Unless You Believe That I am He…

By John Foll, written 03/20/2019 - 03/23/2019.

© Copyright 2019 John Foll

Jesus said, ‘unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins.’ John 8:24 NASB.

Do not suppose that Jesus was merely referring to the children of God on earth in His day here when He spoke this. Jesus said ‘unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.’ Yes, Jesus is speaking to the people in our day too and you! No one can save themselves, no matter how hard they try, no matter what they do - no matter what, regardless of how much truth they believe in, or how good they think they are. You simply cannot save yourself, dear reader. Unless you believe that Jesus was the Lamb of God, sent to take away the sins of the world - unless you believe that God sent Jesus to take away your sins, you will not have any life within you. Unless you believe that Jesus is the only one, you do not have any life within you. But if you believe Jesus is the one, you will have this life Jesus promised to all who would take it. When John-the-Baptist declared that Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, that is what he said and that is what he meant. John 1:29, 36. For Jesus to be able to take away all of the sins of the world - He must take away your sins too. He came not only to clear your guilt from the record books in heaven, but He came to take away your sins as well, to help you stop sinning.

Jesus' declaration in John 8:24 addresses every single person here on this planet. Unless they believe that Jesus is the son of God, the Messiah, to save them from their sin, they will die in their sins. This not only includes forgiveness of sin, but their salvation as well. Salvation was paid for at the cross, but it is not complete until God's people are taken to heaven, to never see death or feel pain again - all crying and dying will pass away! We must believe that Jesus is the one who can save us or we will die in our sins! Ah dear reader, do not miss this point! Unless you believe that Jesus is the one, the one who can save you, you will die in your sins. We're sorry if you think this is too blunt, but it is the truth. What does it mean to believe in Jesus? It means to believe the He is the one who can save you out of all of the distresses in this world, and that He can save you from your sins. It is the belief that He can save you. He takes away your addiction to sin and your sinful propensities - He can make you righteous.

We were saying that when Jesus said ‘that unless you believe that I am He, the one, that you will die in your sins’ – that it applies to us in our day too because it's the truth - it's not just for God’s people in the days when Jesus walked this earth. We are not saying this to pick on those whom He was speaking with, because unbelief and pride seem to be a common problem in humanity. And yes even in our day, many Christians have trouble believing the Jesus can save them from all of their faults and problems. Oh they may say they believe, but where is their belief when doubts and discouragement come? Where is their belief when trials and temptations come? Do they believe that He loves them and died to save them? Do they believe the Jesus has the power to save them? Really save them? Or do they think they are stuck in an endless cycle of sinning with no way out, except to pray for forgiveness? This belief is not correct. True belief believes that Jesus is God, and that He has the ability of saving them.
 
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see! * What God did for me was so amazing – He overcame my doubts when He filled my heart with His love and peace! And now when temptations and struggles to doubt come my way, He helps me regain my faith in Him. So I no longer worry about these things as long as I stay right with God. But oh how sweet it is to know that God loves you, and that you are forgiven! You have a new chance to please Him and start over! Oh how sweet it is to get the victory over the problems and sins that bind you! Jesus claimed that He would free the captives. Luke 4:16-21. If the Son of man has made you free, you shall be free indeed! John 8:36. This is the message we want to preach with all of our strength today in this article. If the Son has made you free, you are free indeed!

* From the Song Amazing Grace, by John Newton.

Dear reader, do you believe the Jesus is the one? Our prayer for you, dear reader, is that you would believe that Jesus loves you and died to save you, and that you would believe that He is the one! And the only one who can ever save you! From this world of sin suffering and death! You may wonder why we are using so many exclamation marks here? It’s because we want you to get it! We want you to get that if you believe that Jesus is the one, that you can have eternal life. If you trust in Him, if you believe in Him with all your heart mind and soul, and that He will finish the good work He started in you, then you will be saved! Philippians 1:6. We wish that someone had fully taught this to us years ago. It would have saved us so much heartache and grief! Perhaps if we had fully given ourselves to God then, we would have known without a doubt that He loved us, and would have really believed that Jesus His Son died to save us, and we would have had this joy that was impossible to hide. But no matter, He has revealed His love to us now and our life is so much the better. We don't want to go back to the way we used to live, of not really believing that Jesus was the one - the only one. And that He is well able to save us, if we trust in Him all the way.

Dear reader, why not trust in him all the way now? What do you have to lose? If you trust Him all the way, you'll be given the ability of knowing that He can save you, bad as you are, and you will stop worrying about whether you are good enough to be saved. And you will want to serve God and obey Him! And you'll have the power to obey Him too! This is our prayer for you, and for everyone who would come to the Fountain of Life. Drink, all who are thirsty! Drink from the Water of life, flowing freely from the throne of God, offered to you if you will take it. If you would accept it and drink to your heart's content, oh how can you not want to drink more and more? You will be changed and be filled with riches beyond measure, and you will have the priceless love and joy in your heart from your most blessed savior! He loves you and wants to save you!

Dear reader, do you believe that Jesus is the one? All the peace, joy and love an eternal life that you have longed for and more can be yours, if you truly believe in Him. If you find you are having trouble believing in Him, keep reading about His wonderful love and the plan of salvation in the Bible, starting in Genesis going all the way to Revelation, praying that He will help you, and learn to devote yourself to Him, then this blessing will overtake you.

It's not about how smart you are, or how strong you are, or how good you are. It's about believing in Jesus. It's about believing that He is the one! The only one! The one who loves you and died to save you! There, we did it again! We're using exclamation marks again because we want you to get it dear reader! Whenever this happens to you, no one will have to tell you that a wonderful change is taking place in your life because you will know it. I know how happy you'll be! Oh how happy you will be to belong to Him! Then when Jesus comes in the clouds with great glory you won't shrink back in fear from your Lord whom you love! Hebrews 10:39; Isaiah 25:9. Oh no! You will say this is my God whom I have waited for, and He has come to take me home! I knew that He loved me and I love Him. I knew that He was going to save me! I knew this because He told me so – yes, He told me so! I knew He would come back to take me home like He promised! John 14:1-3.

May the grace of God be with you all!

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08 The Covenant Sealed (Part 2) (The Everlasting Covenant)

The Sign of Circumcision 

And now we must carry a little further the study of the seal of the covenant, namely, circumcision. What does it signify, and what is it in reality? We have learned that it signifies righteousness by faith. It was given to Abraham as a token of the possession of such righteousness, or, as an assurance that he was “accepted in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” Eph. 1:6, 7. What circumcision really is, may be learned from the following Scripture: —

“For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law; but if thou be a breaker of the law thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision, which is by nature, if it fulfill the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” Rom. 2:25-29.

