The Mediator at Sinai.

Jesus- existed BEFORE Bethlehem.

Christ at Creation.

Col 1:13  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 

Col 1:14  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: 

Col 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 

Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 

Col 1:17  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 

God with God. 

Joh 10:30  I and my Father are one. 

Joh 10:31  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 

Joh 10:32  Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 

Joh 10:33  The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. 

Jesus- God with God. 

Jesus during the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.

1Co 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 

Exo 13:21  And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: 

Exo 13:22  He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. 

Exo 14:19  And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them

Exo 3:2  And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 

Exo 3:3  And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 

Exo 3:4  And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 

Exo 3:5  And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 

Exo 3:6  Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. 

Joh 8:58  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

God with God. 

Rom 1:3  Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 

Rom 1:4  And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead

Psa 2:7  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 

Act 13:32  And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, 

Act 13:33  God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

Jesus the God declared by decree to be the SON, by God who was then the FATHER to the declared SON.

Yes, the law given at Sinai was given by the SON, the same one who took on flesh and walked among us.  A perfect law wherein is found righteousness, given by the righteous God. 

(Excerpt)

The Law and the Mediator. 

We are told that the law was ordained "in the hand of a Mediator." Gal. 3:19. 

Gal 3:19  Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. 

Who was the Mediator in whose hand the law was ordained?

"There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all." 1 Tim. 2:5, 6. 

The law, therefore, was given from Sinai by Christ, who is and always was the manifestation of God to men.

He is the Mediator, that is, the One through whom the things of God are brought to men. The righteousness of God is conveyed to men through Jesus Christ. The statement that the law was given in the hand of a Mediator, reminds us that where sin abounded grace did much more abound.

The fact that the law was in the hand of a Mediator at Sinai shows us this:

(1) That God did not mean that any one should suppose that he must get the righteousness of the law by his own power, but only through Christ.  

(2) That the gospel of Christ was displayed at Sinai as well as at Calvary. 

(3) That the righteousness of God which is revealed in the gospel of Christ, is the identical righteousness that is described in the law as given from Sinai, without the alteration of a letter. The righteousness which we are to obtain in Christ is none other than that.

The law of God's righteousness is LIFE GIVING!

 Where is God's law in your life? God's law isn't simply written in the Bible, His word to us. God's law isn't just on tablets of stone, or the many varied means of bringing it to be now- pictures framed on a wall, wooden art pieces set on tables, little cards of printed paper, computer screens, tables, phones. God's law goes beyond the tangible. God's law goes beyond even the spoken word. It was spoken and it was written, but it existed long before then. How do I know this? Because of this…

Isa_51:7  Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law

Knowing righteousness, is knowing God.

Ezr 9:15  O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous

Deu 32:3  Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. 

Deu 32:4  He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. 

God has existed from everlasting to everlasting, God's righteousness is from everlasting to everlasting. God's law is His righteousness. Knowing righteousness is knowing God's law and that law revealing God's righteousness needs to be in our hearts!  IN OUR HEARTS! 

What does it mean for a law to be in our hearts? It is a vital part of us, a part that gives us life! The law of God's righteousness is LIFE GIVING!

The people in whose heart is God's law.

Psa 40:8  I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

Isa_51:7  Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.

2Co 3:3  Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. 

2Co 3:4  And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 

2Co 3:5  Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

Pro 7:1  My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. 

Pro 7:2  Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. 

Pro 7:3  Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. 

(Excerpt)

The Law and God's Throne. 

We read that "righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne." Ps.  97:2. Righteousness dwells in his throne. It is the foundation of it. The law of God is righteousness, even his own righteousness. This is shown by Isaiah 51:6, 7, where God speaks of his righteousness, and says, "Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law." 

That is, only they in whose heart is God's law, know his righteousness. 

Therefore his law is his righteousness. 

And the statement that righteousness is the habitation or establishment of his throne, indicates that the law of God is in his throne. He sits upon the throne of righteousness.

