The Angel of the Lord

There is one angel in the Bible that is different than all the others.  This angel was not created.  He appears 40 times in the Old Testament.  He is referred to as "the" Angel of the Lord.  Not an angel of the Lord.  The word Angel is capitalized.  (I recommend the New King James Version of the Bible as it is the closest to the New Testament Greek which is "koine" Greek.  It gives the highest respect to the Trinity and whenever God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit is mentioned, it is always capitalized.)

To understand this perfectly, we have to build a strong foundation. The word "incarnate" means to clothe with flesh, to embody, to give bodily form.  The opposite of incarnate is "pre-incarnate" and this means to have no body.

John 1:1 states, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God."   The Word is Jesus Christ.

Where shall we begin to study this?  Let's look at John 1:2 which states, "He was in the beginning with God."

Where is the beginning?  How about Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."  Many people feel that the Holy Spirit does not show up until the New Testament but that is not correct.  Look at Genesis 1:2, " . . . and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."  The Spirit of God is the Holy Spirit.  (Again, when you see the capital letters it always refers to divinity - either God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit.)

How do we know that the Trinity is seen in the Old Testament?  Let's look at Genesis 1:26:  "Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness . . . "  Who is the Us and who is the Our?  Again, it is the Holy Trinity of God, Jesus and Holy Spirit.

Now back to the Gospel of John.  John 1:14, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

If the Word, which is Jesus, became flesh, it implies that before He became flesh, He did not have flesh.  He was in a pre-incarnate state.  

As mentioned, there are 40 references to the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament but I am only going to pick one for this blog.  Let's look at Genesis 16:7.  Hagar is Sarah's maid and needs help.  "Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur."  

Another interesting observation is this.  After Jesus is born, the Angel of the Lord is never mentioned in the Bible again.  Why?  Since Jesus now had a body, the pre-incarnate Jesus would not be necessary anymore.

In Hebrews, we have this picture of the pre-incarnate Christ getting ready to become the incarnate Christ.  This is the presentation of the Redeemer when Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us.  Hebrews 10:5-7, "Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:  'Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.  In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.  Then I said, "Behold, I have come - in the volume of the book it is written of Me - To do Your will, O God."

This is a conversation that took place just before Jesus left the presence of the Father in one moment into becoming microscopic size in the womb of the virgin Mary in Nazareth.  Jesus would experience nearly every event that a human being would experience, including being born of a woman.  

It is absolutely overwhelming that God could possibly love us this much that He would send His only Son to die for us that we might have the opportunity to live throughout eternity with Him.  

Thirty-three years later, Jesus will kneel in a garden, and His humanness will say, "If there is any other way that the Scheme of Redemption can be fulfilled, let this cup pass from Me."  As we know, there was no other way, and Jesus says the same thing in the garden just as He said when He left glory and entered into the womb of a virgin:  "Not My will but Your will be done."  

And Jesus went to Calvary.  Jesus, our Savior, hung on a cross and the price for our spiritual salvation and physical healing was paid.  Jesus paid the price for our sin with His blood.  He completely broke the power of the devil and enslavement to sin.  One day we will be taken from the presence of sin into His presence forever and ever.  Where there will be no more tears.  No more pain.  Only eternal love and joy.  

Jesus came as a babe in a manger.  The lamb of God.  But He's coming back again, only this time as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  

Are You As Smart As A 7th Grader Answers

Q. 1:  How many books in the Old Testament?  (39)

Q. 2:  How many books in the New Testament?  (27)

Q. 3:  How many books in the Bible?  (66)

Q. 4:  What does the gospel mean?  (The Good News)

Q. 5:  What one verse explains the gospel?  (John 3:16)

Q. 6:  What language was the Old Testament written?  (Hebrew)

Q. 7:  What language was the New Testament written?  (Greek)

Q. 8:  What language did Jesus speak predominantly?  (Aramaic)

Q. 9:  What was the Exodus?  (Moses led Hebrews out of slavery
           in Egypt and into the promised land.)

Q. 10: What was the name of the promised land?  (Canaan)

Q. 11: What year was the Old Testament put together?  (90 A.D.)

Q. 12: What year was the New Testament?  (367 A.D.)

Q. 13: What are the first four books of the N.T. called?  (Gospels)

Q. 14: What was the first Bible in 1622?  (King James Version)

Q. 15: What are the two sacraments of the Protestant Church?
            (Baptism and Communion)

     If you got 10 out of 15 right, consider yourself almost as smart as a 7th grader.  If you got more than that right, Jesus might say, "You are not far from the Kingdom."

