Ezekiel (Program #6) – The Coordination of the Four Living Creatures (1)

The spiritual application of the mysterious vision in Ezekiel chapter 1 of the four living creatures is marvelous on many levels. First, it portrays Christ in various aspects; but more than just revealing aspects of Christ in this vision, we can see ourselves in God’s economy and how the various aspects of Christ become the genuine aspects of our experience of Him. Ultimately, God’s purpose and His move on earth are revealed in this vision. A vital key in our entering into God’s move is revealed in Ezekiel is the matter of the coordination typified by the four living creatures.

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Ezekiel (Program #5) – Eagle’s Wings, Man’s Hands, and Calf’s Hoofs

Ezekiel, like the books of Daniel which is also in the Old Testament and Revelation in the New Testament, is a book of signs and figures typifying important spiritual realities. It begins with a storm wind and a cloud with a fire out from which is a golden silver glowing called the electrum. And out of these four comes an indelible image – an image of four living creatures joined together to produce one corporate expression. The details of these four living creatures occupy much of Ezekiel chapter 1; and each of the details is worth our examination because each aspect of this mysterious image reveals much about God’s purpose as well as about our genuine experience of Him in the Christian walk and life. Let’s remember from our previous program that in each of these four living creatures itself has four faces – here’s Ezekiel 1:10 “As for the likeness of their faces, they had the face of a man; and the four of them had the face of a lion on the right side, and the four of them had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four of them had the face of an eagle.”

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Hebrews (Program #19) – The Remaining Sabbath Rest (2)

After six days of His creating work, God rested. The Sabbath has been a topic of intense interest to some Christians and widely ignored and misunderstood by others. But to see the Sabbath in the clear revelation of God’s purpose is truly marvelous. We’ll focus again today on the real Sabbath rest for God and for man on the life study of the Bible.

What is meant by this term “the corporate Christ”?   In the Gospels, what we see is the individual Christ but this individual Christ, this wonderful Person whom we love, He passed through death and He entered into resurrection. And in resurrection, He produced the Body of Christ. Now, when we talk about the corporate Christ, we’re referring to the Christ that we see in the Epistles after Christ’s resurrection. This Christ is the corporate Christ. In resurrection, He became the Head of the Body. Also the New Testament shows us that Christ is not only the Head of the Body, He is the Body of the Head. more…

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Jeremiah (Program #7) – Jeremiah’s Call and Commission

The Bible tells us that on earth there is always a battle raging between God and all those who oppose Him and fight against Him and His purpose. But God does not fight directly against such ones. His way of fighting is always in the principle of incarnation, involving His people, specifically those who are absolutely one with Him. Such was the case in the Old Testament with the prophet Jeremiah. In the degrading and shameful condition His people Israel were in, God called and sanctified the prophet while he was still in his mother’s womb. Listen to Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; And before you came forth from the womb, I sanctified you. I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

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Hebrews (Program #9) – The Captain of Salvation (1)

God’s goal is not to bring us to heaven. The goal of God’s salvation is to bring us into the very glory which in Christ has been sown into us at the time of our regeneration. Christ is many things to His saved ones. We may appreciate Him as our Savior and our Redeemer or may be even as our friend. But Hebrews unveils Him as the Captain of our Salvation. We’ll see Him as the fighting captain in today’s life study of the Bible.

Logically, we think that for salvation you need a savior or a redeemer but why do we need a captain for our salvation?

We need to make it emphatically clear that we surely need Christ as the Savior and we absolutely need Christ as the Redeemer. There’s no way to be saved without this personal Savior, the God-man. And we surely need Him as the Redeemer who bought us back with His precious blood and has brought us back to God that we may enjoy God as everything to us in Christ as the Spirit. Regrettably, many believers have a shallow even elementary concept of salvation. If we understand salvation merely as a rescue from hell to heaven then we don’t really need a captain. We just need a savior and a redeemer, one who allegedly who brings us out of the likelihood of going to hell and brings us to heaven. However, the goal of God’s salvation is not heaven. We are told in the book of Hebrews that God is bringing many sons into glory. For this we need a captain. Why? more…

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2 Thessalonians (Program #5) – Chosen by God Unto Salvation in Sanctification of the Spirit (1)

After speaking of the Lord’s second coming and our being gathered to Him in some detail. The apostle Paul comes back to a word of further encouragement in 2 Thesssalonians chapter 2.  Surely it was in his heart to point the new believers in Thessalinica to God’s purpose in His selection of them with the goal of sanctifying them. His sweet word in verse 13 sets the tone for this loving word of encouragement. “But we ought to thank God always concerning you, brothers beloved of the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.”

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Job (Program #12) – Man Moving in God’s Move and God Moving in Man’s Move

As the New Testament era opened, a dramatic change occurred in the way that God moves to accomplish His purpose on the earth. God’s move was then inextricably linked to man; that means that God ceased to move apart from and independent of man. Of course, the man that God used for His move was Jesus Christ, who we know was also God. That’s why the high priests, the elders and even the officials of the Roman government could not determine whether the activities of Jesus were the activities of a man or of God. Actually, His actions were the actions of the first God-man. Today God is still operating in this principle. The principle of His moving into man, in man and through man. This is the principle of incarnation. “In the beginning was the Word”, John says, “…and the Word was God and the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us”. (John 1:1, 14)

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Job (Program #8) – God’s Answer to Job

Job 10:13 says, “But You have hidden these things in Your heart; I know that this is with You:”. Job knew there must be a reason why God was allowing him to suffer so much but he didn’t know what God’s purpose was. Job was frustrated but we don’t have to be – God has shown us the answer.

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Ephesians (Program #30) – The Church for God’s Wisdom According to God’s Purpose

Ephesians reveals more clearly than any other writing in the New Testament, that the Church is the eternal purpose of God. In fact it goes so far as to say that God’s multifarious wisdom is made known to the universe through the Church. But how can that be? Because when we look at the Church, most often all we see are the difficult people, bringing all their difficult problems and failures with them into the Church. Well, problems and failures and how God deals with them is just exactly the environment He needs to fully display His infinite wisdom, His multifarious wisdom.

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Ephesians (Program #8) – The Mystery of God’s Will

Ephesians opens with some of the highest speaking in the entire Bible. Our selection, our predestination and our redemption are all mentioned but not as isolated items rather as indispensable steps in the accomplishment of God’s plan which is the great mystery of the universe through the ages. So, we have been chosen, predestinated, and redeemed for what? Ephesians 1:9 says, “Making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself.” What is God’s will, His purpose, His plan?

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