How Do You Get Faith?

By John Foll, Finished 01/21/2018.
© Copyright 2018 John Foll

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Faith is produced by God's love for you.

When you learn how much He loves you and believe it, this changes you! Therefore your faith in God or not, shows how much you love Him. Like any child who learns to love their earthly loving parents, their faith in their parents grow as they learn that their parents love them, if their parents take good care of them. The child’s faith in their parents is a product of their parents love for them, as their love for them grows. This is how it is with every soul, if they learn more and more of His love, their faith and trust in Him grows! Are you ready dear reader for your love and faith in God to grow? Then read on!

Abraham was called the friend of God:

“And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.” James 2:23 KJV. Genesis 15:6.  If you read the story about Abraham from Genesis 12 to 24, you will see that he was on a journey with God from where he grew up and lived, to where his wanderings would later take him to that would later be called the Promised Land! God was teaching Abraham to trust Him through the time Abraham spent with God, and through the trials and circumstances God tested him with.

Abraham was not chosen to be a friend of God or promised God’s blessings because he deserved it, but because of God’s great love for him and the world. It was God’s desire to save the world and use Abraham and his descendants to do it. “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.” Romans 4:13 NASB. See also Romans 4:9. “BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT. Is this blessing then upon the circumcised, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say, ‘FAITH WAS RECKONED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.’  How then was it reckoned? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be reckoned to them, *** but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.” Romans 4:9-12 NASB. Yes, how blessed is he or she whose sin the Lord does not take into account! God made this promise to Abraham before their covenant of circumcision. The point Paul is making here is that the promises that God was making to Abraham were not just for Abraham and his descendants, but were for the whole world to be saved as well! God took pity on everybody in the world, including the gentiles and provided for their salvation through Abraham too, because of His great love. As gentiles we also do not deserve to be chosen by God either, but through the promises made to Abraham we can also be partakers of the Heavenly promises and Heavenly gifts!

Why was Abraham called the friend of God? What does it mean to be called a friend of God?

Think about what you would want in a friend: Love, respect, caring, helpfulness, self-sacrifice, and unselfishness. So if you want to be a friend of God you will do these things for Him too. But that is not all – God is your Heavenly Father too. How should you treat your human Father? Love, respect, and obey him. Then you should also love, respect and obey God too, since He is your Creator, Provider, Heavenly Father and God! Why are we bringing all this up about Abraham and what we should do? So that you can be a friend of God too. Why not? God will be your friend if you will let Him. Don’t you want Him as your friend?

Jesus declared what it means to be a friend of God:

“You are My friends if you do what I command you.” John 15:14 NASB. Let us contemplate again what it takes to be someone’s friend: you must love them. Therefore Abraham loved God, because He was his friend. From this one statement by Jesus in John 15:14 you can be sure that Abraham obeyed God, because James 2:23 says that Abraham was called the friend of God. The Bible in Genesis also records Abraham’s life story, and while it wasn’t perfect, it showed someone who was learning to love and obey God and eventually to have great faith in Him too! (As when he was asked to sacrifice his only son. Genesis 22:12 – read the whole chapter.)

Jesus also said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever;” John 14:15-16 KJV. “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” John 15:10-11 NASB. And: “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.’” John 14:23 NASB. Meditate on Jesus’ words here. You could write many sermons, and yes a whole book on any one of these statements by Jesus, they are quite powerful! What Jesus said here is not for the timid, the doubtful, the fearful or those who don’t want to love Jesus and His Father all the way.

