No Greater Love Than His
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  • Ephesians, the Father's adopted family
  • Prevailing Intercession-Henry Law
    • Psalm 2 Henry Law
  • A Practical Study of Hebrews
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  • LEARNING TO LIVE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE LORD OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
  • The Kingdom of God in Christ
    • The Kingdom Foretold
    • The King and His Kingdom Come
    • The Kingdom in its Biblical Context
    • The Kings introduction-the wild man and the real man
    • The Ultimate Test of the Father's Word-The Temptation
    • The Goal of the Kingdom Conquest
    • The Blessed of the Kingdom
    • Blessed are they that mourn
    • Blessed are the meek
    • Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness
    • Blessed are the Merciful
    • Blessed are the Pure in Heart
    • The Blessed of the Kingdom are the Salt & Light of the World
    • Kingdom Righteousness
    • Sermon on the mount-Getting the Law Right
    • Restoring God's Most Reflective Relationship
    • Being Sons and Daughters of the Heavenly Father
    • Understanding our Lord's Father Context
    • Breathing Pure Air in a Polluted World
    • Living in the Presence of the Secret Benefactor
    • What Serving God Looks Like
    • Self Righteous need not apply, but beggars can't be losers
    • Final Warnings From Our King
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    • Audio & Outline--On Spiritual Gifts
    • From the Futility of the Human Mind-to the Mind of Christ
    • Audio Study: I Corinthians 6:1-11
    • AUDIO-Waiting On God
    • Audio-Gospel of John
    • AUDIO-A Relational Discussion of the Holy Spirit
    • Audio-Studies on the Sermon on the mount
  • From Death to Life
  • All Creation Groans
  • Traveling down the ladder of self knowledge
  • Zions' hymn
  • Power in Weakness
  • What's In A Name?
  • The Heavenly Father's Pity/Spurgeon
  • On Affliction
  • Christ Our Intercessor
  • Spurgeon's Dream
  • Sitting at the Feet of Jesus
  • Stomping Among Lillies
  • The More Excellent Way
  • All Creation Sings Praise to the God of Heaven and Earth
  • The Lord of Heaven and Earth, the Ruler of the Nations
  • From Captivity to God's plan for peace, a future, and an eternal hope
  • Man Looks on the Outward Appearance, but the Lord of Hosts Looks upon the Heart
  • The Earth is the Lord's
  • The earth is the Lords
  • A Wedding Meditation-The Gospel Mystery
  • Be Strong in the Lord
  • The Girdle of Truth
  • Having feet shod with Gospel of Peace
  • Shield of Faith
  • Helmet of Salvation
  • Praying with all prayer & supplication
  • Sword of the Spirit
  • A Wedding Meditation
  • The Power of the Gospel is the Resurrection
  • What is this Mystery
  • A letter of encouragement to faith
  • Great is Mystery Part 3
  • The Mystery of Godliness part 4
  • Mystery of Godliness part 5
  • Seen of angels part 2
  • Preached among the nations
  • Great is Mystery of Godliness Part 8
  • Mystery of Godliness part 9
  • Great is mystery of Godliness part 10
  • A Father's Hand--on Affliction
  • Great is mystery of Godliness part 11
  • Mystery of Godliness part 12
  • Great is mystery of Godliness part 13
  • Great is mystery of Godliness part 14
  • Romans 1:16-17 Part 1
  • Romans 1:16-17 Part 2
  • It is the Power of God
  • Romans 1:16-17 Part 4
  • Christ, the Glorious Hybrid of God
  • Romans 1:16-17 Part 5
  • Romans 1:16-17 Part 6
  • Romans 1:16-17 Part 7
  • Romans 1:16-17 Part 8
  • Romans 1:16-17 Part
  • Romans 1:16-17 Part 9
  • Romans 1:16-17 Pt 11
  • The Necessity of the Body of Christ
  • The Perfection of the Body of Chhrist
  • The Role of the Holy Spirit
  • The Application of Body II Pet 1:1-4
  • application of body of Christ #3
  • Practical application body #4
  • Part 5 The application of the body
  • Application of body of Christ #6
  • The Application of the Body #7
  • application of body of christ #8
  • Application of body of Christ #9
  • application of body of Christ #10
  • The Kingdom of God
  • Galatians 1:1-6
  • Galatians 1:6-9
  • Abraham's Gospel-Melchizedek
  • cutting the covenant
  • The Mark of the Covenant
  • Gospel to Abraham-resurrection
  • Galatians 1:10-17
  • Galatians 1:18-2:10
  • Galatians 2:11-21
  • Galatians 3:1-9
  • Beholding the Glory of God
  • Intro to Gospel of Abraham
  • Melchizedek Gen. 14:18-20
  • Melchizedek #2
  • God's cutting the Covenant
  • Mark of the Covenant
                                                                The God of Promise  Genesis 15:7-21
                                                                                How shall I know?
                                                                      The Emblems of the Covenant

