (2) Arrival of the Messiah (Jesus Christ), (3) four observations, and (4) summary.

 

THE CREATION

In the first chapter of the Bible we are told that,

 

GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH

To see this we begin by reading,

 

Genesis 1:1-19

[1] In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  [2] The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. [3] Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. [4] And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. [5] God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. [6] Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” [7] Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. [8] And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.[9] Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. [10] And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.[11] Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. [12] And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. [13] So the evening and the morning were the third day.[14] Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;[ 15] and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. [16] Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. [17] God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, [18] and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. [19] So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

 

After God created Heaven and Earth,

 

GOD CREATED THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

This is recorded in,

 

Genesis 1:20-25

[20] Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” [21] So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. [22] And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” [23] So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

 

Then,

GOD CREATED ADAM

This is recorded in,

 

Genesis 1:26-31

[26] Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” [27] So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. [28] Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          26 … The term “Us” refers to: (1) God the Father, (2) God the Holy Spirit, who previously was identified as the Spirit of God, and (3) Jesus Christ, as identified in,

 

John 1:1-3

[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was in the beginning with God. [3] All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

 

          28 … God gave man the dominion over everything. However, man was not to eat from the tree of knowledge.

 

To expand upon this we go to,

 

Genesis 2:15-17

[15] Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. [16] And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; [17] but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

 

God also made Adam a helper (Eve)

This is recorded in,

 

Genesis 2:18-25

[18] And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” [19] Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. [20] So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. [21] And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. [22] Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

 

Let us now read a summary of,

 

THE FALL OF MANKIND

To read what occurred we go to,

 

Genesis 3:1-5

[1] Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” [2] And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; [3] but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” [4] Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. [5] For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” [6] So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. [7] Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

 

          Let us now read about the magnitude of God’s judgment and how it was passed on to you and me. To do this we go to,

 

Romans 5:12-14

[12] … through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— [13] (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. [14] Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          12 … Because of Adam’s sin, sin entered into the world. Because of this sin and death spread to all of us.

 

          13 … However, until the Law was given through Moses, sin was not imputed. The reason for this is because we could not be held accountable for violating a law that was not yet given or made known to us.

 

          14a … Even those who did not violate a specific command as Adam and Eve did, death reigned from Adam to Moses.

 

          14b … Adam was the representative of all mankind. Throughout the Old Testament, God foretold that, as it was with Adam,

 

ANOTHER MAN WILL COME TO BE OUR REPRESENTATIVE

          This man will come to defeat Satan and extend to mankind eternal life. To read what God said to Satan, we go to the “Amplified Bible” and read from,

 

Genesis 3:15

[15] And I will put enmity (open hostility) Between you and the woman, And between your seed (offspring) and her Seed; He shall [fatally] bruise your head, And you shall [only] bruise His heel.

 

          This is a reference of the Messiah who would be born of woman and will defeat Satan. Thus, the Messiah will step on and crush Satan’s head.

 

          The fulfillment of this prophecy can be read in what the angel told Joseph concerning Mary’s pregnancy and,

 

THE BIRTH OR ARRIVAL OF THE MESSIAH, JESUS CHRIST

To read what the angel said, we go to,

 

Matthew 1:20b-23

[20b] But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. [21] And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” [22] So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: [23] “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

 

          One may ask; “Why did God do this?” Actually, there are two reasons.

 

The first reason is recorded in,

 

John 3:16-17

[16] For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

 

          The second reason was that, God wanted to reveal and extend to us His Mercy. We discover this within the following Scriptures,

 

Romans 11:32-36

[32] For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all. [33] Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! [34] “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?” [35] “Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?” [36] For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

 

As we read the New Testament we find at least the following,

 

FOUR IMPORTANT OBSERVATIONS TO BE CONSIDERED

These observations are,

 

1. It is God the Father who brings us to Jesus Christ.

2. It is Jesus Christ who reveals to us God the Father.

3. Our proper understanding of the Holy Scriptures comes from God.

4. Even our faith in Jesus Christ is a gift from God.

 

GOD THE FATHER BRINGS US TO JESUS CHRIST

         To see this, let us read about time when Jesus asked His disciples; “Who do people say that I am?” To do this we go to,

 

Matthew 16:13-16

[13] When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” [14] So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” [15] He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” [16] Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

 

          Peter responded correctly to Jesus’ question of who Jesus was and is.

