Grace Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Sunday, September 17, 2017
The first commandment is where true liberty begins in EXO 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before Me. There is room for only One at the top, and that place is to be occupied by the God of Israel, Jesus Christ.
TLJC is the only revealed Member of the Godhead, as well as the Creator and Savior of the universe.
The verb translated “You shall have no” literally means “There shall not be.”
This then, is not a THOU SHALT NOT commandment, but rather THERE SHALL NOT BE other gods commandment.
MAT 6:24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
The Jews were the nation of people appointed by God to receive the gospel from Him and transmit it to Gentile peoples.
Keep this in mind when we later encounter the passage, “I the Lord thy God am a JEALOUS God.”
Jealousy in reference to God is an expression of possessiveness based upon the fact that God is free. If you are going to respond to God, you must be free to do so.
When God says, “No other gods beyond me,” God is saying, “Beyond me there is nothing.”
In order to maintain freedom, the Source of its origin — God — must be recognised. The principle is also clearly stated in John 8:32: and ye shall know the truth (doctrine), and the truth shall make you free.
Other famous quotes around the campus always seem to cite the source — Shakespeare, Ben Johnson, or some other one. But the source of JOH 8:32 is never cited; JOH 8:32.
Knowing the truth and having the soul freed by Bible doctrine, whether it be from the slave market of sin for the unbeliever, or from the Mosaic Law for the believer, they are one and the same with the commandment, “There shall not be to you other gods beyond me.”
As a citizen of the United States of America, you are twice blessed: you have freedom of soul in what is still a free country, and freedom of body, although this freedom is rapidly being destroyed.
Martin Luther expressed this so beautifully in that great hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God”: “… the body they may kill, God’s truth abideth still!”
Summary of the first commandment.
This commandment recognizes human volition, which is the basis for maintaining freedom — by knowledge of the truth.
Numerology = the secret meanings of numbers to reveal biblical principles I am going to use the number 12 a guideline to what God The Holy Spirit would have us understand.
The meaning of 12, which is considered to be a perfect biblical number, is that it symbolizes God's power and authority, as well as serving as a perfect governmental foundation.
Jacob (Israel) had twelve sons, each of which represented a tribe begun by a prince, for 12 princes total.
TLJC called and choose twelve men to bear witness to what He did and to spread the good news of the gospel to the entire world.
After he was raised from the dead, TLJC told the eleven disciples (Judas had killed himself) that God had given him ALL power and authority in both earth and heaven (God's divine authority - MAT 28:18).
Little did they know at the time that TLJC had a twelfth apostle being prepared to change the world, not Matthias but Saul of Tarsus who later changes his name to Paul.
There are twelve thousand from each tribe of Israel (144,000 total) will receive salvation during the end time's Great Tribulation (REV 7).
A set of 144,000 (12 x 12,000), possibly the same as those in chapter 7, will be taken from earth in order to serve and follow the Lamb of God (REV 14:1-5).
Christ's bride in Revelation 12, the church, wears a crown containing, (how many stars?) twelve stars.
The New Jerusalem, which is made in heaven and brought to the earth by God himself, contains 12 gates made of pearl which are each manned by an angel.
The walls are 144 cubits high (12 multiplied by itself - Revelation 21:16-17), with the city itself being 12,000 furlongs square.
The Scripture's first recording of Jesus' words occurs when He is twelve years old (LUK 2:42).
The high priest's breastplate, also called the breast-plate of decision, had twelve stones embedded in it. Each stone represented a tribe of Israel.
Of all the numerals found in scripture, twelve, along with three, four, seven and ten, are unmistakably used in a symbolic fashion in God's word.
- A believer under the ML-or the 10C, makes Christ a minister of sin if he thinks that's the only way God can be pleased with him, GAL 2:17.
1CO 15:55-57; "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Believers have received all the benefits of the Spirit through faith not through obeying the Law, GAL 3:1-5.
- The Mosaic Law brings nothing but condemnation, GAL 3:10-14.
- God's blessings to Abraham of which all believers partake of, Jews and Gentiles, ROM 11, came hundreds of years before the giving of the Law.
The Law had and has nothing to do with the promises that God made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, GAL 3:15-17.
- The Mosaic Law and the 10C has no power to give life or to sustain life, GAL 3:21.
- The Mosaic Law can become a bondage to the believer if he allows it to, GAL 4:9.
- The Mosaic Law and grace are mutually exclusive principles; therefore, as believers we must choose one or the other, GAL 4:21-31.
- The believer has an abiding freedom in Christ never in the ML!
- If a believer thinks that he should be under the ML-10C, the apostle Paul says that the believer must keep all of the ML, if he would attempt to keep even part of it, Gal 5:2-4.
- This deception to put the believer under the ML-10C is not from God, Gal 5:8.
- In the believer's life, all the ML-10C is fulfilled by God the Holy Spirit, Gal 5:16-24.
- The life of the believer must be sustained on the same principle as his new birth or regeneration, Gal 5:25, by means of faith and the Holy Spirit.
As believer-priests in the Church Age, we have been given the ministry of the Holy Spirit to fulfill the law.
When I say the Law is fulfilled, I do not mean keeping six commandments out of the ten, or keeping any of the ten; I am talking about the ministry of the Holy Spirit in providing freedom!
The doctrine of idolatry.
- The worship of a physical object or objects as God. 2. Inordinate attachment or extreme devotion to something.
Israel was appointed as a client nation to God, EXO 19:4‑6.
Idolatry was also specifically forbidden in EXO 20:23, DEU 5:7, 6:14, 7:16, 8:19.
DEU 5:7 'You shall have no other gods before Me.
DEU 6:14 "You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you,
DEUu 7:16 "And you shall consume all the peoples whom the Lord your God will deliver to you; your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.
DEU 8:19 "And it shall come about if you ever forget the Lord your God, and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you shall surely perish. Idolatry is also analogous to spiritual adultery.
Idolatry is an attack on category one love or love for God, JER 3:8‑10; EZE 16:23‑43, 23:24‑30; REV 17:1‑5.
the scripture teaches that idolatry begins in the mind and proceeds to overt practice, Judg 2:10‑13; EZE 14:7.
- Baal-berith = covenant Baal, or the lord and the guardian of the covenants = the "let's make a deal god." Worshipped in JDG 8:33, 9:46.
- Baal-gad = the lord of good luck, or the Baal of fortune, worshipped in ISAa 65:11.
ISA 65:11 "But you who forsake the Lord, Who forget My holy mountain, Who set a table for Fortune, And who fill cups with mixed wine for Destiny,
- Baal-hamon = possessor of abundance.
- Baal Hermon = this was the mountain god and the place that was the center of all Baal worship. (Worshipped in JDG 3:3, 1CH 5:23, DEU 3:9.)
- Baal peor = this was the god of prostitution and sex, worshipped in NUM 25:1-3.
- Baal Zebub = the fly god, or the god of counterfeit. (Worshipped in 2Ki 1:2-3.6:16.)
The scripture teaches that idolatry begins in the mind and proceeds to overt practice.