          Consider again, that this covenant Promise, made to Abraham, was made before he bore a physical seed. In other words, before there were any Jews or Jewish nation.  So just as Abraham's faith preceded the giving of the Law by 400 years, so too the Covenant upon which Abraham's faith was focused. The international dimension of this Promise of God isn't just an interesting corollary.  It isn’t an adjustment on God’s part due to Israel’s hardness of heart.  it is the focus & intent of the promised Seed from before the foundation of the earth!  (Ephesians 1:3-14 + 2:11-22)  This is Paul's argument in Galatians 3.  And this Promise is nothing other than the Gospel which is the Power of God unto Salvation! (Romans 1:16)  
          Remember: Genesis 15:1-6 God has reassured Abram that the Blessed Seed would be his own son, from his own loins.  15:6 is crucial, “and he (Abram) believed in the LORD; and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

Vs 7-8 Abrams “yeah but”, “how shall I know that I shall inherit it”?  
          V. 7   God once again assures Abram by reminding him that He brought Abram out of a pagan land unto a land He was giving him.  Such an incredible parallel to the Lord’s words to Israel in Exodus 19:3-6!
          Vs. 8   God has already counted Abram righteous upon his belief in the Promise.(Vs6)  Is he now unbelieving?  I think we see here Abram’s humanity and in what follow’s, God’s great condescension to his frail humanity.  Israel manifested their evil heart of unbelief before Moses ever came down from the Mount with the Law and then tested God for 40 years.  They never believed the covenant promises in Exodus 19-20 and never were declared righteous because their deeds were evil!
          Vs 9-17  God’s emblems of sacrifice–How Abraham was to know, and in shadow & type, how we are to know the Surity of God’s Promise.

I believe these "Covenant Emblems", laid before Abraham, prefigure Paul's statement in 3:1. "Before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed (KJV-"evidently set forth" before you) as crucified".   This is how we know!!!

Consider the Elements of the Promise!!!
          1.  15:9  Note the LORD’s words, “Bring Me”, “Take Me”-KJV.  The Sacrifice was unto the LORD.  All sacrifices in Scripture are first of all God-Ward.  Romans 3:21-26 proclaims the God-ward side of this Covenant.  The Divine Benefit, if I may so speak, is that the Holy, Perfectly Righteous God is set before us as Perfectly Just in receiving sinful humans into His Eternal Presence.  He has not given up one iota of His Righteousness Person in order to commune with us! Romans 3:25-26 uses two beautiful words to express to us His working to maintain the Integrity of His Being. He "SET FORTH" His Son to be a Propitiation, a Mercy Seat, sprinkled with Eternally Present Blood to "DEMONSTRATE" that He was Righteous in not demanding immediate death & Eternal  punishment for every single infraction under the Old Covenant. This was the future Hope of the OT saints.(Hebrews 11:39-40) And not just regarding them, but also to "DEMONSTRATE AT THE PRESENT TIME" His Righteousness that He might manifest for all Eternity that He is perfectly JUST, and The JUSTIFIER over every one who has faith in Jesus.

