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The Lord Jesus Christ
RV45-01© Berean Memorial Church of Irving, Texas, Inc. (1993)
We continue with the letter to the church in Philadelphia in Revelation 3:7-13. We find that people who are oriented to the
human viewpoint values and beliefs of Satan's world do not feel kindly disposed toward divine viewpoint believers, and that they are
eager to silence those believers, as we have noted recently in the case of the Wycliffe translator Chester Bitterman.
The idea is to silence the voices that are bringing divine viewpoint because these voices are disruptive to the lifestyle of evil which Satan
promotes in his world. This, of course, has been the principle which the Lord Jesus sought to prepare all of his followers for
before He left – a principle that they would have to understand, and a condition that they would have to face.
In John 15:18-19, the Lord said, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world,
the world would love its own, but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore, the world hates you."
And that's the principle. Because we are not part of this world system and its human viewpoint, but we are part of God's system and
its divine viewpoint, we are under a principle of hatred. The unsaved worldling, therefore, like the carnal Christian, will put on pretenses
of love and goodwill with which to cover a basic hatred. It's necessary to understand that – that all the camaraderie
and all the goodwill that is conveyed by the world system in one way or another, and by the people of this world, is covering a basic
antagonism toward everything that Christians represent.
The Philadelphia church believers received such antagonistic and resentful
treatment, and thus they had little power or influence in their society. That's what the Scripture means here when the Lord says, "I
know that you're weak."
They had often been viewed as a dangerous group of unstable fanatics to whom doors should be closed. In John 16: 1-3, the
Lord again touched upon this subject: "These things have I spoken unto you that you should not be offended. They shall put you out of
the synagogues. Yea, the time comes that whosoever kills you will think that he does God's service. These things they will do unto you,
because they have not known the Father, nor Me." The believers are viewed as fanatics. They should be isolated. They should be neutralized.
Doors should be closed to them. And the Lord Jesus says, "They are going to do that. That's because you're associated with Me. That's because
you bear the stamp of My name.
Biblical principles to these people, consequently, are seen as sheer foolishness. In 1 Corinthians 2:14, we have this fact
taught us concerning the attitude of unbelievers toward the biblical attitude of believers: "But the natural man does not receive the things
of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned." So, the people
of the world actually think they are superior to us. They actually think they are smarter. They actually think they are more discerning.
But the Word of God says that what they consider foolishness is indeed the very strength and the very truth of God.
However, in spite of
the rejection and the ridicule that the Philadelphia believers experienced, they stood by the truths of Bible doctrine.
They guarded the truth in propositional summaries. They knew what Scripture taught on various subjects. They guarded the truth
by obeying it in their daily living, both mentally and overtly, as we looked in detail in the last session. They obeyed the Word of God
as the only road to happiness. It's a blessing into prosperity. They obeyed the Word of God
as the only road to happiness and to blessing and to prosperity as they walked in Satan's world.
Guarding the revelation of the Bible
is all based on the principle of biblical inerrancy. As we've indicated, that's where it all begins. Once you yield the principle
of biblical inerrancy (that the Bible is a book without error, and that the Bible is not a reliable record), then in time, everything else
collapses, and you come out to the same place as the people who once deposed you for your stand on biblical ground, and
you too join them in undermining Scripture. You will have failed to guard or to keep the Word.
But in spite of the closed doors, the Lord indicates
that he opens doors to service and to testimony which no one can close to the believer. Again, I remind you that that is a very great
principle and a very great blessing to know that principle, because sometimes a door is closed to you, and sometimes it is to your
disappointment. Sometimes you can't understand. Sometimes it is a door that you think ought to really be open. Sometimes it is a door that
you think you can really
do something here, and yet, it's close. You should consider that as an indication from the Lord that He's telling you that that's not the
direction you should go in. If he wants that door open, nobody is going to close it to you under any condition.
So, the day-by-day battles in the angelic warfare are both real and tough. But the Christians armor, which has been provided and which
is described in Ephesians 6, is more than equal for meeting Satan's attacks. So, we may enter the doors of battle that the Lord opens,
knowing that we are potentially more than conquerors through Him whom we are serving, and who died for us.
They have not Denied My Name
The last part of Revelation 3:8 then comes to a second factor for which the Lord was so pleased with relative to
this church. That is that they not only stood by His Word (they guarded His Word) in spite of their rejection and little influence,
but they had not denied His name: "And have not denied My name." The word "and" is the Greek word "kai."