All this was implied when Abraham was called the friend of God: it was because he loved God! Where there is little love for God, there is also little faith and little obedience to Him. This is why so many are ready to excuse themselves from obeying God, because they love Him only but little. Are not all who are Christians forgiven by Him and helped by Him? Why then are there not more who love Him all the way? Aren’t they grateful for what He’s done for them? Haven’t they been helped tremendously by Him? Or do they take His love, help and mercy for granted? Why is it then that there are so few who have much love for God and faith in Him? Jesus declared: ‘But to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.’ Luke 7:47 KJV. This may be the problem or part of it! There are many teachers ready and willing to teach people that obedience is not required by God, because they are saved by grace (which is true by itself, except that it is leaving out other essential truths), and little or nothing is mentioned about the need to obey God, or it is stated that this is works if you try to obey Him. And some even say or imply that it is wrong to obey God. Where have we heard this before? Listen carefully to what Isaiah the prophet says here: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20 KJV. This is a deadly deception! It can NEVER be wrong to want to obey God, even if someone is not born again! Only those who have power from God will be able to obey Him. Yes it is works to try to obey God in your own strength! But we believe that God takes into consideration the desire of every honest soul who wants to obey Him. But He is not pleased with those who do not want to obey Him, or say that they can’t obey Him, or say that they do not need to obey Him, etc. (because they are saved by grace and teach that it is works to obey Him). But God is also not completely pleased with those who are not born again either, because He longs to help everyone have the wonderful peace, love, joy and contentment that all will have who yield to Him all the way. Those who are not born again cannot please God all the way because they do not have the power to obey Him, which only comes to those who yield to Him all the way, love and trust Him. “Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” Romans 8:7-8 NASB.

And God will try to work in their heart before it’s too late, if only they would yield to Him. But He will always hear the prayer of those who confess their sins to Him, even if they have not yielded completely to Him yet. Those who think that they are saved because they are trying to obey Him are gravely mistaken. But if they had it in their heart to obey Him, and failed, then confessed these sins to Him, He will forgive them of this, since *He is always ready and willing to forgive.

* From the Song HE.

In contrast to the above spiritual “non-sense,” stated and believed by many, the soul who is the friend of God and “knows” Him, will have a deep love for Him and would never want to hurt or disappoint Him, and would always want to obey Him! And if they sin or fail Him, they would confess these sins to Him, and get a clean slate with Him again. Amen! Those that love Him will not indulge themselves in sinful doubting that He can do what He clearly declares that He can do in the Holy Bible; they will understand the many precious promises in the Bible for them, and His power and desire to save to the uttermost all who turn to Him from their sins.

So true faith is produced in the hearts of those who have learned to love God as their Heavenly Father, believing in His mighty power to save, as they have followed His guiding voice step-by-step through the Holy Spirit. This is wholly the work of God that He wants to do for every soul who would want it and believe it, but they must choose to humble their heart to Him, confess, and yield to Him all the way, and obey Him in everything He wants them to do.

It is not those who are mighty in will power, mental decision and skill and will, or human belief that will have this true faith in God, but just those who have learned to love Him. This is the work of the Holy Spirit on all who truly co-operate with God; which is those who want to co-operate with Him, and pray for the help and strength to please Him.

If you are having difficulty believing in Him or His desire to save you and do good things for you, then you have not fully learned to love Him yet, because faith in God is the natural result of learning to love Him. Faith is the natural outcome of God’s love, if you receive it into your heart. God’s love provides all that you need to be His child if you will receive it. When your heart fully decides that it loves Him, then you will be born again, born of Heaven! When this happens you will have great faith in Him, like Abraham did, and you would do anything for Him, whom your soul loves. And then you will be flooded with peace, love, and joy, and your life will take on a whole new meaning! This is what it means to be a new creature and to walk in the Spirit.

Only those who have learned to love God (allowed Him to save them) have this saving faith. This is how you can get the faith to please God!

May the grace of God be with you! May you learn to love Him more and more, as you spend much time with Him. As your love for Him grows, so will your faith and your obedience to Him grow too! Amen.

Concluding Statement:

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 KJV.

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Many will not be able to enter the Heavenly Canaan because of unbelief

By John Foll, finished writing 9/30/2017.
© Copyright 2017 John Foll

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“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” Hebrews 3:12-19 KJV.

So what is the cure for unbelief? Faith. Faith is the opposite of doubt or unbelief. Unbelief in what? Unbelief in the promises of God. The children of Israel had been given a promise by God that He would give them the land of Canaan and help them to possess it, if they would follow His lead. Caleb and Joshua told the children of Israel that they were well able to enter the Promised Land, that God would open the way for them and give it to them. But the 10 other unfaithful spies lied to the children of Israel about this, saying many discouraging things to them, so that they did not believe the promise of the Lord.

“Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, ‘We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.’ But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us." So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, ‘The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." Numbers 13:30-33 NASB. “Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, ‘Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?’ So they said to one another, ‘Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.’ Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, ‘The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us — a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.’ But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the LORD appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.” Numbers 14:1-10 NASB. Read the rest of this passage and beyond for this sad account; for their punishment for unbelief and rebellion against God. Unbelief and rebellion are close cousins.