Circumcision was the sign of righteousness by faith. But that righteousness is the righteousness required by the law of God. Circumcision never amounted to anything unless the law was kept. In fact, the keeping of the law is real circumcision. But the Lord requires truth in the inward parts. An outward show, with no righteousness within, is an abomination to Him. The law must be in the heart, in order for there to be real circumcision. But the law can be in the heart only by the power of the Lord through the Spirit. “The law is spiritual” (Rom. 7:14), that is, it is of the nature of the Holy Spirit, and the law can be in the heart only as the Spirit of God dwells there. Circumcision is therefore nothing less than the sealing of righteousness in the heart by the Holy Spirit. This is what Abraham received. His circumcision was the seal of the righteousness of faith which he had. But the righteousness of faith was that by which he was to inherit the promised possession. Therefore circumcision was the pledge of his inheritance. Now read the following text: —

“In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace; … In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him that worketh all things after the counsel of His own will; that we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.” Eph. 1:7-14.

The word of truth is the Gospel of salvation. When we believe the Gospel, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, and that seal is the pledge or assurance of our inheritance, until it is bestowed at the coming of the Lord. Abraham had, therefore, the Holy Spirit as the pledge of the inheritance that was promised him. The possession of the Spirit shows that we have a right to the inheritance, because the Spirit brings righteousness, and the inheritance is one of righteousness. Righteousness, and that only, will dwell in the new earth.

In harmony with the above text, we have also the following: “And ye are complete in Him [Christ], which is the head of all principality and power; in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.” Col. 2:10, 11.

God’s promise to Abraham had been made long before the time of which we are writing: The making of the covenant is recorded in the fifteenth chapter of Genesis. But after the covenant was made, Abraham fell into the error recorded in the sixteenth chapter. He saw his mistake, and repented of it, and turned to the Lord again in full faith, and thus received the assurance of forgiveness and acceptance; and circumcision was given as the reminder of it.

The Scriptures which we have read in the New Testament concerning circumcision are not the statement of something new. Circumcision was always just what it is there said to be. It always meant righteousness in the heart, and had no significance whatever when that righteousness was absent. This is plainly indicated in Deut. 30:5, 6: “And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and He will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.”

Why the Outward Sign?

The question very naturally arises, Why was the outward sign of circumcision given to Abraham, if he already had everything that it implied? Since circumcision is of the heart by the Spirit, and is nothing but the possession of righteousness by faith, and Abraham had that before he received the sign of circumcision, why was the sign given?

It is a reasonable question, and happily may easily be answered. The reader will first notice, however, that that which Abraham received is in Rom. 4:11 called “the sign of circumcision.” The real circumcision he already had. In harmony with this is the statement that that which was in the flesh, made by hands, was only “called circumcision.” Eph. 2:11. It was not circumcision in fact.

Now the reason why this sign was given, which was only a sign, and which brought nothing to its possessor, and which was a false sign unless the righteousness of faith was in the heart, will be seen when we consider what had taken place after the covenant was made with Abraham. He had entered into an arrangement, the object of which was to work out the promise of the Lord. Abraham and Sarah believed that the promise was to be theirs, but they thought that they could work it out. But since the promise was of an inheritance of righteousness, the thought that they could work it out was in reality the very common idea that men can work out the righteousness of God. So when God repeated the covenant, He gave to Abraham a sign which should always be a reminder of his attempt to work out the promise of God, and his failure. It did not give him anything, but was on the contrary a reminder that he could do nothing of himself, and that everything was to be done in him, and for him by the Lord. The cutting off of a portion of flesh showed that the promise was not to be gained by the flesh but by the Spirit. Ishmael was born after the flesh, but Isaac after the Spirit.

The same purpose was also served by it for his descendants. It was to keep continually before them the mistake of their father Abraham, and to warn them against making the like error. It was to show them that “the flesh profiteth nothing.” In after times they perverted this sign, and assumed that the possession of it was in assurance of their righteousness, whether they kept the law or not. They trusted that it brought them righteousness, and made them the peculiar favourites of the Lord. But the Apostle Paul showed the truth in regard to the matter by saying, “We are the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” Phil. 3:3. The Jews came to look upon it as bringing to them everything, because they trusted in their own righteousness; whereas its only object was to teach them not to put confidence in themselves.

By E.  J. Waggoner --- The Present Truth, June 25, 1896

Blog Edited by John Foll.

Click here for a Free PDF of this article!



List of Articles

If you were blessed by this article, why not read all of it starting from the beginning of it?
Click here to read Part 1 of the Everlasting Covenant.
 

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From the Editor: “The Everlasting Covenant” has had a very great impact on my life! These articles, with its stories from the Bible, led me to fall in love with God, there is no other way of putting it. The thing I was needing the most in my life was given to me after I learned how much He loved me in “The Everlasting Covenant” by E. J. Waggoner.

It is my prayer, dear reader, that God will richly bless you, as you learn more and more about His great love for you as presented by E. J. Waggoner in “The Everlasting Covenant”, as we continue to present more articles from it.

May the grace of God, and the priceless, precious fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you, as you go down this journey of falling totally in love with God! Riches beyond measure await you, if you will just get to know Him and His great love for you!

Listen to these articles at:  http://www.whiteraimentevangelism.com/recommended .


#Faith #Abraham #Seal #Covenant #Circumcision #Heart #Righteousness #Law #Power #Holy #Spirit #Gospel #Salvation #Live #Flesh #God #Sign #Promise #Redemption #Blood

07 The Covenant Sealed (Part 1) (The Everlasting Covenant)

Now we come to a record which opens up the promise in the most wonderful manner. More than twenty-five years had passed since God first made the promise to Abraham. * Doubtless the time had been prolonged by the false step that Abraham took through listening to the reasoning of his wife. More than thirteen years had passed since that time. But Abraham had learned the lesson, and now God appeared to him again.

* Abraham was seventy-five years when he left Haran (Gen. 12:4), and the promise was first made known to him before he left Mesopotamia. Acts 7:2.

“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be thou perfect.” Gen. 17:1. The margin has it, “upright, or sincere.” As in 1 Chron. 12:33, 38, the meaning is, single-hearted. God told Abraham to be sincere before Him, and not double-hearted. When we recall the story recorded in the preceding chapter, we see the force of this injunction. We see also the force of the statement, “I am the Almighty God.” God would let him know that He was fully able to perform His promise, and that therefore he should trust Him with a perfect or an undivided heart.

A New Name

“And Abram fell on his face; and God talked with him, saying, As for Me, behold, My covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.” Gen. 17:3-5.

The name Abram signifies “Father of height.” Abram’s father was a heathen, and the name may have had some reference to heathen worship in high places. But now a syllable is added, and it becomes Abraham, “Father of many peoples.” In the change of name in the cases of Abraham and Jacob, we have a hint of the new name which the Lord gives to all who are His. See Rev. 2:17; 3:12. “And thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name.” Isa. 62:2.

