God's Gift of Eternal Life Blog

The purpose of this blog is two fold: 1) to accurately describe how one may receive the free gift of eternal life--Jesus Himself said in John 6:47 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life." NKJV and 2) to explore the Word of God in such a way that it will be supplementally edifying to what you're learning from your local church as well as contribute to the spiritual growth of believers in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Saturday, February 23, 2019

Weekly Bible Study – February 25, 2019; Study: The Angelic Conflict. Part 11. Satan’s main goal is not to get believers to sin, but to be independent from God.

The Angelic Conflict. Part 11. Satan’s main goal is not to get believers to sin, but to be independent from God. Joh 8:52-58, 10:30, 14:28; Luk 4: Phi 1:29; 1Jo 4:4; Psa 91:11-12

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: the “Logos Reftagger” scripture links are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), when finished reading, hover your cursor off the scripture reference link. If the Reftagger pop-up doesn’t show all the verses, left click on the “More” button in the Reftagger pop-up window and it will take you to the online bible. If RefTagger pop-ups don’t work on your computer, that’s OK, try right clicking the link then open in new tab or window; or if that doesn’t work, you can always use your Bible to look up the verses. Word or Phrase definition links may not have a website that opens.

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]; we call this REBOUND, read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to simply exercise faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life; when you do, you will instantly receive Eternal Life: John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 20:30, 31.

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-15, 16, 17, 18, says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday

Alphabetical Listing of Terms & Abbreviations used:

STUDY TITLE:

The Angelic Conflict. Part 11. Satan’s main goal is not to get believers to sin, but to be independent from God. Joh 8:52-58, 10:30, 14:28; Luk 4: Phi 1:29; 1Jo 4:4; Psa 91:11-12

Point 9 in the doctrine of the Angelic Conflict: the Importance of the Hypostatic Union. The hypostatic union means that in the person of Jesus Christ there are two natures: Undiminished deity and True humanity in one person forever. There’s no mixture of the two natures, He is not half God and half man. The human nature always remains human and the divine nature always remains divine. Therefore He is called the God-man. Sometimes our Lord would say things from His deity only, John 8:52-58, The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets {also}; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he shall never taste of death.’ Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out {to be}?” Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I shall be a liar like you, but I do know Him, and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw {it} and was glad.” The Jews therefore said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am [or before Abraham came into being, I existed eternally, I am].'” He did not exist eternally as the God-man but as God. Sometimes the Lord would speak from His humanity and not His deity, John 19:28, After this, Jesus [“Jesus”-emphasis on His humanity], knowing that all things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I am thirsty.” God does not get thirsty; only the humanity in TLJC does. John 10:30, the Lord said “I and the Father are one.” He said this from His deity! In John 14:28, “You heard that I said to you, I go away, and I will come to you. If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I.” He said that from His humanity! Sometimes He made statements from His hypostatic union. John 6:62, “What then if you should behold the Son of Man [humanity] ascending where He [deity] was before?” It is vital that you understand the hypostatic union because there are cults that will show you scriptures where the Father is said to be greater than the Son, but this is speaking about the Son’s human nature, not His divine nature.

In the dispensation of the hypostatic union, Satan did everything possible to destroy the humanity of Christ through temptation and attempted assassination in order to keep Him from reaching the cross. There are three unique temptations from Satan to our Lord Jesus Christ during the hypostatic union. These were temptations to His humanity, for as God He could not be tempted. The first one is the temptation to rely on self rather than the ministry of Holy Spirit (Matt 4:1-4, Luk 4:1-4). When believers reach spiritual maturity, Satan is permitted by God to cross-examine them in the historical phase of the angelic conflict. Satan is given a tremendous amount of leeway. This includes taking away health and prosperity, causing misunderstanding and loss of friends, in fact, almost any kind of disaster. Remember this is the main reason you have been created: to glorify God! God will not allow us to go through more suffering than we can bear (1Co 10:13). The only one who will put on us more than we can bear is ourselves through our own negative volition, under the law of volitional responsibility! Through residence, function, and momentum in the PPOG we have the same power system that our Lord’s humanity used to advance to spiritual maturity. When our Lord was baptized by the Spirit He began His public ministry, and had already attained spiritual maturity. Because of His spiritual maturity He was qualified for evidence testing, Satan’s cross-examination of every witness presented by God in the historical trial of all fallen angels.

The first temptation is found in Luk 4:1-2, And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days; and when they had ended, He became hungry. The word tempted is the Greek word peirazo meaning to make proof of, test, scrutinize, examine, or to try or test one’s faith, virtue, or character by enticement to sin or to act independently of God. Why was Satan allowed to test TLJC? Because there is an angelic conflict. It does exist, it is real, and it is important for you to understand! The issue: if the humanity of Christ sins even once during this test, He cannot go to the cross and die for the sins of the whole world. So He was tempted far beyond anyone of us! Luk 4:3, And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” The devil opens up with a verbal examination, “Ei huios ei tou Theou,” which actually says “If you are the Son of God, and you are [first class condition], tell this stone to become bread.” Satan recognized that Jesus was the Son of God, so he starts out with a true point of doctrine! Will TLJC [The Lord Jesus Christ]who has the power to turn the stone into bread use that power and operate independently of the power of the Holy Spirit, or rely on God to meet His needs? We are all faced with this issue on a smaller scale. Will we rely on ourselves to meet our needs or will we wait for God? Most people have difficulty with waiting, but it is definitely worth waiting on the timing of God.

If Jesus Christ uses His deity, and His own power, to satisfy His hunger by turning the stone into bread then He steps outside of the PPOG [predesigned plan of God] for His life, the power system provided by God the Holy Spirit! Our Lord in hypostatic union would be acting independently of the plan of God the Father, and then Satan could say to God, “Even your own Son chooses to act independently of You!” This is the doctrine of kenosis which means that during the dispensation of the hypostatic union, our Lord Jesus Christ voluntarily restricted the independent use of His divine attributes in compliance with the Father’s plan. He lived among men with their human limitations and established in His humanity a spiritual life which is an example for the Church-age believer. Certain functions of His deity continued to function, such as holding the entire universe together, but these were in accordance with the Father’s will. In fact, all the temptations that Satan brought against Christ in this chapter attacked kenosis. During the First Advent, TLJC depended on the provision and power of the Holy Spirit, the power of Bible doctrine, and the power of the problem-solving devices (PSD’s), and gave up any independent exercise of certain divine attributes. Being full of grace and doctrine (John 1:14), the humanity of Christ extrapolated from His own soul, PSD’s. The humanity of Christ had to learn, metabolize, and circulate doctrine in His soul just as we must. He concentrated on the PSD’s to prevent the conversion of the outside pressure of adversity into the inside pressure of stress in the soul. Remember the principle, adversity is inevitable, stress is optional. The PSD’s used by the humanity of Christ were: The filling of the Spirit, The faith rest drill, Grace orientation, Doctrinal orientation, A personal sense of destiny, Personal love for God the Father, Impersonal love for all mankind, and sharing the Happiness of God. (We have two additional PSD’s, Rebound and Occupation with Christ). Our Lord did not depend on His deity to execute the Father’s plan, He depended on what the Father provided in the plan. What the Father provided for Him, He provided for us.