 

To read Jesus’ response to Peter’s confession of faith, we go to,

 

Matthew 16:17

[17] Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.

 

          Notice, Peter did not arrive at this knowledge from others or by his own intellect. No! This knowledge was given to Peter from God the Father.

 

          To expand upon this truth, let us now read Jesus’ parable of the sheep. In this parable, the sheep refer to individuals who do or do not belong to Jesus Christ. With this in mind we go to,

 

John 10:24-29

[24] Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” [25] Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. [26] But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. [27] My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. [28] And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. [29] My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          24 … The Jews came to Jesus and specifically asked if He was the promised Messiah.

 

          25 … Jesus responded by telling them He had already told them He was the promised Messiah. Jesus also stated that the works He does in the Name of God the Father testifies as to who He is.

 

          26 … Those who do not believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah, are not His sheep or His disciples.

 

          27 … Those people who are Jesus’ sheep hear Him and follow Him.

 

          29 … No one is able to take Jesus’ sheep out of God the Father’s hand.

 

          Since God the Father brings His people to His only begotten Son, we should therefore pray to the Father to send His laborers into the field of humanity to gather those who are His. To see this, let us read from,

Luke 10:1-2

[1] After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. [2] Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

 

In addition, the New Testament teaches us that, for the Christian,

 

JESUS CHRIST REVEALS TO US GOD THE FATHER

          To see this let us read the following excerpt from what Jesus said to the seventy who returned from their mission. To do this we go to,

 

Luke 10:22

[22] All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

 

The third important observation for this portion of our study is that,

 

THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE SCRIPTURES IS ONLY GIVEN BY GOD

          In other words, it is not with our own capacity or intellect by which we can properly interpret or understand the Scripture. To see this we go to,

 

2 Peter 1:20-21

[20] knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, [21] for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

 

          Thus, the Bible is teaching us that prophecy from God, recorded in the Holy Scripture, came from men as they were moved by God the Holy Spirit. Thus, proper understanding and/or interpretation does not come from man or any of his methods. The proper understanding of Scripture can only come from God, Who wrote it. To see this truth we will examine two examples.

         

The first example occurred,

 

On the road to the village of Emmaus

          The event we are about to read took place after Jesus rose from the dead but before He ascended back into Heaven. To read what happened we go to,

 

Luke 24:13-16

[13] Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. [14] And they talked together of all these things which had happened. [15] So it was, while they conversed and reasoned that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. [16] But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          13-14 … The things the two disciples were talking about was Jesus’ crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection.

 

          15 … While the two disciples were discussing these events, Jesus came and walked with them.

 

          16 … God had restrained the eyes of the two disciples. Consequently, they could not recognize it was Jesus who was walking with them.

 

To read the conversation Jesus had with them, we go to,

 

Luke 24:17-24

[17] And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?” [18] Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?” [19] And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, [20] and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. [21] But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. [22] Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. [23] When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. [24] And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.”

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          17 … Jesus asked the two men what they were talking about.

 

          18-24 … The two disciples explained to Jesus what had occurred in Jerusalem. Specifically, they shared with Him that the chief priests and rulers had condemned Jesus of Nazareth to death. They also said that after the Sabbath, some of the women disciples went to the tomb in which He was buried. However, upon arriving at His tomb they found it to be empty. At that time, the angels told them that Jesus of Nazareth was not dead but is alive.

 

Let us now read Jesus’ response,

 

Luke 24:25-27

[25] Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! [26] Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” [27] And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          25-26 … Jesus recognized that the two men did not understand that what they saw and heard was foretold, through God’s prophets, of what would happen to the Messiah. In other words, their eyes, ears and hearts were still closed to the understanding and interpretation of Scriptures.

 

          27 … From the Old Testament Scriptures Jesus explained and showed the two men the writings that talked about Him.