This giving to Abraham a new name did not indicate any change in the promise, but was simply a token to Abraham that God meant what He said. His name should ever afterward be a reminder to him of the promise. Some have thought that the giving of this new name marked a change in the nature of the promise to him; but a careful consideration of the promise as previously recorded will show that this cannot be. Abraham was just the same after his new name that he was before. It was while his name was still Abram, that he believed God and his faith in the promise was counted for righteousness. It was while his name was Abram that God preached the Gospel to him, saying, “In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

We may not make any distinction in the promises of God to Abraham, saying that some of them were temporal, and only for the fleshly seed, and that others were spiritual and eternal. “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, … was not yea and nay, but in Him is yea. For how many soever be the promises of God, in Him is the yea; wherefore also through Him is the Amen, unto the glory of God through us.” 2 Cor. 1:19, 20, R.V. “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” Gal. 3:16. Note that the promises, no matter how many they are, all come through Christ. Note also that the apostle speaks of Abraham, and not of Abram. He does not say that some were made to Abram, and some to Abraham. And this point is still more emphatic when we read the words of Stephen, “The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran.” Acts. 7:2. Although he was then known as Abram, the promise was the same as when he was known as Abraham. Every reference to him in the Bible, even to the first promises, are with the name Abraham. This is why we have referred to him only as Abraham.

The Lord continued, after telling Abraham of the change in his name, “And I will establish My covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” Gen. 17:7, 8.

Let us take up the different parts of this covenant in detail. The central part of it is the promised land, the land of Canaan. It is the same as in the fifteenth chapter. The promise is to give it to Abraham and his seed. The covenant is the same that was made there; but here we have it sealed.

Notice that it is an “Everlasting Covenant” that the Lord made with him.

It is the one everlasting covenant, which is so often spoken of in the Bible. It is “through the blood of the everlasting covenant” that men are made perfect in every good work to do the will of God. Heb. 13:20. Moreover, the land promised in this everlasting covenant, was to be

“An Everlasting Possession,” for both Abraham and his seed.

Mark well that Abraham himself, as well as his seed, was promised the land for an everlasting possession. It is not an inheritance that is simply to be the possession of his family forever, but both Abraham and his seed together were to have it for an everlasting possession.

But a land can be held for an everlasting possession only by those who have everlasting life.

Therefore in this covenant we find the promise of everlasting life. It could not be otherwise, because when the covenant was first made, as recorded in the fifteenth chapter, Abraham was told that he should die before the land should be given for a possession; and Stephen said that God did not give him so much as to set his foot on. Therefore it could be his only through the resurrection; and when the resurrection takes place, then there will be no more death. For “we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Cor. 15:51-53.

So we see that the making of this everlasting covenant with Abraham was simply the preaching of the everlasting Gospel of the kingdom, and the assuring to him of a part in its blessings. The promise to Abraham was a Gospel promise, and nothing else, and the covenant was the everlasting covenant, of which Christ is Mediator. Its scope is identical with that of the new covenant, in which God says, “I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Heb. 8:10. But this will appear more plainly as we proceed.

A Covenant of Righteousness

The Lord said to Abraham after this restatement of the covenant with him and his seed, “And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt Me and thee.” Gen. 17:11. Now if we turn to the Epistle to the Romans we shall learn much more of the meaning of this transaction. We must have the Scripture before us in order that we may consider it understandingly, and so we will quote it at length.

“What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How then was it reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised; that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also; and the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” Rom. 4:1-13.

The subject of the entire chapter is Abraham and justification by faith. The apostle takes the case of Abraham as an illustration of the truth presented in the preceding chapter, namely, that a man is made righteous by faith. The blessing that Abraham received is the blessing of sins forgiven, through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. See verses 6-9. Therefore when we read in Gen. 12:2, 3, that in Abraham all the families of the earth should be blessed, we know that the blessing referred to is the forgiveness of sins. This is positively proved by Acts 3:25, 26: “Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”

This blessing came to Abraham through Jesus Christ and His cross, even as it comes to us. For “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; … that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Gal. 3:13, 14. So we find that the blessings of the covenant with Abraham are simply the blessings of the Gospel, and they are brought to us through the cross of Christ. Nothing was promised in that covenant except that which is to be gained through the Gospel; and everything that the Gospel contains was in it.

Circumcision was given as the seal of this covenant. But the promise, the covenant, the blessing, and everything, came to Abraham before he was circumcised. Hence he is the father of the uncircumcised as well as of the circumcised. Jews and Gentiles are alike sharers in the covenant and its blessings, provided they have the faith that Abraham had.

In Gen. 17:11 we are told that circumcision was given as the sign of the covenant that God made with Abraham. But in Rom. 4:11 we are told that it was given him as a seal of the righteousness which he had by faith. In other words, it was the assurance and the seal of the forgiveness of sins through the righteousness of Christ. Therefore we know that the covenant, of which circumcision was the seal, was a covenant of righteousness by faith; that all the blessings promised in it are on the basis of righteousness through Jesus Christ. This again shows us that the covenant made with Abraham was the Gospel, and that only.

A Grant of Land

But in this covenant the central promise was concerning land. All the land of Canaan was promised to Abraham and his seed for an everlasting possession. And then the seal of the covenant, —circumcision, — was given, — a seal of the righteousness which he had by faith. This shows that the land of Canaan was to be possessed only by faith. And here we have a practical lesson as to the possession of things by faith. Many people think that a thing that is possessed by faith is only possessed in imagination. But the land of Canaan was a real country, and was to be actually possessed. Possession of it was to be gained, however, only through faith. This was indeed the case. By faith the people crossed the river Jordan, and “by faith the walls of Jerico fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.” But of this we shall have more hereafter.

The land of Canaan, which was promised in the covenant, was to be had through the righteousness of faith, which was sealed by circumcision, the seal of the covenant. Read now Rom. 4:13 once more, and we shall see how much was involved in this promise. “For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” This righteousness of faith we are told in verse eleven was sealed by circumcision; and circumcision was the seal of the covenant which we have recorded in Gen. 17. * Therefore we know that the promise of land, which the covenant with Abraham contained, was nothing less than the promise of the whole earth. As we come to the fulfillment of the promise, we shall see more plainly how it can be that the promise of the land of Canaan included the possession of the whole earth; but the fact may be briefly indicated here.

The covenant in which that land was promised, was, as we have seen, a covenant of righteousness. Its basis was the righteousness of faith. It was an everlasting covenant, promising an everlasting inheritance to both Abraham and his seed, which meant for them everlasting life. But grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life only through Jesus Christ our Lord. Eternal life can be had only in righteousness. Moreover, since the promise was to Abraham, as well as to his seed, and Abraham was assured that he should die long before the inheritance was bestowed, it is evident that it could be gained only through the resurrection, which takes place at the coming of the Lord, when immortality is bestowed. But the coming of Christ is at “the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” Acts. 3:21. Therefore we are shut up to the fact that the inheritance of righteousness, which was promised to Abraham for an everlasting possession, to be had through the resurrection, at the coming of the Lord, was the “new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness,” for which we look according to the promise of God.