          2.  15:9  3 year old animals: These animals became the animals sacrificed in the ceremonial law, with one striking difference.  Abraham was to sacrifice 3 year old animals.  A heifer (Numbers 19:1-10); a she-goat (Leviticus 3:12-17); a ram (Genesis 22:13; Exodus 29:15-18; Leviticus 5:15) Perhaps this points to the Perfect Sacrifice’s 3 year ministry, verifying that He was a perfect man, yet a man like us and therefore, a Suitable Sacrifice. (Hebrews 2:14-18) The lesson in the law with spotless young animals focuses on the perfection of the only sacrifice God would receive.  And the “firstborn” qualification surely was to teach Israel of the Only Begotten Who was to be the Firstborn from the dead! (Matthew 1:25; Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:12-15-18)  Birds for the lowliest & poorest of sinners, an emblem for all of us to find great comfort in.
          3.  15:11  Abraham drove away "the fowls" that came to devour the emblems of the Covenant. Vultures are always seeking to attack God's Covenant with us in our Sacrificed Jesus, but it is a key part of faith to drive away the vultures of fleshly doubt. The Work of God is always to believe in Him Whom He has sent. (John 6:29; 1 Timothy 3:16)  Our flesh always looks to the flesh to produce what only the Spirit can produce.(Galatians 3:3) Drive away the vultures by looking only unto Jesus, the Author & Perfecter of our faith!!!
          4.  15:12-16  It seems that “the dark night of the soul” at some point visits all the truly righteous!  This is the occasion of God’s prophecy of Abram’s physical seed.  Most often, the revelation of His Will & Purpose for us is not found on the mountain top, but in the Valley of Humiliation!
          5.  15:17 The crucifixion beforehand!!!
               a. Smoking oven: Smoke is #6227 literally "smoke". (Isn’t that profound!)  Used in Exodus 19:18 of the smoke on Mount Sinai, emblematic of God descending upon it.  Poetically of God's anger. 2 Samuel 22:7-9; Psalm 18:7-8. Gesenius
           Oven: 8574-an oven or furnace. The oven or furnace, combined with smoke,  seems to be the "furnace of God's anger" to be poured out upon the perfect sacrifice (for our sins).
               b.  Burning torch/lamp: burning #784  379x in KJV. Fire, of firey theophany, (Exodus 3:2, 13:20-22, 19:17-18) the altar fire,(Leviticus 1:7, 8, 12) and sometime, the fire of God's wrath (Numbers 11:1-3).
           Torch/lamp  #3940 a shining. Judges 7:7:16-20 (Gideon’s torches in pitchers); Isaiah 62:1-4 (The prophetic impact of this “burning torch” that passes between the two halves of the sacrifice?)
Gesenius on it's use in Job 12:5, "a lamp despised" cast aside for no longer giving light. Figuratively, an image of a man formally highly esteemed, but now cast aside, despised.” Isaiah 53:3
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          To sum up this emblematic Gospel: The smoking oven of God’s Glorious Righteous Justice that descended upon Mount Sinai, a Righteousness & Justice that was spurned even before it could be proclaimed on tables of stone, that Fearful Glory is poured out upon the Sacrifice.  But that Righteous Justice is wedded with the burning torch, that Glorious Theophany that called out Moses, God’s deliverer, & that led Israel through their wilderness.  And yet that Glorious Theophany seems shrouded in the pitcher of human flesh until the Glorious day of battle, when we hear the shout, “the Sword of the Lord and of Gideon, the pitcher is crushed, and the Ultimate Glory shines forth! (II Corinthians 4:5-6.)  
          This is the Gospel Hope that was an Anchor to Abraham’s faith, how He was to know that God’s Promise, God’s Gospel was Eternally Sure.  God’s perfect Righteousness & Justice, & it’s Divinely required Wrath is bound Eternally to His Glorious Theophany, His Shining Face revealed in God made flesh and dwelling among us, Who Alone could give the shout, “it is finished”, His “the Sword of Lord & Gideon” Victory cry as the pitcher of His flesh was broken and His Eternal Victory was assured.  This is the Glorious God Who passes through the halves of the required sacrifice, providing the required Divine Benefit, a God Who is completely satisfied and at Complete Peace with those who can now “come to God through Him”, the benefit to His Adopted people.. (Hebrews 7:22-28)

          Beloved, what is your Blessed Hope built upon?  Jesus Christ has clearly been set before you as crucified, and not in shadow but in Glorious Bloody history.  The pitcher has been shattered!  Have you heard the shout?  Are you trying to add ANYTHING to this perfect sacrifice?  This is the Place of rest & Peace, the Glory of God that has passed through the Sacrifice!!!