In His state of extreme hunger, Satan said to Him, Luk 4:3, “If You are the Son of God, [and I know you are] tell this stone to become bread.” Our Lord had the power to turn the entire universe into bread, but under the doctrine of kenosis, He did not use His omnipotence independently of the Father. He refused to rely upon His own omnipotence during the incarnation. This is also a temptation to solve the problem of hunger by a miracle rather than the function of his own humanity and under the doctrinal principle that the Holy Spirit led Him here, and God the Father will provide for Him. As long as God the Father has not removed the suffering, He intends for the humanity of Christ to bear it! If God doesn’t remove it, He intends for you to bear it.

So, the issue: Would our Lord Jesus Christ relieve His own hunger by performing a miracle rather then waiting on the divine provisions from God? Leaving the plan of God may not be manifested by overt sin. You can leave the plan of God for your home, the details of life, marriage, business, social distraction, friends, pleasure, personal goals and ambitions. There’s nothing wrong with any of these things providing that they do not take you away from the plan of God. That’s when you become what 2Ti 2:4 says “entangled in the affairs of everyday life.”

So, Luk 4:4, And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.'” Instead of performing miracles under His own power, our Lord used the greatest power ever known in human history! He used Bible doctrine in all three parts of his testing. Bible doctrine is the greatest power ever known, far greater than God performing a miracle. When God performs a miracle, it requires only His sovereignty [will]. But, when a believer applies Bible doctrine and advances in the PPOG that is the greatest power and the highest function that any member of the human race can attain. Bible doctrine is the very thinking of Jesus Christ (1Co 2:16), and it is the word of God, a reference to God Himself (John 1:1). Whenever a believer uses Bible doctrine in this life, He is operating in a power that Satan hates because it comes strictly from God and no one else!

Our Lord didn’t use false solutions to suffering. There are two that most believers use: Prayer and Miracles. To pray for strength in time of suffering is blasphemous, since under the PPOG, strength is provided in another way, through the power of the Spirit, Acts 1:8, and the power of the word of God, Heb 4:12. No one would be taking this type of test from Satan unless he already had the strength from spiritual growth. There is an allotted time in your life, ordained by God, for you to go through undeserved suffering. Phil 1:29 says, For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.

Our Lord continued to be hungry, and met Satan’s temptation with Deut 8:3, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. By this, our Lord established the fact that Bible doctrine had #1 priority in His life, and He used the power of Bible doctrine. The temptation of Satan was designed to lure the humanity of Christ away from reliance upon the omnipotence of the Father for His logistical grace, and upon the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit inside the PPOG. Satan’s main goal is not to get the believer to sin but to get the believer to become independent from God. In the same satanic trap today, Satan tempts us to step outside of God’s provision and do it on our own. This is the arrogance of the believer who becomes legalistic!

So, Luk 4:4, And Jesus answered him, “It is written,” He used one scripture and the power of that scripture is greater than the power of a miracle or any power man could ever have. The power is in the word, Heb 4:12, For the word of God is alive and powerful. We are dealing with an invisible enemy, Satan, and all of the demons that operate under his command, and the Satanic systems. We are dealing with a genius, and yet we have been given a power that is far greater. Tragically most believers are rejecting the power, 1Jo 4:4, You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. All spiritual victory in the angelic conflict is related to the Word of God.

The second test was to test our Lord’s relationship to the plan of God for His life (Luk 4:5-8, Matt 4:8-10). Luk 4:5-6, And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.”

There are two aspects to this temptation: First, Satan says, avoid the purpose of the Father’s plan for the incarnation and by-pass the cross and I’ll promote You. Second, avoid the purpose of the Father’s plan for the Second Advent; take the crown or the kingdom now! The Father’s purpose is for TLJC to go to the cross and die for the sins of the whole world! The Father’s purpose is to deliver all the kingdoms of the world to Christ at the Second Advent not the First! So the devil makes a legitimate offer to TLJC. Satan does have the right to make this offer and he does throughout history! What follows is Satan’s desperation in a losing battle to tempt our Lord to avoid or by-pass the cross and move to the crown. Without the cross there can be no crown! This time Satan uses a third class condition, unlike the first class condition when he said in verse 3, if you are the Son of God and You are. Luk 4:7-8, “Therefore if You worship before me [third class condition, maybe you will, maybe you will not], it shall all be Yours, for it has been handed over to me [by Adam], and I give it to whomever I wish.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.”

TLJC is pointing out to Satan that all creature obligation and loyalty is to the plan of God in the sense of serving Him! The phrase, it shall be all yours (kingdoms of this world) illustrates that Satan, instead of serving God, is seeking to hinder the believer from serving God by offering the believer the things of this world. Our Lord passes this test and temptation with one scripture “You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.”

The first test had to do with our Lord’s relationship to the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity. The second test had to do with our Lord’s relationship to the plan of God the Father for His life, the first Person of the Trinity. The third test had to do with our Lord’s relationship to the word of God, the second Person of the Trinity. Luk 4:9, And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here [pinnacle is the noun pteurgion, the edge or the highest point on the temple, Herod’s porch, a 450-foot drop] for it is written, ‘He will give His angels charge concerning You to guard You, and, ‘On {their} hands they will bear You up, Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.”

Satan is now quoting Psa 91:11-12, with a false application of a correct doctrine. He is trying to persuade the humanity of Christ to jump 450 feet onto rocks! Satan quotes scripture, Psa 91:10-12, “No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent. For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, Lest you strike your foot against a stone.” This Psalm was probably written by Moses and Satan is following the pattern of our Lord’s quotation from Deut 8:3, written by Moses! The humanity of Christ has already resisted the temptation to act independently of the Holy Spirit and the Father’s plan, by utilizing scripture! So, Satan now attacks scripture by quoting scripture. False application of a true doctrine is a very subtle attack from the kingdom of darkness. Psa 91:11-12 is not saying that if you decide to do something daring don’t worry because your guardian angel will protect you. However, Satan is using scripture to tempt the humanity of Christ to act independently of its real meaning. It is not part of the Father’s plan for the humanity of Christ to do a foolish thing like jumping 450 feet in the valley below! God does not condone senseless and unreasonable action.

In Luk 4:12, And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'” The Lord quotes Deut 6:16, a verse that pertains to the real issue and the real application of what Satan is doing. When Jesus Christ said “your God” He was making it very clear that He was the one Who created Satan. Satan made a mistake by putting God to the test. In the first attempt, he said to the Lord, You are God, therefore, tell these stones to be made bread. Therefore, TLJC by quoting Deut 6:16 turns the first class condition, (if you are the Son of God and you are) against Satan. The Lord is saying to Satan, “You know I’m God, you said that yourself, and you should not put the Lord your God to the test!” Consequently, the devil does not use any more first class conditions with TLJC in this dialogue. Satan quoted scripture that did not apply, and thereby he distorted scripture. Jesus quoted scripture that did apply, with a correct and accurate application, and so used the greatest power God has ever given. Luk 4:13, And when the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. In other words, he’ll be back!

