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The Morning Star In Scripture, the image of the Morning Star is a rich and multilayered symbol that unfolds progressively across the biblical narrative, reaching its fullest meaning in Jesus Christ. The term itself—phōsphoros in Greek and lucifer in Hebrew—means “the shining one,” an image drawn from the brilliant appearance of the morning star just before dawn. This image is never neutral. It always carries theological weight, revealing either true, enduring glory or false, fleeting brilliance. Biblically, this image consistently points to the transition from darkness to light, from night to day, and from anticipation to fulfillment. At its core, the Morning Star represents Christ Himself, the One who announces and inaugurates the dawn of God’s kingdom, while also explaining the presence of counterfeit light in a fallen world. Christ as the Morning Star (Primary Meaning) The clearest and controlling definition of the Morning Star is given by Jesus Himself. In Revelation 22:16, Christ declares, “I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright and Morning Star.” This statement leaves no ambiguity. He is not merely a sign of the dawn—He is the dawn. This fulfills the ancient messianic hope voiced in Numbers 24 verse 17, where a star arises out of Jacob and a scepter out of Israel, combining royal authority with heavenly light. The Morning Star, therefore, is a messianic title that speaks of Christ’s kingship, glory, and the arrival of God’s redemptive reign. The Morning Star Rising Within Believers (Applied Meaning) Yet Scripture does not stop with Christ revealed externally. In  2 Peter 1:19 , the apostle moves the imagery inward, urging believers to attend to the prophetic word “as unto to a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.” The day does not break all at once; it  dawns . Guided by the Greek text, this verse depicts a progressive, internal illumination. The verb  diaugasē  describes light breaking through darkness, while  anateilē  conveys rising or beginning to shine. The Morning Star is not portrayed as distant or merely transcendent, but as rising within the inner person—the heart, the center of mind, will, and moral life. Christ’s light is not merely observed; it is received, internalized, and increasingly manifested in those who belong to Him. This does not mean believers become the source of light. Rather, it means that Christ’s own life and glory penetrate and transform them from within. This internal rising of the Morning Star aligns with the broader New Testament witness concerning  union with Christ . Paul speaks of believers being “conformed to the image of His Son”, Romans 8:29, of Christ being “formed in you”, Galatians 4:19, and of “Christ in you, the hope of glory”, Colossians 1:27. In  2 Corinthians 3:18 , believers behold the Lord’s glory and are transformed into the same image “from glory to glory.” Together, these passages confirm that while Christ alone is the Morning Star by nature and authority, His life and glory are meant to be reflected in His people. He is the source of light; believers are its reflectors. As Christ’s light rises within, Scripture also describes a corresponding  change of identity . Paul writes, “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness”, 1 Thessalonians 5:5. This language does not redefine believers as the dawn itself, but as those who belong to the day Christ announces. Awakened by His rising light, they are called to live according to the reality of the coming day while the night is passing. This distinction is crucial. Scripture consistently preserves Christ’s unique identity while affirming believers’ participation in His life. This balance is especially clear in  Revelation 2:28 , where Jesus promises overcomers, “I will give him the morning star.” The Morning Star here is not a created object nor a separate being, but a gift—participation in Christ’s own life, authority, and glory. This promise anticipates  Revelation 22:16 , where Christ reveals that the Morning Star He gives is, in fact, Himself. Believers do not become Christ, but they are granted union with Him, sharing in His reign and radiance, just as  1 John 3:2  declares: “We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” Just as He remains the  Head , believers are His  body , deriving all life, direction, and purpose from Him (Ephesians 1:22–23; Colossians 1:16 to 18). The light does not originate in the body but flows from the Head, in the same way it does through the eye (Matthew 6:22). Likewise, the church is presented as His  bride , adorned not with her own glory but with His (Ephesians 5:25–27; Revelation 21:9–11). In this union, Christ does not diminish His identity, nor are believers absorbed into deity. Rather, His life is shared, His light reflected, and His glory displayed through a people made one with Him. The pattern is consistent: Christ is the light; believers reflect that light as they are transformed by Him. The Morning Star rises within not as a rival light, but as the life of Christ shining through His body and beloved bride—testifying that all radiance, authority, and hope proceed from Him alone. Stars as Messengers, Not Sources of Light Scripture also assigns meaning to stars beyond mere illumination. In Revelation, stars are explicitly identified as messengers. Jesus Himself explains, “The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches” (Revelation 1:20). The Greek term  angelos  simply means “messenger,” emphasizing function rather than nature. Stars, therefore, represent appointed bearers of light—those entrusted with revelation, warning, and witness. This distinction is essential. Stars do not create the dawn; they serve within the night. They reflect light, mark seasons, and guide travelers, but they do not originate the day. Likewise, God’s messengers—whether angelic or human—do not generate truth or glory. They bear witness to a greater light. This explains both the dignity and the danger associated with stars in Scripture. Faithful messengers shine by reflecting divine light, while false teachers are described as “wandering stars” (Jude 13), detached from their proper orbit and reserved for darkness. The issue is not brightness, but alignment. In contrast, Christ alone is called the Morning Star (Revelation 22:16). He does not reflect light; He introduces the day. All other stars derive their meaning, placement, and brilliance from Him. When believers are called “children of light” and “children of the day” (1 Thessalonians 5:5), it is not because they have become the source of light, but because they belong to the coming day announced by the true Morning Star. Created “Morning Stars” and Poetic Imagery The Bible also clarifies what the Morning Star is not. Scripture also uses the term “morning stars” in other contexts that must not be confused with Christ’s identity. In Job 38:7, “morning stars” appear in the plural, poetically describing created heavenly beings—angels—who rejoiced at creation. These are not messianic figures, nor are they human. They sing together at creation, parallel to “the sons of God.”. The plural form and the context of creation make this clear. Likewise, Isaiah 14:12 uses similar language—“shining one, son of the dawn”—to describe the pride and downfall of a human king, associated with Satan. The same image is employed, but with the opposite meaning: brief, false glory that rises and falls. Scripture frequently uses shared imagery this way, just as “lion” can describe both Christ and Satan in different contexts. Meaning is determined by context, not by the symbol alone. Across Scripture, then, a coherent theological flow emerges. Creation rejoices in God’s light (Job 38), false glory falls into darkness (Isaiah 14), Christ arises as the true and eternal Morning Star (Revelation 22), and believers are invited to share in His life and reign (Revelation 2:28; 2 Peter 1:19). This movement follows the redemptive arc of the Bible: creation, fall, redemption, and glory. Peter’s use of Morning Star imagery is especially powerful because it is anchored in historical revelation. In 2 Peter 1:16 to 18, he appeals to the Transfiguration, where he witnessed Christ’s majesty firsthand—a preview of the coming kingdom. The prophetic word, he says, is therefore “more sure,” functioning as a lamp during the present darkness of this age. Scripture guides believers until the day dawns and Christ’s glory is fully realized, both in His return and in the completion of His work within His people. Peter immediately guards this hope by reminding readers that prophecy is not subjective or privately invented, but Spirit-inspired and trustworthy. 2 Peter 1:20, 21 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Jude reinforces this same framework by contrast. False teachers are described as “wandering stars,” destined for darkness (Jude 13), unstable and deceptive, unlike Christ, the true Morning Star who faithfully heralds the dawn. Jude’s warning mirrors Peter’s concern: those who reject the light before dawn will remain in darkness. Yet Jude ends, like Peter, with hope—God is able to present His people blameless before His glory with great joy (Jude 24), the very glory revealed in Christ. Throughout the prophets, this light-dawn imagery continues. Amos 5:8 praises the LORD who “turns the shadow of death into the morning,” echoing resurrection hope. Malachi 4:2 announces the rising of the Sun of Righteousness with healing, complementing the Morning Star imagery. Isaiah 60:1–2 calls God’s people to arise and shine because the LORD has risen upon them. All of these strands converge in Christ, the Light of the world (John 1:4 to 9), whose coming transforms night into day. False Light and the Fall of Lucifer (Where It Belongs) The question of Lucifer, Satan, and certain human rulers must be handled with care in order to preserve the integrity of the Morning Star doctrine. Scripture never states in a single verse, “Lucifer fell and became Satan.” Rather, this understanding arises from the convergence of “precept upon precept, line upon line” theological synthesis, as multiple passages are read together. Isaiah 14:12 speaks of the fall of hêlēl ben-shāḥar—often translated “shining one” or “son of the dawn.” In its immediate context, this passage is a taunt against the king of Babylon, employing elevated and poetic language to mock his prideful ambition and sudden downfall. Yet Isaiah 14 functions typologically. The king’s repeated declarations—“I will ascend… I will exalt my throne”—reach beyond ordinary political arrogance and mirror a deeper pattern of rebellion against divine authority. For this reason, the imagery became associated with Satan when read alongside passages that explicitly describe his fall, such as Revelation 12 and Jude 6. This broader biblical witness is reinforced by Christ’s own words:  “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven”  (Luke 10:18). Peter likewise speaks of angels who sinned and were cast down and reserved for judgment (2 Peter 2:4). Taken together, these texts establish Satan as a fallen angelic being characterized by pride, deception, and the loss of true glory. Ezekiel 28 presents a deliberate prophetic progression that further clarifies this pattern. Verses 1 to 5 confront the  prince of Tyre  as a mortal man, explicitly reminding him, “thou art a man, and not God,” and holding him accountable for his political arrogance. Beginning in verse 6, however, the lament shifts. The prophet now addresses the  king of Tyre , whose origin, position, and fall are described in Edenic and heavenly terms that exceed what can be applied to any human ruler alone. This shift indicates that the prophecy is now directed toward Satan himself—the unseen spiritual ruler whose authority, mindset, and ambition were exercised through the human king. The passage thus