The Gospel is Good News to all who will humbly accept Jesus and listen to His teaching.
We refer to the four books of the Bible which tell the story of Jesus Christ as the Gospels. These books are named for their authors: Matthew, a Jewish Apostle; Mark, a disciple of the first generation who recorded accounts of Peter and the Twelve; Luke, a gentile Physician and disciple of the first century; and John, one of the Twelve Jewish Apostles chosen by Jesus.
We’ve been asking our SELVES in this series the questions of life, as well as questioning our purpose memorialized at our own funeral.
Songs mentioned in previous posts resound in our thoughts from time to time – limited time in this fragile mortal frame. Some ask of meaning while others speak of a purpose driven life.
Is God that purpose?
Does you life have meaning in the eyes of the Eternal Lord God?
Maybe a Saint or Pope? Perhaps an angel? How about a Priest or holy man dedicating their life to God? And what about holy men and women of other faiths? WHO CAN BE HOLY?
No question about someone’s preaching or teaching is more important than, “What do you mean by that?”
So as I begin this series addressing various doctrines, please allow me to address what I mean by three terms in this first doctrine: God, Isand Holy. (What do I mean when I preface my teaching on the Bible by saying, ‘God is holy?’)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth..
gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God
also (plural intensive – singular meaning) i.e. the true God
We cannot exhaust all of the words used for ‘God’ here as we speak of doctrine, but we must look at one additional (and somewhat ambiguous) synonym, ‘Lord.’
28 One of the Torah-teachers came up and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He [the Messiah Jesus] had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?”
‘Sh’ma Yisra’el, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad [Hear, O Isra’el, the Lord our God, the Lord is one], and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’
Mark 12:28-29 from NASB & CJB
Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘.. The Lord is our God, the Lord is one..’
Holy, Holy, Holy
I remember from early days of my childhood growing up ‘in church’ hearing a cappella worship and the ethereal lyrics of ‘Holy, Holy, Holy.’ The ‘otherness‘ feeling of these moments of worship transported my soul to a higher undefinable place. It was worship I would not come to understand until until I received the Holy Spirit many years later in this mortal life.
Although we cannot even approach the heights and depths of the doctrine of Trinity in this brief look at holiness, I offer you, beloved fellow believer, this one insight:
You may have heard of the Trinity before, but it will not impact your faith until you receive the Holy Spirit.
Awe becomes a most humbling reaction to the Holy presence of Almighty God!
We witness mortals experiencing this holiness in Moses and many others. Take the reaction of the prophet Isaiah for instance:
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
“God is not a man, that He would lie, Nor a son of man, that He would change His mind; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good.
This Latin expression from early church fathers describes God’s holiness as the “tremendous, tremor-inducing and awe-inspiring, mystery,” a reverence for the Lord rarely present in 21st century worship by the church.
God is Other Plus
Can man pursue Other?
God IS other, but God is also more than Other. The LORD is above all His Creation plus in it as well. The Personal God of the Bible made Himself known to those He chose; that is, Moses, Elijah and the Prophets, David and others.
Although we hallow God (and we must), our awe and fear of the LORD draws us to His love that conceived each of us in His image as body, mind and spirit.
Again, returning to a description by Otto, who secular philosophers accuse of pursuing the irrational, it is better to say “supra-rational.”
God is NOT other than rational just because man cannot understand a God so ‘other’ than mankind.
Theologians seek to study “that rational aspect of that supreme Reality we call ‘God.”‘ Although the Holy trembles the hearts of men, the pursuit of God’s holiness draws us to the other supra-rational being who out of His own love pursues us.
God defends HIS HOLINESS!
Scripture records that God has met up with some brash men and responded. (So have we.) Some sought answers from the Lord while others offended God by bold disrespect or by profane ignorance of the Almighty.
Secular ambivalence to God denies that which is holy, while cultural inclusion of that which is not holy diminishes the Divine Authority of He Who IS other and above all creation.
GOD defends His holiness and His Holy Name.
Roger@talkofJESUS.com
The Lord’s defense of His holiness is sometimes subtle and gentle, yet at times severe and final in execution of His judgment.
Scriptural Defense of God’s Holiness
“Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” – Exodus 3:5
“You shall be holy people to Me, therefore.. – Exodus 22:31a
..the ground that was under them split open..
So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.
Fire also came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense. – Numbers 16:35
.. Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, because the oxen nearly overturned it. But the anger of the LORD burned against Uzza, so He struck him because he had put out his hand toward the ark; and he died there before God. – 1 Chronicles 13:9b-10
Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it.
.. and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased.” – Luke 3:22
In the synagogue [at Capernaum] there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Leave us alone! What business do You have with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, it came out of him without doing him any harm. And amazement came upon them all.. – Luke 4
A Rebuke of the Church
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:
I know your deeds..