Instead of performing miracles, our Lord lived in the greatest power ever known, Bible doctrine. Remember, Satan’s main goal is not to get the believer to sin but to get the believer to become independent from God. Satan did this with the woman in the garden, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This why we have the failures of the great men and women recorded in the scriptures, and all their failures were related to becoming independent from God and relying on their own power.
In Gen 12:13-19, Abraham willfully lied to deceive the Pharaoh and protect his own life. Isaac, in Gen 26:7, committed the same sin as his father Abraham. He willfully lied and told the men of Gerah that Rebekah was not his wife but his sister. Jacob, in Gen 25:31-33, was naturally crafty and sly and stole the birthright from Esau. Gen 27:18-29 records his master deception over his father Isaac, and yet God was faithful to him. The Lord changed his name to Israel, “a prince with God,” and when the Lord appears in the O.T. He says, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Then Moses, in Exo 2:12, killed a man with his bare hands. It was murder! He made excuses to the Lord in Exo 3:11 saying that he was not fit to be used by the Lord. Gideon was a man troubled with fear, and in Jud 8:24-27, he foolishly made a golden ephod which became a snare to Israel.

We also have the record of Samson. In Jud 14:1-3 he kept associating with evil people, wild and perverted women. Samson was very spiritual at times, JUD 13:25, Jud 15:14, yet he was under the power of carnal lust for prostitutes, and finally for the ravishing Delilah. In Jud 15:4, he was childish in his plans, yet courageous in battle. He was mighty in physical strength, yet weak in resisting temptation.

In 1Sa 21:1-10, David willfully lied, and the result of his lie was that an entire city was wiped out (city of Nob). He also faked madness and hundreds died, 1Sa 2:11-18. Then David failed in his responsibility as the King in 2Sa 11:1. He should have led his troops in battle, but he stayed home in Jerusalem, resulting in disaster on the battlefield. He ended up committing adultery, got a man drunk, committed murder, and he willfully lied. In 2Sa 6:1-13, he ignored the word of God regarding the ark and men were killed as a result. In 1Ch 21, David rejected the promises of God and even questioned the faithfulness of God, as a result 70,000 people died.

Then we have David’s son, Solomon, born from the woman he murdered for, Bathsheba. He lived an excessive luxurious lifestyle (1Ki 4:22-23), and married ungodly women (1Ki 11:1-2). He lived in excessive sensuality in 1Ki 11:3. He even sanctioned idolatry in 1Ki 11:4-7. In 1Ki 19, Elijah just had a tremendous victory, and then he ran from the threat of a woman. He sat under a tree and complained to the Lord.

Jonah was a reluctant self-centered, filled-with-hatred missionary. He kept running away from the Lord. He was very disappointed at the great success of his own ministry. These realistic portraits of the great heroes of the faith teach us to expect perfection out of no human being, including ourselves. Perfection is found only in heaven and in the person of the perfect God-man, the Lord Jesus. If you cannot see God at work in fallen man you will never be able to see God at all. So in all tests our Lord used Bible doctrine, the only way to defeat the satanic trap to step outside of God’s provision and do it on your own.

Point 10. The Pseudo Victory of Satan in the Original Fall of Man.

When Satan first rebelled and sin entered into the universe, there were two courses of action open to God. His nature would not allow Him to simply ignore sin and rebellion. First, He had the power to strike down Satan and the fallen angels, whom He had brought into existence through His creative act, and to annihilate them or put them in prison. However, if God had done this, He could never have created another mighty being like Satan with the freedom of choice, for there would always have been the possibility of another rebellion and the necessity for another repression. The history of heaven would then have been dotted with a series of disasters. The second alternative open to God was the one that He chose to follow. The claims of Satan’s equality to God and his superior power had to have their complete trial. God decided to give Satan a chance to prove himself before both creations, angels and humans. By doing this God would settle the issue of the creature’s relationship to the Creator once and for all. God’s plan was for all the universe to see unequivocally if it were possible for any creature whatsoever, regardless of rank, and no matter how exalted, to live for even a moment independent of God the Creator.

So, this trial, the angelic conflict, actually brings out a second will, the creature’s will over God’s will, and this is the reason why you and I have been created! Eze 28:15 says concerning Satan “You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created, Until unrighteousness was found in you.” When unrighteousness was found in Satan, manifested by his independence toward God, God took action. God revealed His hatred toward the sin of rebellion by putting an ice pack around the earth and confining Satan and all of his followers to this prison, Gen 1:1-2, 2Pe 3:6, Job 9:5-8, Jer 4:23-25, Psa 18:7-15. These passages reveal when God’s judgment flamed against the domain of Satan at his outbreak of independence. The curse of God had to come forth against the creation which had been corrupted by sin. It was a judgment fitting for Satan and his followers because it revealed at the same time the power of God and the impotence of Satan. God had created the earth and the heavens by His Word. And Lucifer, the devil, the son of the morning, had announced that he wished to take possession of heaven and earth for himself. By a simple Word from God the heavens and the earth were brought down into judgment and chaos. In that same moment, Satan got his first mouthful of dust, a perfect description for defeat and frustration. From the very moment when Lucifer in his pride, cried out his I will’s, he was doomed to everlasting disappointment and damnation. Anyone who thinks even for a moment that he can get along without God, that he can accomplish anything in his own power, is doomed to the sensation of dust in the mouth.

In this experience the fallen cherub Satan saw his domain in waste and desolation without being able to do a thing about it. He must have been totally stunned by the fact that his knowledge, beauty, and wisdom were insufficient to do anything about what God had done. Satan had wanted to possess heaven and earth, but he discovered that he was powerless in a judged universe. And, it began to dawn in his darkened mind that his wisdom was not omniscience, that his power was not omnipotence, that he was a creature and had no ability to create. He had lifted himself up toward heaven in a surge of his lustful desire to be like God, and his mouth was now filled with dust. He had carried with him a group of angels and demons who had been willing to accept his authority and his ways, and they would learn that even with their combined intelligence and power they would be unable to put their chaotic world together again. Satan had the appetite and desire to be like God, to act like God and to possess the universe, but there was nothing but a sense of emptiness, impotence ¬ because of inability! His mouth had watered for a delicacy but his bite filled his tongue with dust. And here was the ultimate in absolute frustration. Satan must have ranted and raved in the madness of that chaotic darkness he was confined to. If he called out, “Let there be light,” there was no answer except the empty echo of his screaming voice. Every man and woman who wishes to be independent of God should know that the path of any creature who cuts loose from a surrendered dependence upon God is in the path of Lucifer. Emptiness, inability, frustration, dust: these are the portion of the man who walks his own way. God has gone to extreme measures to reveal to His creatures that satisfaction is not to be found outside of a personal relationship with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and obedience to His will. There is no other source of joy!

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Internet Church Service – February 24, 2019; The Eighth Commandment (continued): Satan tried to steal our LORD’s Glory by promoting himself over GOD.

EMBEDDED VIDEO SERMON in HD – NOTES
The Eighth Commandment (continued): Satan tried to steal our LORD’s Glory by promoting himself over GOD.

Please join us as we fellowship in the Word of God, listen to
Christian Music, Pray in Christ’s Name, and Praise the Lord
in our Hearts and Minds.

ALL ARE WELCOME

from - Romans 8:38-39

Hymn #1

Hymn #2

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is— you have trusted in Him for eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to take-in God’s Word or participating in a Communion Service, so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge your sins privately directly to God the Father. This will assure that you are in fellowship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry, also called the convincing ministry will then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the real teacher and the pastor’s message is the vehicle the Holy Spirit uses to convince you what you are learning is true or not.