reveals not a blending of beings, but a hierarchy of control: an earthly prince ruled by a greater, unseen king. In Scripture, “king” and “prince” are not rigid ranks but functional titles whose meaning depends on whether the text is addressing earthly authority, administrative rule, or cosmic power. In this way, the same rebellious spirit animates both the invisible adversary and the visible tyrant. As Paul later explains, this is “the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2). The human ruler becomes a historical manifestation of unseen rebellion. The name  Lucifer  itself does not originate in Hebrew but arises from the Latin translation of Isaiah 14, where  hêlēl  was rendered as  lucifer , meaning “light-bearer.” Its later theological use reflects Satan’s role as false light—one who appears radiant, ascends in pride, and collapses into darkness. This false dawn does not define the Morning Star; it parasitically imitates it. Lucifer’s fall explains the corruption of light during the night, but it is Christ alone who defines the true dawn and brings the night to its end. False Light vs. True Light Isaiah 14:12 declares, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!” In Scripture, the term  son  often functions as a relational and creative designation rather than a statement of divine nature. It can signify that which is produced, derived, or brought forth. Thus, in Isaiah 14:12, the phrase “son of the morning” does not confer authority, divinity, or messianic status; it identifies origin. Hebrews 1:5 makes clear that God has only one Son by nature—Jesus Christ—whose Sonship is unique, eternal, and unshared. Yet Colossians 1:15–16 teaches that all created beings, whether angels or mankind, exist through Christ and for Christ; they are the work of His hands, not participants in His divine Sonship. In this sense, for Lucifer to be called a “son of the morning” places him firmly within the order of creation—one brought into being, not self-existent, not the source of light, and not the heir of divine authority. The title marks derivation, not destiny; creation, not crown. Here the contrast becomes essential. Scripture deliberately employs similar imagery to reveal opposing realities: Christ as the true dawn—marked by humble descent and eternal exaltation—and Lucifer as a false dawn—defined by prideful ascent and catastrophic fall. Those who operate within this realm are described elsewhere as belonging to the night, not as possessors of true light, but as those shaped by darkness and deception. Paul contrasts them with believers when he writes that we “are not of the night, nor of darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5). Satan is later described as one who masquerades “as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14), while false teachers are called “wandering stars” reserved for utter darkness (Jude 13). These images belong to the shadow side of the light and dawn motif. They account for deception that operates during the night, not the character of the coming day. Lucifer’s fall explains why the night exists; Christ, the true Morning Star, explains why the night will end (Genesis 3:15). The Morning Star and the Opening of Orion Amos calls God’s people to seek the Lord and live, anchoring true life not in outward religion, but in righteousness that flows from heaven itself. This call is immediately linked to the Creator’s power over the heavens: “Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion.” The prophet directs our eyes upward, reminding us that the same God who governs justice on earth also commands the constellations in the sky. Heaven itself becomes a witness, a signpost pointing to God’s voice and His final movements in the great controversy. Orion, referred to by Amos, stands as more than a constellation—it is a celestial testimony of God’s sovereignty and His coming intervention. According to the Spirit of Prophecy, Orion will open as a vast gateway, a beacon to God’s faithful people, Early Writing, Page 45. Today, this constellation is understood emblematically, drawing the gaze of the redeemed heavenward and signaling the approach of God’s final act of deliverance. Amos links this heavenly sign with a profound spiritual transformation: God “turneth the shadow of death into the morning.” The grave, once dark and final, is overcome by resurrection light. As David declared, “When I awake, I shall be satisfied with thy likeness.” This awakening finds its fulfillment in the Morning Star—Christ Himself—whose glory dispels the night of sin and death. Even the strange day spoken of by Zechariah, neither full day nor full night, resolves into light at evening time, when human hope seems dimmest. Thus, the opening of Orion is not merely cosmic spectacle; it is a declaration that righteousness will prevail. Judgment will no longer be turned to wormwood, nor justice cast aside. The same Lord who pours out the waters upon the earth and commands the seas will complete His work of restoration. His name stands above all—Creator, Redeemer, and King. In the heavens and in the earth, His purpose is sure, and His people are called now, as then, to seek Him and live. Venus and Emblematic Light (Morning and Evening Star) The Morning Star is a powerful image both in the heavens and in Scripture. What we call the Morning Star or the Evening Star is actually the planet Venus. Though often mistaken for a star, Venus does not produce its own light; it reflects the light of the sun. Because it orbits between the Earth and the Sun, it never appears far from the sun in our sky—never more than about forty-seven degrees. For this reason, Venus is only visible at the margins of the day, either shortly before sunrise or shortly after sunset. It never shines in the deep of night. As the third brightest natural object in the sky after the sun and the moon, it commands attention during these moments of transition, remaining in one role—morning or evening—for roughly two hundred sixty-three days before shifting again. These moments of appearance are significant. As the Morning Star, Venus signals the first light, the quiet announcement that night is ending even while darkness still lingers. As the Evening Star, it represents the last light, the final witness before night settles in. In both cases, Venus does not change the night by force; it marks a turning point. Its presence speaks not of completion, but of certainty—something new is coming, something inevitable is on the horizon. Scripture draws deeply on this imagery. In Revelation, Jesus declares, “I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.” He does not identify Himself as the midday sun, blazing over a world already transformed, but as the Morning Star—appearing while the world is still dark. Christ entered human history not after darkness had passed, but at its height, proclaiming that the dawn of God’s kingdom was assured. Like Venus before sunrise, His light did not erase the night immediately, but it made the coming day undeniable. Spiritual illumination often precedes visible change, just as Venus rises before the sun crests the horizon. Scripture also warns that not every “morning star” is true. Isaiah speaks of one who fell, a false light driven by pride and self-glory. The contrast is sharp. Venus itself offers a lesson: it shines brilliantly, yet only because it reflects the sun. In the same way, Christ’s glory is not self-exalting but perfectly reflective of the Father. True light does not draw attention to itself; it points beyond itself to the greater glory that follows. Ultimately, the Morning Star reminds us that God works in seasons and transitions. It teaches patience in the darkness and confidence in the promise of light. The Morning Star is not the dawn, but it guarantees the dawn. When Jesus names Himself the Bright Morning Star, He assures us that no night is endless, no darkness final. Even when the world still sleeps, the first light has already appeared, quietly proclaiming that the day of the Lord is near. The Prophetic and Redemptive Flow When placed correctly, the Morning Star theme unfolds as a coherent biblical progression rather than a scattered set of images. It begins at  creation , where the “morning stars” rejoice as God lays the foundations of the world, celebrating His life-giving work and creative authority (Job 38:7). From there, Scripture records  rebellion —angels who fall from their appointed place and human rulers who imitate that same prideful ascent, seeking glory apart from God (Jude 6; Isaiah 14). This rebellion gives rise to  darkness , a long night in which false light governs and “wandering stars” mislead, offering brilliance without truth and illumination without life. Into that darkness comes  redemption . Christ appears not as a counterfeit light but as the true and final Morning Star, announcing the end of night and the certainty of dawn (Revelation 22:16). His coming does not merely expose deception; it initiates  transformation , as His light rises within believers, illumining the heart and guiding them until the day fully breaks (2 Peter 1:19). The theme reaches its culmination in  glory , when the day has completely dawned and God’s people share in Christ’s likeness, seeing Him as He is and reflecting His radiance forever (1 John 3:2). Read this way, the Morning Star remains firmly Christ-centered. Satan is not allowed to define the meaning of light; he merely reveals the nature of the night. Christ alone defines the dawn—and guarantees its coming. Final Summary In the created order, Venus uniquely appears as both the morning star and the evening star, depending on its position relative to the sun. It shines with remarkable brilliance, yet it does not produce its own light—it reflects light. Today, this astronomical reality is  emblematic , not doctrinal. Scripture does not build theology on planets, yet it frequently uses the visible heavens as a teaching witness (Psalm 19:1). In this sense, Venus serves as a fitting emblem of  borrowed glory . What appears radiant and authoritative may still be derivative. This makes the image useful for illustration, but never authoritative for interpretation. Christ alone is identified as  “the bright and morning star”  (Revelation 22:16), not because He reflects light, but because He is its source. Any lesser “morning star” imagery—whether applied to rulers, angels, or symbols—only has meaning in relation to Him. The Morning Star was the first light, from which all light proceeds in Genesis. It was introduced before the creation of the physical earth, fully revealed in Christ, intended to restore humanity to divine light. It is not merely created light, but the herald of divine action with Christ Himself as the illuminating presence. Since heaven had already existed for eternities, God’s introduction of the Morning Star was intentional and purposeful. In Genesis 1 through 3, this light is the same light spoken of in John 1, the light that enlightens every man. Taken together, Scripture presents a unified and Christ-centered doctrine: Jesus Christ alone is the Morning Star—the herald and embodiment of God’s eternal day. As He rises in the hearts of believers through faith and the work of the Spirit, His image is progressively formed within them. Until the final dawn, the written Word remains the lamp guiding God’s people through the night. When the day fully breaks, faith will give way to sight, and the glory already begun within will be revealed in fullness. In this way, Scripture redeems the image of the Morning Star by revealing its true meaning in Christ. Created stars may rejoice, false light may imitate, and wandering stars may deceive in the darkness—but Christ alone is the Bright Morning Star, eternal and victorious. Lucifer’s fall explains the presence of the night; Christ, the Morning Star, announces its end and the dawn of God’s everlasting day.