It is a conjunction which is adding another reason that Jesus is opening doors to the Philadelphia church – another
reason for opening doors of service to this group of believers. They face popular rejection because of loyalty to all that Jesus Christ
represents. Not only do they stand by His word, but they did something else – something that they did not do. The negative "not" is
the Greek word "ou," which is the strongest negative in the Greek language.
What they did not do was, "Deny My name." The word "deny" is "arneomai." "Arneomai" means "to say no to" or "to contradict." Here, the idea is
"to disown." They did not disown the Lord Jesus Christ by forsaking the truth which they had about Him. This is the concept that we read of in
2 Peter 2:1: "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you who secretly
shall bring in destructive heresies, even denying (and there you have this same word) the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves
swift destruction." Here, even those for whom the unlimited atonement of Jesus Christ has been provided are, nevertheless, going to deny
Him and bring upon themselves destruction instead of the salvation that could have been theirs.
So, denying Jesus Christ by living
in a way that contradicts His holy character is what is in view here. This is referred to in Jude 4, where we read, "For certain persons have
crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness,
and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ, turning against His holy character, turning to evil and using the very grace
of God as a means to do evil."
So, these people did not deny. The word "deny" here is in the Greek aorist tense, which means at any point where they were tempted or
challenged to compromise their relationship to Jesus Christ, they did not do it. It's active in its voice here. It's middle in form,
but it's active in meaning. The Christians themselves made this decision one-by-one. It's indicative – a statement of fact.
Name
They did not
deny what He calls, "My name." The word "my" is the personal pronoun "ego," referring to Jesus Christ. What they did not deny was "His name."
This is the Greek word "onoma." This term is used to identify a person. There is a variety of ways in which the word "name" is used in the
New Testament. We want to summarize those, and then identify the one that's used here.
Reputation
Sometimes you will find that the word "name" is used in the New Testament,
first of all, to refer to reputation. For example, Mark 6:14 uses it in this way:
"And King Herod heard of Him (that is, of Jesus) for His name was spread abroad." There it is referring to the reputation of Jesus Christ –
His name being used to identify His reputation. We also have it used in this way in Philippians 2:9: "Wherefore God also has highly
exalted Him (that is, Jesus Christ) and given Him a name (a reputation) which is above every reputation." That is the idea of the use
there in that passage. In Revelation 3:1 it is used in this way: "'And unto the angel of the church at Sardis, write these things,'
says He that has the seven spirits and the seven stars. 'I know your works, that you have a name (a reputation), that you live and are dead.'"
So, one of the ways that the word "name" is used in the New Testament is that it will be used sometimes simply to refer to reputation.
Authority
Another way will be to refer to the authority or power by which a person acts. In Matthew 7:22,
you have it used in this way:
"Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name.'" Here, the name of Jesus Christ is being used in terms
of authority and power: "In Your name;" or, "In Your authority have cast out demons, and in Your name (authority) have done many wonderful works."
Here is the group of people in the end time, at the end of the tribulation period who think that they are believers,
and who think they are going to heaven, and who are going to be rejected, and they're going to be rejected on the basis of things that they
have claimed to be doing on the basis of the authority and the power of Jesus Christ.
And they actually thought that they were working on the basis of the authority and the power of Jesus Christ.
This passage in Matthew 7:21-23 is the one that sends a cold chill through the heart of the charismatic who stops and thinks for a moment soberly.
This is a passage that puts them into the perspective of what they face. When Mrs. Danish and I were on our tour to Israel this past
summer, one Sunday evening, the group had a worship service, and I was asked to speak. In the course
of what I was discussing that night, I had referred to this passage. And a man came up to me afterwards and said, "When you read that passage,
that really sent a chill through me, because I have really been bothered about that." Well, the interesting thing was that,
as we moved around through the various phases of the tour and riding on the bus, I had already spotted him as being a charismatic
type, and of having that kind of a characteristic and tendency. I could tell that he was associated with that group, and sure enough,
he was. I just have a nose for charismatics. I can smell them, almost before they hardly say anything. ...