1 John 1:9, says—“If we confess [simply name, cite or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown and forgotten sins];” NKJV (New King James Version); we call this REBOUND, read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins to God; the issue for you is to believe by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life and you will be saved the very second you believe in Him:

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” NKJV

Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have”; it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it (it’s really just that simple), and it can never be lost or taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for learning God’s Word, if there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Our Pastor-Teacher is:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church
and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Terms used by RMBM

Doctrinal Statement

This ministry is non-denominational and is dedicated to
teaching the Word of God from the original languages and
making it available at no charge throughout the world.

OPTIONAL: On-line Bible – NASB95

Sermon

NOTES

Unlike the bible study, these notes are not just for reading without watching the video. These notes are more designed to follow along during the sermon and to bring up the “hover pop-up scripture references” (some websites may require to left click the link, if that doesn’t work then look them up in your Bible) when the Pastor asks everyone to turn to that passage in their bibles.

Sermon: The Eighth Commandment (continued): Satan tried to steal our LORD’s Glory by promoting himself over GOD.

Before we get to our ninth commandment, “Exo 20:16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor,”

We are taken a look at something our Lord had to deal with in eternity past when there were those who had tried to steal the glory due only to Him.”

One of the great sins concerning stealing that we normally take for granted is the fact that Satan was the first thief that we know of who tried to steal from the Lord.

For a while it looked as though Satan had won the human race to his side when Ish and Ishshah both ate of the forbidden tree of Good and evil, Gen 2:16-17; 3:1-5.

Isa 14:16 “Those who see you will gaze at you, They will ponder over you, saying, ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms.”

The dogmatic statement of fact = Isa 14:24, “Just as I have planned so it will stand.”

He tried to steal our Lord’s glory by promoting himself over God.

In Isa 14:12, he tried to weakened the nations.

In Isa 14:13, he tried self-promotion when he said in his heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north.

In Isa 14:14, the Bible comes right to the point and says that Satan’s goal is — Isa 14:14b; “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

A few introductory principles concerning the individual we call and know as Satan, the one who tried to rob and steal from God and still is trying to do so today.

Just like humans who try and steal and rob from the Lord as Mal 3:8 states, so did the angels.

It was their fierce leader Satan, who tried to steal the glory of the Lord in eternity past and in time, that they had to beware of.

That is what that military genius Sun Tzu said to his soldiers to “know your enemy.”

Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.”

Whenever we fight the enemy deception and trickery are allowed.

“The Supreme Art of War” is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

You possess the power to handle the problem.

1Jo 4:4 “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

Phil 4:13 “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.

If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb or be defeated in every battle.”

One of the great forms of victory over the OSN and Satan is that Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”

“All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable and when we are unable to attack we are to give the impression we are able.

When using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.”

You will find out the principle that “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”

If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him.

If he is in superior strength, evade him.

If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him.

Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.

If he is taking his ease, give him no rest.

If his forces are united, separate them.

“Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.”

“The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”

Five Esentials for Victory:

1. He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.

2. He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.

3. He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.

4. He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.

5. He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.”

Sun Tzu said: “Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood. Attack like the Fire and be still as the Mountain.”

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt; if you know Heaven and know Earth, you may make your victory totally complete.”

“The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.”

Satan was the original Traitor and Thief who tried to take the place of God…….and he has succeeded in doing so for the majority of people today.

He is called the great Liar and murderer who tries to steal the blessings of God away from His people and even those who are not.

He is a liar and murderer, however, TLJC [The Lord Jesus Christ], gives us some more insight into who Satan is, what he wants or lusts after, and his means or victims that he uses to accomplish His will.

He is a liar and a murderer as well as thief and one who steals; John 8:44.

He is also a thief for he tried to steal our Lord’s glory and honor as well usurping His authority over anyone who would listen, probably using flattery on the one-third of angels who followed Him; Rev 12:4.

Rev 12:4 And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven, and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.

He is the highest of all angels, and ruler of all fallen angels; Matt 8:28.

He is the most beautiful creature to come from the hand of God.

He has a voice like a pipe organ.

He is superior in genius, beauty, personality, persuasiveness, and is invisible.

He is a prehistoric super-creature, Isa 14:12-17; Eze 28:11-19.

He was so brilliant and God is so just that in his defense during God’s trial of Satan, even though Satan was found the guilty one, God gave Satan another chance to prove His point.

19. His angelic sin of arrogance in which he said, “I will be like the Most High God.” He revolted against God, taking one third of all angels with him, Isa 14:13-014; Eze 28:12-19.

20. He is cast out of heaven in the middle of the Tribulation, Rev 12:7, 9, 20.

c. He is cast into the lake of fire, Isa 14; Eze 28; Rev 12, 20.

21. His First Advent is in the Garden of Eden, Gen 3.

22. His Second Advent is when he returns at the end of the Millennium to start a revolt against perfect environment, Rev 20. His advents are always related to perfect environment.

He is the central antagonist of the angelic conflict, Heb 1-2; Gen 6;
1Pe 3:18-22.

He is an organizational genius with a great organization of demons, Eph 6:10-12.

There are four major demon attacks on the human race.

a. The genetic attack on the antediluvian civilization in Gen 6:1-13.

b. The attack of demon possession.

9. The attack of demon influence, which involves cosmic one and cosmic two.

d. The attack of demon armies in the Tribulation, Rev 9.

He is the origin of murder and violence in the human race, Gen 6:4-11; John 8:44. He doesn’t play by any rules.

He is the enemy of Bible doctrine, Matt 13:9, 39, Rev 12:13, 15 and attacks your capacity for life.

9. He is the enemy of the Church (the royal family), Rev 2:9-13, 24.

10. He is the enemy of Christ, Rev 12:4.

11. He is called the Anointed Cherub. As such, he held the highest position of all angelic creatures. He is now lower than the Seraphim which are in command of the elect angels.

Satan not only rules all fallen angels but Satan has greater power than any human and rules the world through his cosmic systems.

Since the fall of Adam, Satan has been the ruler of this world, Luk 4:5-7, John12:31; John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11; 2Co 4:4; Eph 2:2.

The Devil rules certain believers though demon influence (not demon possession) and the involvement of the believer in the cosmic system.

Negative volition in the soul creates a vacuum in the soul which sucks the doctrine of demons into the stream of consciousness (5 parts) in the soul.

Because of the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union overflowing into the Church Age, the body of Christ ruled by the head, our Lord Jesus Christ, has received the delegated divine power to resist the devil, as per 1Jo 4:4.

1Jo 4:4 “Greater is He who is in you [omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit in the PPOG] than He who is in the world [power of Satan as ruler of the world and cosmic system].”

1. Originally, Satan was called Lucifer, the Son of Light. He was the bright and shining angel in the throne room of God, the highest ranking creature of all time, the most beautiful and attractive in appearance and personality.

Once his fall occurred in prehistoric times, Satan was called SATAN in the Hebrew, which means “enemy and adversary,” having greater power than we have.

Satan’s power is not greater than God’s.

As humans, we are an inferior, rational creation.

1. All angels are superior to us. Satan is the ARCHON (ruler) of all angels, whose power is therefore far greater than ours.

2. God has made available His power; i.e., the omnipotence of the Father in our portfolio of invisible assets, the omnipotence of God the Son and God the Holy Spirit who provides the power to execute the PPOG.

3. Even for the unbeliever, God in His grace has provided a power to resist the power of Satan under the laws of divine establishment.