Word of the Word God is revealed and experienced in the Word. And only the knowledge of His Word can lead a person to the truth of the knowledge of Him, and consequently His power. And God’s power is demonstrated by His ability to accomplish His will in every situation, both real and potential, through any means He chooses, in order to glorify Himself. God's power is centered on His will and His glory. His transformative power is the power of God poured out on the human heart. God's word is a standard against which all philosophies, ideas, and proposed solutions for our depraved condition can be measured for correctness. If God's word approves it, we can run with it; if the Word rejects it, nothing we can do will make it work, make it acceptable, or make it right. Search the scripture because God's word is the standard for comparison, not human notions. God's word, planted in human hearts, produces true faithful believers. God's Word is the bonding means between Himself and His people. It is our greatest and most precious reward. Death is not a surety in life. For not all will die. Eternal life is not a surety, for not all will be brought by Christ to the Father. There is however one for sure thing in life…the judgment. The word of God is the only source of information that can help us prepare for this sure event in our lives. It has the power to do this because God, in His word, shows us how to prepare for the "great day" in our lives. We must be ready, ignorance and disbelief will not exempt any from the judgement. To experience the power of God we need to know and understand the word. We are to study the word, to respond in complete obedience to every word, sharing the word multiplies the power of God to enable others to enable others to do the same. When you hear the phrase, “the Word of God”, do you think of the divine message given to humanity?  The Word is a discrete “message from God,” a particular divine message given at a particular time for a particular purpose. Furthermore, while these few precious “words of God” have certainly been compiled together and written down, they are to be heard in the thoughts of God as an oral proclamation, as spoken messages. When we hear God’s thoughts in the word, we hear life, truth, grace, faith, salvation, here, and here, and here, and here…with a specific content of that which is affirmed and manifested. God has spoken many “words,” given many divine messages, commands, teachings, promises, and prophetic pronouncements. And Jesus is the “Word” of all those “words,” the Divine Message extraordinaire. And this ultimate Divine Message has been “made flesh and dwelt among us.” The eternal Word in all these divine words has become embodied in a particular human and divine person, Jesus. Every word of God finds its coherence, its fulfillment in the One, the clearest and most complete revelation of God and God’s will. Our seeing the eternal message of God embodied in Jesus’ life, teachings, death, and resurrection, empowers us to respond to the living Jesus with loving devotion and faithful allegiance. Christ is the titled name of the “anointed One”, the “chosen One”, the Son of the living God. Even the devils acknowledge this truth. He is Jesus the human, Christ the Divine. The Word says it in the bible. Luke 4:41 John 1:1-4, 14 Jesus has extraordinary oratory abilities…he is the Word that reaches the upper heights of creative and transforming power conveying a moral and spiritual framework to live by. As we hear, as we study the word of God it not only broadens our inquiries into understanding, but it broadens the truth of the answers given. This is divinely and intentionally designed by God. It is known as verbal plenary inspiration. The word of God communicates exactly what He wanted us to understand beyond the written texts. His words reflect the quality of being “God-breathed.” Everything in scripture is there, not only in the written word, but also in the idea, the thought, the intent, the purpose, behind the written word of what God has decreed, has experienced so that if we are wise we will seek the higher wisdom to understand the moments, the events, and connect them with the character and purpose of God. We are not to lean upon our own understanding. We are to depend upon the faith given that God knows the whole picture. Ours is a pilgrimage of growing in conformity to Jesus Christ by the power of the Spirit through the word of God. We cannot ignore God’s creative ability to give us understanding according to His word as it is reasoned with the mind of Christ. Our approach to the word is to fix us forward to the day when we can and will see God face to face. Every word is to lead us toward and into the love of God as we are brought deeper into the life of Christ. This is not interpretation of scripture…it is a distinctively purposed union with the Holy Spirit to convince and to convict us of the authoritative nature of God to give us an exalted view precisely making Himself known more throughly, not just in His revelations but in the spiritual source of His revelations. And that spiritual source is the word of the Godhead in the Determinate Counsel. It is the one only source of revelation, namely, God the Father, through Jesus Christ the Son, in the Holy Ghost, the Spirit. It is by this source that God speaks divinely to us with human utterances. All these utterances can be summarized in only one word, the divine Word. Jesus Christ is the original revelation of God. Through revelation, God unveils certain truths about Himself and His salvific plan for mankind. Some of these truths exceed all created intellect; others are accessible to the human mind by receiving the entrusted sacred deposit of wisdom when coming now to reason with He who patterned every sounding word of creation. We are to follow the pattern of the sound words which we have heard from God, in the faith and guard the truth love which are in Christ Jesus. We are to guard the truth that has been entrusted to us by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. II Timothy 1:13, 14; 2:1-3 The scripture and the word are “bound closely together, and communicate one with and for the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing, and move us towards delving deeply into the divine mysteries revealed. Christ himself wanted his people to have a living teaching authority with the task of authentically interpreting the divine word, whether written or orally transmitted, exercising its authority in the name of Jesus Christ. This authority is not superior to the word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command it hears the devoted truths of God, guards them with dedication and expounds them faithfully. All that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is to draw upon our single deposit of faith. In this supremely wise arrangement of God, scripture and the word are so connected and associated that one cannot stand without the other. Working together, each in its own way under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they contribute effectively to the salvation of souls. Thus, the Word is the only authentic interpreter of scripture. Yes, we are to study the bible alone as individuals for ourselves. And yes, we should study the word as a community. We should be hearing others who are studying scripture, giving checks and balances to one another through the Spirit that we learn more of God. God is infinitely great, but our image of God, our conception of God, isn’t…it can’t be. The unifying thread running through the word is the importance of knowing God in the life, and of our faith in the word through which we form the image of the greatness of God. In our finite humanness, we cannot comprehend God’s immensity, cannot take in God’s greatness. What we do is to form an image in our minds encompassing as much of God’s greatness as we can handle, and that image is inevitably too small. So, God makes His Word more expansive than what our minds can conjure. We are jolted by how the word of God always moves our mind to more essential truths. God grows bigger. It is for those who choose not to reason with God that deaden the reality of truth. Our approach to the truth of the word of God is to enable sight. It is true that “seeing is believing”. But in reasoning with God “believing is seeing”.  And we by faith see the effect of God invading time and space to show the revelation of His word both in the bible and in the experience. This cannot be grasped by the intellect alone. God came down to talk with Moses. And Moses had as intimate a communion with God as thinkable. God spoke face to face with Moses, yet Moses desired a deeper acquaintance. Moses wanted to “see” the Word of the Word. This is why we study scripture…to endeavor to preserve it and to improve upon our bearing the sight of it. It is not with bodily eyes that we see the Word until our Lord returns, but hearing the word fits us to assist our faith to know the earnest of His presence. And it is in our going from faith to faith in His word that lets us adore the height of what we do know of God, and the depth of what we do not. We are acutely conscious of the hiddenness of God, of the inexhaustible mystery of the Divine. But we have an eye to the evidences of the shadows that proves the light of the mysteries of truths revealed. Every word of Jesus has unique significance. They are rich and carefully chosen words to powerfully affect the final generation. His truth brings to view the ultimate fulfillment of all that was foreshadowed. Whatever it is that we are assigned to do is revealed in the masterpiece of his life. Every word of God converges together to communicate a beautiful truth. We intellectually get that there are many tragedies in the word, and though God condones no sin, He knew it was going to be, and so in the power of the word we see Him working out all things for good. This suggests that we give voice expressively to His word with the faith that recognizes His sovereignty. There is in the word of God distant concepts. Ideas and thoughts too far for human devising. We are to see the profoundness, the praises to be offered, the promises fulfilled, the hopes and the certainty of why and how the word of God declares Jesus to be The Word that became flesh. We could search the greatest minds of mankind, hear the highest ideals of every thought. We could probe the ponderings of every prominent philosopher that ever lived and the poetry of every artist and still find no idea higher than God, nor a more concise, yet expressive statement about Jesus, than the one the word makes in reciting the enfolding account describing this interactive invisible