2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
Hermeneutics is the study of interpretation of the Bible. Seminary students and other serious students of the Scriptures must spend time on this. I share a belief with Les Feldick that the best way to interpret Scripture is with other Scripture citations (cross-references). That is why so much of this appears in the messages that I write. It’s my way of saying, “God can best speak for Himself.” However, I will say that there are some observations worthy of consideration. The Angel of the Lord does not appear in the Scriptures after Christ’s incarnation. The first chapter of John gives us insight into the reasons for this. JN 1: 1-4, “Before the world was created, the Word already existed; He was with God and He was the same as God. From the very beginning the Word was with God. Through Him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without Him. The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to mankind.” John goes on to say in JN 1: 10-13, “The Word was in the world, and through God made the world through Him, yet the world did not recognize Him. He came to His own country, but His own people did not receive Him. Some, however, did receive Him and believed in Him; so He gave them the right to become God’s children. They did not become God’s children by natural means; that is, by being born as the children of a human father. God Himself was their Father.”
John wanted us to understand the nature of this second person of the Trinity, so that we could see the connection between Christ, the word of God, Christ and the other persons of the Trinity, and Christ’s importance to us. There is no mistaking Christ’s identity if we believe JN 1: 14-18. “The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw His glory, the glory which He received as the Father’s only Son. John [the Baptist] spoke about Him. He cried out. ‘This is the One I was talking about when I said, ‘He comes after me, but He is greater than I am, because He existed before I was born.’ Out of the fullness of His grace He has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another. God gave the Law through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only Son, Who is the same as God and is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known.” JN 14: 9 and 11 lend further insight. “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father…Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me.”
John is not alone in revealing Christ’s true nature. The author of Hebrews [who I believe to be Paul] in HE 4:14-16 also supports Christ’s identity as John described it. “Let us, then, hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we have a great High Priest who has gone into the very presence of God-Jesus, the Son of God. Our High Priest is not One Who cannot feel sympathy for our weaknesses. On the contrary, we have a High Priest Who was tempted in every way that we are, but did not sin. Let us be brave, then, and approach God’s throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it.” Because the Angel of God doesn’t appear after Christ’s incarnation, it is entirely appropriate to conclude that as the visible manifestation of God, Christ is the Angel of the Lord. Both the Angel of the Lord and Jesus Christ have clearly been sent by the Father. JN 17: 3, “And eternal life means to know You, the only true God, and to know Jesus Chris, Whom You sent.” Since both the Father and the Holy Spirit are invisible, then it is logical that Jesus Christ and the Angel of God, Who are both visible, are one and the same.
Each time that the Angel of the Lord appears in the Scriptures, there is a great need for His help. His presence reveals both God’s compassion and His omnipotence. There are times when our troubles lead us to desperation. Our human agendas often don’t work out the way we planned. PR 18: 10, “The Lord is like a strong tower, where the righteous can go and be safe.” IS 50: 10, “All of you that have reverence for the Lord and obey the words of His Servant, the path you walk may be dark indeed, but trust in the Lord, rely on your God.” PS 20: 7, “Some boast in war chariots and other in their horses, but we trust in the power of the Lord our God.” The Hebrew word for “boast” means “to have confidence in, to trust.” PR 21: 31, “You can get horses ready for battle, but it is the Lord Who gives victory.” PR 50: 15 is sufficient on its own to convince me that Jesus Christ is the best friend any of us will ever have. “Call to me when trouble comes; I will save you and you will praise Me.”
If we examine our own lives with openness and honesty, it is hard to miss the fact that we all need the Lord in our lives, just as the people we read about in the Scriptures did. Out of our weakness comes enormous and unbelievable strength when we place our trust in Him. A person’s real power is measured by the faith he is willing to place in the Lord. Alone, without His power guiding our lives, we are helpless, sinful, and useless. With Him in our lives, we have direction, purpose, humility, love, and the wisdom that knowledge of Him imparts to work through the challenges of our lives. I just came back home from having sponsored a friend through Cursillo, the wonderful international spiritual retreat program in which Peter and I are active. Our friend’s main conclusion was, “I’m really worth it,” meaning she now knows that she deserves and can accept the immeasurable love that our Lord has for her. We didn’t teach her that; God did! When we mirror God’s love for us in our relationships with others in our lives, they too can know what we know-that God wants only what is best for all of us and that He loves all His children.
PRAYER: O Lord, over and over again, You lead me to the unalterable conclusion, that You have love for all Your children. You put that idea in my head, and repeat it often, so that I won’t forget. Today, You led us to the Scriptures from John, to remind us of Who Jesus Christ is in both the OT and the NT. You wanted us also to know where we could come for help when the challenges of our lives beset and frighten us. Too often we forget to seek You out first in times of difficulty. The connection between Christ, Your Word, the Angel of the Lord, truth, and grace is precious to us. We need to understand that Your Son is ready to stand in the gap for us. The question we must ask ourselves is to what extent are we ready to stand firm in our faith in Him? We appeal to You in humility, Dear Lord, to keep making Your presence known to us by guiding, encouraging, protecting, providing for us. We acknowledge Your power to do this and dedicate ourselves to trusting and obeying Your commands to us. You deserve our eternal worship, adoration, loyalty, obedience, trust, praise, and thanks. Today, we pledge those things to You. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will begin looking at citations which reveal God as El Elyon, the Most High God. Dear Ones, we are all worth it. God loves each and every one of us. He wants us to keep making Him the Lord of our lives and to keep obeying Him. He also wants nothing more than to perfect us, so that we can enjoy eternal joy and fellowship with Him in heaven. It blesses my life and Peter’s to think that we can all be there for that fabulous wedding feast of the Lamb and then spend eternity walking streets of gold. Hallelujah! Marana tha [Aramaic for “O Lord come”]!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn