What a Father! What a Son!

Psalms 2 Rebellion

The Reign of the LORD'S Anointed

1 Why do the nations rage

and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,

3 “Let us burst their bonds apart

and cast away their cords from us.”

God’s remedy to rebellion

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;

the Lord holds them in derision.

5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,

and terrify them in his fury, saying,

6 “As for me, I have set my King

on Zion, my holy hill.”

His King is Messiah/ His King is His Son

7 I will tell of the decree:

The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;

today I have begotten you.

8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

and the ends of the earth your possession.

9 You shall break them with a rod of iron

and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

be warned, O rulers of the earth.

11 Serve the LORD with fear,

and rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the Son,

lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,

for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

In this Psalm, I see war and restoration. I see rebellion in man and obedience in the Son. Messiah the King, who is the Son of God, will restore the will of His Father!

1-3 The rulers of the nations are in rebellion against Yahweh and His Messiah

4-6 Yahweh sits above them and their plans. In the heavens, He laughs and promises to put them in terror—judgment is coming… and the promise of its coming is this truth… “I have set my King on Zion my holy hill.”

7-9 This is the ordinance [decree] by which Yahweh will accomplish this judgment upon these nations that are in rebellion against Him. He says, “I will give birth to a Son” I will give Him the nations as His heritage/inheritance (the first man Adam was not faithful and allowed in the rebellion). Through MY SON, I will judge the rebellion.

10-12 The way to please the Father is to kiss the Son, bow down in reverence to Him. Anything else will result in the release of His fury.

This Psalm allows humans a glimpse into the mind of God, His plans for the earth and His  quashing of the rebellion against Him. The heathen nations and their leaders rage against God and His anointed one. But we learn from the scriptures that humans are not alone in this rebellion: Daniel 10…Prince of Persia, Prince of Grecia, Michael Prince of Israel. NASB Ephesians 6:12.                   

Rebellion

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

In our minds this morning, I ask that we keep these thoughts surrounding the big plan of God and that we remind ourselves about the rebellion against God, because we are seeing it openly manifesting all around us in our nation and all around this world, and I can promise you this…it’s only going to worsen. So I’m asking that we tuck away in our minds these truths as we consider the idea of the Son and the Father.

I don’t think that He ever left, but the Father has lovingly reinserted Himself into this fallen earth in an intimate way through Jesus. The rebellion of His creation in Adam had distanced itself from His presence, but He is committed and has His eyes on an eternal kingdom that is comprised of an eternal family that was all made possible by His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. In His word, He uses familial terminology: Father, son, and brother, Bridegroom, bride, offspring, children.

John’s explanation about who are the children of God vs who aren’t is this…

1 John 3:10.   Seed of the Son- train of His Robe                                      Rebellion                                                         

By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

1 Peter 2:9-11 war against the soul- keep your mind and heart connected to the earth- vision

The word "peculiar" here is used in a way not often seen today. The Greek word means literally "to make around," that is, to make something and then to surround it with a circle, thus indicating ownership. The same verb is used in the Septuagint translation of Isaiah 43:21

the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise." The word "peculiar" today usually means "odd, strange." But it is not so used here. The Greek word speaks of the unique, private, personal ownership of the saints by God__ Wuest

God’s family

This family of God is a special kind of people. It is a family of Sons. Sons because this family is created in and through the Son. It is a family of sons that are king-priests. They rule with Him and for Him because that’s what kings do. They intercede with Him and for Him because that’s what priests do. And the more they die, the more the image of His glorious Son is formed in them, resulting in their yielding to their Father’s will, because the Son always does the will of His Father. He only does what He sees His Father do, and He only says what He hears His Father say.

Satan’s plan is to rob from man his opportunity to be a son and to rob from God His opportunities to have sons through His Son.

In a non-rebellious son is the desire to please a father. And a good Father wants to be with His Son, and during that time he teaches his son the important things of life. I have heard stories of men who said that their fathers taught them how to work on engines by telling them to tear them apart and put them back together again, and it better work and there better not be extra parts when you’re done. I’ve heard other men tell me that their father did the same but was by their side and coached them every step of the way until they were ready to do it on their own, and I’ve heard men tell stories of how they had no father, or if they did, their father didn’t really want them around.

One concept of fathers and sons that intrigues me is when there is a family owned company that has been passed down through the generations. The father taught the son the “bidness” Jesus said why are you looking for me. I must be about my Father’s business (Luke 2:49) and so it is with us. Our Father wants to teach us His business. He wants a family of sons that will submit to His will, allowing their own personal flesh and desires to be crucified, so that His Spirit and WILL can be produced in them.

There has been an ongoing thought in my heart over the last couple weeks, and this is it. The Father said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17.”