and yet visible relationship. We begin with an all-knowing, all-powerful, invisible God who is a Spirit and to be worshipped by His creation in spirit. Colossians 1:15 John 4:24 God wanted to display to His creation the life that He expected of them. The love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. The sinlessness that He hoped His creation to possess in their lives but could not, thanks to an adverse situation and to show exactly what it means to sacrifice oneself for the benefit of others while being obedient to God. God knew then that He Himself must enter His creation in a visible, physical form, carrying His very image and Spirit. And He must experience and exhibit what it meant to actually be human, with the same temptations, challenges, hurts, emotions, ups and downs, and ins and outs, yet live with, and for God. That meant none could come born of a woman and a man. Being born of a virgin by the Spirit was the only option. Instilling His image, having his own human form, into the womb of a woman who had never been known by any man. There was only one way; his visible, physical, earthly image would be the Son of God. God’s only begotten   son. That distinction is made in the word begotten and that makes all the difference…with a but. The world seeks to diminish the Lord Jesus Christ’s special status as “begotten.” Why is “begotten” so important when referring to him? “Begat” means “to give life to.” If not known, we loose the truth of God’s Word and an aspect of Christ’s fulfillment decreed by God at Jesus’ resurrection. It was at the resurrection that the Father gave Jesus life. He became God’s “only begotten Son” at his resurrection in the tomb. Psalms 2:7 Acts 13:33, 34 Hebrews 5:5 Revelation 1:5 Colossians 1:18 Do we hear and see the power of The Word of The Word in this truth. There is no other God than God and so Jesus is the unique, divine Son of God, and no other sons are like him. And he is relatable in so many ways; Emmanuel, that holy thing, son of David, Redeemer, Bread of life, the Light, King of the Jews, Son of man, Savior, the Lamb, the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee, the I Am, this is Jesus, the very Word of God. The infinite unsearchable God is made personal in the audience of Jesus Christ. The mystery is the Word. Always with God. Always is God. A relationship so beautiful and glorious, so complex and simple, must be admired. The word presents an awe-inspiring presentation of the Word and the many facets to be admired from every angle of truth. The Word is the many facets to be admired communication of the Father. He is the rational power, influence, and strength of Fatherly fulsomeness overflowing in infinite goodness. That Word was no impersonal object but a full person, with the Father in all things at the principal moment of all things. The Word was both with God and was God. Was and with. What God was, the Word was. The Word was God, and the Word was with God. Coequal, indistinguishable, yet distinct. The Word was closer than accompaniment, more present than association. The Word is the “Am” of the “I”.  We are to contemplate and meditate on this truth. We must repeat this report until they it is etched on our minds, then ponder them, study about them, and respond to them by worshiping the incomparable God that is The Word of The Word. Today, we are but vaguely familiar with what we must need know of God, but in the word, we have significant understanding that our overcoming is in the comprehended and understood meaning of how we are to prevail to rise to be sons of God.  It is the word that articulates the divinity and eternality of Jesus as well as his distinguishability from the Father. And by the word we know that Jesus did not cease to be the Word when he became flesh. And as God dwelt in the tabernacle in the midst of the people of Israel in the wilderness, so the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. In Christ we have visible the invisible glory of God seen by those who are born of God. Born of the Holy Ghost.  We are enabled to see the work of God in Christ. Philippians 1:6 This is our great comfort. In the Word we have the evidence of being lifted above our hopes, knowing the greatness and goodness of God concerning our future prospect. In this word is heard our judgment of faith. It is God’s beginning. We could not begin this of ourselves. And it is to be applied to particular persons, and then the word speaks of the certain accomplishment of the work of grace wherever it is begun. Because God is doing a good work, a blessed work; for it makes us good, and is an earnest of good to us, it will make us like Jesus, and fit us for the witnessing of the Word of God. It was the Word declaring that “it is finished” that gives cause to God saying, “it is done”. The Word is in agency with all that is God. His word of forgiveness lacks no power. I John 1:1-9 We must know the word that we might speak in the name of God with the eternal word of the transcendent Creator whom we represent. The identity of God is revealed in His self-communicative Word and self-giving sacrifice of Jesus. There is no God behind the back of Jesus. This eternal truth must be firmly impressed upon the hearts and minds who know the Oneness of God. God came to us in Jesus, showed His face to us, and poured out His love to us as our Savior. Acts 20:28 I Timothy 1:1; 4:10 There is this identity of being in this assertion of the simplicity and holy transcendence of the Deity. There is no nothing between the unbegotten Father and the begotten Son. It is by the Word that creation emerges out of nothing and includes it in the sharing in the Being fountain overflowing of God. The Being of God is not closed to itself, it is like a fountain overflowing with creativity. God is uncreated in the Father, and He is Creator in the Son. The Word stepped out of his anonymity and made himself known in the most concrete, tangible and unexpected way, in and through the particular human historical existence of the man Jesus. And in Christ Jesus the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily. And even in his self-revelation and enfleshment, God remains the incomprehensible divine mystery. At no point does the Divine Essence become an object of human perception and intellectual conceptualization whereby we could offer a description of explanation of such a Spirit Being. All things that are in the Father are beheld in the Son, and all things that are the Son’s are the Father’s; because the whole Son is in the Father and has all that the Father has in Himself. And so, the Person of the Son becomes as it were the Form and Face of the knowledge of the Father, and the Person of the Father is known in the Form of the Son. God is not one thing in Himself and another thing in Jesus Christ. What God is toward us in Jesus, He is inherently and eternally in Himself. They are a oneness in Being. What God is in eternity, Jesus Christ is in space and time, and what Jesus Christ is in space and time, God is in His eternity. There is an unbroken relation of “Being” and “A Thing Done” between the Son and the Father, and in Jesus Christ that relation has been embodied in our human existence once and for all. There is thus no God behind the back of Jesus Christ, but only this God whose face we see in the face of the Lord Jesus, the Word of the word. There is only the one God who has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ in such a way that there is perfect consistency and fidelity between what Jesus reveals of the Father and what the Father is in His unchangeable reality. The constancy of God in time and eternity has to do with the fact that God is in Jesus, for there is no other God than He who became man in Jesus and He whom God affirms Himself to be and always will be in Jesus. The world attempts to dilute Christ as God to rationalize their disobedience, saying that Jesus died for their sins so that there is no guilt upon them, no condemnation. These share another gospel than does The Word. To these Jesus presents the triune question – “lovest thou me”? Jesus is asking this in real time. It is the rarity of loving Jesus that increases the probability of coming to a satisfying conclusion. The Word conveys a higher sense of meaningful love. It interchangeably is asked by Jesus as the divine omniscience is the witness that the Word knows us better than we know ourselves in the word usage. The distinctions of the love requires a broad understanding of the word of The Word. We have as it is a deeper question. In the scriptures every single word has been meaningfully chosen for our instruction. Can we love who we don’t know? God’s word is to show us the harmonious nature of The Word that we might know Him in Spirit and in truth. How very much like the Word was Christ before and after his trial...he was God and with God. How unchanged was his disposition. There could be no altering in his character as a man any more than there could be in his attributes as God. He is the Word forever the same. We must probe the word being with a suspicion concerning our spiritual estate so we may suppose it asked of us this day that we may put it to our own hearts. Let us ask in the Savior's name, "lovest thou the Lord?” God is love and love is the very best evidence of reverence, faithfulness, holiness. These questions were to us that we take no cavalier attitude toward truth. That is, acting as though there were no such thing as truth, or as if it didn’t matter, when, in fact, truth matters at every point in life, it matters eternally. What really is the measure of truth? Jesus demands that we take a stand for truth. Matthew 21:23-27 There are some who will not stand for truth to avoid ridicule for not agreeing with the group…hypocrites. Then there are some who will not stand for truth fearing violence. Here is the way the depraved mind works. They are thinking carefully: if we say this then such and such will happen. And if we say that, then such and such will happen. They are reasoning carefully. Why? Because the truth is at stake? No, because their skin is at stake. And their ego. They don’t want to be harmed and they don’t want to be shamed. Truth doesn’t matter. These say, I matter. Jesus won’t deal with people that treat truth that way. Jesus abominates that kind of arrogant, cowardly prostituting of the precious reality of truth. The sum of the word is truth. Exodus 30:12 Psalms 119:160 The sum total is truth. And not just the totality, but the individual citizens in this land of God’s word, every one of them, is accountable for truth. That’s why the second aspect draws out this individual nature of each