Know Your Enemy
What was the first sin that Adam committed against God?
He did not "keep" the garden in which God placed him! (Gen 2:15)
The Hebrew word translated into the English word "keep" is the word shâmar (שָׁמַר) which literally means "to hedge about", that is, guard; generally to protect.
From what or whom was Adam to keep the garden?
That old serpent the devil. Lucifer. The Father of lies!
The Tactic of The Enemy
When the serpent approached Eve he began his dialog with her by using a "half truth":
Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (Gen 3:1)
And when his first attempt at temptation failed, because Eve knew the teaching of God on this matter, he went directly to an outright lie: Ye shall not surely die (Gen 3:4) and proceeded to rationalize away the truth that she knew by appealing to her flesh: the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise (Gen 3:6).
The enemy of God ALWAYS uses the word of God to lead people astray and he does so by using "the letter" of the word to mislead his victim! (the temptation of Jesus by Satan in the desert is the perfect illustration)
The Jews were originally given the oral word of God through His prophets, both of which they rejected. They were later given the written word of God carved in stone (The 10 Commandments - the moral law). After that they were given the word of God penned by Moses's hand (the 603 ceremonial laws). Both receiving honor from the Jews by their words while being rejected by them in their hearts.
Subsequently the works of the law became righteousness onto them (self-righteousness) rather than the spirit of the law as it was originally purposed by God (God's Righteousness), which is an affront to Him.
Does God receive the glory (honor) if we are doing the work?
Does the clay form itself into a pot or does the potter do the work?
Can God's work which has begun in the spirit be made perfected by the flesh?
The Enemy Would Like You To Believe So!
Your Shield against
the Enemy
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will "keep" my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (Joh 14:23)
The Greek word use here, and translated into the English word "keep" is the word tēreō (τηρέω) which means a watch; to guard from loss or injury, properly by keeping the eye upon.
Question:
How does the enemy of God use John 14:23 against God's people?
By "keeping" the sheep from "keeping" Jesus' words!
Now no one is debating whether or not one should "do" the statutes and ordinances of God. That's Just Silly!
And no one is saying that we should not "obey" the instructions of our Lord Jesus. That's even more ridiculous.
What I am saying here is simply that what Jesus actually said in John 14:23 is not what is being preached
and taught to the church body today. (that being: if you love Jesus you will "obey" his words).
Now it is my belief that if Jesus wanted to instruct us to "obey" His words in John 14, He would have
done so as He did in Luke 17:6 where the Greek ὑπακούω hupakouō (obey) is used.
(note: Luke 17 is the ONLY time Jesus is recorded using the word "obey" in all of scriptures)
what then is Jesus actually saying?
guard His words and
protect them from
suffering injury or loss!
In order to keep (guard) something you must keep your eyes upon it, and when you keep your eyes fixed on something
over time it becomes quite familiar to you. So much so that you can spot a fake from a mile away.
One day while shooting some hoops with a family friend, who was an FBI agent at the time, I asked him how much time he spends on studying counterfeit currencies so that they can spot a fake US bill.
His answer was that little to no time is spent studying counterfeit bills at the agency. He said that they spend 100% of their time studying real US currencies because by knowing the genuine currency intimately they can spot a flaw quite easily.
Didn't Jesus repeatedly warned about false prophets and false doctrines ?
He said that there would be many coming in His name did He not?
How do we know those who love Jesus?
They are those who guard His words!
In 2Corinthians 3 the apostle Paul wrote: Ye are our epistle written in our hearts known and read of all men.
Was Jesus not God's epistle written in His heart known and read of all men?
Were Jesus' apostles not His epistles written in His heart and read of all men?
According to the apostle Paul we have been made able ministers of the new covenant of the spirit. According to Jesus we are "keepers" of His words, because His words are spirit and they are life. And when Jesus gave His disciples His "great commission" He instructed them to go out and preach the good news (gospel) about His work and the arrival of the kingdom of heaven on earth.
The Enemy can not force us to do anything that is against our will so he will ALWAYS attempt to lead us back to the things of our old nature by using our flesh against us as He did with Eve, and with Moses, and David, and Solomon and the scribes, Pharisees, and Lawyers of Jesus time.
In the end it all boils down to one simple thing: The enemy ALWAYS tempts us with something that is already ours.
Adam and Eve were created higher than the angels and lost that status by seeking that which they already had, they were God-like.
The New Way
The Letter
Condemnation
Death
The Spirit
Grace
Life
Which path are you going to take?
The Old Way