I am realizing that the more I listen, to the words of my Father, the more I hear that the fallen fleshly part of me must be done away with, so that Jesus can be formed in me. In order for this to happen, it means that I must be crucified with his Son, so that a new creature can be resurrected in His Son, and the more that I submit to the will of the Father, the more my original man that was born of the earthy man (Adam) dies and the more that the heavenly man born in Jesus is formed, and when this happens, the Father starts to see a reflection of His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased instead of a reflection of a rebellious son that was born in the image of his earthly father Adam.

Romans 8:29-30

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified

Romans 8:13-16

13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Son or sons= 10

The fall turned Adam into a fearful slave. The Son made a way that we can become sons through the Son.

Spirit= 16

Flesh= 8

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

Hebrews 2:11-14 it’s not okay for rebellion to be allowed into the house

11 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, 12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. 13 And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.14 Forasmuch then as the children 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;

Hebrews 2:16-18

16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Brethren/prodigal

And so we have the struggle of the Spirit and the flesh and the struggle of the sons of God vs the sons of the devil.

JN 8:32-47

Satan’s sin results in slaves— the Son’s obedience produces sons

Denney explains; "It was not the spirit proper to slaves, leading them again to shrink from God in fear as they had done when under the law of sin and death__ Wuest

In the fall (Law of sin and death, they shrank from God in fear. In Christ, we have not received that spirit of slavery.

Galatians 3:26

for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

Galatians 4:1-7

1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. He has an inheritance for His Son!- the nations

John 1:12-13

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Hebrews 10:19-25

19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having an high priest over the house of God; 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

1 John 3:1

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

1 John 3:2-3

2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

1 John 3:6-10

6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

Grace is King through Christ: When the Body Lines Up with the Faith

When the Body Lines up with The Faith

Romans 4:1-3 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.
 
Last week we visited the Old Testament character Abraham with the view of justification on the forefront of our minds. Once again, justification is that declaration of righteousness spoken over a person's life in response to their belief/ faith. With regards to Abraham, the Bible says that he believed God, resulting in God placing into his "account" righteousness ... Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
 
And based upon his new standing of righteousness with God because of his belief/ faith, God justified or declared him as righteous: Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
 
Ultimately, we came to the conclusion that the object of Abraham's faith was the promised seed that would come and the sacrifice he would offer. This is why Paul says: 1 Corinthians 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
 
Because Jesus Christ and Him crucified is the long awaited fulfillment of the promised New Covenant, at least that's what Jesus said: 1 Corinthians 11:24-25 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat:this is my body, which is broken for you:this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood:this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
 
The word testament here is diatheke and means contract, arrangement, or covenant. What we must understand is that God has made an arrangement with man. In this arrangement, God is willing to meet man on these terms. The terms were first laid out in the Old Covenant through the symbolism of Israel's wanderings, tabernacle, sacrifices, and festivals just to name a few, but all those types and shadows have found their fulfillment in Jesus and His sacrifice upon the cross.
 
Ultimately, the arrangement allows man, in his fallen state, to have his sin dealt with at the cross on Jesus. This is God's way, this is God's plan, and He will never, ever meet man any other way. Once the man, woman, or child is willing to humble themselves by recognizing their sin (failure) towards God and repent (willingness to believe God and His way and willingness to turn from our own way), then God will see our circumstance fresh and anew; for a transaction has transpired where our guilt was laid upon the savior, and in return, we were clothed with His righteousness (Galatians 3:27).
 
Romans 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
We touched on this two classes ago, when we discussed the root of this word for reckon in the Greek logizomai, which is a mathematical term ultimately meaning to think upon; furthermore, it's factual in nature. For instance, when you do the math of your checkbook, you arrive at a factual conclusion. From there, a person is supposed to live their lives, financially, according to that truth.
 
In reference to this passage, the math says that Jesus' work was accomplished, our faith in Him caused a spiritual miracle to transform the inside of our hearts, and if we'll live our lives in this faith, we will not only go to heaven, but we will also have victory over the power of sin because Jesus has power over all principalities and powers, and our faith in Him and His finished work, empowers us with grace.
 
Before moving forward, an extremely important biblical concept called identification must be dealt with here. Typically, when we consider Jesus' sacrifice, we think of the substitutionary work of our Lord. In other words, we contemplate how He died in our stead; however, identification is the contemplation where one sees, more importantly, believes the gospel by identifying his "old man" on the cross and in the tomb, and his "new man" resurrected in Christ.
 
The believer void of this truth cannot perpetually walk in the forgiveness of God, because he sees his identity connected to his past instead of the cross of the Christ.
 