judgment; “and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever.” So you have a summation in the first of the verses (“the sum of thy word is truth”), and an individualization in the second half of the verses (“and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever”). So, this figurative census taken by Moses is the headcount of God’s word. It discovers something about the sum and something about the individual members in the sum. The sum is truth, and every individual part endures forever, because they too are truth. Neither the whole nor the part will ever prove false; they will never need to be struck from the royal record. The population, so to speak, of the word of God is totally truth and truth in every part. So, to answer what is the sum of truth… it is the word of God, in its totality and all its parts. Or consider it this way…sanctify them in the truth; thy word is truth. In other words, when the Father speaks, that is truth. If we want to know what truth is, we go to the Word of God. Step back and ponder this for a moment. The reason God’s word is ultimate truth is because God is ultimate reality. The concept of truth depends on the concept of the real. For something to be true, something behind it must be real. And the truth is telling us what is real. God alone is ultimately real, ultimate reality. That is, no reality was before Him. He doesn’t depend on any other reality. All other reality is created by Him. So, by His being and by His creating He has determined and defined what is and what is real. And since what makes something true is that it corresponds to what is real, therefore, God determines and defines all truth. When God speaks, that is truth. The way the bible uses the word truth, and the way we are to use it, is to refer to a faithful representation of reality. If it is a true statement or proposition, that statement faithfully represents reality. If it’s a story, the story faithfully represents reality. Jesus is God’s Word and speaks God’s Words…he is the Word of the word. Jesus also says, “I am the truth”. The most fundamental reason he could say this is that he is God. Jesus enters the world as the ultimate divine reality and as the perfect spokesman for this reality, for God. This is God’s final and decisive way of saying to us that truth is not impossible to reach. It has come to us. He is not waiting for us to find it. Truth is pursuing us. Since he is God, and God’s Word, he speaks God’s words. So when we speak the words of God today, we mean all that Jesus has shown us it means: Himself, his words, the Old Testament, and the New Testament. This is the sum of God’s word, and it is truth. God has not left us without the revelation of His will. He has not left us without wisdom. He has not left us without unfathomable knowledge, that none of us ever exhausts. He has not left us without a full and sufficient revelation of the way of salvation, the way of everlasting joy. He has not left us without a way to measure the truth claims of every life-shaping question we face. This is simply a priceless legacy left us in the word of the Word. This will prove our faith in the Word in the final days. We will have a conviction, so clear, and evident, and assuring, as to be sufficient to induce us, with boldness to sell all, confidently and fearlessly to run the venture of the loss of all things, and of enduring the most exquisite and long continued torments of suffering. We will so deeply treasure the word that we will build our whole lives on its truth, and be ready to risk everything for the glory of its story. It is the Word of God that tethers our mind to the truth. Romans 15:14 Colossians 3:16 I Thessalonians 5:12 II Thessalonians 3:15 Hebrews 8:5 To admonish is to deposit truth into a person’s thoughts. It might take the form of discipline, encouragement, or affirmation. It may be commendation or correction. Above all, admonishment is truth spoken into a difficult circumstance. It’s like inserting a chlorine tablet of truth into the algae of difficulty. This is the charge that Jesus spoke to us. Admonishment speaks up. Yes, we may have to hold the hand of one who is struggling. Yes, we bring water to the thirsty. And yes, yes, yes, we speak words of truth into moments of despair. Dare we sit idly by while Satan spreads his lies? By no means! The word of God is that Word who is Christ. Christ never began to exist, and he never will go out of existence. He exists at each moment in time. He exists at every turn in eternity. And when the word says he was the Word, he was with God, he was God, it is not referring to a time in the past, it is positioning our minds to form the concepts of expression that foundates Christ as the embodied Son. We, by the truth of the Word, are to always present the doctrine of the deity of Christ and affirm His co-eternal nature with God as Creator of the universe. The expression “the Word was with God” hides a vital truth about the relationship between God and Jesus. In the most intimate sense the Divine Word from all eternity was in a living, dynamic, co-equal relationship of close communion with the Father. Where God is the mind, Christ is the heart. This is the truth within the prayer of Jesus that we be one as they are one…and that we be one in them. It is the only way we can be made perfect…the Word of the Word’s prayer is answered. John 17:11, 21 We are to go beyond the surface reading of scripture to reason the expressed deity of Jesus Christ and His inseparable oneness with God the Father. And the Holy Spirit has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. This word of truth was written by John after his experience on Patmos, after his being brought up hither. John saw the Word of faith evidenced. And by the word he signals the otherworldliness of Jesus right from the beginning. The Word is only a partial reflection of this densely significant word. There is so much truth packed into the Word. We are to discover every truth in the word using reason and observation. From this we will gather clear and knowable principles that are constant. The Word is the total representation of all knowledge. The Word structured knowledge. He is the truth that exceeds all knowledge. This Word became personified. This Word is before the beginning of anything, he is the entity we know as God, who embodied, and created, the rational principle on which everything is founded. It is from this Spirit that everything material comes forth…celestial and terrestial. God is the Word.  The Word was both with celestial and terrestial God and also was God. When God spoke the Word what God spoke happened. Consider that truth. Jesus who is the Word, God in flesh is the full package. He carries in him the nature of God, the power of God, and the authority of God simply because he is God. This is the heart of our faith. God has never attempted to hide who He is. He has been very clear in defining His character and His nature. To us, God shows that He is the one and only God. Deuteronomy 6:4; 4:35 The Word is clearly the truth declaring there is only one God and there is no God beside Him. And too, the bible clearly identifies Jesus as God. And the Holy Spirit is shown to be God. Equal and eternal in nature and essence. This truth, this word accounts for how God relates to events, things, and people within the entire creation. The answers to our questions turn on God’s relationship in the sense that He is eternal and holds the dominant view of all things happening in a determined moment. We reason not of His timelessness, but rather of His everlastingness. We attribute our temporal existence as designated by God to bring us to the succession of the Word. We experience the events He has located in time. That is where the wonder of the Word and He who exceeds all wonders surpasses all understanding. God is that supernatural peace offered us in the midst of our trials. It is a peace that defies explanation and human logic because it is not based upon our circumstances. It is based upon the word of the Word. And the word of God not only defines faith in Christ; it is God's appointed means to create faith in Christ. Isaiah 55:11 God’s presence is sequential and all at once. He is at any point in time, at every point in time, beyond time in His eternalness. There can be no temporality to God. He is omnitemporal. Amazingly the bible states that God the Father and God the Son abide in eternity. Isaiah 57:15 Is eternity the place where God lives or is God where eternity lives? Let’s reason… eternity doesn’t consist of a succession of “moments”. Else it would be “time”. Can there be anything before God? No, then God is before even eternity. But that does not imply that God does not inhabit eternity. God, in His presence, in His glory abides in eternity as He dwells with His people. God can do anything that is possible to do for there is nothing that is impossible for God. I Kings 8:27 Exodus 25:8 Revelation 21:3 This is God’s relational presence. The glory of God is the beauty of His spirit. It is not an aesthetic beauty or a material beauty, but it is the beauty that emanates from His character, from all that He is. And it was given to us in human flesh…in the Word…in Jesus Christ. The glory of God, which is manifested in all His attributes together, never passes away. It is eternal. Isaiah 43:7 We beheld God’s glory in the Word. John 1:14 We are the vessels which “contain” His glory. All the things we are able to do and to be, find their source in Him. The Word, God’s glory, is what connects us to God. In this way, God is able to reveal Himself to all men, no matter their race, heritage or location. The essence of who God is, is His glory. God has an eternal voice. It is the Word. We should listen to that eternal voice. Our “time” of frustration here is because we are not of “here”. I Chronicles 29:15 We are to know of our time. Because you and I were made to join Father, Son and Spirit in the joy of eternity. And when Jesus Christ stepped into time from eternity, he was making the way for us to return with him. God gave us His Son just as God gave us His spirit. Job 33:4 Our spirit is in the same likeness of being that God is. God is a Spirit—it will never die. It is the part of us that has a relationship with God. God connects with, speaks to, and gives revelation to our spirit. Ecclesiastes 12:7 Proverbs 20:27 There is only one way for us to find out God…the Word of the Word. He is the only way for he is the only truth that gives the only life that can be eternal with God. No one can go between them. They are One. We must be “in” Christ for we can only go to the Father “by Jesus”. God, in the Word, reveals something about Himself through