In the previous article, Keepers Will Be Kept By The Keeper {1}, we saw that those who guard and bring to fruition the Lord’s Word in their lives will be kept from the most terrible time that is about to come on earth. We also saw that the keepers of His Word in the church of Philadelphia were able to keep His Word because they had a “little power.” Their “little power” reminds me of the mustard seed Christ spoke of in Luke 13:18-19, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? 19 It
is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.”I liken the genetic code in the mustard seed to the term logos in regard to the nature of Christ which, once He dwells within us, produces His Life in us, a life of holiness, and a life of true spiritual victory.
By the Spirit “logos" translated as “word" is mentioned in verse 8 “because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name" and verse 10, “you have kept the word of My perseverance.”
In verse 12 we actually get a much closer view of part of the logos that is the nature of Christ within us that causes us to overcome if we cooperate with Him: “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.” For the purposes of this message, we will be looking at the portion of verse 12 that begins with “. . . I will make him a pillar . . .” to “. . . which comes down out of heaven from My God.” We will see the power and powers of the keepers kept by God.
I. The Meekness Of Christ
(The four “My God”s of Revelation 3:12)
Immediately there will be some who will wonder if Jesus was God in the flesh then why is He saying here “My God,” and not just once, but four times! The answer is found in the fact He is unique, being both all God and all man. This is how God saves us from self, sin, hell and more. In the New Testament, in reference to Christ “Son of God” refers to His diety and “Son of man” refers to His humanity. As such He is the perfect Judge and perfect Savior.
Because each one of us are sinners by nature we cannot save ourselves, or anyone else, from eternal damnation. From the aspect of our time and existence Christ, Who is God, Who is without sin or fault, became like you and me and lived like you and me ought to live so we may become like Him in all godliness. The Holy Scriptures point out that can only be done if we confess (in humble repentance admit) to Him we are sinners, ask Him to be in charge of our life as King, and we die to self, letting Christ, by faith, live through us.
His usage of “My God" in verse 12 points, in part, to an essential element of His character, meekness. Vine {2} has a very good description of this term when it is used in the New Testament. “It is an inwrought grace of the soul; and the exercises of it are first and chiefly towards God. It is that temper of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting; . . .” In regard to the meekness of Christ he writes, “It must be clearly understood that the meekness manifested by the Lord and commended to the believer is the fruit of power. The common assumption is that when a man is meek it is because he cannot help himself; but the Lord was ‘meek’ because He had the infinite resources of God at His command.”
Now, when someone surrenders to God through Christ, making Christ King of their life, they have received Christ into the center of their being. That means all the moral characteristics of Christ become the characteristics of those who trust in Him. The meekness of Christ is one of those characteristics and as one grows in Christ it becomes, as Vine stated, the fruit of power. The meekness of Christ within the four “My God”s of verse 12 then branch out in the following four ways.
II. His Faithfulness
“I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more."
Within church circles in times past occasionally a firm, faithful, trustworthy servant in a church might be called a “pillar in the church.” Most likely that phrase came from passages like this section in Revelation 3:12. Jesus, of course, was all that and much more. The phrase “he shall go out no more” may suggest the tendency we might have to dabble in sin, along with ignore, “get used to,” Jesus.
Of course Jesus Christ never did those things. So this whole section from verse 12 makes me think of His faithfulness. Never once did He ever venture out of the will of the Father. It is written in Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”
If Christ dwells within us then within us is the ability to be faithful. We are enabled to be faithful to God and, as according to His written Word, faithful to men {3}. This requires Christ’s meekness within us. As one grows in Christ His meekness develops in them to where they depend upon what He says is best for their lives. They choose as He would choose. Out of love they endeavor to remain walking very close to Jesus at all times not wanting to step out of His will.
III. His Dependence As The Son To The Father
“I will write on him the name of My God”
Though the Hebrew “elohim,” translated as “God,” is used in the first sentence of Genesis, it is not too long after that when Moses was moved upon by the Holy Spirit to record the first instance of the Name of God. Ancient devout Jews considered it to be so holy that out of reverence for Him they would not pronounce it. Though some affirm certain vowel pointings derived from the Hebrew “adonai” (Lord) would indicate how to pronounce YHVH, the reality is no one knows for sure how His name, expressed as YHVH, should be pronounced.
