3/9/14

From Gary... Understand, be understood, be blessed!!!



Every human being I have ever met is unique. Different appearance, demeanor, capabilities, intelligence, etc.. And I find it what this child has to say very interesting. As far as he is concerned physically experienced understanding is all there REALLY is!!!  Study and feeling are subordinate systems of understanding to him. Someday, he will grow up and know things intuitively and also by intense study- and that is a very good thing.  As I was thinking about this, I remember the following Scripture and make no mistake- IT IS VERY IMPORTANT!!!!...

Matthew, Chapter 7
21  Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.   22  Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’   23  Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’ 

To be known by God for the things you do and to be held in high enough regard to be allowed to enter the heavenly realms for fellowship with the Almighty; NOW, THERE IS A CONCEPT THAT I CAN WARM UP TO VERY, VERY, QUICKLY!!!!  Understand what God wants for you- to be right and to do right!!!  Follow His word with mental appreciation and feeling and do what HE wants you to do with a good attitude and you will be glad you did!!!!  Then, there is this "Jesus thing". This thing where you actually have to obey someone (Jesus) without being forced to. It begins by understanding who he is and what he wants you to do (Matt. 16:16-18; Matt. 28:18-20; Rev. 2:10) and keep on doing it!!!!  I promise you- it won't leave a bad taste in your mouth--- EVER!!!!

From Mark Copeland... The Greatness Of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:1-10)


                  "THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS"

                 The Greatness Of Melchizedek (7:1-10)

INTRODUCTION

1. Thus far in our study, we have seen the writer mention
   Melchizedek...
   a. That Jesus is a priest "after the order of Melchizedek"-He 5:9-10; 6:20
   b. It has only been a brief mention, for the dullness of the readers
      required a necessary digression - cf. He 5:11-6:20

2. But now the writer returns to his theme concerning Melchizedek, in 
   which he...
   a. Establishes the greatness of Melchizedek - He 7:1-10
   b. Shows the significance of Melchizedek's priesthood - He 7:11-19
   c. Thereby illustrating the greatness of Christ's priesthood - He 7:20-28

3. Since this subject is "meat" compared to the "milk" of the Word (cf.
   He 5:10-12)...
   a. We want to approach it slowly and carefully
   b. Allowing ourselves to slowly "digest" what is said in this 
      seventh chapter of Hebrews

[For this reason, this lesson will limit itself to the first ten 
verses, in which we read of "The Greatness Of Melchizedek". To 
appreciate his greatness, we must be aware of...]

I. THE HISTORY OF MELCHIZEDEK (1-3)

   A. THE HISTORICAL RECORD AS FOUND IN GENESIS 14...
      1. We first read of "The Battle Of The Kings" - Gen 14:1-11
      2. In which Lot is captured, and then rescued by Abram (Abraham)
         - Gen 14:12-17
      3. Upon his return, Abram is met by Melchizedek - Gen 14:18
         a. Who is "king of Salem" (thought to be later known as
            Jerusalem)
         b. Who is also "the priest of God Most High"
      4. In this meeting, two things happen...
         a. Melchizedek blesses Abram (Abraham) - Gen 14:19
         b. Abram pays tithes to Melchizedek - Gen 14:20b

   B. IN REFERRING TO MELCHIZEDEK, THE AUTHOR OF HEBREWS...
      1. Summarizes the events in He 7:1-2
         a. How Melchizedek met Abraham and blessed him
         b. How Abraham gave "a tenth part of all" (i.e., tithes) to 
            Melchizedek
      2. Explains the meaning of his name and title - He 7:2
         a. The name "Melchizedek" means "king of righteousness"
         b. The title "king of Salem" means "king of peace"
      3. Makes some intriguing statements about Melchizedek...
         a. "without father, without mother, without genealogy"
         b. "having neither beginning of days nor end of life"
         c. "made like the Son of God"
         d. "remains a priest continually"

   C. WHO IS THIS "MELCHIZEDEK"?
      1. Some have suggested that he was:
         a. An angel (Origen, Didymus)
         b. Enoch (Husius, Calmet)
         c. Shem (Jerome, Luther)
      2. Others have taken the statements in v.3 to suggest that 
         Melchizedek was a "theophany" (a pre-incarnate appearance of 
         Christ), for the following reasons:
         a. The name Melchizedek, meaning "king of righteousness" (v.2)
         b. The designation "king of peace" (v.2)
         c. The possibility that the lack of recorded genealogy
            mentioned in v.3 is due to actual lack of ancestors, rather
            than the mere absence of historical record
         d. He is said to remain "a priest continually" (v.3c)
         e. He is contrasted with "mortal men" (v.8a)
         f. Of him "it is witnessed that he lives" (v.8b)
      3. Most take that he was simply a man (note v.4), but because he
         appears suddenly in Scripture as a priest...
         a. With no mention of parentage or genealogy
         b. With no mention of his birth or death
         c. With only a mention of him as a priest of "God Most High"
         ...that he is a "type" of Christ, and what His priesthood 
            would be like

[While the true identity of Melchizedek may remain a mystery because of
the brevity of scriptural information, his importance as it relates to
the superiority of Christ's priesthood becomes very clear as we 
consider...]

II. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MELCHIZEDEK (4-10)

   A. MELCHIZEDEK RECEIVED TITHES FROM ABRAHAM (4-6a)
      1. Abraham paid a tenth to Melchizedek
      2. Just as the nation of Israel would later pay a tenth to the 
         sons of Levi
      -- Thus Abraham, great as he was, showed his deference to 
         Melchizedek

   B. MELCHIZEDEK BLESSED ABRAHAM (6b-7)
      1. Melchizedek blessed him "who had the promises" (Abraham)
      2. There is no dispute that "the lesser is blessed by the better"
      -- Thus Melchizedek is clearly "better" than Abraham

   C. MELCHIZEDEK'S SERVICE WAS NOT AFFECTED BY DEATH (8)
      1. In the priesthood under the Jewish system (i.e., the Levitical
         or Aaronic priesthood), tithes were received by "mortal men"
         (whose service ended at death)
      2. But it has been witnessed that Melchizedek "lives"("remains a
         priest continually" - He 7:3)
      3. How he lives and remains a priest continually, the Bible does
         not say
      -- But in this way Melchizedek is greater than the Levitical 
         priests (a point made concerning Jesus later in the chapter)

   D. EVEN LEVI PAID TITHES TO MELCHIZEDEK (9-10)
      1. Levi was "in the loins of his father" Abraham when 
         Melchizedek met him
      2. Thus Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes "through Abraham,
         so to speak"
      -- Again illustrating the greatness of Melchizedek, as one 
         greater than Levi!

CONCLUSION

1. There is a lot more I wish I knew about Melchizedek...
   a. Was he a "theophany", a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ?
   b. Was he is an angel?  Enoch? Shem?
   c. Was he simply a man?
      1) One whose Biblical record is such that he serves as a "type" 
         of Christ
      2) If so, I would love to know where he came from, and how he 
         came to be "priest of God Most High"
   d. And how does he remain a priest continually?

2. But what I do know is this...
   a. Jesus is "a priest forever according to the order of 
      Melchizedek", as God swore He would be in Ps 110:4
   b. And that Melchizedek is clearly presented to be greater than 
      Abraham and Levi!

Understanding "The Greatness Of Melchizedek" helps prepare us to 
appreciate the superiority of Christ's priesthood over the Levitical
(Aaronic) priesthood, which we will consider later...

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

Hebrews 7:1–10 (NKJV)

7 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also ...

From Jim McGuiggan... GOD'S INCARNATION AND THE CHURCH

GOD'S INCARNATION AND THE CHURCH

The “doctrine of the Incarnation” is no bad phrase as long as we remember that it is only a shorthand way of affirming that something happened, something actually was done and that it was God who did it. When we reflect on what it is that the Almighty God has actually done we use words to speak about it but we don’t use words as a substitute for what God has done.

The one Christians speak of as “the Lord Jesus” is God being a man. The Lord Jesus is the man that God is being.

But we can’t leave it there for God does not want us to leave it there, won’t permit us to leave it there. We then try to unpack the meaning of it and the divine reasons for it and, in addition, we want to know how it affects us. Or should affect us.

None of us is competent to unpack all the truths that are embedded in God’s eternal purpose to become a human or why he ceaselessly chooses to be a human but as we gain a deeper understanding of the character and purpose of God we gain an enriched understanding of his Incarnation in and as Jesus Christ.

There are social ramifications of all the major doctrines the Bible reveals to us. That is, we aren’t taught these major truths simple to give us correct information—they are truths to live by. For example, Paul affirms the OT doctrine that there is no God but one [see Romans 3:29]; he concludes from that that there must be one Creator and one human family. From that he concludes that God cares for the entire human family and offers them life in and through the 
Lord Jesus [3:30].

He earlier concluded that the entire human family is faithless [3:19, 23] in contrast to God’s faithfulness [3:21-22] but in and through the faithfulness of Jesus God’s maintains his commitment to the human family. Paul insists that humanity knowingly embraced the world spirit that makes itself visible in the principalities and powers and was enslaved and was in need of rescue. Instead of despising humanity and keeping his distance God came nearer than near, became incarnate in and as Jesus, became one of us [see Romans 8:3 and note Hebrews 2:10-11] and came to humanity’s rescue.

This rescue work continues in “the body of Christ” [that is, the Church, the NT covenant People] in which Jesus dwells as and by the Holy Spirit

[see Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 2:22; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Acts 16:7]. The Church is in a real way an “extension” of the Lord’s incarnation.

It would be strange, then, if the corporate body of the Lord Jesus were to despise humanity, would it not?

It won’t do for us to say that humans are terrible sinners and that we are to distance ourselves from them if we are to be good people and, more to the point, if we are the body of Christ. It won’t do because God who knows better than anyone how sinful the human family is and who is goodness in perfection refuses to distance himself from us and chooses to be one of us so that he might rescue us.

We cannot make our moral uprightness a reason to distance ourselves from sinful humans when God would not do it. As Bonhoeffer has taught us, we can’t despise humans if God has so loved them that he became one of them to rescue them. If we despise humans we despise what God has become in Jesus and in despising God’s choice to be one of us we despise God himself.

However we are to engage with our fellow-humans it mustn’t be out of contempt for them but always with the purpose to rescue them [however doubtful we might be about the effectiveness of our attempt]. While we’re at it we are to remember who we are and what we have been though now we may be more morally upright then many of them [see Titus 3:2-7].
The Church that [however it goes about its business] is not and refuses to be in the business of rescue is not the NT Church; it is not the Body of Christ.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, theabidingword.com.