By E.  J. Waggoner —The Present Truth, June 18, 1896

* Editor’s Note: As E. J. Waggoner said earlier, “Therefore when we read in Gen. 12:2, 3, that in Abraham all the families of the earth should be blessed, we know that the blessing referred to is the forgiveness of sins.” ‘All families of the earth should be blessed’ is a reference to the Gentiles of the earth being blessed through Abraham. Since the Gentiles were to be found throughout the earth, who God wanted to bless through Abraham’s seed, Christ, then this blessing of the land would be nothing less than the whole earth, to be given to all of the children who are heirs of the promise with Abraham. Note what Jesus’ commanded all of His disciples to do, known as the great gospel commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 NASB. Jesus’ command with its promise has been fulfilled and is being fulfilled, and Christianity has spread throughout the world, and is still being preached to all nations, kindreds and tongues. To reiterate Waggoner’s point that the grant of land to be given to Abraham and His descendants by faith (which includes Gentile Christians) is given after the resurrection, note what John writes here in Revelation about the New Jerusalem: “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.” Revelation 21:23-24 KJV. The nations of the saved, who come from the various kingdoms and locations around this world where the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ was preached to them, share in the everlasting possession with Abraham. This promise is only for all of his true descendants by faith.

Blog Edited by John Foll.

Click here for a Free PDF of this article!

List of Articles

If you were blessed by this article, why not read all of it starting from the beginning of it?
Click here to read Part 1 of the Everlasting Covenant.

---

From the Editor: “The Everlasting Covenant” has had a very great impact on my life! These articles, with its stories from the Bible, led me to fall in love with God, there is no other way of putting it. The thing I was needing the most in my life was given to me after I learned how much He loved me in “The Everlasting Covenant” by E. J. Waggoner.

It is my prayer, dear reader, that God will richly bless you, as you learn more and more about His great love for you as presented by E. J. Waggoner in “The Everlasting Covenant”, as we continue to present more articles from it.

May the grace of God, and the priceless, precious fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you, as you go down this journey of falling totally in love with God! Riches beyond measure await you, if you will just get to know Him and His great love for you!

Listen to these articles at:  http://www.whiteraimentevangelism.com/recommended.


#Faith #Abraham #Father #Nations #New #Name #Promise #Everlasting #Covenant #Believed #Righteousness #Forgiveness #Christ #Cross #Gospel #Land #Gentiles #Resurrection #Eternal #Life

06 The Flesh Against the Spirit (The Everlasting Covenant)

“Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children; and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing; I pray thee go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened unto the voice of Sarai.” Gen. 16:1, 2.

This was the great mistake of Abraham’s life; but he learned a lesson from his mistake, and it was recorded to teach that lesson to all. We will presume that the reader is acquainted with the sequel, — how that the Lord told Abraham that Ishmael, the son of Hagar was not the heir that He had promised, but that Sarah his wife should bear him a son, and how after Isaac was born Hagar and Ishmael were sent away. So we may proceed at once to some of the important lessons that are suggested by this transaction.

In the first place, we should learn the folly of man’s trying to fulfill the promises of God. God had promised to Abraham an innumerable seed. When the promise was made, it was beyond all human possibility that Abraham should have a son by his wife, but he accepted the word of the Lord, and his faith was counted to him for righteousness. This in itself was evidence that the seed was not to be an ordinary seed, but that it was to be a seed of faith.

But his wife had not the faith that he had. And yet she thought that she had faith, and even Abraham doubtless thought that in carrying out her advice he was working in harmony with the word of the Lord. The trouble is that he hearkened to the voice of his wife, instead of to the Lord. They reasoned that God had promised them a large family, but that since it was impossible for her to have children it was very evident that He intended that they should use some other means of bringing it about. Thus it is that human reason deals with the promises of God.

Yet how shortsighted the whole thing was. God had made the promise; therefore He alone could fulfill it. If a man makes a promise, the thing promised may be performed by another, but in that case the one who made the promise fails to carry out his word. So even though that which the Lord had promised could have been gained by the device which was adopted, the result would have been to shut the Lord out from fulfilling His word. They were therefore working against God. But His promises cannot be performed by man. In Christ alone can they be performed. It is easy enough for us all to see this in the case before us; yet how often, in our own experience, instead of waiting for the Lord to do what He has promised, we become tired of waiting, and try to do it for Him, and thus make failures.

Spiritual and Literal      

Years afterward the promise was fulfilled in God’s own way, but it was not until both Abraham and his wife fully believed the Lord. “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.” Heb. 11:11. Isaac was the fruit of faith. “For it is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.” Gal. 4:22, 23.

Many people seem to forget this fact. They forget that Abraham had two sons, one by a bondwoman, and the other by a freewoman; one born after the flesh, and the other born after the Spirit. Hence the confusion with respect to the “literal” and the “spiritual” seed of Abraham. People talk as though the word “spiritual” were opposed to “literal.” But this is not the case. “Spiritual” is opposed only to “fleshly,” or carnal.

Isaac was born after the Spirit, yet he was as real and literal a child as Ishmael was. So the true seed of Abraham are only those who are spiritual, but that does not make them any the less real. God is Spirit, yet He is a real God. Christ had a spiritual body after His resurrection, yet He was a real, literal being, and could be handled the same as other bodies. So the bodies of the saints after the resurrection will be spiritual, yet they will be real. Spiritual things are not imaginary things. Indeed, that which is spiritual is more real than that which is fleshly, because only that which is spiritual will endure forever.

From this case, therefore, we learn most conclusively that the seed which God promised to Abraham, which should be as the sand of the sea and the stars of heaven for number, and which should inherit the land, is only a spiritual seed. That is, it is a seed which comes through the agency of the Spirit of God. The birth of Isaac, like that of the Lord Jesus, was miraculous. It was supernatural. Both were brought about through the agency of the Spirit. In both we have an illustration of the power by which we are to become sons of God, and thus heirs of the promise.

The seed of Abraham after the flesh are Ishmaelites. He was a wild man, or, as the Revised Version has it, “A wild ass among men.” Gen. 16:12. Moreover, he was the son of a bondwoman, and therefore not a freeborn son. Now the Lord had already signified, in the case of Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, that the seed of Abraham were to be free. Therefore if Abraham had only thought of the words of the Lord, instead of hearkening to the voice of his wife, he might have been saved much trouble. 

It is worth while dwelling at length upon this phase of the subject, for if it is rightly understood it will save much confusion as to the true seed of Abraham, and the true Israel. Let the points be stated once more.

Ishmael was born after the flesh, and could not be the seed. Therefore those who are only of the flesh cannot be the children of Abraham, and heirs according to the promise. Isaac was born after the Spirit, and was the true seed. “In Isaac shall thy seed be called.” Therefore all the children of Abraham are they who are born of the Spirit. “We, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.” Gal. 4:28.

Isaac was freeborn; and none but those who are free are the children of Abraham. “So, then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.” Gal. 4:31. What this freedom is, the Lord showed in His talk to the Jews, recorded in the eighth of John. “If ye abide in My word, then are ye truly My disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered unto Him, We are Abraham’s seed, and have never yet been in bondage to any man; how sayest Thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Every one that committeth sin is the bondservant of sin. And the bondservant abideth not in the house forever; but the son abideth forever. If therefore the son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Verses 31-36, R.V. And later He said to them that if they were really the children of Abraham, they would do the works of Abraham. Verse 39. Here again we see that which we learned from the promise in the fifteenth chapter of Genesis, that the promised seed was to be a righteous seed, since it was promised only through Christ, and was sure to Abraham only through his faith.