In any case, here was this man, sure enough, and this was the very game he was playing. And when he read this passage, he realized that he was
claiming authority, and the group that he's going around with claims authority for these fantastic things – prophecies. Unless
you're acquainted with the charismatic movement, you don't know how they love prophecies, and that they cast out demons. Well, that's
one of the big events. And they have done wonderful works – that means miracles. You know how big that is with them. Here they are
claiming that Jesus Christ is doing it. Yet, in the next verse, Jesus says, "I'll profess unto them: 'I never knew you. Depart from Me, you workers
of iniquity.'" So, to use the name of Jesus, the claim of authority and power, and being mistaken, is to find yourself as a worker of iniquity
whose power is coming from Satan.
Another illustration of this use is in Acts 4:7:
"And when they had set them in the midst, they asked by what power (or by what name – authority) has he done this?"
Here is Peter and the disciples being interrogated by the Sanhedrin for the events that are transpiring with the testimony they are giving
for the Lord Jesus.
Character
Another way that the word "name" is used in Scripture is relative to the character of the possessor.
For example, in Matthew 6:9, it's used in this way: "After this manner,
therefore, pray: 'Our father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name.'" Hallowed be what? Hallowed (or honored) be Your character, or Your essence.
It is used sometimes in that way.
Another example of that is in John 12:28: "Father glorify your name (character).
Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, 'I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.'" God is honoring His character; His essence;
or, what He is.
Bible Doctrine
Another way that the word "name" is used in the New Testament is for the whole system of what we call Bible doctrine –
the content of revelation or divine truth. An example of this is in John 17:6:
"I have manifested Your name unto the men whom You gave Me out of the world. Yours they were, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your
Word." What He manifested to them when he said "Your name" is the content of revelation – the system of doctrine. He has revealed to them
God's divine truth.
In John 17:26, it is again used that way: "I have declared unto them Your name (Your truth), and will declare that
the love which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
It is also used in this way in Hebrews 2:12, "Saying I will declare Your name unto my brethren. In the midst of the church I will sing praise
unto You." The word "name" is used in reference to God's revealed truth: "I will declare Your name." – "I will declare Bible doctrine unto
my brethren."
He is there quoting Psalm 22:22.
Classification
Then there is a fifth way that this is used in the New Testament, and that is relative to one's rank, or you might say "classification."
For example, in Matthew 10:41, you have it used to identify one as a prophet:
"He that receives the prophet in the name of a prophet (that is, on the basis of the rank of one, or one who is classified as a
prophet) shall receive a prophet's reward," and so on.
Another example of that is relative to the concept of the name as representing a savior. Matthew 1:21: "And she shall bring forth
a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins." "You shall call His name Jesus" indicated
Savior. That was the name that represented His saviorhood, and the name represented this classification, or this particular rank.
People
Then there's one other use, and that is that when it's in the plural, it's used of people.
Sometimes you'll see it used just in reference to a group of people all together. For example, Acts 1:15:
"And in those days, Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said (the number of names together was about 120)."
Here, it means the number of people. ""The number of names" means "the number of people." In Revelation 3:4, we have already
previously seen it used in this way: "You have a few names, even in Sardis, that have not defiled their garments;" that is, you have a few people.
So, the word name is used in a variety of ways that are indicated here. The one that is used here is in reference to
all that Jesus Christ is. It's using it in terms of His character. It is referring to that which the God-man, who was
sent into the world as the Savior of the world, is in a variety of ways. It's basically His character.
The Lord Jesus Christ
Now, the full name of the God-man is the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's look at those words for a moment.
Lord
First of all, let's look at the word "Lord."
This in the Greek is the word "kurios." The word "kurios" indicates the deity of the God-man. He is called "Lord" because
He is "God." This is actually a translation of the Hebrew name "Jehovah." The four sacred Hebrew letters that make up the word "Jehovah"
are the sacred Tetragrammaton – the sacred four-letter word. "Jesus" is a translation of that Hebrew word. The word "Jehovah" was a
word that indicated supremely the deity of God. The deity of Jesus Christ was very clear to the man that we
call doubting Thomas when he met the Lord on the evening of the first Easter Sunday (on the resurrection day). In John 20:28, we read.
"Thomas said unto Him, 'My Lord and my God.'" The reason he said, "My lord" was because he was indicating to Him that he realized that he was
recognizing that he was standing in the presence of deity. Jesus Christ was God. Up to that time (the week before), the other
disciples said, "We've seen Him. He's back." Thomas said, "No, I won't believe it until I can touch Him." Of course, if he were not back,
it would certainly indicate that He was not God. So, to Thomas, there was no doubt that Jesus Christ was deity.