What should be focused upon, however, is what YHVH (or YHWH, JHVH, Jehovah) means. James Strong indicates {4} the meaning as “The Existing One.” Immediately we can sense from that the constancy, omnipotence, omnipresence of God and more. All of His creation is dependent upon Him. However, Adam’s act of disobedience instilled a delusion in men to imagine that they do not need the one true God, The Existing One. So we now have atheists, agnostics, all sorts of religions, cults and more.
Even in the Christian realm we have many who concoct their own Jesus Christ apart from the whole counsel of God. For example, some have invented a hypocritical Jesus that forgave the woman caught in adultery, but if YOUR spouse commits adultery you can feel free to divorce them, and some go so far as saying you can marry someone else, despite the fact the real Jesus Christ said none of us can do that without committing adultery (Luke 16:18). He also said that we are to forgive otherwise we will not be forgiven so I do not see how He would authorize a divorce.
No, if we have the real Jesus Christ within our hearts then we can be overcomers. This is, in part, due to the Father - Son relationship within the Godhead. While in our flesh on earth the Son was always dependent upon the Father, just as Adam was supposed to be dependent upon God. Christ became like us so we could become like Him, an overcomer. A true disciple is to develop this meekness of Christ Who quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3, saying (Matthew 4:4), “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
While we ought to follow the written Word, we also must be listening for His Spirit speaking directly to our heart. “His Spirit speaking directly to our heart” does not mean what we hear another human being, like a prophet, say to us or about us. “His Spirit speaking directly to our heart” means we spiritually hear directly from God {5}. His Spirit speaks directly to our Spirit and, in all cases, it will never contradict the written Word or any principle thereof.
Some people feel Christ could not have been God because He is depicted in the Gospels as being constantly dependent upon the Father. But when we read these things we are reading about our salvation being made for us by the very life of Christ Who lived the life that was pleasing to God. When we make Christ King of our life, with Him residing in us we are made pleasing to God. Passages like Luke 2:30-31, Philippians 2:5-13, and Hebrews 2:10-12 show us Christ became like us so we may become like Him.
His dependence upon the Father is His meekness that saves us from the wrath of the Father. Compare His statement in John 5:19, “the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner,” with His statement in John 15:5, “he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” Once we receive Him as Savior and Lord His meekness is to become our meekness. We should do only what He would do, say what only He would say, and so on.
Over the course of time the true disciple must learn that he is not to depend upon himself or others, but only upon God. Eventually the true disciple will grow to the point where he stops saying things like “I will show him a thing or two,” “I will get him back,” “I will speak my mind,” and so on. They learn to seek God about what job to get, where to move to if and when the time comes to move, how to modify their diet to live more healthy, and many other things. As they grow in Christ they will show more about the meaning of the Name “Jesus,” “Yeshua,” which is “YHVH (The Existing One) is salvation.”
IV. His Submission To The Father’s Will
“and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem,”
In New Testament Greek “Jerusalem” means
"set ye double peace." Immediately when I saw that entry by James Strong I had to think of Isaiah 26:3 “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You.” “Perfect peace” is the Hebrew “shalom shalom,” which, on the surface with words is double peace.Although Christ became like you and I He still indicated He was of heaven. Consider John 3:13 (AKJV) “And no man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” That last phrase is very bizarre to some people and I am afraid many tend to limit the spiritual realm by thinking it needs to match our reasoning or the material realm. But consider that the Word says of true Christians that we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6) and our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Beloved, we shortchange ourselves if we think the Holy Spirit was using figurative language in those two verses. Nay! It is the spiritual reality we must live in and by.
Recognizing these spiritual truths is another basis for the meekness of Christ within us. Over the course of time the true disciple learns through the yoke of Christ to be content, having the true peace of God, in all situations (Matthew 11:29 AV*): “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls.” The meekness of Christ within enabled the Apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit to say (Philippians 4:11), “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”
If we let it, the meekness of Christ will help us to be bold in Him even if we face torture or death for His sake. This is in part why Christ said (Luke 21:14-18), “So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves;15 for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. 16 But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, 17 and you will be hated by all because of My name. 18 Yet not a hair of your head will perish.” As you see a true disciple is to depend completely upon God. Also note that though some die, not one of their hairs will perish. That is because they will be resurrected! We are not to focus upon what we can do, but what God does.
