The truth concerning Christ, that was at the first delivered to the saints, is not to be exchanged for anything written by man. When the final treatise concerning Christ was penned, we had received “the faith once delivered to the saints.” Jude verse 3. This verbiage once delivered, is from a word which means once and for all and forever more! The commandments of the Word, which comes from the beginning, can never be questioned! “My little children, I do not write a new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning. The old commandment (mentioned in 1 John 2:7) is the Word which was before time who has now come into time. Many fail to understand this truth. When speaking of the revelation given at Sinai, most people refer to it as the “10 Commandments,” when the actual rendering in the Hebrew is, “10 Words.” “God is light;” 1 John 1:5; therefore, it can be argued that in creation, when God said, “let there be light,” Genesis 1:1, He infected the world for the first time with Himself by this creative act. The word, WORD does the same feat. Psalms 33:6; John 1:1. “Thy Word/commandment is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path.” Psalms 119:105 “for the commandment is a lamp. The teaching is a light and the way to life by His rebuke through this discipline, brings LIFE. What makes this citation in Proverbs most profound is the word, Word, commandment. Proverbs 6:23, since we understand the revelation of Sinai is called “10 Commandments,” are not so addressed in the original Hebrew. They are, in fact, called the 10 Words! Keep this in mind while considering 1 John 2:4 that we discussed last week. “He who says I know Him and does not keep His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whosoever keeps His word (here is our word for commandments), in Him, verily is the love of God perfected; hereby we know that we are in Him.” Again, the word light has a common derivative to word! He states that “God is Light,” in whom we abide (take up residency and remain with great comfort), to whom He has given us the Commandments! The interchanging of word and commandment happens in Hebrew and Aramaic!! “By this word, we are the children of God, distinguished from the children of Satan.” 1 John 3:10 Sin indulged in, knows no bounds, and the further it proceeds from the truth along its path, is seen to be works of the devil!!
Human nature is the same now as it was of old. There are still Cains, the world, hating it’s Abel, the Church of Christ! Therefore, “Marvel not if the world hate you!!” And what seems to be more interesting, there seems to be no neutral ground! The world either loves, our hates. This is why we must love our brother. He who is not for his brother is against him. Love is our only security against hate. And everyone who does not love is a potential hater, and John says every hater is a murderer. A murderer who expresses his hatred in this most emphatic way, then, is one who is forced to interpret his hatred for his brother as one who must “kill his brother, as did Cain.
So the Psalmist expresses it this way: “Thou anointest My head with oil.“ Psalms 23:5 How many times have we heard this quoted and yet not studied it? The general questions we ask when exegeting a passage is overlooked when we read this verse. Who’s speaking, to whom, what is the subject, and in what dispensation is never considered. What anointing is taking place is not discussed. We seem to fly into an outrage in romantic suggestion and express to ourselves: how wonderful this must be! When we missed the exegesis of this passage which greatly calms our souls. The calmness this description of the peace and calm delight feels is never extolled. He, which dwelt in the heart of him who is speaking, is overlooked. Like of prayer prayed in the 16th century that has been recited: “Let there be peace on earth dear Lord, and let it begin in me. One of the fruits of the spirit, taught us by the apostle Paul, is peace. This peace can be and is ours, we who have been anointed by the Holy Spirit. We, who live our lives in obedience to His words/commands, who remain fervent in prayer, miss the rest of the Psalm. The knowledge of the Lord prepares our way before us, causes our cup to run over, gives us goodness and mercy all the days of our life because we dwell in the house of the Lord forever, is not often taught!