Psalm 34:8 is applied to the Lord Jesus Christ in 1 Peter 2:3, which indicates again the deity of Jesus Christ:
"If it be that you have tasted that the Lord (the 'kurios') is gracious." This is a reference to Psalm 34:8. Let's just look at
that: "Oh, taste and see if the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who trusts Him." The context of the psalm
indicates that it is speaking about deity.
For this reason, the New Testament Christians refused to take the word "Lord" and
to apply it to the Caesars. Previously, many of them did. But now they understood that Jesus Christ was God, and that Caesar was not. Caesar
claimed to be God. That's why Caesar was called Lord Caesar, because he claimed deity. He was made the god of the state. Christians refused
to address Caesar as Lord. The title "Lord"
itself rests upon the fact, of course, of His resurrection.
Acts 2:30 indicates that to us: "Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that
God had sworn with an oath to Him, that of the fruit of His loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on His throne."
It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ that establishes indeed that He is deity: "He, seeing this before, spoke of the resurrection
of Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, neither did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus has God raised up whereof we are all
witnesses. Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit,
He has shed forth this, which you now see and hear." This signifies that the Lord Jesus is sitting at the place of authority and power
at the right hand of God.
"For David is not ascended into the heavens, but he said himself, 'The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand.''" David is saying,
"The LORD (the Sacred Jehovah name) said to my Lord (to my deity):" "The supreme deity said to my deity." He is referring here to Jesus Christ.
So, the point of this passage, and the point of this quotation, is that the word "LORD" attached to Jesus Christ identifies
Him as deity: "Until I make Your foes Your footstool. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made
that same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ."
So, when we say that "Jesus is Lord," sometimes that is not understood. When we say "Jesus is Lord," we are saying that He is deity. He is God.
This is widely rejected in the religious world today.
Jesus
The second part of His name is the Lord "Jesus." The word "Jesus" is the Greek word "iesous."
This refers to the humanity of the God-man. Actually, this is a transliteration of the Hebrew word for "Joshua" ("Yehoshua"). It means
"Jehovah is salvation." It means "Savior."
So, God the Son set aside His pre-incarnate glory and took on a human body, and this humanity is identified with this name Jesus.
This is the name which was given by the angel at the physical birth of the Son of God in Matthew 1:21. The title "Lord Jesus"
connects the name that indicates His deity and the name that indicates His humanity, and that's where you have the
doctrine of the hypostatic union. That is one person with two separate natures – both fully divine and fully human.
This name reminds us that there is now a human being physically alive in heaven with God the Father,
and that confirms the future of each believer. It is now very clear that you and I, as human beings, will actually go to heaven and live
forever. Without this (without realizing that the name Jesus indicated true humanity, and that the hypostatic union included one person, but
with full dignity and full humanity), it might cause you to wonder whether you (as you are here today, in this physical structure) are
actually going to be in heaven. You might have wondered that you are perhaps going to be a spirit being who is going to float around on clouds
and something like that. You may do that, for all I know, but if you do, you will be doing it in your physical body. That's the point. There
is a man in heaven. There is a human being in heaven. That is true. That is a fact of life. Consequently, there can be no question
that God is fully capable of bringing us into that same heaven.
Christ
The last part of His name is Christ: "christos."
This refers to His Messianic role – the anointed one promised to Israel.
The Abrahamic Covenant
You remember that the God-man actually came to fulfill the Abrahamic
Covenant. He came to fulfill that covenant as the Messiah. In Genesis 12:1-3, we have that Messianic role (that
Messianic ministry) described that He was going to fulfill. This is a very significant point. Here, hinges all the future of the Jewish
nation. Unless you understand what it means to call the God-man "Christ," you will not understand what is ahead for the Jewish nation
on this world. You will not understand why we're having this turmoil in the world today, and why the nations of the world are lining
up for one big catastrophic fight over the Jew, and over the nation of Israel. It is because Jesus Christ came, first of all, to fulfill
the Davidic covenant, and the specific promises that that included. It included certain things.