Who did the children of Israel believe? Caleb and Joshua or the 10 unfaithful spies? There were two reports, a good report and a bad report. Which report do you want to hear? The good report or the bad report? What do you want to believe, the promise of God to save you and take you to the Heavenly Canaan, or the lying report that says that God is not able to save you, or that you must try to find out how to save yourself? No, those who will enter the Heavenly Canaan will enter in only by belief and faith in God’s mighty power to save; they will believe the good report of God’s love, might and power, and reject all lying reports.

What did Jesus say regarding unbelief and faith and the ability of doing the work He gave His disciples to do? (This includes His modern day disciples too, which can be you too if you want this!)

“Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, ‘Why could not we cast him out?’ And Jesus said unto them, ‘Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.’” Matthew 17:19-20 KJV.

Is there a connection between faith and the Holy Spirit? If you have a lack of faith or have unbelief you can ask God who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not (James 1:5) and He will give you all the faith you need by giving you the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” Luke 11:13 NASB. This is a most beautiful promise that Jesus and His Father want to give you. Ask for it, believe it and receive it. Dwell on the rich promises of God and of His love for you until you believe. Put away all doubt and discouragement. You may have to pray much, and keep confessing and yielding yourself to God, until you receive this for yourself.

The answer to the question ‘is there a connection between faith and the Holy Spirit’ is yes! One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is faith. Whenever someone has great faith, it has always been given to them by the Holy Spirit, but they must choose to exercise this faith, or they will lose it. Human belief is of no value, only the faith given by God will save you, but you must choose to exercise it. That is why it is so important to get the Holy Spirit in full, who will give you much faith, hope and joy! See Galatians 5:22-23 for the list of the fruits of the Spirit that God wants to give you. So if you want to have faith, and not be shut out of Heaven because of unbelief, you must get the Holy Spirit.

Many don’t see the necessity of having the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit or don’t know that they can get this for themselves. They think that what happened in the book of Acts with the early Christians only happened in the book of Acts and that it can’t happen in our day anymore or the like. And others think that they have the Holy Spirit, when they do not have Him in full if at all. There is a change in someone’s life that is impossible to hide whenever someone receives this most precious of gifts that God wants to give all who want to be Jesus’ disciple! There is much love and a gentleness that is imparted to them by God, and they will be given the victory over their bad habits and sins (or will be gaining victory by victory, day by day – not always all at once). Many do not know of their greatest need of having the fruits of the Holy Spirit in their life in full in order to help make their calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10), and to be happy in their love for God. This is what God wants to do for all of His people if they would seek after Him with all their heart (Jeremiah 29:13), to help them be all that they can be for Him. It is dangerous to go it alone without the aid that God wants to give you.

Those who wish to enter the Heavenly Canaan must believe in His many precious promises because they have learned to love Him and that He is to be trusted. “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:4 KJV. “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.” 2 Corinthians 1:20-22 NASB. Paul tells us here that God gave us the Holy Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. Pledge of what? Pledge of the many promises of God, as Paul said at the beginning of this passage.

Therefore the connection between the faith to believe the promises of God to take you to the Heavenly Canaan depends on whether you will receive the Holy Spirit fully into your heart or not, and whether you will willingly do all that God wants you to do, because the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey God. Acts 5:32. Therefore this is how you can be an overcomer and have the faith to please God and not be kept out of Heaven because of unbelief. God will make this easy for you if you will just cooperate with Him willingly. If you know that you need help in this area just pray to God, ‘Be merciful to me a sinner’, and He will help you! Amen.  Luke 18:13-14.

We are now very near the end of time. The times ahead will be very difficult. In fact, it will be impossible for anyone to make it through these times without being lost, unless they yield their heart completely to God (no one can ever save themselves, it is always by the grace of God). But God will give the needed grace and help to those who love and trust Him, like He always does, while the fearful and the doubting will be shut out forever from the gates of Heaven (shut out with all the liars, murderers, sorcerers, idolaters and the like.) – shut out because of unbelief. Therefore cast out all fear and unbelief and love God with all of your heart and mind and soul (Matthew 22:37; Deuteronomy 11:13-15), and accept His promised blessings that He wants to bless His people with. He will help all to overcome who want help and give them all the gifts that they need to serve Him with. He will help them to be successful and to be an overcomer. He will give them a heart to love Him all the way with (Ezekiel 11:19; 18:31; 36:26) and to love their neighbor as themselves with. Matthew 22:39. This is what God wants to do for His people, if they will let Him.