4. Satan’s second name is the Greek word DIABOLOS, which means slanderer, manipulator, traducer.

5. Although Satan is far superior to us in every way, God has provided two factors for us in grace.

(1) The protection of the laws of divine establishment. These laws protect our freedom, privacy, property, and life and unbelievers.

(2) The protection of the divine institutions. All dispensations, even the Tribulation, man continues to live on the earth because he is protected by the laws of divine establishment, by divine institution #3, the family.

Satan is specifically the enemy of the Church, the royal family of God, the new spiritual species, the body of Christ because God has done more for the individual believer in the Church-age than ever before.

How Satan functions as an enemy.

a. He is the enemy of the Church, Rev 2:9, 13 ,24.

b. He is the enemy of Bible doctrine, Matt 13:9, 39.

c. He is the enemy of Israel, Rev 12.

d. He is the enemy of Christ, Rev 12:4.

e. He is the originator of all violence and murder, John 8:44.

Religion is man seeking to use his own merits, his own works to gain the approbation of God.

1. Gospel, 2Co 4:3 4.

2. Ministers, 2Co 11:13-15.

3. Doctrine, 2Ti 4:1.

4. Communion table, 1Co 10:19-21.

5. Spirituality, Gal 3:2-3 .

6. Righteousness, Matt 19:16-28.

7. Modus vivendi – a way of living; self-righteousness, Matt 23:13-36.

8. Power and dynamics (miracles, healing, tongues) 2Th 2:8-10.

9. System of gods, 2Th 2:3-4.

False teachers are a part of his strategy, 1Jo 4:1-3.

They are bleeding heart do gooders, who “love” everyone, being all things to all men apart from any standards based on Bible doctrine, Matt 7:15.

Matt 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

1. They seek to stimulate your ego, Rom 16:18.

2. They use human public relations systems and legalistic flirtation to court believers, Gal 4:17-18; 2Ti 3:5-7.

3. They appeal to human ego and arrogance and pride to distract believers from grace, 2 Cor 10:12. They use mutual admiration society ideas.

4. They promote idolatry as a part of Satan’s communion table, Hab 2:18-19.

5. They promote legalism as a system of spirituality which we call pseudo spirituality, 1Ti 1:7-8. They encourage people to gossip.

6. They possess a false spirit, 1Jo 4:1-3. They are inspirational by do not function by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Hymn #3

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Sunday, February 17, 2019

Weekly Bible Study – February 18, 2019; Study: The Angelic Conflict. Part 10. Operation footstool began the Triumphal Procession in heaven, which will conclude on earth at the Second Advent.

The Angelic Conflict. Part 10. Operation footstool began the Triumphal Procession in heaven, which will conclude on earth at the Second Advent. Col 2:13-15; Mic 7:18; Heb 8:12, 10:17; Eze 16:63; 1Jo 2:12; Eph 4:8-10; Luk 4:1-4

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday

Alphabetical Listing of Terms & Abbreviations used:

STUDY TITLE:

Point 8 in our study of the Angelic Conflict: The Strategic Victory of the Angelic Conflict. This victory, in human history, refers to our Lord’s humanity being judged for our sins on the cross. Col 2:13-14, And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh [your human nature could never be acceptable to God], He [God the Father] made you alive together with Him [Jesus Christ], having forgiven us all our transgressions, Having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us and He has taken it out of the way having nailed it to the cross.

The term having cancelled is from the Greek word ezaleipho, meaning to blot out, cancel, erase, eradicate, to wipe out. The cross is where all of this was accomplished, for all members of the human race. Satan hates that, because the JUSTICE of God is our point of contact with God. God is SOVEREIGNTY, but before He can do what He wills, His JUSTICE must be satisfied. God is perfect RIGHTEOUSNESS; He can have fellowship with anyone who is perfectly righteous; God’s JUSTICE provides this to those who believe on TLJC. God is OMNIPOTENT, but before He can use that power, His JUSTICE has to be satisfied. God is OMNISCIENT; He knows every problem and difficulty we would ever have, and He knows the solutions. However, He can not solve those problems and difficulties unless His JUSTICE is satisfied. God is also IMMUTABILITY; He cannot change, therefore He could never have fellowship with a sinner unless His JUSTICE did something about it. God is LOVE, but He cannot express it in totality unless His JUSTICE is satisfied. God is also VERACITY or truth, but He can never give that truth to us unless His JUSTICE is satisfied. God is OMNIPRESENCE, but even though He is with us always, He cannot comfort us unless His JUSTICE permits Him to do so. God is ETERNAL LIFE, but He can never give this to anyone unless His JUSTICE is satisfied. This is why no member of the human race ever goes to hell because of their personal sins; they go to hell because of one sin: unbelief. John 3:18, “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (see also John 16:7-11).

In Col 2:14, this certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us is made up of certain principles, such as the fact that we owe God perfect righteousness, and not one of us could pay off that debt! We owe God a perfect life; a debt no one can pay. This IOU that has been cancelled was totally impossible for any of us to pay. We were all in an impossible situation. There is nothing that we could do to enter into a relationship with God, because the IOU against us was a total barrier between God and man. God found a way to cancel that debt without compromising His character. This is an important principle, because if you don’t understand the grace of God in all of this, you’ll get involved with false systems of spirituality. Stay away from the stereo-type Christian; stay away from the conventional, the traditional type, because the majority is always wrong. Matt 7:13-14, “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.”

Let’s note some characteristics of the stereo type Christian: the stereo-type Christian is someone who has personally believed in Christ but is totally ignorant of God’s plan as a member of the Royal Family. These Christians generally conclude that the goal of the Christian life, and spirituality, is living moral, or having a sweet personality. They attend church at least once a week, observe religious rituals, but they are still loser believers. They regard the mature believer as a fanatic because they have never heard certain doctrines. They respect the pastor who doesn’t have time to study, because he’s too busy hustling around the church, which results in pitiful sermons with traditional sayings, but no doctrine. The congregation never learns the plan of God for them as members of the Royal Family. They like a convenient pastor, one who counsels when they need attention, one who doesn’t offer the challenge of truth; one who marries and buries. To stereo-type Christians, whatever is not understood, is wrong. They can be easily conned into programs to whitewash the devil’s world rather than taking in doctrine. Being ignorant of God’s plan, they are proud, legalistic, and self-righteous. The result of all this is a total failure in time, and at the Bema seat judgment they are going to shrink away in embarrassment (1Jo 2:28-29). Preferring not to study, as 2Ti 2:15 teaches, they like to be entertained, resulting in arrogant subjective believers. They can counterfeit an outward righteousness through change of behavior but cannot counterfeit an inner change of integrity. The only way to manufacture integrity is through the ministry of God the Holy Spirit controlling the soul filled with doctrine. Believers must learn to distinguish between personality and spirituality! Once you believe on TLJC and you are born into His Royal Family and born into His kingdom, you have to live on doctrine, Matt 4:4, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Col 2:14, Having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Satan hates the cross and the work which was accomplished there, and he blinds believers from understanding what really happened at the cross. Believers who are very sin conscious, who feel guilty, unworthy, condemned or ashamed, as far as their relationship with God is concerned, have been blinded by Satan with regard to the work of the cross. Satan does not want us to discover or to remember Heb 8:12, “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” Or Heb 10:17, “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Satan loves to blind guilty believers from passages like Mic 7:18, Who is a God like thee, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? Yes, you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

The specific truth concerning the work of the cross is found in Psa 103:12, As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. In Isa 38:17, For You have cast all their sins behind Your back. Psa 103:10, He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. In Psa 65:3, As for our transgressions Thou dost forgive them. In Isa 43:25, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake [because of my honor and integrity]. Furthermore, I will not remember your sin.” Psa 85:2 You did forgive the iniquity of Your people; You did cover all their sin.” The Lord has not covered some of your sin, but ALL of your sin. In Eze 16:63 the Lord said to people who were involved with the grossest sins you could imagine “I will forgive you for all that you have done” Rom 11:27 says, He will take away our sins.

