Bible Believers' Newsletter 42
"We focus on the present Truth – what Jesus is doing now. . ."
ISSN 1442-8660Christian greetings in the precious Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are pleased you could join us in fellowship around God's unchanging Word.
This Newsletter serves those of like precious faith. Whoever will receive the truth is welcome to feed their soul from the waters of the River of Life. Everything here presented should be confirmed personally in your own Bible.Your brother-in-Christ,
Anthony Grigor-Scott
A Loophole in God's Law
We've got to recognize what Jesus is doing now. Because that's the only part of His Word God can fulfill in our lives. Just imagine, if some preacher said, "If you want salvation, you've got to build a big boat and sail down the Parramatta River"! It worked for Noah in his day. But It won't work for US today!
The only part of God's Word that will make us accepted in the Beloved is the part He's fulfilling now. We have to recognize that part by faith, before we can see It manifesting in our lives.
When the rains began and the waters rose, Noah was already in the Ark. He knew what was happening, and He knew what was to come upon the earth, because the Holy Spirit in Noah had guided Him into all the Truth revealed for his day, and showed him what would happen. What causes such distress among people is uncertainty. The absence of faith. Not knowing what the future holds. But Jesus promised a peace that transcends intellectual knowledge. Christians have this rest because by faith we know what the future holds for our day.
Providing we are in Christ, we know, not one hair of our head can suffer harm. The only way we can know that we are Christians is if we can see the Word promised for this day coming to pass in our lives. Amen!
Recently I set you some homework. I asked, "What IS the promise of God's Word for this day?" And I said, you search the Scriptures and write down exactly what God promised He'd do in this day.
We've been speaking of the new birth, and how it consists of three stages of grace: justification, sanctification and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Now let's take a peek at justification by grace through faith, and the response of water baptism.
According to Jesus and Peter, one of His precious promises to the Church in this end-time is that God would restore the one and only faith once delivered unto the saints.
Now the greatest of all revelations is the supreme Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is God manifest in the Form of a virgin-born Man, just as the Bible is God expressed in the Form of Paper and ink.
God's Law has always required a life for a life. When His children separated themselves from the Word, they turned from righteousness which is by faith, to death which is by learning. And instead of producing the fruit of the Word and Life, Eve produced the fruit of the Tree of knowledge, and death.
Although His Law requires a life for a life, God provided a loophole in the Law which enables a close relation, or what the Bible calls a near kinsman to substitute their life, provided they're worthy, able, and willing to pay the debt. And of course we know that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Indeed all of us were born in sin, conceived in iniquity and came into the world speaking lies. This sure proves that the original sin was associated with sex and not the eating of apples, and explains the necessity for the virgin birth
If no man was found worthy to substitute his life to meet Adam's debt, and balance the books by wiping-out the sin factor, then all of God's children were lost. There could be no hope. It should not seem strange that God wants to make things right, and the only way to repay this debt to God was to substitute another life identical in every respect to the life that was lost.
If you loaned me a hundred dollars, you'd expect me to repay you a hundred identical dollars. Ten boxes of tomatoes would not be acceptable; two car tyres would not settle my account; nor could I settle it in a foreign currency. And the Life that substituted for Adam's life had to be an exact copy. It had to come direct from God out of eternity into time, and voluntarily die, as Adam freely surrendered his life to save the one he loved. It had to be sinless, as Adam's life was sinless. And because death came by the woman's sin, it had to come through another woman, but without sex by the Word of God through faith. It was Eve's lust for knowledge that caused the Fall
So the blood of bulls and goats sacrificed by the Israelites could not take away, or remit sin. They only testified of an acceptable sacrifice to come, a KINS-man. Adam could not be redeemed by animal life. That would be like me repaying you with tomatoes instead of dollars. Animals are not kin to man. When an animal dies, that's the end of it. It has no soul that can come back.
No one was worthy or able to pay the debt. There was no acceptable kinsman. When Adam followed Eve from Eternity into time, he lost his dominion over the earth and took the whole of creation into 'time' with him. This of course meant death upon all, because anything that has a beginning must have an end. And by definition, 'time' has a beginning.
So God in love condescended to pay the debt Himself. But in Spirit Form He could not die. So He spoke the Word to Mary by the Message of an angel, she received It by faith. She did not have a sexual affair with God; this would be impossible because God is a Spirit. Mary was just an incubator. All she supplied was a virgin womb. God was both Father and Mother of Jesus, Who was the Word, not Mary's ovum made flesh.