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Revelation 21:7-8 KJV.  

Don’t be shut out of Heaven because of unbelief. God loves you and will give you all the faith you need to get rid of your unbelief, if you will accept it. Amen.

May the grace of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all!

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A Letter to a Friend: How to Overcome Doubt and Discouragement

Dear Friend:

I see you have had a lot of trouble since you became a Christian. You have had great trouble and were wondering why God wasn’t helping you. You haven’t had an easy life, and the enemy of humanity has been greatly troubling you and trying to put you down, and to steal your new life away from you. You don’t know why you can’t have an easier time, and not have so many problems.

I would like to tell you about my special friend whom you are starting to get to know. His name is Jesus. He knows what you are going through, the problems you inherited, and knows the battles that you are fighting. But He has won the battle for you at the cross and has been given all power and authority. Matthew 28:18. Just let Him fight your battles for you and rest in His strength. He is pleading on your behalf to the Father.

Sometimes you have felt like you were ready to give up. Are you ready to give up yet? Then let God take care of you. Then allow Him to save you from your doubts and fears. Are you ready to let Him do this? Believe it or not your life will get better when you totally give up, and fall into the loving hands of God. Giving up is not such a bad thing, if you will just rest totally in God’s love. In fact, giving up is the best thing you could ever do! Providing you trust in God totally. There is no room for doubts or fears when you give up and fall into His hands! When you fall into His loving hands, He will then take care of you, no more fear.

Gather up the fragments that remain of the good things and blessings God has given you. John 6:12. Don’t talk through your doubts, fears and mistakes, or the mistakes of others. Don’t dwell on them either. If you mention them aloud your ears hear them, reinforcing them in your brain. Don’t gather up all of your problems, doubts and fears and dwell on them or present them to others. Instead, gather up what Jesus and His Father have done for you, and do not lose any of these blessings. Think about what God has done for you, and the joy you felt when you were baptized and gave your heart to the Lord. Think about how far God has taken you from where you were, and the battles He has helped you to win! Think of all the changes for the better that God has helped you to do. Think about all the blessings you have received, and all the knowledge about God and the truth that you have acquired. Instead of thinking of all of your troubles, trials and fears, think about what God wants to do for you and for all the blessings He is giving you and wants to give you. Gather all of these up and thank Him for it! Gather up all of these and praise Him to others of what He has done for you. The antidote to doubt is to praise God and thank Him for all of His marvelous works.

How do you get rid of doubt or discouragement you may ask? You must get faith. How? Do what Paul declares here: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 KJV. Where does faith come from? It comes from hearing. Hearing what? The word of God. What does it mean to hear the word of God? It means to read it, listen to it, receive it into your heart, and to do it by His grace. It means you don’t turn away from what God is telling you to do in the Bible. Is it really that simple to get faith? Is it really that simple to get rid of doubt? Yes! It really is that simple! There is power in the word of God. When God spoke and said, ‘Let there be light’, there was light. Genesis 1:3. And for each day of the week when God spoke and said something, His word created what He said. Genesis chapter 1. So how do you get faith? By hearing the words of God that He speaks, believing them and doing them. In God’s word is contained the power to perform what He asks, this is how you get faith.

But how this and how that? Stop asking how and start hearing His voice. Stop asking how, and start reading His word and believing. Stop asking how, and start really listening to His word and desire to keep it. I know that you want to keep His word, but listening to His word is the secret to how you can get rid of doubt and discouragement and to have faith! The power to get rid of all your doubts are contained in His words.

It is impossible for God to lie, therefore we have a strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. Hebrews 6:18. If you want to be happy and get rid of doubt study the many precious promises of God for you to claim, and ask Him to help you meet their requirements so that they become yours. Peter says, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:4 KJV. Peter ought to know about these things since he had walked and talked with Jesus, and been changed by His love. He had denied His Savior when Jesus was arrested and taken away to the priest’s house where Jesus was being accused, but Jesus forgave him. Luke 22:54-62. After the cross Jesus told him to feed His lambs, letting him know that he had been forgiven. John 21:15. Peter died as an overcomer. He personally knew of Jesus saving grace, and the many precious promises for the believer. Peter had had such a change from his impetuous and bragging nature before the cross, to the kind and humble evangelist, taking care of Jesus’ sheep. If Jesus can help the apostle Peter, He can help you too.