Have you become so familiar with these verses and this principle of doctrine that it no longer has an effect on your life? If so, the kingdom of darkness has blinded you concerning the one place they have been defeated, the cross 1Jo 2:12 says, your sins are forgiven for His name’s sake. Satan hates the cross, because it reveals the character and nature of a loving and gracious God.

Col 2:14, Having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Col 2:15 brings us to the ultimate victory of our Lord in the angelic conflict, When [at the cross] He [God the Father] had disarmed the rulers and authorities [fallen angels], He [the Father] made a public display over them [the fallen angels], having triumphed over them. While God the Father was canceling our debt on the cross Col 2 :14), the whole satanic system of fallen angels, superior to man, was also being disarmed and neutralized at the cross. The cross broke the back of Satan! Satan appealed his first judgment in eternity past, and the cross was the place of his second judgment. The phrase having triumphed is the Greek verb thriambeuo meaning to lead a Triumphal Procession or making some kind of exhibition. This is a reference to operation footstool which began the with the Triumphal Procession in heaven and will conclude with a Triumphal Procession on earth at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ. When TLJC was resurrected three days after the cross, He was on the earth for 40 days; then He ascended to the right hand of the Father. When TLJC arrived in the presence of the Father, He arrived as the conquering general, and in front of Him came Satan and demons in the Triumphal Procession as captives. So, TLJC has already had one triumphal procession. It started, but it won’t be over until the Second Advent. Eph 4:8-10, Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.” (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things).

Your life has very definite purpose, meaning, and definition in this angelic conflict, especially in the Church-age with all its unique features. Never has there been anything as important as the baptism of the Spirit, which results in the creation of a new spiritual species and the Royal Family of God. Never before has there been anything as important as the PPOG of the Royal Family of God. There has never been anything as important as the phenomenal portfolio of invisible assets which belongs to every believer. All believers, regardless of background, handicaps, successes, or any human factor, have equality given by God Himself. There has never been anything as important as our unique royal commissions: Royal priesthood and Royal ambassadorship. Never before has there been anything as important as the unique mystery doctrines of the Church-age, and the indwelling of the Trinity for every believer. We live in the dispensation when the ordinary believer is important. You are important, your life is important, and your attitude toward doctrine is important. Our time on this earth is like a drop in the bucket compared to eternity. Anyone who places other things in life above doctrine is losing all the equal privilege and opportunity God has provided. All those things will become so very meaningless in eternity; at most, they will add up to regret. In eternity you will realize that the things you considered important were not important at all. Although you cannot lose your salvation, you are a loser believer. A part of the agony of the sin unto death is to realize that you had an opportunity to make your life count in a fantastic way; instead, you chose to follow the plan of Satan for human life on this earth.

Point 9. The Importance of the Hypostatic Union.

The hypostatic union is the fact that in the person of Jesus Christ are two natures, undiminished deity and true humanity in one person forever. There is no mixture of the two natures; He is not half God and half man. The human nature always remains the human nature, and the divine nature always remains the divine nature. Therefore, He is called the God-man.

Sometimes our Lord would say things from His deity only, John 8:58, Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am [before Abraham came into being, I existed eternally]” He did not exist eternally as the God-man, but as God. In John 10:30, the Lord said [from His deity] “I and the Father are one.”

Sometimes the Lord would speak from His humanity only, John 19:28, After this, Jesus [He’s called Jesus, emphasis on His humanity], knowing that all things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I am thirsty.” God does not get thirsty; only the humanity of TLJC does.

Sometimes He made statements from both natures or from His hypostatic union. John 6:62, “What then if you should behold the Son of Man [humanity] ascending where He [deity] was before?” It’s very vital that you understand the hypostatic union; if not, some cult will show you scriptures where the Father is said to be greater than the Son, but it is speaking about the Son’s human nature not His divine nature.

Since the incarnation, Jesus Christ is true humanity and undiminished deity in one unique person forever. Jesus Christ had to become perfect humanity to be our Savior, our high priest, the mediator between God and man, and to fulfill the promise of the Davidic covenant that David’s son would rule forever. Jesus Christ had to become true humanity to be the Savior of the world, because as God, Jesus Christ could not have anything to do with sin except to judge and reject it; only humanity could bear our sins. Jesus Christ had to become true and perfect humanity in order to receive the imputation and judgment of our sins on the cross, 1Pe 2:24, and He Himself bore our sins in His body [humanity] on the cross, Jesus Christ had to become true humanity to be the mediator between God and man (Job 9:2, 32-33; 1Ti 2:5-6). He had to be equal with both God and mankind to be a mediator between both parties. Therefore, Jesus Christ had to be both undiminished deity and true humanity in one person forever. 1Ti 2:5, For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ had to become true humanity to be a priest, a priest must be a man in order to represent man before God. Jesus Christ became true humanity to be our high priest after the pattern of Melchizedek (Heb 7:4-5, 14, 28; 10:5, 10-14). Jesus Christ had to also become true humanity to be a king and rule forever. He had to be the son of David to fulfill the Davidic covenant to Israel (2Sa 7:8-16; Psa 89:20-7).

The doctrine of the Hypostatic Union is documented in many passages, including John 1:1-14; Rom 1:2-5; Rom 9:5; 1TiI 3:16; Heb 2:14; Phil 2:5-11; 1Jo 1:1-3. In the dispensation of the hypostatic union, Satan did everything in his power to try to destroy the humanity of Christ through temptation, attempted assassination, and to keep Him from reaching the cross. In all of this, he failed. The work of Christ on the cross destroyed the works of the devil.1Jo 3:8, The person who keeps on doing the sin [unbelief John 16:9] is from the devil because the devil has sinned from the beginning; and for this purpose, the Son of God has been revealed that He might destroy the works of the devil.

