GRACE GAZETTE
Volume XXIssue51
/Published occasionally for mourners in Zion/
/Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble
knees;And make straight pathsfor your feet, lest that which is lame
be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.Hebrews 12::12-13/
AN EVERLASTING TESTIMONY//
//
/For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus;/
/Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due
time.1Timothy 2:5-6/
//
The LORD called Abraham (then Abram) out of Ur of the Chaldees when
he was still with his father.HE directed Abraham’s steps even before
HE appeared to him in the land of Haran after his father’s
death.There HE told Abraham of HIS purpose to bless him above all
men in the Earth and that HE would through him, bless all nations in
the Earth.“/I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless
thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I
will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee:
and _in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed_.” (Gen 12:2-3/)
Abraham lived to be 175 years of age.Quite a long life compared to
most men, yet quite short in consideration of the multitudes which
were born and the unfolding of history which took place after his
passing.In that comparison his life is almost insignificant.Yet in
consideration of the LORD’s purpose for Abraham, he was perhaps the
most consequential man to inhabit the Earth, for it is through HIM
that the LORD purposed to raise up the ONE man who is personally the
ONE through whom all blessings which have streamed unto mankind have
both originated and flowed.
The promise of the LORD to Abraham to give him a son, had its
immediate fulfilment when Sarah gave birth to Isaac according to the
prophecy given to them on the plains of Mamre, when the LORD
appeared to him as he sat in his tent door in the heat of the
day.Yet HIS promise to Abraham had its true and complete fulfilment
approximately 2,000 years later in a stable in Bethlehem as HE who
is the ONLY BEGOTTEN of the FATHER took upon HIMSELF human flesh.No
greater wonder has ever occurred in the Earth, either, before or
since.Nor might I add, no greater avenue of blessing has ever been
manifested to the human race.
Paul writes to Timothy of this AVENUE.He begins by stating a very
obvious truth, which is often debated by religious men and scoffed
at by those who have made gods in their own image.He said;
_“_/_there is ONE GOD_/”.Now this is actually a most basic truth,
there cannot possibly be more that ONE GOD.Elsewise the world and
all of creation would be destroyed in utter chaos.We sometimes hear
men declare that HE is “absolutely sovereign”, yet that is in some
ways a most redundant statement, there can be no such thing as a GOD
who is not sovereign, and no true sovereign can be less than
absolute. There are gods a-many in the imaginations and carnal
religions of men, yet such are not GOD at all. Such gods have many
limitations and must at all times have respect unto what men call
the “free will” of man.In this mindset man makes himself to be god,
determined to do as he wills to do and having control over his own
destiny.All religions in the world pay homage to this god who is no
GOD at all. “/Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou
shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy might.” (Deut 6:4-5/)
The TRUE and LIVING GOD plainly declares HIS determination to
accomplish HIS purpose at all times and in all things.HE is never
disappointed nor thwarted in what HE wills to perform, and nothing
which occurs in the universe is outside of that determined purpose.
/“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none
else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from
the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet
done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my
pleasure.” (Isa 46:9-10) /“/Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel,
and _his redeemer the LORD of hosts_; I am the first, and I am the
last; and beside me there is no God.” (Isa 44:6/)
That which occupies a central place in HIS manifestation of HIS
purpose in the Earth, is the redemption of that people which HE has
loved with an everlasting love.When the LORD gave prophecy
concerning the “SEED” of the woman who would bruise Satan’s head, HE
spoke of this REDEEMER.When HE clothed Adam and Eve with skins, HE
foreshadowed this ONE who would come to give HIS people a covering
of RIGHTEOUSNESS.When HE was pleased with Abel’s offering of the
firstlings of his flock, HE foretold the necessity of the blood shed
by this REDEEMER as an offering for sin.When HE shut up Noah and his
family in the safety of the ark of gopher wood, HE manifested the
ARK of SAFETY (i.e.; CHRIST JESUS) in which the sons of GOD might be
shut up and carried out of the destruction of this world and to that
eternal rest and enjoyment of HIS blessings for ever. /“Even when we
were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace
ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit
together in heavenly places _in Christ Jesus_: _That in the ages to
come _he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his
kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2:5-7/)
From the beginning of the Bible to its very end, the main SUBJECT
is the “/_ONE MEDIATOR between GOD and men._/” There could be no way
in which a man might come into the presence of HIM who dwells in
“/the light to which no man can approach/” without a MEDIATOR. “/How
much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead
works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator
of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of
the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which
are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” (Heb
9:14-15/)
Such a MEDIATOR as we have in CHRIST JESUS, is an INTERCESSOR who
ever lives at the throne of GOD. There HE makes intercession, not
with words as HE did upon the Earth, when HE prayed for those whom
the LORD had given HIM, but rather mediates by HIS very presence
there as the LAMB slain for sinners./“Neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy
place, _having obtained eternal redemption for us_.” (Heb 9:12/)
This MEDIATOR, is the /_“MAN CHRIST JESUS_/”.While we must never
shrink back from declaring HIM to be ONE with the FATHER, insomuch
as he that has seen HIM has seen the FATHER, we must not neglect to
declare that HIS redemptive work is performed as a MAN clothed in
the likeness of sinful flesh, yet without sin.HE is the only sinless
man who ever lived and yet HE has died with the curse of HIS
people’s sin upon HIS head as a sinner in their behalf./“For he hath
made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him.” (2Cor 5:21/)
HE /_“gave HIMSELF_/”.Nothing compelled the LORD JESUS to come into
this world of sin and sorrow and lay down HIS life, except HIS own
perfect will to demonstrate HIS grace and mercy to undeserving
sinners.In this demonstration HE has manifested HIS love for those
who were given to HIM before the world was.They were chosen “/in
CHRIST/”, and HE is their REDEEMER.They comprise the “all” for whom
HE has made “/_HIMSELF a RANSOM_/”.The paying of a “ransom”
necessarily involves a payment to deliver a particular individual or
individuals from bondage.Not only is HIS ransom designed with a
particular people in mind but it is also of such great worth as to
be completely effectual in procuring their freedom.Not one of those
for whom this ransom is paid can fail to be delivered by this
transaction. The scripture indicates that HE is completely satisfied
with the outcome of that payment which HE made.“/Yet it pleased the
LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make
his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall
prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his
hand. _He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be
satisfied_: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant _justify
many; for he shall bear their iniquities_.” (Isa 53:10-11/)
Those who are the “all”, who are ransomed, shall be manifested by
the work of HIS SPIRIT in them as the scripture defines them as
those who are /“_testified in due time_/.”The testimony of the LORD
is that HE will not forsake those HE loves. /“Even as the _testimony
of Christ was confirmed_ in you: --Who shall also confirm you unto
the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus
Christ. God is faithful, by whom _ye were called unto the fellowship
of his Son_ Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1Cor 1:6-9) “The foundation of
God standeth sure, having this _seal_,/_(i.e.; testimony) _/The Lord
knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name
of Christ depart from iniquity.” (2Tim 2:19/)mam