     If you did well, let me know and leave a comment.  

Are You As Smart As A 7th Grader?

Confirmation in some churches is composed of 7th and 8th graders who spend almost a year studying the Bible.  Here is a 15 question list that measures some of the important things they learn.  In the next blog I will provide the answers.  See how you do.

Q. 1:  How many books are there in the Old Testament?

Q. 2:  How many books are there in the New Testament?

Q. 3:  How many books are there in the Bible?

Q. 4:  What does the word Gospel really mean?

Q. 5:  What one verse in the Bible explains the word Gospel?

Q. 6:  What language was the Old Testament written in?

Q. 7:  What language was the New Testament written in?

Q. 8:  What language did Jesus predominantly speak?

Q. 9:  What was the Exodus?

Q. 10: What was the name of the "promised land?"

Q. 11:  What year was the Old Testament put together?

Q. 12:  What year was the New Testament put together?

Q. 13:  What are the first four books of the New Testament called? 

Q. 14:  What was the name of the first Bible published in 1622?

Q. 15:  What are the two sacraments of the Protestant Church?  

Whatever Became Of Sin?

Why did Jesus come to earth?  Why was He born?  Matthew answers these questions in Matthew 1:21:  "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

Sins?  Whatever became of sin?  Jesus came to save us from our sins.  That is the heart of the Gospel.  Sin is the great problem of the human race.  Jesus came to free us from our sins.  That's what His name is about.  The name of Jesus is derived from the word Joshua and can be translated, "He shall save."  The word save translated from Greek means to both save spiritually and to heal physically.  You might say that there is a transformation process that takes place.  

No human being is perfect.  We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God.  God cannot tolerate sin.  That is why we need a Savior.  The cross only makes sense if humanity is hopelessly lost. It only makes sense if we can do something to save ourselves.  Only then does the cross make sense, otherwise Jesus suffered for no apparent reason.

We accept Jesus into our heart by proclaiming that He is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God and believing that God raised Him from the dead.  However, we must do more that that.  Just saying that Jesus is the Christ is not enough because even the demons know that, and with trembling.  We also must repent of our sins.  

Jesus begins His ministry by saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand."  The Greek word for repent is metanoia, which means a complete change of mind and lifestyle.  It means much more than just remorse, which is a temporary emotion.  It means a complete change, which is a permanent condition.  Jesus wants us to be transformed from sinner to devoted Christian.  The Bible tells us, "Abandon your sin and submit to the Lord by faith in the blood of the Lamb."  Faith is a gift from God and it produces grace.

The story of John Newton is amazing.  He was a notorious sinner, although he was reared by a Christian mother who died when he was only seven.  By the age of eleven he was working at sea with his father.  He was totally abused at sea and became hardened to the point of hating everyone.  As he grew up he took over his own ships and became a slave trader.  Then one day John Newton gave up his sins and cried to the Lord in true repentance - transformation - not cheap grace.  He sat down and wrote these words:  "Amazing grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me; I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see."  This became one of the great hymns of the church - Amazing Grace.

The Kingdom

I.  The kingdom refers to God’s domain.  

     A.  The kingdom is where God lives.

1.  It is an invisible realm.  The throne of God is the 

            center of the kingdom.  The spiritual realm.

2.  The kingdom is realized when what happens here 

            on earth is at it is in heaven.  

3.  The kingdom comes in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

            Worship and prayer can cause heaven to invade earth.

B.  Faith brings God’s world into our world.

    1.  “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence

of things not seen.”  (Hebrews 11:1)

  2.  When we pray we loose what is in heaven to be loosed

on earth.

   3.  Faith is the connection by way of prayer. 

   4.  When does the kingdom come?  

a.  It comes in the presence of the Spirit of God.

b.  Whenever miracles or healings occur it breaks

                through.

     C.  Jesus spent 40 days teaching His disciples the kingdom.

       1.  Easter is resurrection Sunday.  Pentecost is Pentecost 

Sunday.  Pentecost also means 50.  Subtract 40 from 50

will give you the number of days the disciples spent in the
            upper room.  That number is ten.