We have the three unique temptations from Satan to our Lord Jesus Christ during the hypostatic union. These were temptations to His humanity only, for as God He could not be tempted. The first one is the temptation to rely on self rather than the ministry of Holy Spirit, Matt 4:1-4, Luke 4:1-4. Luke 4:1, And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, [Iesous, Joshua or Savior, is always used for the humanity of Christ, not for His deity] returned from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness, The Greek verb for was led up is ago which, in the passive voice, means that He was led by the Holy Spirit. When a believer reaches spiritual maturity, Satan is permitted by God to cross-examine him in the historical phase of the angelic conflict! Satan is allowed a tremendous amount of leeway because spiritual maturity prepares a believer to take anything in life! This can include taking away health, prosperity, loss of friends, many kinds of disasters! But remember, God will not put on us more than what we can bear (1Co 10:13). In fact, the only one who will put on us more than we can bear is not even Satan; only our own negative volition will give us more suffering than we can bear. So, through residence, function, and momentum in the PPOG, under the same power system we have, our Lord’s humanity advanced through the various stages of spiritual adulthood. Because He arrived at spiritual maturity, He was qualified for evidence testing. In Matt 3:16-17, And after being baptized [the water represented the will of God the Father for the humanity of Christ], Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

So Luke 4:1-2, And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. If you do not believe a conflict exists, why was an inferior creature, Satan, allowed to put our Lord through a test? Because there is an angelic conflict! It does exist, it is real, and it is important to understand. If the humanity of Christ even sins once during this test, He cannot go to the cross and die for the sins of the whole world; therefore, He will not only be tempted like we are, but He will be tempted far beyond us (Heb 4:15). It will be the Holy Spirit that leads us to the test, but He will not tempt us; James 1:13 says, Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. The Holy Spirit leads the mature believer to the test, but Satan is the one who gives it.

Luke 4:3, And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God [I know you are], tell this stone to become bread.” Satan is functioning as the defense attorney in the appeal trial of all fallen angels! The devil opens up with a verbal examination, “Ei huios ei tou Theou” which actually says “If you are the Son of God, and you are” meaning Satan recognized that Jesus was the Son of God. So, Satan actually starts out with theology, true theology. One of Satan’s most powerful deceptions is to use truth and mix in his religious and legalistic lies. He’s going to try to trip up our Lord. Here is the issue, will TLJC who has the power to turn the stone into bread use that power and operate independently of the power of the Holy Spirit, or rely on God to meet His needs? This is actually something that we are all faced with continually; will we rely on ourselves to meet our needs or will we wait for God? Will you wait for the one God has for you or go into the cosmic system for a quick fix? Waiting is something most people have a difficulty with.

If Jesus Christ uses His deity, His own power, to satisfy His hunger by turning the stone into bread, then He has stepped outside of the PPOG for His life, the power system provided by God the Holy Spirit. That doesn’t necessarily seem evil and bad; however, it is committing the same sin that Satan did originally, choosing self-will over God’s will. By persuading the deity of Christ to act independently of the indwelling Holy Spirit and the function in the PPOG, our Lord in hypostatic union would be acting independently of the plan of God the Father. Then Satan could say to God, even your own Son chooses to act independently of You! This is what is known as the doctrine of kenosis which says that during the dispensation of the hypostatic union, our Lord Jesus Christ voluntarily restricted the independent use of His divine attributes in compliance with the Father’s plan. This means that He lived among men with their human limitations, and by so doing, He established in His humanity a spiritual life which is an example for all Church-age believers. Our Lord Jesus Christ voluntarily restricted the independent use of His divine attributes, but certain functions of His deity continued to function, such as holding the universe together. In fact, all the temptations that Satan brought against Christ attacked kenosis. This is why these temptations were unique to Christ.

So, during the First Advent, TLJC depended on the provision and power of the Holy Spirit, the power of Bible doctrine (B.D.), and the power of the PSD’s [problem solving devices] and gave up any independent exercise of certain divine attributes while living among men with their human limitations. Being full of grace and doctrine (John 1:14), the humanity of Christ extrapolated from His own soul, the PSD’s [problem solving devices]. The humanity of Christ had to learn, metabolize, and circulate doctrine in His soul, just as we must do. He concentrated on the PSD’s to prevent the conversion of the outside pressure of adversity into the inside pressure of stress in the soul. Remember adversity is inevitable, stress is optional! The PSD’s used by the humanity of Christ were: The filling of the Spirit, faith rest drill, grace orientation, doctrinal orientation, a personal sense of destiny, personal love for God the Father, impersonal love for all mankind, and sharing the happiness of God (we have two additional PSD’s: rebound and occupation with Christ). Our Lord did not depend on His deity to execute the Father’s plan; He depended on the One who provided the plan. This same plan is provided for us in the Church-age. This is also a temptation to solve the problem of hunger by a miracle rather than the function of his own humanity, under the principle that the Holy Spirit led Him here and God the Father will provide for Him. As long as God the Father has not removed the suffering, He intends for the humanity of Christ to bear it! If God doesn’t remove it, He intends for you to bear it! God will never put on you more than you can bear; only you can do that to yourself with self-induced misery!

Luke 4:4, And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.'” Once again, our Lord answered Satan with B.D., as He did in all three parts of his testing. In Luke 4:4, the Lord said “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone. '” In Luke 4:8, the Lord said “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'” In Luke 4:12, “It is said or written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'” Bible Doctrine is the greatest power the world has ever known, far greater than God performing a miracle. For God to perform a miracle, only His volition, sovereignty, and omnipotence is involved. But, it is more difficult for God to give maximum blessing to a believer, because that involves the volition of the believer, and faith and trust in the character and nature of God. The temptation of Satan was designed to lure the humanity of Christ away from reliance upon the Father for His logistical grace, and upon the Holy Spirit’s omnipotence inside the PPOG. Had our Lord used His own omnipotence to turn the stone into food, He would have operated independently of the Father’s plan.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Saturday, February 16, 2019

Internet Church Service – February 17, 2019; Sermon: The Eighth Commandment (continued): Do you operate as the body of Christ using your spiritual gift?

EMBEDDED VIDEO SERMON in HD – NOTES
The Eighth Commandment (continued): Do you operate as the body of Christ using your spiritual gift?

Please join us as we fellowship in the Word of God, listen to
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from - Romans 8:38-39

Hymn #1

Hymn #2

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” NKJV

Our Pastor-Teacher is:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church
and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Terms used by RMBM

Doctrinal Statement

This ministry is non-denominational and is dedicated to
teaching the Word of God from the original languages and
making it available at no charge throughout the world.

OPTIONAL: On-line Bible – NASB95

Sermon

NOTES

Sermon: The Eighth Commandment (continued): Do you operate as the body of Christ using your spiritual gift?

Your life right now is being recorded by the Lord as to whether you are a winner believer or a loser believer, it all depends upon you.

Do you operate as the Body of Christ your spiritual gift when needed, Rom 12:6 And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly:

Do you neglect or reject your spiritual gift for 1Ti 4:14 says Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed upon you.

1Pe 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewarhttp://aihc1998.tripod.com/home.htmlds of the manifold grace of God.

Exercise — Rom 12:6, let each exercise their gift accordingly:

Neglect — 1Ti 4:14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you,

Serve — 1Pe 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another

Prin-The operation of your spiritual gift in the body of Christ has been given to serve others in the Temple of God or the Church of Jesus Christ.

We are either going forward or backward, no one stands still — so where are you?”

Psa 119:113 I hate those who are double minded, But I love Thy law.

1Co 10:21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.

Col 2:13 And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,

Col 2:14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

Col 2:15 tells us when and where all these things took place, including the time of the cross and the ultimate victory over sin and Satan.

Col 2:15 When [really between 12 noon and 3 PM on our day we call Wednesday — there is nothing to what Catholics and others call Good Friday — to be accurate we should call it “Good Wednesday].

They do understand how to “rob from God” because we are told that they did so in Mal 3:8-10.

Let’s look at what took place after our Lord won this victory on the cross and paid the price for all who steal or are thieves in some way.

Our Lord went to Hades and spoke a message to all who were imprisoned for their rebellion and they all heard a message that could have been called “The Victorious Proclamation” from our Lord.