His spoken word, which is ultimately and perfectly personified in His Son, Jesus Christ. It took more than written revelation for us to know God. It took faith in the Word. It took the Spirit of God to teach us of the hidden depths of God’s nature, His love and how the Godhead so exhaustively works together in thought, word, and deed to save us. God is a speaking God or, simply put, God is the Word. This Word is eternally with Him, and this Word is His very nature. Be clear in your understanding that God’s Word of revelation is supreme authority over all things. The Word is the witness of the divine things of God. We may conclude that the Spirit, the Blood and the Word of God work together to accomplish great things for God. The blood of Jesus and the spirit of God are completely united in the spiritual Word. In the born again experience everything we have been taught by faith becomes real, and we develop a direct and personal relationship with God. In His word we give up our will and our way and follow the will of God. We learn His will by studying the Word, praying, meditating and teaching the true word of God, not by ministers or preachers that stand up and give their own commentaries, but exactly by a ‘thus saith the Lord’. The Spirit of God leads us where we are to be. It leads us to life in Christ. John 3:5 I John 5:8 Notice that the spirit, the blood and the water are in great agreement and united in their work. Yet, the Word spoke of his life, his blood, but the hearer did not reason with the Word and understood not. John 3:6-21 Ephesians 5:26 The water there speaks of the word of God. It can be seen that the spirit, the word and the blood give life. This we find in our reasoning. Luke 4:4 John 6:54, 63 Now hear what the word says… Ephesians 2:13, 18 The blood of the Word, of Jesus, in the believer’s life, the importance of the Holy Spirit, and the water of cleansing, of baptism bring us closer to God. That’s why these three witness on earth. In other words they are inseparable. baptism   How much better do we know the Word when we know of the blood. Think of the power of the Word of God…now think of the power in the blood of the Word. We are overcomers because of the blood and the word. Revelation 12:11 As our revelation in the power of the blood increases, so will the power of the word of Christ increase.  The Word must be continuously and persistently necessary in our lives. When we plead the blood of Jesus, the blood contends and protects us from the powers of darkness. It speaks on our behalf. It speaks better things than did Abel's blood. Jesus’ blood speaks of our rights in Christ – our right to be forgiven of sins, our right to be made righteous. Study the Word to learn what the blood foreshadows for our life. Ephesians 1:7 Hebrews 9:12-26; 10:1-20 I Peter 1:18-25 There is no wisdom to be gained by the Word unless we reasonably likewise come to the knowledge to ascribe the power of the blood by which we are saved. The sacrifice of life was never an intention of God even though it was His plan. For eternal life to be made possible it would require a perfect offering of life for the vindication of the perfect law of God. God needed the blood of Deity as the bestowal of life for sacrificial worship. And for our understanding, the blood of the Word suggests the thought of life, dedicated, offered, transformed, and open to our spiritual adoption. Our faith, that comes by the hearing of the word, is that faith in the blood representing the human life of Christ suffering, dying and sacrificing himself upon earth, which cleanses us in our repentance desiring forgiveness. This faith in the word of God releases our life to present ourselves to God as a living sacrifice. Christ’s dying was not unto death but unto life for others. What prominence is "the Word of God" upon his return? Revelation 19:13 This title clearly identifies the rider on a white horse here as Jesus, who came to earth the first time as God in the flesh but was rejected by the world. Here the question and the answer. Isaiah 63:2, 3     It sounds as though this rider is returning from a bloody engagement. But reason with the entire content of the context. This is when our salvation was wrought upon the cross. None showed any boldness of spirit for Christ on the cross. None joined with him against his oppressors. Among the children of men no one could. It was determined that what the Word said on the cross had to be sounded in aloneness. But now, in his fury, in his omnipotence, will those who forsook the right to life offered by God, see the white robe of Christ stained by their blood. In God’s Word is God’s will for our life. For as in the beginning was the Word, so in the ending will be the Word. It is by the Word that we are being finished. The born again experience is the new beginning of life turned over to the Holy Spirit for transformation. And one might have to see death, yet faithfully knowing the spirit returns to God. But what of the soul? James 1:21 We are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Our soul needs to be saved. The soul is often defined as the mind, the will and the emotions. Each of these areas needs salvation. According to the bible, this is done by the Word of God. This is the sanctification…bringing the whole man into God’s perfect will. It is a process not dependent upon time, but rather upon transforming the mind. An immediate union with Christ on the cross is an instant transforming of the mind. We must become more determined than ever to make the Word of God a priority in our lives. The enemy hates and fears the Word of God. Have you ever been in study and witnessed the enemy stealing the word? He will do anything possible to prevent us from learning God’s Word. How was it that Jesus discerned the thoughts of those opposed to truth? He is the Word. It is shown in our relationship with the word the deepest part of our nature. Every presentation of the truth of the word exposes and sifts and analyzes and judges the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. These will show in the words spoken. Hear with the ear.  The word will divide things for us; it begins separating truth from lies. As a result, we begin to realize what is of the Spirit and what is of the soul. Soon we know what actions are approved of God and what actions are not. The Word exposes wrong motives, wrong thoughts and wrong words. Spiritual strength is drawn from the Spirit. And that which the Spirit wields is that which is the Word of God. God’s Word arms God’s consecrated people with defensive armor. And as in any warfare there is need also for offensive weaponry. Ephesians 6:10-17 II Corinthians 10:3-6 This warfare is with spiritual enemies and for spiritual purposes. In this warfare there is no design to please the flesh: this must be crucified with its affections and lusts; it must be mortified and kept under. The principles and disciplines of the gospel are the weapons of this warfare. There is no outward force but rather strong persuasions, by the power of truth and the meekness of wisdom. Conscience is accountable to God only. The evidence of truth is convincing and cogent. This indeed is through the Word of God. It is our owing to Him, because the Word is His institution, and accompanied with His blessing, which makes all opposition to fall before His victorious reasoning on the word of the Word. Be discerning of proud conceits, in others. Let the Word of God reveal the richness of our character, the keeping of our faith, the gaining of our obedience, the efficient cause of our grace and power. Know that it is in our desire for the conversion of others that the enemy is conquered. But understand the readiness we must stand in to censure error. We must know and believe that the Holy Spirit knows exactly what scripture to give us in every situation. We are to stand for the Word in the spiritual realm. The power of the Word of God is the true knowledge of Him and His ways and character. Strongholds are wrongs thought to be true. Jesus is God’s final word to us. And why is he called The Word? The things that came out of his mouth as the truth of God and the person of Jesus, as the truth of God, in such a unified way that Jesus himself, in his coming, working, teaching, dying, and rising, was the final decisive message from God…he is the Word from God. It was not just the words he spoke, but also who Jesus was and what he did. That is what God had to say to us. Jesus’ words clarify himself in his work, but his self in his work were the main truth that God was revealing. It was the witness of his life coming together as one great message from God. We come together when we, as the Word says, abide in him. John 15:4-7, 10 John called Jesus “The Word” because he watched this man be truth. The Spirit impressed John with the best thing he could call him from eternity - God’s Word - God’s message to us. We are so unified in God’s intention for Jesus that He called him The Word of God. In the Word of God we have this view of all the revelation, all the truth, every witness, the glory, the light, and the works that came from Jesus, that Jesus was, in his living, in his teaching, in his dying, in his rising, the sum of all that can be said…The Word is God and that’s what the word of God says…   Let us come now to reason the truth of the revelation of The Word. Psalms 138:2 God has made Himself known to us in many ways in creation and providence, but most clearly by His word. The judgments of His mouth are magnified by His Word. What is discovered of God by revelation of The Word is much greater than what is discovered by reason. We understand this to be of Christ, the essential Word, and of the episodic narrative of the words and endeavors of Jesus, culminating in his trial and death and concluding with his appearance after his resurrection. He is the Word which is magnified above all the discoveries God had before created, even His law, even His sanctuary. The Word is the communion in the Godhead. Ephesians 1:13, 14 James 1:12 God’s word is the truth of His promise of our inheritance. His Word. His name. The Word is God, the Word is Jesus, and there is none other name under heaven given… We make God’s name our refuge. And we can be saved by none other than Jesus, the Word. And here is what lifts thy word above thy name… II Corinthians 1:18-21 The Word of the Word invokes the promise echoed throughout the word of God. The intricate history of God’s initial promise realized is the fulfillment of God’s word of the promised Seed. And that Seed is Jesus, who is “The Word”. 📖 Applying the Study For ongoing spiritual encouragement and prophetical insights, visit Higher Learning.