The sum of the whole matter is that in the promise to Abraham there is the Gospel, and only the Gospel; and any attempt to make the promises apply to any other than those who are Christ’s through the Spirit, is an attempt to nullify the promises of the Gospel of God. “If ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Gal. 3:29. “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” Rom. 8:9. So if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit by which Isaac was born, he is not a child of Abraham, and has no claim to any part of the promise.

By E.  J. Waggoner — The Present Truth, June 11, 1896


Blog Edited by John Foll.

Click here for a Free PDF of this article!

List of Articles

---

If you were blessed by this article, why not read all of it starting from the beginning of it?
Click here to read Part 1 of the Everlasting Covenant.


From the Editor: “The Everlasting Covenant” has had a very great impact on my life! These articles, with its stories from the Bible, led me to fall in love with God, there is no other way of putting it. The thing I was needing the most in my life was given to me after I learned how much He loved me in “The Everlasting Covenant” by E. J. Waggoner.

It is my prayer, dear reader, that God will richly bless you, as you learn more and more about His great love for you as presented by E. J. Waggoner in “The Everlasting Covenant”, as we continue to present more articles from it.

May the grace of God, and the priceless, precious fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you, as you go down this journey of falling totally in love with God! Riches beyond measure await you, if you will just get to know Him and His great love for you!

Listen to these articles at: http://www.whiteraimentevangelism.com/recommended.


#Faith #Abraham #Sarah #Miracle #Son #Seed #Christ #Heir #Promise #God #Holy #Spirit #Spiritual #Flesh #Abide #Free #Slave #Sin #Righteous #Gospel

02 The First Dominion - The Purchased Possession (The Everlasting Covenant)

Redemption means to buy back. And what is to be bought back? Evidently that which was lost; for that is what the Lord came to save. And what was lost? Man, for one thing; “for thus says the Lord: “You have sold yourselves for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money” (Isa. 52:3). What else was lost? Necessarily all that man had. And what was that?

“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.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 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” (Gen. 1:26–28).

The Psalmist says of man: “You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen— even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas” (Ps. 8:5–8).

This was man’s original dominion, but it was not retained. In the Epistle to the Hebrews we have these words of the Psalmist quoted in the following passage: —

“For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You take care of him? You have made him a little lower [or, “for a little while lower”] than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower [or, “for a little while lower”] than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone” (Heb. 2:5–9 NKJV & R.V.).

A wonderful picture is in these words opened to our view. God has put the earth, and all that pertains to it, under the rule of man. But that is not the case now. “Now we do not yet see all things put under him.” Why not? Because man lost everything by the fall. But we see that Jesus, who was made “lower than the angels,” that is, was made man, has tasted death for every man, so that all who will believe may be restored to the lost inheritance. So that just as surely as Jesus died and rose again, and just as surely as by His death and resurrection those who believe in Him shall be saved, so surely will the lost inheritance be restored to those who are redeemed.

This is indicated in the first words of the passage quoted from the book of Hebrews: “For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels.” Well, has He put the world to come in subjection to man? Yes; for when the earth was created He put it in subjection to man, and Christ has taken man’s fallen state in order to redeem both him and his lost possession, for He came to save that which was lost; and since in Him we have obtained an inheritance, it is clear that in Christ we have in subjection the world to come, which is nothing less than the earth renewed as it was before the fall.

This is shown also by the words of the prophet Isaiah: “They shall be ashamed and also disgraced, all of them; they shall go in confusion together, who are makers of idols. But Israel shall be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; you shall not be ashamed or disgraced forever and ever. For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, “Seek Me in vain’; I, the Lord, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right” (Isa. 45:16–19).

The Lord formed the earth to be inhabited, and since He works all things after the counsel of His own will, it is certain that His design will be carried out. But when He had made the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, and man upon the earth, He “saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (Gen. 1:31). Then since God’s plan is to be carried out, it is evident that the earth is yet to be inhabited by people who are very good, and that it is to be at that time in a perfect condition.

When God made man, He “crowned him with glory and honor,” and “set him over the works of His hands.” He was therefore king, and as his crown indicates, his kingdom was one of glory. By sin he lost the kingdom and the glory, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Then Jesus stepped into his place, and through death, which He tasted for every man, He became “crowned with glory and honor.” It is the Man Christ Jesus, (1 Tim. 2:5) who has thus won back the dominion that the first man Adam lost. He did this in order that He might bring many sons to glory. In Him we have obtained an inheritance; and since it is “the Man Christ Jesus” who is now “in the presence of God for us,” it is plain that the world to come, which is the new earth,—“the first dominion,”— is still man’s portion.

The following texts also make this appear: “Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” (Heb. 9:28). When He was offered He bore the curse, in order that the curse might be removed. “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)” (Gal. 3:13). But when the curse of sin came upon man, it came also upon the earth; for the Lord said to Adam: “Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, “You shall not eat of it’: ‘Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you” (Gen. 3:17, 18). When Christ had been betrayed into the hands of sinful men, “when they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.” Thus when Christ bore the curse that came on man, He at the same time bore the curse of the earth. So when He comes to save those who have accepted His sacrifice, He comes to renew the earth as well.

The Time of Restitution
Therefore it is that the Apostle Peter said: “and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:20– 21). And so we have the words of Christ: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:31–34). This will be the consummation of the work of the Gospel.

Now let us return to the words of the apostle in the first chapter of Ephesians. There we learned that in Christ we are predestinated to the adoption of sons; and as we learned in another place, if we are sons we are heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. Therefore it is that in Christ we have obtained an inheritance, for He has gained the victory, and is set down at the right hand of the Father, awaiting the time when His foes shall be made His footstool, and all things be put in subjection under Him. This is as sure as that He overcame. As the pledge of this inheritance which we have in Him, He has given the Holy Spirit. It is of the nature of the inheritance, and therefore makes known what is the riches of the glory of the inheritance. In other words, the fellowship of the Spirit makes known the fellowship of the mystery.

The Spirit is the representative of Christ. Therefore the Spirit dwelling in men is Christ in men the hope of glory. And Christ in men is creative power in men, creating them new creatures. The Spirit is given “according to the riches of His glory,” and that is the measure of the power by which we are to be strengthened. So the riches of the glory of the inheritance, made known through the Spirit, is nothing less than the power by which God will create all things new by Jesus Christ, as in the beginning, and by which He will create man anew, so that he may be fitted for that glorious inheritance. Thus it is that when the Spirit is given in the fullest measure, those to whom it is given taste “the good word of God and the powers of the age to come” (Heb. 6:5). So the Gospel does not deal exclusively in the future. It is present and personal. It is the power of God to salvation to every one who believes, or that is believing. While we believe we have the power, and that power is the power by which the world to come is to be made ready for us, even as it was made in the beginning. Therefore in studying the promise of the inheritance we are simply studying the power of the Gospel to save us in this present evil world.

Who Are Heirs?
“And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:29).
Of what are we heirs if we are Abraham’s seed? Why, evidently of the promise to Abraham. But if we are Christ’s, then we are heirs with Him; for they are Christ’s who have the Spirit, and they who have the Spirit are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. So to be a joint-heir with Christ is to be an heir of Abraham.