The Psalms said, 'Thou shall not let My holy One see corruption'. Had Jesus been Mary's ovum, He would have been sinful flesh like Mary was, and not the Holy One. And that would make God a sex act. Jesus would have required salvation Himself, and have to go to the Upper Room and be born again, like Mary and the others.
The only way Adam and his fallen race could be redeemed, was for another man to substitute his life in place of the life of Adam. The debt had to be met Life for life. So God became flesh because a little virgin received the spoken Word by faith. And today, God becomes flesh in you and in me when we receive the Spoken Word for this day by faith.
What if Mary had built an ark? It saved Noah. But there was no salvation to be had from boat-building in Mary's day. That was the Spoken Word for Noah. God spoke a different Word to Mary, and she received It. She said, 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me as thou hast said'! Immediately Mary received the Word by faith, she was pregnant. And that Word began to transform Itself into what the Scripture said It would be.
I expect all the little virgin girls in Israel were hoping to bring forth Messiah. They were all keeping themselves pure and had the baby food and booties put away, ready for the Promised Son.
How about you, in this day? Are you ready to receive the Promised Son? Do you know what the promised Word will do in this day? It won't be made flesh in the womb of an Israelite girl. And It won't be transformed into an Ark. How can we recognize or even know what to expect, unless we're constantly in the word to see what It's promised for this day?
So Jesus was the WORD made flesh. Not some other person but the Person of God manifest in virgin-born flesh to pay the price of my sin. Isaiah and the angel said that Jesus would be called Emmanuel which means "GOD with us." Not a second, third, or any other fraction, but GOD with us." Not some other person, but the One Person of God with us.
God is not a man that He should lie, neither a son of man that He should repent. God is a Spirit, and the Devil is also a spirit. God is the Holy Spirit. But in that Form He could not pay sin's price. You can't kill a spirit. And in Spirit Form He was not kin to man. So God manifest Himself through the Spoken Word that was received by Mary's faith and transformed Itself into the Form of a Man, to meet the requirements of His Own Word.
If we're going to start our Christian walk through the three steps of grace—justification, sanctification, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost, we'll have to have a clear revelation of Who the Lord Jesus Christ is. Not one of three, or three in one, or six of one and half a dozen of the other, but the One Person of God manifest in the flesh of a virgin born Man.
Jesus said, "We Jews know what we believe" (John 4:22). And no Judahite from Judah to Jesus ever believed in three gods. In Revelation 15:3 we have the testimony of the 144,000 elect Israelites. After they're born again, "they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Your works, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY; just and true are Your ways, You King of saints." After Israel is converted, they will still believe in only one God, because there is only one God.
Oh what a mess the church world is in! No wonder Jesus is calling His people OUT from all man-made denominational teaching into oneness with His Word. He can't take His Children Home for the Wedding Supper when they're believing God is two or three persons.
If God is three people, then there are three gods, or language has lost its meaning. The First Commandment states that there is only one God. Now God wrote the First Commandment with His own finger, and I hardly think He made a mistake. According to Moses and Jesus, the greatest Commandment is, "Hear O Israel, the Lord Your God [singular] is ONE Lord." So if He's one GOD and one LORD, He is ONE Person.
Last week we learned from I John 5, "There are three witnesses that testify as to the Divinity of Jesus Christ: the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and these three all say the same thing".
They spoke of Christ's baptism in water by John which was the seal of the Old Testament when God took His abode in the temple of that body. "The Law and the prophets were until John, since then the kingdom of God, which is the new birth, is preached, and every man presses into the same Body or Temple." The next witness was the blood of His cross which consummated Christ's Mission of reconciliation and redemption, for no man can come to God except by the sacrifice. And finally, the Kingdom of the Spirit, which arose from that Mission, on the day of Pentecost.
Those three steps—justification, then repent and be baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and to show that repentance was genuine; sanctification by the blood, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit all agree in one new birth. Christ in you, the hope of glory.
We'll continue on this theme of justification by grace through faith in Who the Lord Jesus Christ is, and what He accomplished on Calvary, and consider Scriptural water baptism.