      2.  On resurrection Sunday, Jesus breathed on the apostles

and told them to receive the Holy Spirit.  They were 

then indwelt with the Holy Spirit.  However, they were

not filled with the Holy Spirit because that came on 

Pentecost Sunday.

      3.  All Christians are indwelt with the Holy Spirit but not

all Christians are filled with the Holy Spirit.  You must

pray for God to fill you with the Holy Spirit.

      4.  Through baptism we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit

which is our salvation.

      5.  To be baptized in the Holy Spirit is to be filled with

the Spirit and this equips us with power to carry forth

the Great Commission.  (Matthew 28:16-20).

II.  Do you know when the presence of God is near?

     A.  He’s showing up but do you know it?

1.  Some people feel a sensation in their body.  Some feel

            His actual presence by sensing it around them.  Some

            may want to feel like crying when God’s presence is

             near.  People have different experiences.

2.  The glory of God is when God is in your midst.  When

            God is in your midst healing takes place as well as 

            miracles.  Thus, the question is, “How can we ask God

            to come in or midst?”

B.  We can change the atmosphere of our environment.

   1.  Our internal environment can change our external 

environment.  Unfortunately, the external environment

can also change our internal environment.

   2.  We are to live consciously that the Holy Spirit is within

us and to be aware of His presence.

   3.  The Bible says we are to allow the Holy Spirit to flow

through is like a river to help others.  Too many

          Christians have imprisoned the Holy Spirit instead.

   4.  Being aware of the Holy Spirit within us, and seeking to

do God’s will by being obedient, we can release the Holy

Spirit into the atmosphere to change that environment.

   5.  For example, going to a jail and the prisoner feels 

horrible and without hope.  By praying with this person

you can release the Holy Spirit of God into that jail

cell and change that entire environment by the power,

dunamis, of God.  Giving that person hope.

   6.  By being obedient, for we cannot save or heal anyone,

we allow the Holy Spirit to do the work.  In so doing,

we have allowed the kingdom of God to break through.

Heaven will have actually invaded earth.

    

   

Prayer

I.  Prayer is simply talking to God.  

     A.  Jesus never prayed outside of His Father’s will.

1.  He gave us a pattern of how to pray.

2.  Pray to the Father, in the Name of Jesus through

            the power of the Holy Spirit.

3.  A human being is no greater than his or her prayer

            life because there is nothing of eternal value that

            will ever be more important.

4.  Prayer is the connection between earth and heaven.

            When we pray, we want what is heaven to be here

            on earth.

     B.  Faith is the major connection by way of prayer to heaven.

1.  “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence 

            of things not seen.”  (Hebrews 11:1).  Nothing is 

            impossible with faith.

2.  You and God are a majority.

II.  Prayer makes available to us the unlimited resources of God.

     A.  Prayer through faith makes all things possible.

1.  The American Medical Association states that those 

             individuals who pray for those who are in the hospital 

             will have much better outcomes than those who do not.

2.  Prayer is the greatest power that God has given to us.

            Regardless of what gifts you may have or how much

            education you have, or how rich you are, don’t put 

            your faith in those things.  If you pray, you can change

            the world.

        3.  James 5:13: “Is anyone of you in trouble?  He should 

         pray.” At end of verse 16 he says, “The effective, fervent

         prayer of  a righteous man avails much.  

     4.  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed 

         earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the 

         land for three years and six months.  And he prayed again, 

         and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced it’s fruit.  

     5.  The history of Israel was written according to the prayers 

         of Elijah.  And if Elijah hadn’t prayed you wouldn’t have

even read about him in the Bible.  The history of Israel 

was influenced because he, one single person with ups 

and downs just like the rest of us, prayed.  

     B.  The life of Jesus.

1.  Look at the life of Jesus.  Perfect prayer.  Doing the will

           of God.  Nothing happened in Jesus’ life without Him 

           praying. 

2.  Luke 3:21“When all the people were baptized, it came to 

            pass that Jesus was also baptized; and while He prayed, 

       the heaven was opened.  And the Holy Spirit descended in

       bodily form like a dove upon Him and a voice came from

       heaven which said, "You are my beloved Son; in You I am

       well pleased."  When did God speak that?  When did the

       Holy Spirit descend on Him?  When He was praying.     