“Heirs according to the promise.” What promise? The promise to Abraham, as a matter of course. And what was that promise? Read Romans 4:13 for an answer: “For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” So then, they who are Christ’s are heirs of the world. We have already learned this from many texts, but now we see it connected definitely with the promise to Abraham.

We have also learned that the inheritance is to be bestowed at the coming of the Lord, for it is when the Lord comes in His glory that He says to the righteous, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” When the world was created it was designed for the habitation of man, and was given to him. But that dominion was lost. True, men now live on the earth, but they do not enjoy the inheritance that God originally gave to man. That was the possession of a perfect creation by perfect beings. Nay, they do not even possess it; for “one generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever” (Eccl. 1:4). While the earth abides for ever, “our days on earth are as a shadow, and without hope” (1 Chron. 29:15). No one really possesses anything of this world. Men labor and fight to amass wealth, and then they “perish, and leave their wealth to others” (Ps. 49:10). But God works all things after the counsel of His own will; not one of His purposes will fail; and so as soon as man had sinned and lost his inheritance, a restoration was promised through Christ, in these words: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Gen. 3:15). In these words the destruction of Satan and all his work was foretold. The “great salvation” “at the first began to be spoken by the Lord.” Thus “the former dominion” (Micah 4:8), even “the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom” (Dan. 7:27). That will be real possession, for it will be everlasting.

The Promise of His Coming
But all this is to be consummated at the coming of the Lord in glory, “whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21). Therefore the coming of the Lord to restore all things has been the grand hope set before the church ever since the fall of man. The faithful have always looked forward to that event, and although the time has seemed long, and the majority of people doubt the promise, it is as sure as the word of the Lord. The promise, the doubts of the unbelieving, and the certainty of the fulfillment of the promise, are vividly set forth in the following portion of Scripture: — “Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:1–13).

Now read the passage again, and note the following points: Those who scoff at the promise of the coming of the Lord are willingly ignorant of some of the plainest and most important events recorded in the Bible, namely the creation and the flood. The word of the Lord created the heavens and the earth in the beginning. “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth” (Ps. 33:6). By the same word the earth was covered with water, the water with which the earth was stored being made to contribute to its destruction. By the flood the earth “perished;” the earth in its present condition bears scarcely any resemblance to that which existed before the flood. By the same word by which the earth was created and destroyed, the earth which is now is kept until the time of the perdition of ungodly men, when it will be overwhelmed by a lake of fire instead of a flood of water. “Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” The same word accomplishes it all.

The Grand Climax
Thus it appears that the coming of the Lord has been the one grand event toward which everything has been tending ever since the fall. The “promise of His coming” is the same as the promise of a new heavens and a new earth. This was the promise to the “fathers.” Those who scoff at it cannot deny that the Bible contains the promise, but as no change has appeared since the fathers fell asleep, they think that there is no probability of its fulfillment. They ignore the fact that things have changed much since the beginning of creation; and they have forgotten that the word of the Lord endures for ever. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise.” Notice that it is the singular, not the plural form of the word. It is not promises, but promise. It is a fact that the Lord does not forget any of His promises, but the Apostle Peter is here speaking of a definite promise, namely, the promise of the coming of the Lord, and the restoration of the earth. It will be a “new earth” in very fact, because it will be restored to the condition in which it was when it was first made.

Now although it has been a long time, as man counts, since the promise was made, “the Lord is not slack concerning His promise,” because He has all time for His own. A thousand years are with Him as one day. So then it has been scarcely a week since the promise was first made, at the time of the fall. Only about half a week has elapsed since the “fathers fell asleep.” The passage of a few thousand years does not abate one jot of the promise of God. It is as sure as when it was first made. He has not forgotten. The only reason why He has delayed thus long, is that “He is long-suffering to us; not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” So we should “account that the long-suffering of the Lord is salvation,” and should gratefully accept the kindness thus graciously offered, instead of taking His merciful delay as an evidence of lack of good faith on His part.

It should not be forgotten that while a thousand years is with the Lord as one day, one day is with Him also as a thousand years. What does that mean? Simply that while the Lord may wait a long time as man counts, before carrying out His plans, that should not be taken as evidence at any stage that to do a given amount of work will necessarily take as great a length of time as has been taken for the same amount of work in the past. One day is just as good as a thousand years with the Lord, whenever He chooses to have the work of a thousand years done in a single day. And this will yet be seen. “For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.” One day will suffice for the work of a thousand years. The day of Pentecost was but a sample of the power with which the work of the Gospel is yet to go.

And now that we have had this summary of what the Gospel of the kingdom really is, and have been referred to the promise to the fathers as the foundation for our faith, we may next take up the study of that promise, beginning with Abraham, whose children we must be if we are to be heirs with Christ.

By E.  J. Waggoner — The Present Truth, May 14, 1896

Blog Edited by John Foll.

Click here for a Free PDF of this article!

List of Articles

If you were blessed by this article, why not read all of it starting from the beginning of it?
Click here to read Part 1 of the Everlasting Covenant.

---

From the Editor: “The Everlasting Covenant” has had a very great impact on my life! These articles, with its stories from the Bible, led me to fall in love with God, there is no other way of putting it. The thing I was needing the most in my life was given to me after I learned how much He loved me in “The Everlasting Covenant” by E. J. Waggoner.

It is my prayer, dear reader, that God will richly bless you, as you learn more and more about His great love for you as presented by E. J. Waggoner in “The Everlasting Covenant”, as we continue to present more articles from it.

May the grace of God, and the priceless, precious fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you, as you go down this journey of falling totally in love with God! Riches beyond measure await you, if you will just get to know Him and His great love for you!

Listen to these articles at:  http://www.whiteraimentevangelism.com/recommended.



#Faith #Redemption #Fall #Man #Creation #New #Earth #Abraham #Holy #Spirit #Fellowship #Inheritance #Promise #Gospel #Victory #Power #God #Thousand #Years #Day

01 The Gospel Message - The Everlasting Gospel (The Everlasting Covenant)

When the humble shepherds on the plains of Bethlehem were astonished by the shining of the glory of the Lord round about them, as they watched their flocks by night, their fears were quieted by the voice of the angel of the Lord, who said, “Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2.10,11

The words, “good tidings,” are from the one Greek word which elsewhere is rendered “Gospel;” so that we might properly read the message of the angel thus: “Behold, I bring you the Gospel of great joy, which shall be to all people.” In that announcement to the shepherds we learn several important things.

1. That the Gospel is a message that brings joy. “The kingdom of God is . . . righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Christ is anointed “with the oil of gladness,” and He gives “the oil of joy for mourning.”

2. It is a message of salvation from sin. For before this time the same angels had foretold to Joseph the birth of this infant, and had said, “Thou shall call his name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1.21

3. It is something which concerns everybody, —“which shall be to all people.” “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3.16

This is assurance enough for everybody; but as if to emphasize the fact that the poor have equal rights in the Gospel with the rich, the first announcement of the birth of Christ was to men in the humblest walks of life. It was not to the chief priests and scribes, nor to the nobles, but to shepherds, that the joyful news was first told. So the Gospel is not beyond the understanding of the uneducated. Christ Himself was born and brought up in deep poverty; He preached the Gospel to the poor, and “the common people heard Him gladly.” Mark 12.37. Since it is thus presented to the common people, who form the bulk of the whole world, there is no doubt about it’s being a world message.