what God's righteousness looks like God’s righteousness looks like Jesus on the cross. He is Himself right, just, and true. Righteousness is essential to His very being and characterizes all that He does: God is morally and ethically right, and He acts only in keeping with what is right and just. This theme is common throughout all scripture: the judge of all the earth shall do righteousness. Righteousness is what God is. Every expected obligation of God is dimensionally heightened, lengthened, and widened above every physical quality: the backgrounds and foregrounds are rendered in beautiful lifelikeness to His mode of holiness. It is this aspect of holiness that distinguishes God infinitely beyond anything and everything that can be conceived of except that He is God! And this is the consistency that He wants His people to have. By faith to know that our God’s righteousness is not bound to anything that is not perfect.  The word affirms that God is righteous and it assures us that God always conforms to Himself - He faithfully adheres to His own perfections. He acts only and always according to the very highest principle of justice: Himself. God is His own self-existent principle of moral equity, and when He rewards the righteous, He simply acts like Himself from within, uninfluenced by anything that is not Himself. Always in prayer the thoughts of God are so mysterious as I think to come to Him that they seem to turn around and walk away from me. It is understood by me that from my vantage point God is so sovereign, and as such it is His nature and will that constitute the very essence of righteousness to allow me to spiritually envision the absolute moral distance between God and His human creatures. This is His amazing, extraordinary ability to create whatever humbleness I am to be made like Jesus to come boldly before Him in prayer. To encounter God in His holiness is the expression of His righteousness that makes it possible for us to see ourselves as we really are. God’s holiness is His complete and utter uniqueness distinct from all other beings in His infinite and absolute worth and beauty. This overlaps with His righteousness - His unwavering commitment to the highest standard imaginable - namely, His glory. This view is to leave an individual with a deep sense of awe at the greatness of His actions toward us that are in perfect agreement with His holy nature. To be indifferent is impossible for the true believer when confronted by the righteousness of God. He desires from this that our practical lives flow from the vision of the God of righteousness. He opens the veil of heaven to offer a glimpse of how the whole earth is full of His glory. The truth is that there is not and can never be anything outside of the nature of God which can move Him in the least degree. All God’s reasons come from within His uncreated being. Nothing has entered the being of God from eternity, nothing has been removed, and nothing has been changed. It is by God’s righteousness that we come to understand the “amen” response of His people. It is us saying, “now hear this”! God’s righteousness is of such a superlative degree that there is only one attribute   ever raised to the third degree of repetition in scripture. The bible doesn’t simply say that God is holy, or even that He’s holy, holy, but that He is holy, holy, holy. The bible doesn’t say that God is mercy, mercy, mercy or love, love, love or justice, justice, justice or wrath, wrath, wrath, but that He is holy, holy, holy. This is a dimension of God that consumes His very essence, and when it is manifest to us we must have the good sense to be moved. How can we, made in His image, be indifferent to His righteousness?   God’s righteousness is His unswerving faithfulness always to preserve and display the glory of His name. God is ever concerned to glorify Himself in all that He does, and His righteousness tells us just that. It is for this reason man’s “unrighteousness” is described in terms of “not glorifying God as God”. Righteousness consists in glorifying God and nothing less. The law to which men are bound is God’s   law – not a law that is “above Him” but a law that is “within Him.” And this standard, being nothing other than the nature and will of God, is the standard to which the immutable God has bound Himself: He acts always in a way that is consistent with His own perfection. This is a truth about God which we are glad to know. It is one thing to know that God is sovereign and so rules the world by His own will. But it is something more indeed to know that He rules in righteousness. For all the apparent inequities of life, for all the patient favors He shows the wicked, and for all the afflictions that fall upon the righteous, it is necessary indeed that we know that God is just and that He will always do what is right – however difficult it may be for us to see it at a given moment. Or again, it is one thing to know that He is the judge of all the world; it is something much more to know that He judges according to what is right and in a way that is consistent with Himself, that He will not condemn the innocent or clear the guilty. Our God is not whimsical or capricious. He is righteous – immutably righteous. For God to be God, and for us to be God’s election, God must demand of us righteousness. In virtue of this He institutes a moral government in creation, and imposes a just law upon His creatures, with promises of reward for the obedient. And God’s law is the very expression of His own Being. The divine righteousness of God is of such satisfaction as to offer a reformative function – repentance that we may avoid the vindicatory effect - the punishment of sin. God redeeming us will only be so as He can do so righteously. He cannot side-step justice. This is that aspect of God’s righteousness by which He provides righteousness for His offending creatures and Himself makes satisfaction for our unrighteousness.  T he gospel is a revelation of God’s righteousness. The gospel is a revelation of God’s love and grace, and it is also necessarily a message of His righteousness. Amazingly, God is righteous in forgiving sin. This is the beauty of His righteousness. God has not surrendered His just demands. Rather, God sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins. In the Lord Jesus we have all that God’s righteousness requires of us. In Jesus, we are righteously forgiven. This is grace whereby through faith his righteous record became ours, and we are justified. And with all that God’s righteousness is, there is yet this one aspect that overwhelms me. God’s “remunerative” righteousness as was spoken in the parable of the pounds. Him knowing that whatever good thing any man doeth, that man shall receive of the Lord. He does not overlook our work and labor of love. It is a curious thing that with God it is a matter of righteousness that He rewards His servants for their faithful service. It is not simply a matter of goodness or kindness but of justice. When we have obeyed and served Him, we have only done what is our purpose. All that we are, we are only “by the grace of God”, and our faithfulness is due only to His working in us. It seems strange that God would view our rewards as a function of His righteous justice. The point here is not that God is obligated to us, simply, but that He has obligated Himself to us by promise. It is in His righteousness to make good His word; by promise God hath made Himself a debtor. It is just with God to pay what He owes, and God owes what He hath promised; and so it is a crown of life which God the righteous Judge will give us at that day. Now, so as not to conflict understanding, God owes us nothing. No primary and original obligation rests upon the Creator, to reward a creature made from nothing, yet He can constitute a secondary and relative obligation. He can promise to reward the creature’s service; and having bound Himself to reward obedience, His own word establishes a species of claim…God by His promise, has made Himself a debtor to men.  Our obedience and service that He righteously demands of us and that He graciously enables us to give Him put otherwise, is God rewarding us, His servants, for the very thing that He has purchased and freely provided. The truth of God’s righteousness is a startling one for us. But when this righteousness is wedded to His grace, it is a joyful truth indeed. Even the heavens declare His righteousness. And by His Son we might become the righteousness of God right now as Jesus stands before Him. This very moment if we are in Christ, we are righteous, meaning we are seen by God as just, innocent, and right. There is no measurement to God’s righteousness. The cross of Calvary accomplished a just salvation, for all who will receive it. But we also know that only those whom God has chosen—the “elect”—will repent and trust in the death of Christ on their behalf. This raises another question related to divine righteousness. After understanding the teaching of the doctrine of divine election, how does God’s righteousness and His justice reconcile. Should God stand before the bar of human judgment? God is righteous in that He has condemned all, and in Christ, those who are justified have been punished and then raised to newness of life. God is also righteous for judging all those who refuse to accept His offer of salvation in Christ. God would be unjust only if He set aside justice rather than fulfilling it in Christ, whether by His sacrificial death at His first coming or by His judging the unbelieving world at His second coming.   