Evidence from the Tabernacle. 

The tabernacle built by Moses was for a dwelling place for God. 

"Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them." Ex. 25:8. In that sanctuary, in the most holy place, was the ark of the testament. This ark is described in Exodus 25:10-22. The cover of the ark was called the mercy-seat. Upon this mercy-seat were the two cherubim of gold. Within the ark, under the mercy-seat, were the tables of the law. See Exodus 25:16-21; Deuteronomy 10:1-5. Between the cherubim, upon the mercy-seat, and above the tables of the law, was where the glory of God was seen, and where God spoke to the people. Ex. 25:22. In 2 Kings 19:15 and Psalm 80:1 God is addressed as sitting between the cherubim. Therefore we learn that the ark of the testament,  with the mercy-seat, or the cover, was a representation of the throne of God. As the Ten commandments were in the ark in the earthly tabernacle, so the Ten Commandments are the very foundation of the throne of God in heaven. We may note, in passing, that since the earthly tabernacle was a figure of the true tabernacle in heaven,  therefore we are taught that the law as it stands in heaven, in the throne of God, is identical with the law as spoken from Sinai, and written on the tables of stone that were placed in the ark.

God's Throne and Sinai. We have learned that the law of God is the very basis of his throne. This is no more than might reasonably be expected, since the basis of any government is its law, and the throne simply stands for the law.

Mount Sinai, when the law was spoken from it, was the seat of God's law. It represented the awfulness of the law,  since no one could touch it without dying. The Lord was there with all his angels. See Deuteronomy 33:2; Acts 7:53. Therefore Mount Sinai, at the time of the giving of the law, was designed to represent the throne of God. 

Indeed, it was for the time the throne of God, the place whence the law goes forth, out of which proceed "lightnings and thunderings and voices" (Rev. 4:5), and around which stand "ten thousand times ten thousand,  and thousands of thousands" of angels. Here again we learn that the righteousness which is the habitation of the throne of God is the righteousness described by the Ten Commandments, just as they were spoken from the top of Sinai, as recorded in Exodus 20:3-17.

The Throne of Grace. But although the throne of God is the habitation of his law, that law which is death to sinners, yet it is a throne of grace. We are exhorted to "come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Heb. 4:16. Note that we are to come to obtain mercy. Note also that the top of the ark of the testimony, in which were the tables of the law, was called the mercy-seat. It was the place where God appeared to speak to his people, so that the ark of the earthly tabernacle not only represented the throne where God's law is enshrined, but it represented that throne as the throne of grace.

Sin Abounds Grace Abounds More.

 

Made Righteous.

 

There Are No Strings.

That Eternal Choice.

 Evidence of our mortality.

Simply- we all die. The nicest and, the most awful people in the world both die. The brave, the cowardly, the upstanding, the degenerate, the young, the old, the innocent, the guilty, all die. Being given long life doesn't make you especially pleasant and seemingly deserving of that long life. And having a very short life doesn't make you a nasty person deserving of a short life. 

When God created mankind He created them as eternal beings. Yes, we were created to be eternal, all of us. Not a single one of us were born to be finite and that is why we all have the possibility of eternity. I said, possibility because while we were created to be eternal beings, that gift of the eternal was contingent upon our remaining united with the eternal God. We could not expect to be allowed eternity without the eternal, ever was, ever is, ever will be God. Separating ourselves from the Eternal God caused us to no longer warrant eternal life. When we chose self over God we chose to live by our own powers only to realize that we have none. Still today after six thousand or so years, many of mankind are trying to find something, anything, to grant them that eternal life of pure health and happiness. They've been trying to cure all illness, all disease, and trying to make even the accidental injury results a thing of the past. Trying, trying and trying without succeeding. Yes, they can put bandages on things, but it seems as if just as one illness has a cure, two or three new illnesses pop up to take its place. We want to be healthy, to be in the prime of our life forever, and this desire is only natural because it was what we were intended for. 