The Desire of all Nations

But although the Gospel is first of all to the poor, it is not something mean and ignoble. Christ became poor that we might become rich. The great apostle who was chosen to give the message to kings, and to the great men of the earth, said in view of His hoped - for visit to the capital of the world, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Romans 1.16. The one thing that the entire world is seeking after is power. Some seek it by means of wealth, others through politics, others through learning, and still others in various other ways; but in whatever enterprise men engage, the object is the same, — power of some kind. There is unrest in the heart of every man, an unsatisfied longing, placed there by God Himself. The mad ambition that drives some to trample on scores of their fellow-creatures, the unceasing struggle for wealth, and the reckless round of pleasures into which many plunge, are all vain endeavors to satisfy this longing.

God has not placed in the human heart a longing for any of these things; but the quest for them is a perversion of that desire which He has implanted in the human breast. He desires that man should have His power; but none of the things, which men ordinarily seek, give the power of God. Consequently none of these things satisfy. Men set a limit to the amount of wealth which they will amass, because they think that when that limit is reached they will be satisfied; but when the fixed amount has been gained, they are as unsatisfied as ever; and so they go on seeking for satisfaction by piling up wealth, not realizing that the desire of the heart cannot be met in that manner. He who implanted that desire is the only one who can satisfy it. God is manifested in Christ, and Christ is indeed “the desire of all nations” (Haggai 2.7), although there are so few who will believe that in Him alone is their perfect rest and satisfaction. To every unsatisfied mortal the invitation is given, “O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. O fear the Lord, ye His saints; for there is no want to them that fear Him.” Psalm 34.8,9. “How precious is Thy loving-kindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge under the shadow of Thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house; and Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures.” Psalm 36.7,8, R.V.

Power is what men desire in this world, and power is what the Lord wants them to have. But the power, which they are seeking, would ruin them, and the power, which He desires them to have, is power that will save them. The Gospel brings to all men this power, and it is nothing less than the power of God. It is for everybody, if they will accept it. Let us study the nature of this power, for when we have discovered it; we shall have before us the whole Gospel.

The Power of the Gospel

In the vision which the beloved disciple had of the time just preceding the coming of the Lord, the Gospel message which prepares men for that event is thus described: —

“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come; and worship Him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Revelation 14.6,7

Here we have plainly set before us the fact that the preaching of the Gospel consists in preaching God as the Creator of all things, and calling on men to worship Him as such. This corresponds to what we have read in the Epistle to the Romans, that the Gospel “is the power of God unto salvation.” What the power of God is we learn a little farther on, where the apostle, speaking of the heathen, says: —

“That which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead.” Romans 1.19, 20. That is to say, ever since the creation of the world, men have been able to see the power of God, if they would use their senses, for it is clearly to be discerned in the things, which He has made. Creation shows the power of God. So the power of God is creative power. And since the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, it follows that the Gospel is the manifestation of creative power to save men from sin.

But we have learned that the Gospel is the good news of salvation through Christ. The Gospel consists in the preaching of Christ and Him crucified. The apostle says: “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel; not with wisdom of words, lest the preaching of the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1.17,18

And still further: “We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 1.23,24. And this is why the apostle said, “And I brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto

you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2.1,2

The preaching of Christ and Him crucified is the preaching of the power of God, and therefore it is the preaching of the Gospel, for the Gospel is the power of God. And this is exactly in harmony with the thought that the preaching of the Gospel is the setting forth of God as the Creator; for the power of God is creative power, and Christ is the one by whom all things were created. No one can preach Christ without preaching Him as the Creator. All are to honor the Son even as they honor the Father. Whatever preaching fails to make prominent the fact that Jesus Christ is the Creator of all things, is not the preaching of the Gospel.

Creation and Redemption

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . .. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made . . .. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us full of grace and truth.” John 1.1-14. “By Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him, and for Him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” Colossians 1.16,17

Let us give more careful attention to the last text, and see how creation and redemption meet in Christ. In verses 13 and 14 we read that God “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” And then, after a parenthetical remark as to who Christ is, the apostle tells us how it is that we have redemption through His blood. This is the reason: “For by Him were all things created,” etc. The Revised Version gives the more literal rendering, “For in Him were all things created, . . . and He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”

So the preaching of the everlasting Gospel is the preaching of Christ the creative power of God, through whom alone salvation can come. And the power by which Christ saves men from sin is the power by which He created the worlds. We have redemption through His blood; the preaching of the cross is the preaching of the power of God; and the power of God is the power that creates; therefore the cross of Christ has in it creative power. Surely that is power enough for anybody. No wonder that the apostle exclaimed, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Galatians 6.14

The Mystery of God

To some it may be a new thought that creation and redemption are the same power; to all it is and must ever be a mystery. The Gospel itself is a mystery. The Apostle Paul desired the prayers of the brethren, that utterance might be given him, “to make known the mystery of the Gospel.” Ephesians 6.19. Elsewhere he says that he was made a minister of the Gospel, according to the gift of the grace of God, given unto him by the effectual working of His power, that he “should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world have been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 3.8,9. Here again we see the mystery of the Gospel to be the mystery of creation.

This mystery was made known to the apostle by revelation. How the revelation was made known to him we learn in his Epistle to the Galatians, where he says, “But I certify you, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” And then he makes the matter still more definite, by saying, “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.” Galatians 1.11, 12,15,16


Let us sum up the last few points.

1. The Gospel is a mystery. 
 
2. It is a mystery that is made known by revelation of Jesus Christ. 
 
3. It was not merely that Jesus Christ revealed it to him, but that he was made to know the mystery by the revelation of Jesus Christ in him. Paul had to know the Gospel first, before he could preach it to others; and the only way in which he could be made to know it was to have Christ revealed in him. The conclusion therefore is that the Gospel is the revelation of Jesus Christ in men.
 
This conclusion is plainly stated by the apostle in another place, where he says that he was made a minister “according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints; to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you the hope of glory.” Colossians 1.25-27. So we are fully assured that the Gospel is the making known of Christ in men. Or rather, the Gospel is Christ in men, and the preaching of it is the making known to men of the possibility of Christ dwelling in them. And this agrees with the statement of the angel, that they should call the name of Jesus Emmanuel, “which, being interpreted, is God with us” (Matthew 1.23); and also with the statement by the apostle that the mystery of God is God manifest in the flesh. When the angels made known to the shepherds the birth of Jesus, it was the announcement that God had come to men in the flesh; and when it was said that this good news should be to all people, it was revealed that the mystery of God dwelling in human flesh was to be declared to all men, and repeated in all who should believe Him.


And now let us briefly sum up all that we have thus far learned.

1. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Salvation is only by the power of God, and wherever the power of God is, there is salvation.