Divine grace, the grace by which God reaches out to save men from their sins, is meted out not on the basis of men’s merits but in spite of men’s sin. Grace is sovereignly bestowed. God would be unjust only if He withheld blessings from men which they deserved. Since God is free to bestow unmerited blessings on any sinner He may choose, God is not unrighteous in saving some of the worst sinners, while choosing not to save other sinners. God does not owe salvation to anyone, and thus He is not unjust in saving some and choosing not to save others.   If sin is the manifestation of our unrighteousness and we can be saved only through a righteousness not our own—the righteousness of Christ—then the ultimate sin is self-righteousness. Jesus did not reject sinners who came to him for mercy and salvation; he rejects those who were too righteous in their own eyes to need grace.   No one is too lost to save; there are only those too good to save.   If we are among those who have acknowledged our sin and trusted in the righteousness of Christ for our salvation, the righteousness of God is one of the great and comforting truths we should embrace. By the law is the knowledge of sin, and thus every mouth is stopped, and the whole world is brought in guilty before God. But notwithstanding this, there is a righteousness; a righteousness which meets the case of the unrighteous in every part; a righteousness which can reverse even the verdict of the law against the unrighteous; a righteousness on the footing of which we can stand with boldness in the presence of the holy God without either shame or fear. It is the righteousness of God. It is divine. It is called the righteousness of God because it is a righteousness provided by Him; a righteousness which was conceived by Him, set on foot, and carried out in every part by Him entirely, and by Him alone; a righteousness in the providing of which we had nothing to do, even in thought or in desire, far less in execution; a righteousness the origin and accomplishment of which are wholly and purely God’s, not man’s at all. Again, it is called the righteousness of God because it is a righteousness founded on the sufferings of the Son of God. What God’s righteousness looks like…it is the only begotten flesh that has suffered and provided such a compensation for our unrighteousness. God’s righteousness is so divinely situated that it pushes our faith to a divinely accepted blessing. A faith which can leave no room for doubt on our part at all. Yet it is not our faith that is our righteousness. It is a righteousness which passes over to us, and becomes available for us, by believing in Him whose righteousness it is; that is, by receiving the Father’s testimony concerning Jesus Christ. It is by believing that we are identified with Him, so that His doing becomes our doing in in the eye of God and in the eye of the law; His suffering becomes our suffering; His fulfilling of the law becomes our fulfilling of the law; His obedience to the Father’s will is our obedience to the Father’s will. Such is the position into which we are brought, by being made, in believing, one with Him. Thus “the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ,” is presented to us, that in believing on Him He may become ours. Righteousness is here laid down at our feet. It is there, whether we receive it or not. It is there, whether we believe it or not—whether we reject it or receive it.  A righteousness that is most amply sufficient to meet our case were we the very guiltiest on whom the sun has ever shone. This is God’s righteousness. On this righteousness the feet of every faithful from the beginning have stood; of this righteousness every prophet has spoken; to this righteousness every type has borne witness; and this righteousness every sacrifice has set forth. It is even the righteousness of God, which is by the faith of Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference. If we be lost, it will be not that there was no righteousness, not that we refused to complete a righteousness which had been begun, but that we rejected the righteousness which was completed, and which was so presented to us by God Himself. Here is what the essence of a blessing is concerning what God’s righteousness looks like: the fitness of the righteousness for the sinner, and the fitness of the sinner for the righteousness have no difference. This is God’s righteous declaration of not guilty. All are equally fit or equally unfit, equally qualified or equally unqualified, for “all have sinned;” and it is this that brings down all to the same level, and down to this level it is that the righteousness comes. God’s righteousness is an effective work of God that cannot be limited to a mere declaration, for it includes the entire creation and not just the individual. What God declares becomes a reality as represents the unleashing of His power in an active way. God’s declaration of righteousness over us is not temporary – it is eternal. The effective work of the Spirit is part and parcel of the righteousness of God.   Righteousness is the manner by which the promise of inheritance is acquired and put into practice.   Righteousness is a journey of increasing maturity in godliness that enables access to resources of God which we haven’t experienced as yet.  R ighteousness opens up for us a lifestyle of awesome deeds that will touch the ends of the earth. This is the outcome of righteousness we are waiting for and eagerly expecting.   God’s righteousness, therefore, is both just and holy. The righteousness of God, Himself, is the righteousness that saves, and in salvation God freely extends, to sinful humanity, both justice and holiness—the justice and holiness of our very God.   However, this righteousness must be explained, as well as proclaimed, must be seen as well as heard, and must be demonstrated as well as argued. It must be revealed and understood before it can be received. Let’s enlarge upon this truth. The righteousness of God is embodied in Christ. We receive righteousness by receiving him. The question, however, is how? How is the righteousness of God revealed in Jesus? Christ’s redeeming death was the glorious manifestation of God’s own righteousness. God revealed His justice through the propitiatory act of the cross by which we are reclaimed from sin and death. Christ’s shed blood, his substitutionary, sacrificial death, deals with human sin, guilt, and condemnation. The cross reveals the justice of God by meeting the demands or requirements of the broken law. And this revelation of righteousness at the cross is fundamental. It is a demonstration of the inherent justice of God. Also, the equally fundamental truth that the life that Jesus lived also reveals God’s righteousness. Christ was obedient not only “unto death” but throughout his life. He revealed the righteousness, the holiness, the very character of God, in his everyday living. His obedience in its totality reveals God’s righteousness and, therefore, is the source of human righteousness.   The righteousness of God is both judicial and moral. Justice and holiness are revealed in Jesus, through His life and His death. Note the kind of faith that enables sinful human beings to receive God’s saving righteousness. A constant faith, from faith to faith, a faith from first to last, through faith from beginning to end. We are learning of a faith that includes much more than intellectual assent. We are learning of a faith that goes beyond knowledge. A faith that is submissive, dependent, trusting. This faith transcends knowledge, evidence, argument, and understanding, but yet it does not dispense with any of these. Do not be deceived…this righteousness does not change the nature…it changes the status. Imputed righteousness gives justification, imparted righteousness initializes sanctification. There is a future element in our experience of righteousness that will set the final seal on God’s people. It is the third angel’s message becoming in reality the message of righteousness by faith. 📖 Applying the Study For ongoing spiritual encouragement and prophetical insights, visit Higher Learning.

OnlineBibleCourse: Deepen your search for truth in the bible and learn about Christ. Sounds of Manna -Hymn 10 - Jesus Paid It All Play Video Free books! Play Video Be Transformed Play Video The Truth Watch Now Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Close DISCLAIMER: PLEASE NOTE ALL INFORMATION PROVIDED ARE EXTRACTS, EXCERPTS, OR COMPILATIONS AND ARE NOT COPYEDITED. MANY WORKS OF VARIOUS AUTHORS ARE USED. THERE IS NO AUTHOR HERE…IT IS A COMPILATION FOR YOUR LEARNING Schedule Learn at your own pace. Grade your own quizzes. No schedule. No deadline. Contact He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone , and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. Revelation 2:17 KJV Online Bible Courses No Cost *New Blog Entries Added Weekly* Bible Prophecy Charts & Maps Learn where we are in the stream of time Bible Helpful Links From reputable sources About About White Stone Bible Study Online/OnlineBibleCourse Have you had questions about the Bible? Perhaps you just want to know more about the life of Jesus or how to become a better person. Or, rather, you have come here to learn more about prophecy and the events that are coming upon this earth. Well, put on your seatbelt, because you are about to have a bumpy ride; these studies may cause you to question long-held church traditions that might make you ponder and wonder...

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