Whose Builder Is God.

 

The Fountain of Life

 The Fountain of Life.

 In Psalm 36:7-9 we read: "How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life." 

It is because with God is the fountain of life that he makes those who trust in him to drink of the river of his pleasure.

What is that river? "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." Rev. 22:1. 

Think of it! A river flowing out of the throne of God. He is the fountain of life. The invitation is to every one that is athirst to drink of the water of life freely. Revelation 22:17, John 4:10-14,  and 7:37-39, will help to an understanding of the matter. We take the living water by receiving the Holy Spirit.

Rev 22:17  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. 

Joh 4:10  Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 

Joh 4:11  The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 

Joh 4:12  Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 

Joh 4:13  Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 

Joh 4:14  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 

Joh 7:37  In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 

Joh 7:38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 

Joh 7:39  (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) 

Drinking in Righteousness. The Saviour says, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled." Matt. 5:6. If one is thirsty, how only can he be filled? By drinking.  Therefore the Saviour means that we can drink righteousness, if we thirst for it. Remember that God's throne is the seat of righteousness, and that from it flows the river of life, and we shall see the fitness of the assurance that we may drink in righteousness.

Since the throne is the seat of righteousness, the river that proceeds from the throne must, so to speak, be charged with the righteousness of the law. Whosoever therefore believes on Christ, and drinks in of his Spirit,  must drink in of the righteousness of the law as it is in the throne, or as it was spoken from Sinai.

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.