Last week we took the time to review the scriptures regarding Abraham's faith; we proved from the text that even though Abraham existed 2,000 years before Jesus was ever born, his faith was in the seed (Jesus) and the sacrifice (cross); therefore, his faith was in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The result of Abraham's and David's (we weren't able to cover his) proper faith was: v3 counted, v4 reckoned, v5 counted, v6 imputeth, v7 impute, all these words being translated from the Greek word Logizomai, which as pointed out is the word used in: Romans 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
The points to be made are: (1) the word is based upon facts not feelings; (2) the word means to think upon; (3) in Romans four, the words translated for Logizomai all refer to God thinking upon a man as righteous because of his faith in Christ and His sacrifice; (4) in verse 11, the believer is being instructed to think about himself what God thinks about him.
 
What does God think about the believer who has placed and keeps his faith in the eternal plan of God, which was foreordained before the foundations of the earth (1 Peter 1:18)? He thinks upon that man, woman, or child as righteous-- period!
 
Therefore, proper faith will result in the believer "faithing" (a walk of persistent believing) the same thing, "I'm righteous because I'm clothed with the righteous one. This is my identity. The past is gone. The new has come, and the 'new man,'in Christ isn't guilty !"
 
Romans 6:11-14
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin:but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you:for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
 
Through the previous teachings we have learned that God has only had one plan-- the giving of His Son for the forgiveness of sin. Man's response to God's plan through faith results in righteousness, or a position of right standing before God. In this new position of righteousness, God sees the believer this way, in God's eyes, the guilty has been made righteous through the sacrificial payment of the righteous one (Jesus). Through this transaction, Jesus bore man's sin, and the "faithing" man received His (Jesus') righteousness, resulting in God's justice being satisfied "In the day you eat thereof surely you will die."
 
Because the "faithing" man woman or child is now seen as righteous because God's justice has been satisfied in that individuals life because they have responded through faith obedience to God's plan, God sees them, thinks upon them, and declares them as JUSTIFIED/ RIGHTEOUS!!
 
Now, in verse 11 of this Romans passage, we see this word we previously discussed again. Covering Romans four, we pointed out all the various English words, which had as their root Logizomai, meaning to think upon based upon the facts. The context of all those occurrences, once again, was that God was thinking upon the sinner as righteous because of their faith obedience in the obedient work (cross) of the righteous one. God says your RIGHTEOUS!!-- if you're in Christ!
 
Now, in verse 11, the word is telling all those righteous believers to start believing the same thing about themselves. In chapter four God says, "Righteous;" now, in verse 11, God says start believing what I believe about you based upon My Word instead of believing what your enemy says about you based upon your behavior or performance.
 
It must be understood that proper faith will produce proper Christian performance. When a believer understands that they're righteousness is a gift given by God in response to faith in the finished work of Jesus, there is now unfettered access into the presence of God, producing the desire for holy living, producing the power for holy living, producing the desire for Christian duty (if you don't like that one you better check yourself at the Christian door), producing a flow of grace, an "infusion" of the Holy Spirit for persistent and consistent Christian service.
 
That's the next part of the last verse we were reviewing: ... Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin:but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God...
 
When the word "therefore" is used in the text, it's drawing the reader back to what was previously spoken. In this case the context, reaches back to:
 
Romans 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
The context here reaches back to the personification of sin vs. grace, which one is reigning as king on the hearts of individuals?
 
Now, that we've been told we were born again from the dead, and that sin's power was broken through the cross, we are charged to not let sin reign as a king in our members or body parts. In other words, we've been told that God sees the believer as righteous. We've been told that God expects us to see ourselves hidden in the righteous of Christ; and now we're being told to quit letting sin reign in our lives to the point where it affects our "members" or body parts.
 
In other words, quit letting your eyes cause you to sin; quit letting your feet carry you places you shouldn't go; quit letting your hands put things in your mouth, and we'll just stop there. Sin's power was broken, so start living like it. Quit being used as an instrument of unrighteousness; and instead, allow God to use your body parts as instruments of righteousness.
 
The word instruments in the Greek literally means: instruments of warfare. In essence, when we allow sin to reign as a king upon our hearts and manifest itself through our body parts, we are acting as weapons for the kingdom of darkness instead of being used as weapons for the kingdom of light.
 
Paul reiterates the reason why: For sin shall not have dominion over you:for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
 
The words "dominion over" here are translated from Kyreiuo which is from the same root as kyrios; the word used of Jesus when He is referred to as Lord, so in this passage, we are told that we know longer having to allow sin to reign as a king in our lives, because sin is not our Lord! Hallelujah! Jesus is our Lord! He translated us from the kingdom of darkness, where the Law had us bound because we were guilty, to the kingdom of His dear Son (Colossians 1:13), where grace is king in our lives.