The purpose of the true ministry of this day is to preach the Bride of Christ into a celestial voyage called the Rapture. My brother and sister, We're crossing all traditional boundaries from man-made religion and unbelief in the Word, to the faith of Jesus Christ and the eternal land of the millennium. Very soon Christ's little Flock will take a celestial voyage. She won't need a space ship like the Russians and Americans. She's going way beyond where manned space flight can go. Like Enoch, She'll change in the atoms, and step from this dimension into the Realm of the Spirit.
We were about to discuss Scriptural water baptism. In Ephesians 4:5, Paul says, "There is one Lord [not two or three], only one faith [not Baptist, Methodist, or Catholic], and there's only one water baptism for the remission of past sins [or unbelief]." That's what God's Bible says. We're going to focus our attention on the one and only New Testament water baptism.
Of course baptism is immersion, not sprinkling or pouring. If you doubt this, read your Bible and look up a dictionary. Baptism is by immersion under the water. And there is only one Scriptural New Testament water baptism.
Paul confirms this in Galatians 1:8-9 where he says, "If an angel from heaven or any man preaches another water baptism, let him be accursed".
Oh! I hear somebody say. Paul never said that. He said, "If they preach another Gospel."
True, but what is the Gospel? Surely it is the Good News that Jesus Christ has paid the price of sin, so "repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sin. . ." Amen! So if any man or an angel from heaven preach a baptism different to what Paul preached, let him be accursed of God! Anathema.
Strong Words, Brother Anthony!
Maybe, but they're the Words of God. Take It and live, or leave it and perish! Jesus said, "He who believes and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned!"
But Brother, Jesus told us to "be baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." What about that?
Let's take a look in our Bibles at Matthew 28:18-20. "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, all power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth." Then if all power is given to Jesus, where's this Big Fella God? There can't be more than one Omnipotent. There cannot be more that one ALL-mighty.
Jesus continues in the next verse, "Go ye therefore, [or because of this], go, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Amen." If Jesus is going to be with us to the end of the world then He and the Holy Ghost are the one and the same. Jesus is the Holy Spirit manifest in flesh.
Following their conversion, or new birth in the upper room, Peter and the Church addressed the crowd. Remember, Jesus promised He'd build His Church on the rock of Spiritual revelation of the Word Peter had received from God, and that the gates of hell shall not prevail against that Faith. On the day of Pentecost, Peter proved by the prophets and the Psalms that "God has made that same Jesus Whom Israel had crucified, both Lord and Christ." One God, not two!
"Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, [talk about a guilty conscience], and said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do to be saved? We've killed our Messiah"!
"Peter said, This is what you must do: you must repent, and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is to you [Israelites], and to your children [Israelites], and to all that are afar off [Gentiles], even as many as the Lord our God shall ever call [both Israelites and Gentiles]".
Well, Brother Anthony, there seem to be two water baptisms, and I believe Jesus before I believe Peter.
The Word cannot contradict the Word, and the same Spirit that once spoke through Jesus was now speaking in Peter. There is one water baptism, and it's in the Name of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. Peter had the revelation of what Jesus meant. What the Bible says does not matter. That's the 'rhema' or letter which kills. What does matter is the 'Logos' or faith—what God's Word means. Jesus said, "The gates of hell shall not prevail against faith." By faith, Peter knew that the Name (singular) of the Father is Lord Jesus Christ, and that the Name (singular) of the Son is Lord Jesus Christ, and that the Name (singular) of the Holy Ghost is Lord Jesus Christ.
Not three names: one compound redemptive Name of one God, one Person in three major dispensation claims or offices. God above His people in the Fatherhood; God with His people in the Sonship, and God in His people in this Kingdom Age.
The singular Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is Lord Jesus Christ. And if you're not baptized in the Name of the LORD JESUS CHRIST then you have not obeyed our Lord's command to be baptized in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
"Father" is not a name, it's an Office or Title. Many of you are fathers but your name isn't Father, It's Bob, Harry, or whatever. Jesus said, "I come in My Father's Name"—(John 5:43). Every son comes in his father's name. I come in my father's name. So did Jesus. The Name of the Father is LORD JESUS CHRIST.