A plea of grace
Are you, dear saint of God, looking to the holiness offered to sinners — undeserved holiness by grace from the Perfect Other Son and Sacrifice –Jesus Christ — Who was and IS and will be — judge of all living flesh and judge of each dead saint or sinner?
He knows your deeds — your works for the Lord, as well as every impure act in thought, word and deed.
Hear the cries of the souls of the saints beneath the Altar of Heaven:
“How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who live on the earth?”
Are these not souls like ours crying out to the Lord God for Justice?
How long, O Lord, can it yet be in these last days of this 21st century?
Do you, my fellow saint, recall what follows in John’s apocalypse from Jesus Christ — what response to God’s holy refining of heaven and earth?
And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood and the stars of the sky fell to the earth..
The sky was split apart .. and every mountain and island was removed from its place..
excerpt from the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John 6:12-14
The LORD God: Father, Son and Spirit: are ONE and ALL are Perfectly HOLY
Out from the throne came flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder…
..and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.
..day and night they do not cease to say,
“HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, who was and who is and who is to come.”
Revelation 4:8b NASB20
Let those with ears hear what the Spirit says — GOD IS HOLY!
DEATH! Everyone must have had questions about the DEATH and life of Jesus now. Resurrection, though they had talked about it — even witnessed the dead coming to life like Lazarus and others — resurrection remained far from their minds.
John 11:43
The Messiah of Israel, authoritative rabbi, proven prophet, beloved shepherd, gentle lamb of God — Jesus, even the Son of God crucified on a shameful Roman cross, buried in a grave like any other man — Jesus, the Christ — dead. How could G-d allow it? For if any man or woman deserved DEATH, even shameful crucifixion hanging on a Cross, it was not this Son of Man, Jesus (shamefully mocked as King of the JEWS). He was so much more than that, but DEATH?
What meaning to our life if living like a Perfect Son was not enough to avoid DEATH?
Of course, Lazarus like everybody else will die again. But what then, without Jesus?
What does Scripture say about DEATH?
DEATH looms so LARGE in each of our lives…
A beloved wife or husband dies or even a child before their time.
My younger brother died before me; my mother’s older brother had died as a child — and for most mortals my age, one or both parents have already suffered DEATH by various causes.
Is life so meaningless that DEATH must conquer each mortal soul?
What does the Bible say about death?
And more to our hope from the ‘Easter story,’
What does Scripture say about life AFTER DEATH, that is: Resurrection?
DEATH after life
One of the first mentions of death in Genesis is by the wife of Abraham, Hagar anticipating the death of her son.
When the water in the skin was used up, she left the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said,
“May I not see the boy die!”
And she sat opposite him, and raised her voice and wept.
God heard the boy crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.
The KJV translates Strong’s H4191 in the following manner: die (424x), dead (130x), slay (100x), death (83x), surely (50x), kill (31x), dead man (3x), dead body (2x), in no wise (2x), miscellaneous (10x).
The KJV translates Strong’s H4194 in the following manner: death (128x), die (22x), dead (8x), deadly (1x), slay (1x).
We see ‘death, dying, Death (personified), realm of the dead; to die, kill, be put to death (even like the Messiah Yeshua)innumerable times in the Bible — hundreds of instances of DEATH — hundreds.
“Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers;
[KJV – ‘Behold, thou shalt sleep‘ – H7901 – šāḵaḇ – lie (106x), sleep (48x), lie down (43x), rest (3x) (some dual meaning here as well – RH)]
and this people will arise and play the prostitute with the foreign gods of the land into the midst of which they are going, and they will abandon Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.
We easily get caught up in his great battles against evil yet forget that the great prophet of the LORD raised a boy from the dead, as later the Messiah Jesus did at Nain.
more of the story of this resurrection by Elijah above
DEATH as a young man; and then RESURRECTION by the LORD and the prayer of Elijah.
Later a second great prophet Elisha witnesses Elijah at his DEATH.
And as they were walking along and talking, behold, a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and they separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.
And Elisha was watching it and he was crying out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” And he did not see [fn]Elijah again. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
Elijah, not like Moses, was taken up; yet still Elisha mourns. Even having witnessed NO death, he mourns the loss of his beloved teacher.
And Simon Peter, who loved his teacher, the Messiah Jesus also witnessed him (never giving thought to what must happen to the Christ BEFORE HIS RESURRECTION).
You may need to click the link above for common English if you have trouble following the
Orthodox Jewish Bible used by some Messianic Jews.
And after shisha yamim (six days), Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach took Kefa, Yaakov and Yochanan his brother; he brings them up to a high mountain in yechidus.