2. Christ is the power of God.

3. But Christ’s salvation comes through the cross; therefore the cross of Christ is the power of God.

4. So the preaching of Christ and Him crucified is the preaching of the Gospel.

5. The power of God is the power that creates all things. Therefore the preaching of Christ and Him crucified, as the power of God, is the preaching of the creative power of God put forth for the salvation of men.

6. This is so, because Christ is the Creator of all things.

7. Not only so, but also in Him all things were created. He is the first-born of all creation; when He was begotten, “in the days of eternity,” all things were virtually created, because all creation is in Him. The substance of all creation, and the power by which all things should be made to appear, were in Christ. This is simply a statement of the mystery that only the mind of God can comprehend.

8. The mystery of the Gospel is God manifest in human flesh. Christ on earth is “God with us.” So Christ dwelling in the hearts of men by faith is all the fullness of God in them.

9. And this means nothing less than the creative energy in God working in men through Jesus Christ, for their salvation. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” 2 Corinthians 5.17. “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.” Ephesians 2.10

The apostle indicates all this when he says that to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ is to make all see “what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world have been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.”


A Summary
In the following portion of Scripture we have the details of this mystery well summarized: —
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love; having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace; wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself; that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him; in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will; that we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory. Wherefore I . . . cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 1.3-20


Now we will note the different points of this statement:

1. All blessings are given to us in Christ. “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things.” Romans 8.32

2. This gift of all things in Christ is in accordance with the fact that He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that in Him we might obtain holiness. “For God hath not appointed us unto wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5.9

3. In that choice the destiny determined for us is that we should be sons.

4. Accordingly He accepts us in the Beloved.

5. In the Beloved we have redemption through His blood.

6. All this is the making known to us of the mystery, namely, that in the fullness of times He will gather together in one household all things in Jesus Christ, both things in the heaven and things on the earth.

7. This being the fixed purpose of God, it follows that in Christ we have already obtained an inheritance; for God makes all things work out the purpose of His own will.

8. All who believe in Christ are sealed with the Holy Spirit, which is called the Holy Spirit of promise, because it is the surety of the promised inheritance.

9. This seal of the Holy Spirit is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4.30

10. Those who have the Spirit as the seal, know what is the riches of the glory of the inheritance; that is, the glory of the future inheritance becomes theirs now, through the Spirit.

In this we see that the Gospel involves an inheritance; in fact, the mystery of the Gospel is really the possession of the inheritance, because in Him we have obtained an inheritance. Now let us see how the matter is stated in the eighth of Romans. We shall not quote the Scripture entire, but simply summarize it.

Those who have the Holy Spirit of promise are the sons of God; “for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” If we are children we are necessarily heirs, heirs of God because sons of God. And if heirs of God, we are joint heirs with Jesus Christ. The one thing above all others that Christ is desirous that we should know is that the Father has loved us even as He loved Him.

But of what are we heirs together with Christ? —Why, of all creation, because the Father has constituted Him “heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2), and has said, “He that overcomes shall inherit all things.” Revelation 21.7. And this is shown by what follows in Romans 8. We are now sons of God, but the glory of the sons of God doth not yet appear. Christ was the Son of God, yet He was not recognized as such by the world; “therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.” 1 John 3.1. In possessing the Spirit we are in possession of “the riches of the glory of the inheritance;” and that glory will in due time be revealed in us, in a measure far exceeding all present sufferings.

“For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of Him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only so, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for our adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” Romans 8.19-23 Man by creation was a son of God; but through sin he became a child of wrath, even a child of Satan, to whom he rendered obedience, instead of to God. But through the grace of God in Christ those who believe are made sons of God, and receive the Holy Spirit. Thus they are sealed as heirs until the redemption of the purchased possession, that is, of the whole creation, which is waiting for its redemption when the glory shall be revealed in the sons of God.

By E. J. Wagoner, The Present Truth: May 7, 1896

From a book called “The Everlasting Covenant” containing the original articles from: “The Present Truth” periodical, May 7, 1896 to May 27, 1897

Song of Love and Devotion to God for today:

Robe of Calvary:               Sung By George Beverly Shae
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBN4Fld-lTw

Lyrics for Robe of Calvary


Blog Edited by John Foll.

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From the Editor, my personal testimony: Regarding this collection of articles from the audio form of this book: “The Everlasting Covenant”, where this article was taken from: It has had a very great impact on my life! This book and its stories from the Bible, led me to fall in love with God, there is no other way of putting it. I believe God had been working in my life prior to this to get me to this point, with all the other things that He was teaching me – to obey Him, and helping me to learn to give up the things He didn’t want me to do. But until I fell in love with Him, I didn’t have the power from Him and the joy that I now have. But if I had not been willing to do what He was asking me to do, and had not submitted to Him, I would have never gotten to this point. The thing I was lacking in my whole life, or at least in the strength that God wanted to give me, was given to me after I learned how much He loved me in “The Everlasting Covenant” by E. J. Waggoner.

I had given my heart to God as a boy when I was baptized, and there is no doubt that God was working in my life then, and throughout my life, but I had not totally surrendered to Him before this great change. (I wanted to be closer to Him, but I was having difficulty yielding to Him all the way every day. And sometimes my stubborn pride would get in the way or I fell into sin.) Before this great change that happened to me, I could have never imagined the peace, love and joy and pure unadulterated happiness that I could have. I never knew such joy even existed! (I could never have had this change in my own strength or will in any way.) If you would have told me about any of this before this great change happened to me, I wouldn’t have believed you! It seemed to me that no one has a right to feel such joy! – That it is too much for anyone to expect. I told myself and several others, ‘I need to pinch myself to see if I am awake!’ Before when I had walked with God, even after my baptism, something would always come along and spoil my joy and happiness. And at some points I would go back and forth between wanting to be good and doing my own thing, sometimes backsliding. After this great change I asked someone, ‘When does this joy end?” And the answer to me from my heart, and from the one I was telling it to was: “never!” I prayed to God for help to keep me from going back to my old ways. I certainly do not deserve what happened to me, I can only thank God for showing me His love and changing my heart! I have not then, nor now, nor will I ever be better than anyone else on this earth, but what happened to me was due solely to God, not based on anything that I have done or deserve or for any of my abilities. I would rather die than go back to the way I used to live! It would break my heart forever if I lost this. I could never be happy again if I lost the joy of knowing and loving my God!

I hope that my testimony is not too much for you dear reader. I am just speaking what’s on my mind about the wonderful riches of God. He wants to give these riches to you too, if you would have them.

It is my prayer, dear reader, that God will richly bless you too, as you learn more and more about His great love for you, especially as presented by E. J. Waggoner in “The Everlasting Covenant”, as we continue to present more articles from it.

May the grace of God, and the priceless, precious fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you, as you go down this journey of falling totally in love with God! Riches beyond measure await you, if you will just get to know Him and His great love for you!

P. S. If you would like to listen to the audio of this book you can listen to it on our web site: http://www.whiteraimentevangelism.com/recommended. But it will be the whole book, not just this article in this blog you are now reading.

Click here for a Free PDF of this article!

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