Keep reading and studying the faith building stories throughout the Bible and make them your own. These stories can be your life story in some ways too, did you know that? When you read these exciting stories of people who were faithful to God and served Him with joy and delight, this story of faithfulness can be yours too. The life of the faithful person in the Bible days doesn’t have to be something you just read about, it can be your story too! If you would want to take part in God’s plan of Salvation, He would be delighted to share a peace of the kingdom with you (Luke 12:32). When you give yourself to God, and hear His word and receive it into your heart, this will produce faith in your heart and help you get rid of doubt, because this is the power of God! Just believe it. It is not really as hard as many people want to make it, it is really quite easy! How can that be true? People say that it is hard. But it is not only hard, it is impossible for anyone to become a new creature, which is to live a righteous life, by themselves. But it is easy when you let God, who is mighty to save, do it for you! It is hard and impossible for you to do it, but easy if you let God do it for you.

Continue to yield yourself to your Heavenly Father, until you yield completely. Obey Him in all things; pray for the ability of obeying Him all the way. When this happens you will be given great joy, which will help you to win this battle against discouragement and doubt. When this happens you will know that He loves you and that your salvation is secure with Him, because you kept confessing your sins and have received His Spirit, who will help keep you from falling. And then your whole life will change for the better, and you will devote yourself to Him, the one you love.


The conclusion my dear friend:

Great and marvelous are the works of God! Make Him your focus, and give Him the praise of your voice and heart, and receive great joy in your heart, then you will not worry about discouragement anymore, because God will be your fortress and your strength, and enable you to become an overcomer. 

“And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God. And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, ‘Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU, FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED.’” Revelation 15:2-4 NASB.

By John Foll, written between 8/11/2017 and 8/13/2017.
© Copyright 2017 John Foll
 

 

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The Divine Human Family 1 of 3: The Head of the Family

By W. W. PRESCOTT

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THE one object in all our Bible study should be, not to establish theories, but to feed upon the living word. And it seems especially desirable to call attention to this principle when a large number of us who are accustomed to teaching the word come together to make a special study of it. Hence the principle should not be to learn some theory which we can tell to others, but to obtain a life which may be lived before others; and this will be the purpose in our study of the word, - simply to feed upon the word which is Spirit and which is life. And this will be the case, no matter what special phase of truth we may study. Our whole purpose will be to break the bread of life so that we may together feed upon it.

The subject which we will consider together, for a time at least, during this Institute may perhaps be designated as the Divine-Human Family. In Eph.3:14,15 we read: "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named." The whole family in heaven and earth. And it will be our purpose to consider this idea of the family, but from this special stand-point, the Divine-Human family; and our topic for this hour will be to consider the Head of the family.

I would like to call attention, first, to the fact that the human family, considered as a human family, has one common Father. Acts 17:24-26. "God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshiped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men." This is our authorized version; the revised version leaves out the word "blood." "And he made of one every nation of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth." Hath made of one all nations of the earth; that is, Adam was the father of the human family as a human family; and when God created Adam he created the whole human family. He created all nations that are upon the earth when he created Adam. That is, in creating Adam and conferring upon him the power to beget in his own image, he saw, as it were, a fountain of life in him; and when he created Adam, he saw in Adam every human being that has been or will be upon the face of the earth, and he created every human being upon the face of the earth in Adam.

You will see how this thought is suggested in the 25th chapter of Genesis, where the birth of Jacob and Esau is recorded. Verses 19 to 23 give the record. But I call special attention to the 23rd verse. When Rebecca inquired of the Lord, he answered her, "Two nations are in thy womb." Two nations, - Jacob and Esau. In Jacob, God saw all the descendants of Jacob; in Esau, God saw all the descendants of Esau; and so, as he viewed it, there were two nations struggling together.
The same thought is further emphasized in Hebrews 7:9,10: "And as I may say so, Levi also, who received tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father when Melchisedec met him."