V. His Expectation
“which comes down out of heaven from My God.”
And as His meekness will enable us to focus upon what God does, it will encourage us and enable us to focus upon what He will do. Christ did this so we are enabled to do it. For example, by the Holy Spirit the writer of Hebrews says of Jesus (Hebrews 5:7), “who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear."
Quite touching is the expectation of Christ shown in Hebrews 12:2, “. . . who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." I would say Isaiah 53:11 shows us, at least in part, what that joy was: “As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities.” To make sure you understand, the joy set before Him will be those whom He has redeemed when He sees them in His Kingdom.”
In His meekness we are to expect many things from Him now, and in the ages to come. For example, as a disciple grows in Him now they expect to receive His wisdom as they seek His face (James 1:5). By the Holy Spirit James writes in James 1:17, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow," and with that note Jesus said in, as recorded in our text, that the New Jerusalem “comes down out of heaven from My God." And back in the epistle of James, in 1:21 it is written (AV), “receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." Here we are reminded that the keepers of the church at Philadelphia kept the Word of Christ (Revelation 3:8 and 10).
And, despite what toil and trouble we go through on earth, in His meekness we are to expect His return. Consider Philippians 3:20 again on this point: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” And if we expect His return then we should purify ourselves (1 John 3:1-3).
The list may go on concerning the things to expect from God, but let us conclude with one that matches the fact that the keepers of Christ’s Word will be kept by the Keeper during “that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth." As shown in the previous article {1} in all probability what is spoken of in the last part of Revelation 3:10 is the Great Tribulation. But, something else will happen just over a thousand years from that point.
Revelation 20:11 shows that heaven and earth as it is will pass away from the presence of God at the last judgment. By the Spirit of God it is recorded in Revelation 21:1-2, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”
The Holy Spirit through Peter gives this description found in 2 Peter 3:10c-13: “. . . the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”
I would hope to think most people reading this article would very much prefer to live in a world where righteousness dwells instead of the present one. If so, and especially if this expectation is resident within us because of the indwelling Christ, then we need to take verse 11 to heart: “Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness.”
None of us are holy so none of us can meet the criteria of 2 Peter 3:11. Only Jesus Christ the Son met that criteria as while here on earth He did not look to His strength but depended upon the Father as we should. Though Revelation 3:12 is a promise to overcomers, within that verse, looking at the possessive pronoun “My” that Christ uses, we see that His meekness is the power, strength, ability of the keepers of His Word to be victorious.
Notes:
{1} Please read Keepers Will Be Kept By The Keeper at http://holybibletreasures.expertscolumn.com/article/keepers-will-be-kept-by-the-keeper .
{2} Vine, W. E.: An Expository Dictionary Of New Testament Words (Flemming H. Revell Company, Old Tappan, NJ : 1966) Vol. 3, pp 55-56.
{3} Used in the proper traditional sensible sense, denoting all people, male and female. I could not care less about being politically correct.
{4} From an electronic version of Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance by James Strong incorporated in the Online Bible program, and so throughout the article whenever the ancient language is referred to and no other authority is cited.
{5} Please read To Hear The Voice Of God at http://holybibletreasures.expertscolumn.com/article/hear-voice-god .
This article was written in the form of a sermon (message) outline with comments. God willing by December 8, 2017 (hopefully much sooner), you should be able to hear the actual message (sermon) by selecting a link at http://www.sapphirestreams.com/life/audioM.html#M477 .
Unless otherwise noted all Holy Scripture is from the New American Standard Bible changing LORD to YHVH as it rightly should be when the text so indicates and adding “(The Existing One)” to readily express the meaning of His Name without making repeated explanations in articles. * = For other versions the spelling of some words is updated for our time in addition to changing LORD to YHVH as it rightly should be when the text so indicates.
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