As of right now, some of Satan’s fallen angels are held in the Abyss, the maximum security of the prisons the Lord made.

Under the custodianship of God the Holy Spirit, His soul not only went to Paradise but He also visited Tartarus.

While there, He went to Tartarus, the third compartment or area of Hades is called Tartarus and it is the prison of the angels who were involved in Gen 6.

Because these fallen angels did not see the cross, then TLJC went down to Hades and gave these angels, as well as believers and unbelievers a message we could call the Victorious Proclamation.

They still entertained hopes that Satan would keep Christ from the cross until the Lord’s visit when He gave this victorious proclamation.

1Pe 3:19 in which [Spirit or by means of Whom, God the Holy Spirit] also He went [passive voice i.e. He received transportation] and made proclamation to the spirits [fallen angels and demons] now in prison,

“Spirits in prison” are the “beni ha Elohim” or the “sons of gods” of Gen 6 — those fallen angels who were judged and incarcerated in Tartarus when the universal flood occurred on the earth, Jud 6; 2Pe 2:4.

“made proclamation” means that He proclaimed certain doctrines and informed those demons in prison that they had failed and God’s plan was right on time.

He was in paradise, and I find it interesting that Dr. Luke tells us that He died with a dying thief beside Him, and the Lord also saw our old friend Lazarus, but He didn’t stay there for long.

By means of God the Holy Spirit our Lord made one of the most dramatic visits in all of history, another great title for a message we could call “A Visit to Tartarus.”

The “Holy Triune Separation”, where our Lord’s resurrection body is placed in the ground, His soul goes to Hades, and His spirit goes to the presence of God the Father.

In this “Holy Triune Separation,” our Lord’s human soul was in Hades in an interim body for three days and during the time that He was there he went to Tartarus.

1Pe 3:20 Who – the relative pronoun refers to the sons of the gods, beni ha elohim, in prison now in Tartarus.

The patience of God waited 120 years and during that period they received the most intensive gospel proclamation in all of human history from a great evangelist we know as Noah.

Because of the righteousness and just of God we can conclude that every one of the Nephilim had a chance to believe in Christ, and every one of them said “No!”

In the vacuum of their souls, they continued to worship the gods of Mount Olympus, who were not gods but demons.

Psa 96:5 For all the gods of the peoples are demons.,

God kept waiting under the principle that grace always precedes judgment.

This is not and cannot be a reference to water baptism or baptismal regeneration because those who went under the water were destroyed.

The water that drowned the unbelieving world was also used to deliver the eight souls who were believers and true humanity, Noah, his wife, and his three sons and their wives.

Prin-Water was an instrument of destruction for unbelievers but physical deliverance for believers.

At the moment of our salvation, the baptism of the Spirit made us members of the Royal Family of God.

Each member of Noah’s family in the ark is analogous to the believer who is union with the person of Jesus Christ.

Union with Christ delivers each member of the Royal Family of God from any form of divine judgment just like being with Noah and his family delivered anyone from the divine judgment of the flood.

Those eight souls were an anti-type or copy of what happens to us in the baptism of the Holy Spirit which is given only to those believers who are called “Temples or Body” during this Church-age.

For they were delivered from the catastrophe of the flood by being inside the ark just as we are delivered from the lake of fire by being in union with Christ, due to the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Just as they were safe in the ark, so we are safe in union with Christ.

Your conscience was delivered at the moment you believed in Jesus Christ as Savior, when God the Holy Spirit entered you into union with the person of Jesus Christ, making you royal family of God and a new spiritual species.

The pledge of good conscience toward God begins with knowing that you are a new spiritual species and a member of the royal family of God.

First the Lord went to Paradise then Tartarus, and then His next trip was from earth to the third heaven.

When Jesus Christ ascended, He was seated at the right hand of God the Father and received his third royal warrant, King of kings and Lord of Lords.

When our Lord Jesus Christ went to the fallen angels of Gen 6 in Tartarus, He announced to them a victorious proclamation, that they had not succeeded in their great attempt to prevent Him from coming in the flesh as true humanity.

The Holy Spirit transferred our Lord’s human soul from Paradise to Tartarus to make His proclamation.

He announced that He had come into the world as true humanity.

He fulfilled Heb 10:5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering Thou hast not desired, But a body Thou hast prepared for Me;

Then our Lord gave those fallen angels, demons and unbelievers an entire dissertation on the dispensation of the hypostatic union, and how He had been judged for the sins of the world.

He told them how their plot had failed, for true humanity had remained on the earth with Noah and his family.

This was an attempt by Satan to destroy true humanity on the earth by the sexual intercourse of angels with women producing a race of half human half angelic beings.

This was another attempt by Satan to destroy true humanity on the earth by the sexual intercourse of angels with women producing a race of half-human half-angelic beings.

John 10:1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.

False teachers and false prophets are called thieves and robbers.

John 10:8 “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.

John 10:9 “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

JOH 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.

Phil 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;

Like Abraham in Heb 11:9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;

Heb 11:10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

The point here is that God is building a Home or a Temple and He is using you to furnish it and finish it.

This means that you have the opportunity to build, the opportunity to live and the opportunity to build a soul-structure within, regardless of all the problems with the giants you may be facing in the “promise land.”

Notice once again notice that the Church, the body of Christ, is referred to as a temple.

He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation of the Church and now He’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone.

Rev 21:3 “I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle or the Temple of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them,”

And then in Rev 21:22, in the eternal state we read “And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.”

Repeat — What we have noticed so far is that we need to be careful how we treat one another in the Temple of God as we would have treated TLJC.

This is especially true in the communication of doctrine for the last thing you want is to over-emphasize one doctrinal principle over another.

Listen, all scripture is from the same Lord and Savior and it is from the very breath of our Lord, 2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

2Pe 1:20-21, no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

Here we see how the scripture reveals to the believer the very life and breath of God; John 6:45; 63.

John 6:45 “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.

John 6:63, it is the scripture or the words from God that carry the very life of God. Joh 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”

You also have been taught and grounded to the principle that the Word of God, the very scriptures in the Bible, is really a revelation of to the fact that the word is God and God is the word, John 1:1.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Look at another principle concerning the importance of the scriptures because they reveal or bear witness of TLJC; John 5:39.

John 5:39 “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me;

The scriptures also reveal the very life of God in the power of the Spirit, John 7:38.

John 7:38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.”

If all these principles are true, and they are, then think how many times ignorant believers attack TLJC when they really attacking you and the Scriptures!

Hymn #3

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

God's Gift of Eternal Life Blog

Saturday, February 23, 2019

Weekly Bible Study – February 25, 2019; Study: The Angelic Conflict. Part 11. Satan’s main goal is not to get believers to sin, but to be independent from God.

Internet Church Service – February 24, 2019; The Eighth Commandment (continued): Satan tried to steal our LORD’s Glory by promoting himself over GOD.

Sunday, February 17, 2019

Weekly Bible Study – February 18, 2019; Study: The Angelic Conflict. Part 10. Operation footstool began the Triumphal Procession in heaven, which will conclude on earth at the Second Advent.

Saturday, February 16, 2019

Internet Church Service – February 17, 2019; Sermon: The Eighth Commandment (continued): Do you operate as the body of Christ using your spiritual gift?

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