These scriptures are sufficient to bring out the principle, that in Adam were all the descendants of Adam, as he was the common father of the human family. But Adam the first failed in his work, and so there came Adam the second. 1Cor. 15:45 and onward: "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven." And this second man, the Lord from heaven, sustains the same relation to his family that Adam sustained to his family. That is, he became the second father of the family.

In Col.3:9,10: "Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." Eph.4:22-24: "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Dr. Young's translation of this same text gives a little different wording, which is important. Instead of reading, "Which after God is created in righteousness," he translates more literally, "Which according to God was created in righteousness." Now with these scriptures before us, we can see readily the teaching. Adam was the first man, and by yielding to sin, he received sin into human flesh,
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and his flesh became sinful flesh. Christ was the second man, the second father of the human family. He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. After humanity in Adam had admitted sin into the flesh, that became the old man, and the old man is humanity with sin working in it. That is to say, the old man is humanity under the control of the devil, and those who are in that condition are spoken of by the Saviour in John 8 as being of their father the devil. 42nd verse and onward: "Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do." The old man is humanity with sin working in it; the old man is humanity under the control and direction of the devil. The new man is humanity with divinity in it, and above all and first of all, the new man is Christ Jesus, "which according to God was created in righteousness and true holiness." So we are instructed to put on the new man. Rom.13:14.

"Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ," the new man, "and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof."

Now how did Jesus Christ become the second father of the human family? And what does it mean to us that he did become the second father of the human family? This is told in Heb.2:14: "Forasmuch then as the children" [he is the father] are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Notice carefully; it is because the children were partakers of flesh and blood that he also himself likewise took part of the same flesh and blood. Why? In order that he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.

This thought is suggested in 1st John 3:5." And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins." Notice what it says. "Ye know that he was manifested." He WAS MANIFESTED to take away our sins. How was he manifested? He was manifested in the flesh; by becoming partaker of flesh and blood he was manifested. John says in the first chapter and second verse, "For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us." And he was manifested to take away our sins; and he was manifested by taking part in flesh and blood, that he might be seen, capable of being looked upon. But he was manifested to take away our sins. For it was necessary, in order to take away our sins, that divinity should suffer. But how could divinity suffer simply and solely as divinity for the sins of humanity? So divinity was clothed with humanity, was manifested in humanity, that there might be a human side to divinity for the suffering; that it might be possible for divinity to present a human side for the suffering; that there might be, as it were, a vulnerable side to divinity, that divinity might receive the wound: because prophecy said that his heel should be bruised, and that must be in humanity. There must be a human side to divinity in order that divinity might suffer in humanity. But divinity must suffer to take away our sins, so divinity was manifested, put into humanity, clothed with a body; clothed with flesh, with our flesh, in order that divinity might present a side capable of receiving the wound; so, "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us," and he partook of the same flesh and blood in order "that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might deliver them who through fear of death [and death comes only through sin] were all their lifetime subject to bondage."

How did he take upon him that nature, that flesh and blood? He did it by birth, by being born of a woman, and the agency through which he was born of a woman was the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:35: "And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." But he was also the Son of Man, and the head, the second head of the human family was a man, the new man, the divine-human man, the man Christ Jesus.

Now what does it mean to us that Jesus Christ became the second head of this human family? It means this: Just as, when Adam was created, all the members of the human family were created in him, so also when the second man was created "according to God in righteousness and true holiness," all the members of that family were created in him. It means that, as God saw in Adam all the members of the human family, so he saw in Christ, the second father of the family, all the members of the divine human family; so he saw in him all his sons, all his daughters, all his descendants; all that belong to the family. No matter whether they were born into the family or not. Before Jacob and Esau were born, God saw two nations there. No matter whether born into the divine human family or not, yet God created
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in Christ Jesus, the new man, all the members of the divine-human family that should afterward be born into that family.

Now the fact that Christ took our flesh, and that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, means a great deal more than that there was a good man who lived then, and set us a good example. He was the second father, he was the representative of humanity; and it was when Jesus Christ took our human nature and was born of a woman, that humanity and divinity were joined. It was then that Jesus Christ gave himself, not simply for the human family but to the human family. That is to say, Jesus Christ joined himself to humanity and gave himself to humanity, and identified himself with humanity and became humanity; and he became we, and we were there in him. It means that Jesus Christ in himself joined humanity and divinity to all eternity to take our human nature and retain it to all eternity, and is to-day our representative in heaven, still bearing our human nature, and there is a divine-human man in heaven to-day, - Jesus Christ.