"Son" is not a name. I'm a son, but my name is not son. Son is a title or office that describes what I am. It describes a relationship. The Name of the Son is LORD JESUS CHRIST. The angel told Mary, "You shall call His Name Jesus or Jehovah Savior, for He shall save His people from their sins"—(Matthew 1:21). After His baptism by John in the River Jordan, Jesus was anointed for His ministry and became the Christ or Anointed One. And when He overcame in the Garden of Gethsemane He became Lord. The Name of the Son is LORD JESUS CHRIST.
In John 14:16-26 Jesus said, "I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him not, neither knows Him: but you know Him; for He dwells with you [veiled in the temple of My body], and shall be in you [once you have been baptized into My Body]. I [personal pronoun] will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you".
Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the selfsame thing in a different form. Jesus came from the Spirit to be made flesh through the spoken Word but He returned to the Spirit form so that when Paul met Him on the Damascus Road He was back in the form of the Shekinah or Pillar of Fire that led Israel across the Wilderness and said, "I am Jesus Whom you persecute. It is hard for you to kick against the pricks".
Verse 20, "At that day [when you are born again] you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you. He who has My commandments, and keeps them is he who loves Me: and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.
Judas [not Iscariot] said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself unto us, and not to the world?" Jesus answered him, "If a man loves Me, he will keep My Word and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him. [All three come to live in us. These are three Offices or Titles of one God, not three gods]. He who does not love does not keep My Word and the Word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you. But the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you everything and bring to your remembrance all that I have told you".
So the Name of the Holy Ghost is LORD JESUS CHRIST. And Jesus (Gk.) 'emphanizo' or "manifests"—declares, makes Himself known, appears or shows Himself—to us by revealing Himself in His Word, making it live and produce what He has promised. John 14:14, "If you ask anything in My Name, I will do it". And that is the 'third pull'.
As we learned last week, you can be justified without being sanctified, sanctified without being justified, and both justified and sanctified and still not born again. But you cannot have the Father without having the Son and the Holy Ghost, for these are three Offices or Titles of one God.
So Peter and Jesus were saying the same thing. And according to Acts 1:13, Matthew also was baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We've read Matthew's account of Jesus' Great Commission. But Dr. Luke was also present, and according to Luke 24:47-49, Jesus said, "repentance and remission of sins should be preached to all nations in His Name, [not Father, Son and Holy Ghost], beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. And I will send the promise of My Father upon you: but stay in the city of Jerusalem, until you are [born again and] clothed with power from on high".
So Peter and Jesus and Matthew and Paul and all of the saints were of one mind and one judgment. And by one Spirit shared the common faith, and the disciples were all baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And until you have this revelation you are not born-again. This is the only prescription in God's Word whereby one can receive remission of past sins, and if they carry on, the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is the new birth.
If we are truly justified by grace through faith in this day we are not going to believe in two or three gods. But we will know there is one Lord, one faith, and one water baptism! We will share the common and only faith of Jesus and the Apostolic fathers.
Before we close, let me ask you a question. Who was the Father of Jesus? Jesus said that God was His father. Right?
Matthew 1:18, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: when His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. [But I thought God was His Father]. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, planned to put her away privately because he thought she was pregnant through fornication. While he contemplated these things, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, you son of David, fear not to take Mary to wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the [God the Father?] . . . Holy Ghost".
Either the Holy Ghost is the Father, or Jesus had two fathers and is illegitimate. Holy Ghost is what God is: God is one Spirit, not two Spirits and one Man. He is the Holy Spirit. Father is the Title He received when Adam was formed just as father is an office you men receive when your first child is born.
There's no Scripture for a God the Father, a God the Son, or a God the Holy Ghost. You may find it in the Old Ladies Almanac but it's not in any Bible.
Look, I am my mother's son, potentially I may be a father, and I'm a human being. But surely you don't imagine I'm three people. Father, son and human being are three of my many offices or titles but my name is not father, son or person. I don't answer to any of those as a name. My name is Anthony Grigor-Scott. To my mother I'm a son; but I have no relationship with her as father. To my wife I would be husband and have no relationship as son or a father. And God has three major Offices or dispensation claims: Father, Son and Holy Ghost, but one redemptive Name: LORD JESUS CHRIST.nl042.htm
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Brother Grigor-Scott is a non-denominational minister who has ministered full-time since 1981, primarily to other ministers and their congregations overseas. He pastors Bible Believers' tiny congregation, and is available to teach in your church.
Bible Believers' Church
Gunnedah NSW
Australia 2380e-mail Bible Believers
URL Bible Believers' Website
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