2 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was transfigured before them, and Moshiach’s face shone like the shemesh (sun), and his garments became brilliant like the ohr.
3 And hinei! There appeared before them Moshe Rabbenu and Eliyahu HaNavi conferring with Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach.
KJV 4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
Glorious! Not unlike the LORD on Sinai.
Yet listen to what Jesus tells Peter and John who were present.
“..Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead… Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”
Matthew 17:9b KJV, 12b NASB
Of course, even though the Twelve had heard Jesus say plainly and He must suffer and die, them be raised from the dead after three days, now after the Lord’s cruel crucifixion resurrection was far from their thoughts.
LIFE after death?
First:
You can not get to LIFE after death until you have dealt with sin.
.. death spread to all mankind, because all sinned—
And no man on earth can fully compensate God for the sin he has committed. No priest can intercede perfectly, save One.
Second.
The Messiah Jesus was left for dead in the grave of a man.
The Son of Man(born into Adam’s image) was witnessed through His many signs and miracles as the Son of God, incarnate of the Holy Spirit of the LORD. God IS His Father and Jesus IS our heavenly Father’s only Son, though all in Christ have become His children. (It is a great mystery rooted in love, mercy and grace.)
Third.
JESUS CHRIST was sinless. He lived the human life of a mortal for thirty some years. Yet God sent His Only Son to the CROSS!
So WHY was a SINLESS man executed, even the MESSIAH of God’s chosen?
(He lived in human flesh but did not succumb to the sin of the flesh. – RH)
24 ..as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.
Propitiation, a word to which 21st century culture cannot relate, is important (and not too complicated).
Jews of the first century understood it as did the Jews in the generations of Moses and Elijah.
READ its significance below & be convicted of what Jesus did for you on the Cross:
The Covenant of God’s chosen with the LORD was broken.
Propitiation – used of the cover of the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies, which was sprinkled with the blood of the expiatory victim on the annual day of atonement (this rite signifying that the life of the people, the loss of which they had merited by their sins, was offered to God in the blood as the life of the victim, and that God by this ceremony was appeased and their sins expiated); hence the lid of expiation, the propitiatory
The required Blood of the Covenant was now met with Sacrifice of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
John 19:42
The DEATH of the LAMB is accomplished. Sin is buried by the Sacrifice of the Sinless.
Resurrection – LIFE by grace
What were Jesus’ closest disciples feeling and remembering early that Easter morning?
They must have thought of His incarnate life extinguished so violently on a Cross last Friday and duty to complete the embalming of their Lord’s entombed flesh.
DEATH, then taken up like Elijah?
Would they have even thought back to what Jesus had said about Moses or Elijah — concerning His own death or resurrection?
Those near Golgotha would have recalled his CRY before death.
At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “ELOI, ELOI, LEMA SABAKTANEI?” which is translated,
Did they remember what some Jews in the crowds had mocked?
“Look! He is calling for Elijah!”
Mark 15:35b
No — the Lord Jesus was NOT taken up from the Cross in glory into a chariot of fire in heaven.
He died and hung there +++ only to be buried in a tomb.
Mourning Moses, yet not their Messiah
Jesus had invoked Moses and the Law as accusers of the Jews who would crucify Him, yet leaves room for grace. (For many of the Jews believed in Him publicly or privately.)
“Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have put your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.
Did they remember Jesus’ answer about the resurrection?
Joseph rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.
Luke 20:
“But as for the fact that the dead are raised, even Moses revealed this in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB. Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to Him.”
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus…
That’s really it, is it not? — It’s what we want to know about the resurrection:
..“Why are you seeking the living One among the dead?
6 He is not here, but He has risen.
Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise from the dead.”
8 And they remembered His words, and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest.
THEY DID NOT FIND THE BODY.
This was the miraculous scene concerning the Son of God who had performed MANY signs and miracles.
Will OUR BODY be there when WE go to the grave?
YES! But, we will NOT — for our Soul formed into flesh and bone will rise to the judgment or to the Lord our God. Our body returning to the dust of creation will also rise; but too many questions about our resurrections body to address here today.
Death + NOT THE END +
Luke 24:
38 And He said to them,
“Why are you frightened, and why are doubts arising in your hearts?
It’s a tough question when confronting death and life, isn’t it?
44 Now He said to them,
“These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all the things that are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them,
“So it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
48 You are witnesses of these things…
Are you? Even though you did not put your fingers into His hands and pierced side, DO YOU BELIEVE, my dear brother, beloved sister in Christ our RISEN Lord?
Do you talk of Jesus as if He IS – witness Jesus as if He is your Lord and Savior from your sin?
And what of LIFE after death. In Him and through Him, DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE RESURECTION?
LIFE, after DEATH!
in CHRIST JESUS + TO BE CONTINUED…
Amen.
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