Read it in Heb.10:11,12: "And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but this man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever sat down on the right hand of God." There is a man sitting on the right hand of God, and we sit there in him. That is what this scripture in the seventh of Hebrews, to which we have referred, has illustrated, how it is that God saw in Adam all the human family, and how that when he created Adam he created all the human family. This Scripture means a great deal more than that. Read again Heb.7:9,10: "And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father when Melchisedec met him." When Abraham paid tithes to Melchisedec, Levi paid tithes in him, for he was in the loins of his father when Melchisedec met him. All that Abraham did, Levi did in him.

Read further in the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians, verses 21 and 22: "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead." You may stop a moment to think that they both came by a tree; death came by a tree, life came by a tree. Adam ate of the forbidden fruit of the tree, so death came upon the human family. Christ bore all our sins upon a tree, and by that means brought life to the human family. "By man came death; by man came also the resurrection of the dead, for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." Adam is the man through whom death came; Christ is the man through whom comes the resurrection from the dead. 

Read also Romans 5:12 and onward. As we read this scripture, bear these principles in mind, and this parallel between the first Adam and the second Adam, and what we gained through the first Adam and what we gained through the second Adam. From the first Adam, sin, transitory life, death; from the second Adam, righteousness, life, - eternal life. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Revised Version, "for that all sinned." Just one act in a point of time wholly past. For that all sinned; for all did sin.

"For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed where there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure (or type) of him that was to come. But not as the offense, so also is the free gift; for if through the offense of one many be dead (Revised Version, many died) much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification," or righteousness. So the contrast is between condemnation and justification, or righteousness. Death came by sin. "For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offense of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made [or 'became,' or Dr. Young's translation, 'many were constituted'] sinners; so by the obedience of one shall many be made [or constituted] righteous."

Now see the contrast between the first Adam and the second Adam; the first father of the family and the second father of the family. From one, judgment to condemnation; the other, justification of life. Through the disobedience of one, many were constituted sinners; through the obedience of one, many were constituted sinners; through the obedience of one, many were constituted righteous in him.

And the idea further that Jesus Christ gave himself to us. Think of that for a moment. It is not that Jesus Christ, as some one apart from us, as it were entirely outside of our connection in any way, just simply came forward and said, "I will die for man." No, he became man, and divinity was given to the human family in Jesus Christ. But divinity
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was joined to humanity by birth, and Jesus Christ became flesh and blood relation, - near of kin to every one of us.

Read the foreshadowing of that in Lev.55:47-49: "And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself upon the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family, after that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him, either his uncle or his uncle's son may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself." Now that is where humanity is. Humanity is sold under sin. Now if humanity is able, it may redeem itself. Is it able? Is humanity able to redeem itself? No. Well, then, some one that is nigh of kin may redeem it. But who is nigh of kin that is able to redeem it? He who took part of our same flesh and blood. So that, as is expressed in Eph.5:30, "We are members of his body and of his flesh, and of his bones." And he is nigh of kin.

Now read again in Heb.2:11, and see how this relation is recognized. "For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren." You remember in his last prayer, just at the close of his work (John 17:26), he says, "And I have declared unto them thy name." "I will declare thy name unto my brethren." And he did it; and one of his last words was, "I have declared unto them thy name." They were his brethren. "I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee." And again, "I will put my trust in him." And again, "Behold, I and the children which God hath given me." Second father of the family. Behold the children.

Mark 3:31: "There came then his brethren and his mother [Now these were those that were actually related to him by the ties of the natural flesh], and standing without, sent unto him, calling him. And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them that sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother." That is, whoever is born into this family of God is as closely related to Jesus Christ, and that by flesh and blood, as is a mother to her own son.

Read in Luke 11:27,28, and it is a touching thought: "And it came to pass as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked." As this woman looked upon Jesus Christ and heard his teachings, there arose in that mother's heart a feeling of what a wonderfully blessed thing it must be to be so closely united to that man as is a mother to her child. What did he reply? Oh, he said, "Yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." Because they are united every one of them to him just as is a mother to her own child. That is, by the very closest ties possible in this world is every son of God united to Jesus Christ, his Brother, his Father, his Saviour, his Redeemer.


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