  3.  Look at the 5^th chapter.  Verses 15, 16.  After He healed

          the sick, “the report went around concerning Him all the

          more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to

          be healed by Him of their infirmities.  So He Himself

          often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.”

     4.  In spite of the crowds, He was the only one who could

          help them.  He went off into solitary places and prayed.

          He was the Son of God and He knew He couldn’t heal

          them all unless He went into prayer.  Nothing happens of

          significance of spiritual value in your life unless you pray. 

    5.  Luke 6:12.  Jesus went out to a mountain side to pray.

        And spent the night praying to God.  There are many

        examples of Jesus going off and praying all night, getting

        up early and praying all morning in solitary places to meet

        with His Father.  Here He went out an prayed all night long

        to God.  And when morning came He called His disciples

        to Him and chose 12 Apostles.  

    6. Luke 22:39: “Coming out He went to the Mount of

        Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also

        followed Him.  When He came to the place, He said to

        them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’  And

        He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and

        He knelt down and prayed.saying, ‘Father if it is your will,

        take this cup away from Me; Nevertheless not My will, be

       Yours, be done.’  Then an angel appeared to Him from

        heaven, strengthening Him.  And being in agony, He

        prayed more earnestly.  Then His sweat became like great

       drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

    7. Being in agony.  With the devil doing everything in his 

        power to stop Him from going to the cross in order to

        redeem all of us.  With the angel of God helping Him.

        What did He lean on?  He prayed!  Nothing of eternal

        value will ever happen to us unless we are people of

        prayer.  

    8. When you pray, God battles and fights on your behalf.  The

       Biblical pattern is not if you pray, but when you pray.

Church

Church

I.  What is the church?

     A.  The New Testament word for church is ecclecia.

          1.  This word means an assembly or gathering of people

               called out in loyal obedience to God.

         2.  The church began by meeting in other people’s

               homes.  Nowhere in the New Testament is the church

               referred to as a building.  It wasn’t until many years later

               that buildings were made for people to have church

               services in.

         3.  The church is not supposed to be an isolated, private 

              religion.  The church is always described as a body of

               men and women who have come together out of love for

               God.

     B.  Who is the head of the church?

          1.  Jesus Christ is the head of the church.  In fact, the Bible 

              refers to the church as the “Bride of Christ.”

         2.  The mission of the church  is very clear.  Jesus tells us, 

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, 

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son

               and of the Holy Spirit.”  (Matthew 28:19)

         3.  This is referred to as The Great Commission.

C.  Who makes up the church?

          1.  All of us make up the Body of Christ – the church.  Since 

              Jesus is no longer physically here in body, if He wants 

              something done He has to find someone  to do it.  

         2.  Jesus is counting on all of us, as a congregation of 

              believers, to do it.  Every member of the church has a

               personal responsibility to take part in the mission of the 

              church.  

        3.  We are to let the Word go forth, that God loves us so

               much that we might have eternal life with Him.  This is 

               referred to as the “Good News,” the Gospel of Jesus

               Christ.  

 

II.  What is the ultimate goal and purpose of Christ’s Church?

     A.  There are three qualities that make up the goal of the

           church.

          1.  Bring people into a saving and personal relationship with 

              Jesus Christ.

        2.  Help them grow spiritually in the Christian faith.

        3.  Send them out into the world to witness to others about

               the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

     B.  What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

          1.  To make it crystal clear, the answer is found in John 3:16:

              “For God so loved the world that He gave His only

               begotten Son that whoever believeth in Him shall not 

               perish but have everlasting life.”

     C.  When did the church begin?

          1.  The church began on the day of Pentecost when the Holy  
                Spirit revealed Himself.
           2.  After Peter's sermon, on the day of Pentecost, the Bible
                tells us these words:  
           3.  "And with many other words he testified and exhorted
                them saying, 'Be saved from this perverse generation.'
                Then those who gladly received his word were baptized;
                and that day about three thousand souls were added to
                them.  And they continued steadfastly in the apostles'
                doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in
                prayers."  (Acts 2:40-42.)

          4.  Our task is to continue the mission and to let the Word
                go forth that God loves you and wants you to be in His

                family, which is His church.