Bottom line- without the Eternal God- we have no everlasting good thing at all whatsoever. Our temporary life affords us the opportunity to choose eternal life. Our temporary life offers us a chance to reunite with our Eternal God. Because all of mankind has a choice, we are called to make that choice- that eternal choice. 

May we choose salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, our eternal Savior, our eternal God!

We all have death promised to us.

We do not all have eternity promised to us, eternity is something we must choose and accept by faith in God.

(Excerpt)

The Condemnation.

5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned

"Death passed upon all men;" or, as stated later, "judgment came upon all men to condemnation." "The wages of sin is death." Rom. 6:23. All have sinned, and, therefore, all are in condemnation.  There has not a man lived on earth over whom death has not reigned, nor will there be until the end of the world.  Enoch and Elijah, as well as those who shall be translated when the Lord comes, are no exceptions.

There are no exceptions, for the Scripture says that "death passed upon all men." For the reign of death is simply the reign of sin. "Elias was a man of like passions with us." Enoch was righteous only by faith; his nature was as sinful as that of any other man. So that death reigned over them as well as over any others. For be it remembered that this present going into the grave, which we so often see, is not the punishment of sin. It is simply the evidence of our mortality. Good and bad alike die. This is not the condemnation, because men die rejoicing in the Lord, and even singing songs of triumph.

All.

 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. This is ENOUGH to condemn every single human being to eternal death. In fact it DOES condemn every single human being to eternal death. (Let me rephrase that just a bit, it condemns every mentally competent human being to eternal death- I'm a firm believer in the very young and mentally incompetent as belonging to God.) 

Our sins condemn us, but we are all, and I do mean ALL are given an opportunity find salvation from that condemnation. Not all opportunities are the same, some are very unique, but all have the chance to accept Christ Jesus as their Savior. 

(Excerpt)

Romans 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of Him that was to come. 

15 But not as the offense, so also is the free gift; for if through the offense, so also is the free gift; for if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 

16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift; for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses unto justification. 

17 For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 

18 Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 

19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

The Reign of Death. 

"Death reigned from Adam to Moses." That does not imply that death did not reign just as much afterwards. But the point is that Moses stands for the giving of the law; "for the law was given by Moses." John 1:17. 

Now since death reigns through sin, and sin is not imputed when there is no law, it is evident from the statement that "death reigned from Adam to Moses," that the law was in the world just as much before Sinai as it was afterwards.

"The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law." 1 Cor. 15:56.

There can be no sin imputed when there is no law; but wherever there is sin, there death reigns.

Adam a Figure. "Death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of Him that was to come." 

How is Adam a figure of Him that was to come, namely, Christ? Just as the following verses indicate, that is, Adam was a figure of Christ in that his action involved many besides himself. It is evident that Adam could not give his descendants any higher nature than he had himself, so Adam's sin made it inevitable that all his descendants should be born with sinful natures.  Sentence of death, however, does not pass on them for that, but because they have sinned.

A Figure by Contrast. Adam is a figure of Christ, but only by contrast. "Not as the offense, so also is the free gift." Through the offense of one many are dead; but through the righteousness of One, many receive life. "The judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses unto justification. "For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ." There is contrast all the way through. Everything that came through Adam's fall is undone in Christ; or, better still, all that was lost in Adam is restored in Christ.

"Much More." This might be taken as the key-note of this chapter. Not only is everything that is lost in Adam restored in Christ, but "much more." "If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son; much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."

And there is no chance of finding fault with the inevitable fact that we are inheritors of a sinful nature through Adam. We can not complain that we are unjustly dealt with. It is true that we are not to blame for having a sinful nature, and the Lord recognizes the fact. So he provides that just as in Adam we were made partakers of a sinful nature, even so in Christ we shall be made partakers of the divine nature.

But "much more." "For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ." That is, the life of which we are made partakers in Christ is much stronger for righteousness than the life which we received from Adam is for unrighteousness. God does not do things by halves. He gives "abundance of grace."