 

Let us now continue our reading by going to,

 

Luke 24:28-32

[28] Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. [29] But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them. [30] Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. [31] Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. [32] And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          28-29 … After being persuaded by the two disciples, Jesus went to stay with them in the village.

 

          30-31 … After Jesus blessed and broke the bread; the men’s eyes were opened. Now the two men knew it was Jesus who was with them.

          32 … The disciples bore witness to each other that it was, Jesus Christ, who opened the Scriptures to them.

 

For our second example, let us now read about the time when,

 

Jesus gave the Apostles understanding of the Scriptures

          To do this we now read what happened when the two disciples shared with the Apostles about their experience with Jesus Christ. To do this we go to,

 

Luke 24:33-38

"[33] They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together [34] and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." [35] Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. [36] While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." [37] They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. [38] He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?”

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          36-37 … While the two disciples were sharing about their experience with Jesus, Jesus stood in their midst. Upon seeing Jesus, the Apostles and those with them were frightened and thought they were seeing a ghost.

 

          38 … To read what Jesus did to clearly demonstrate He was alive and had physically, that is bodily, rose from the dead, we go to,

 

Luke 24: 39-44

[39] Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." [40] When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. [41] And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" [42] They gave him a piece of broiled fish, [43] and he took it and ate it in their presence.

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          39 … The first thing Jesus did was to ask His followers to physically touch and feel Him. In so doing, Jesus was demonstrating to them He was not a ghost or spirit but had physical form and substance.

 

          40 … Furthermore, to insure there was no doubt He was Jesus, He showed them His hands and feet. He did this so they could clearly see the marks that were left by the spikes that held Him to the cross.

 

          41(a) … However, the people, including the Apostles, still did not believe.

 

          41(b) - 43 … To further demonstrate He was not a ghost or a spirit, Jesus, in their presence, ate a piece of fish.

 

          Let us now read what Jesus said after He performed the above demonstrations. To do this we go to the Gospel according to Luke and read,

 

Luke 24:44-45

[44] He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." [45] Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures

         

The fourth observation we will cover is that,

 

OUR FAITH IS A GIFT FROM GOD

To see this, let us read from,

 

Ephesians 2:4-9

[4] But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, [5] even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), [6] and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, [9] not of works, lest anyone should boast.

 

Let us notice the following verses,

          4 … Because of His love for us, God is rich in extending to us His mercy.

 

          5 … God the Father made us alive with Christ from our death in sin and trespasses.

 

          6 … We, the born-again Christians, are now seated with Jesus Christ in the Heavenly realms. Notice, this is not future but present tense.

 

          8 … It is by God’s Grace, which means we have received unmerited favor from God. Specifically, He saved us from our sins and trespasses. Also notice that the faith we have is not of ourselves. No! Our faith is also a gift from God.

 

          This raises the following question;”What about the Scripture that says faith comes by reading the Word?” To answer this question let us read the Scripture of interest. It is,

 

Romans 10:17

[17] So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

 

Let us notice this is a two part verse,

          17a … Faith comes from hearing, which means hearing or reading the Word of God, which is the Bible.

 

          17b … Hearing, as we saw earlier comes from the Word of God, who is Jesus Christ. In other words, God enables us to hear or understand and comprehend His Word. Hence, by asking Jesus to open our ears, eyes and heart, we receive faith in Him, from Him.

 

SUMMARY

          To summarize this study let us read Paul’s prayer for the church in Colosse and now for us. To do this we go to,

 

Colossians 1:1-23

[1] Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, [2] To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. [3] We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4] since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; [5] because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, [6] which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; [7] as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, [8] who also declared to us your love in the Spirit. [9] For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; [10] that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; [11] strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; [12] giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. [13] He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, [14] in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. [15] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. [16] For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. [17] And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. [18] And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. [19] For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, [20] and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. [21] And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled [22] in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—[23] if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

 

CLOSING

 

To close this study we go to,

 

Psalm 100:1-5

[1] Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! [2] Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. [3] Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. [4] Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. [5] For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

 

Blessed be the Lord forever,

Amen and Amen