Us, Jesus, God and the Devil

"The psalmists cried out to the God they had had revealed to them. Our revelation is better, more complete."

Mark 3:11, the unclean spirit calls Jesus the Son of God.
Mark 1:24, the unclean spirit called him the Holy One of God.

1 Corinthians 2:8 “Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

Princes, plural. This is the same word used of Satan, archon, translated “prince” in the King James Version but meaning, in reference to him, “first.” The word can mean “prince,” but Satan is NOT a prince, simply the first to sin and the first of sinners. This is not an upgrade. But here, in this verse, “princes” is plural. It refers back to verse 6, which is talking about actual princes or rulers, kings, governors, etc.

“Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world that come to nought.” (1 Corinthians 2:6)

SATAN MADE SURE Jesus was crucified, but he had no access to the mystery of God referred to many times in Paul’s epistles. Satan quoted the Word to Jesus in the wilderness but wasn’t able to fool him and so left him “for a season (Luke 4:13)” Jesus was making a public scene, preaching as He was, so Satan stirred up people against him, because this is what he does to screw up the world system and have men destroy each other. He’s all “Hercules, Hercules,” the stupid fathead dummy, meaning excited over destruction. So, anywho, he has Jesus killed on the cross, but because he had no access to the wisdom of God and is a stupid fathead (I will say this as much as possible), he thought when Jesus died, He would be his property or would go to that other place where spirits hung out (which Jesus spoke of in the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16). Satan did not know about the plan of salvation, that being the mystery, and so didn’t know what had happened when he crucified the Son of God.

Colossians 1:26. “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints.” Notice “TO HIS SAINTS.”

Stay with me here … The psalms are not an accurate transportation of the truth of the Word. They are the cries of men’s hearts to the God of the Old Covenant. Where New Covenant children are made new creations, having new spirit beings full of the life of God (2 Corinthians 5:17), the psalmists cried out to the God they had had revealed to them. Our revelation is better, more complete (Hebrews 12:24). We must take what the psalmists said and see it through man’s eyes then apply it to who we know God is in the Gospels and in the epistles. Who did Jesus reveal the Father to be? There is great truth in the psalms, but there is also Old Covenant language and mental thought.

This applies across the Old Testament. Even in the King James Version, which is the most widely read and the most accurate translation, there is the picture of a vengeful God from the mentality of the church of King James’ day. Instead, take God who SO LOVED the world and place Him in the prophecies, in the words of the psalms, in the story of Exodus. Seek the Spirit for who God is now and who He is meant to be seen then. The story of Moses pleading for Israel is one example (Exodus 32). It appears that God is going to do away with all of them for their sins and unless Moses convinces him otherwise, there will be no plan of salvation. This makes no sense at all, when comparing it to the plan of God. Jesus would come from the line of King David. He would be born to Mary and Joseph and raised in Nazareth as a Jew. So what was the point of God’s words? See Moses’ anger when he descends the mountain of God. Having convinced God not to be mad, or so we read it, he then explodes and gets mad. He should have done with himself what he’d just done with God, and God knew that. He knew how Moses would react and how he would continue to react. It was Moses’ anger, after all, that kept him from entering the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 32:51-52).

God is all wisdom, the very source and breadth and depth of it. All thought comes from Him and is heard by Him. He is never without knowledge and is never confused by our behavior. He isn’t above speaking in such a manner that draws our attention to His Word and His Presence and how we need to behave. Insert here Jesus and the moneychangers, which was a one-time event, and is not an excuse for us to mouth off at other people, especially other Christians. Jesus’ instruction to us was to love one another to the extent we would lay down our lives for them, as He did for us (John 15:13). He asks ministers to wash each other’s feet as servants (John 13:14). He tells us to pray for all men and to do good to those who do evil to us (Matthew 5:44). If they ask us our coat, we give them our shirt as well (Matthew 5:40). Jesus came to earth to fulfill the Law, and He did fulfill the Law. He said what He said to the religious leaders because He spoke for the Father. He told us this. Every word was the Father’s. Every action was the Father’s. That was the Father speaking to those who couldn’t see what they were doing. In their defense of the Law, they were crucifying the Law.

“At this, Philip said to him, Lord, let us see the Father; that is all we ask. What, Philip, Jesus said to him, here am I, who have been all this while in your company; hast thou not learned to recognize me yet?” (John 14:8-9 Knox)

We have no such commandment. We are told, instead, to not even eat what would offend other people. If they think what we are consuming is offered to idols, whatever modern idols those might be, then we don’t eat it. We are commanded to submit to God and to submit to one another. Male, female, child, adult. God is first. We walk in the Spirit and deny our flesh the right to say what it wants and to act how it wants. We hear His voice and speak what He would have us to speak, and our words make an impact on those around us. We enter a grocery store, and the presence of God goes with us such that even those who have no idea who God is are affected by Him. Jesus said to GO YE not to gather people and stuff them into the church. They will come when they have seen the Messiah and experienced the love of God, and that happens through us, through compassion and kindness and, Philippians 4:5 moderation or gentleness. Jesus did speak boldly to the religious leaders, but He also was meek and lowly as is His Father, our Father. My Father. If you knew Him well, you wouldn’t doubt this but embrace it, and then all of the Old Testament where God seems to say what is harsh and unkind will instead be godly and merciful, and you will see it.

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Matthew 11:29)

But relationship is involved. If Christ is the husband of the church, then we should be that close to Him and hear Him speaking, know His movements, know which direction He’s walking without having to dig out a map. A bride adores her husband. It is not a one-way conversation we throw upstairs and receive back a shiver down the spine and two words or a mini-vision. No, no, and no. He loves us so much He was willing to become human and die.

“My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:” (Proverbs 3:1-3)

Image by Meranda D from Pixabay


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com