Land
That Abrahamic Covenant included, first of all, a geographic territory. That is indicated by the word "land:"
"Now the Lord had said unto Abram, "Get out of your country, and from you kindred, and from your father's house, unto a land that I will show you."
So, first of all, the Abrahamic covenant, which the Christ came to fulfill, promised a land. This, of course, is the land of Palestine.
And it has been promised to the Jews forever.
This has been amplified in what we call the Palestinian Covenant. You should sometimes read these verses: Deuteronomy 30:1-8;
Matthew 24:29-31; and, Romans 11:26-27. Those verses all relate to the fact that, while the Jew is going to be punished
by God and scattered all over the world, that the time is going to come when they will be brought back into that land, and that the
time will come when they will recognize Jesus Christ for hope for who He really is, and that they will again be reestablished as a
people in the land.
So, the land that we call "Palestine," which, in the promises later expanded to Abraham, it was told him that you're going
to have a territory that goes from the Euphrates River on the north, to the Nile River on the south; and, from the Mediterranean Sea on the
west, to the Arabian Desert on the east. To this day, the Jews have never possessed that territory. They've only always possessed a
portion of it. Even in their heyday, under Solomon's rule, where they had possession of the most extensive part of this promised
territory (a large part of it), they never occupied it. It was only land that they held under military authority, and the people there
paid tribute to them. When God says that the Jew will have this vast extent of land, He means they will have
it for them as a dwelling place. The term "forever" means "forever."
So, when the Lord Jesus Christ came, the word "Christ," as "the anointed
one" means that He came to fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant. He came to establish that Palestinian Covenant which amplified the promise
to this land.
A Nation
Then secondly, included in the Abrahamic covenant, which Christ came to fulfill, was a nation. This is indicated by the words "a
great nation:" "And I will make of you a great nation. And I will bless you and make your name great." The nation of Israel is what He
was referring to.
And it is to exist forever.
That is, of course, the basic reason why it is so strange that you have a group of people, the Jews, who
have been under everybody's heel for centuries; under attack; and, under persecution. Of course, God told them that this was going
to happen to them because of their rejection of doctrine, yet they have not been diluted among humanity. A Jew is still a Jew. He is
very evidently a Jew. He looks like a Jew. He acts like a Jew. He talks like a Jew. He thinks like a Jew. He is still identifiable
as the descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The nation has been preserved. For this reason, it is always to be a nation.
This promise is amplified in what we call the Davidic Covenant. 2 Samuel 7:12-16 and Luke 1:30-33 give you the details about that,
where God told David that, "You are going to have a throne, and a kingdom, and a people to rule over forever." There will never be a time
in all eternity when there will not be the Jewish nation. Of course, other Scriptures indicate to us that David himself is going to
be raised to rule over this nation under the authority of his greater Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
So, the term Christ indicated that He came to fulfill this part of the covenant in terms of having a people – a society.
The Messiah
Then, there
was a third factor. That is indicated in the words "Bless you," which refers to a spiritual factor. Verse 3: "And you shall be a blessing
I will bless them that bless you, and curse them that curse you. Indeed, shall all the families of the earth be blessed." "I will bless you,
and all the families of the earth will be blessed in you." This is referring to spiritual regeneration. Abraham and his descendants
are to be the source of salvation for the world.
This is amplified later in the New Covenant to Israel – not the new covenant to the
church. Those are two different covenants. You can read about the New Covenant to Israel in Jeremiah 31:31-34 and in Acts 5:30-31.
Those will tell you how God is going to take the Jew; He is going to restore him to spiritual understanding; He is going to bring him
to regeneration; and, He is going to restore him to a spiritual relationship to Himself.
So, when you look at the word "Christ," relative
to the God-man, you are talking about His role, where He is going to deal with Israel in these relationships of land and nation and
spiritual regeneration.
And He is going to usher in the era of worldwide peace and prosperity at His Second Coming that we call the Millennium. Satan today
tries to run the world apart from the authority of Jesus Christ. The result is always increasing disaster.
So, when these people
in the church in Philadelphia were told that they did not deny His name, they were being told that they were faithful to the fact that He
was Lord: He was God. They were faithful to the fact that He was Jesus: He was humanity. They were faithful to the fact that he was
Messiah: He was come to fulfill the promise of spiritual regeneration, and therefore to come as Savior. They were faithful to Him
in all of those roles. That cannot be said of a lot of church groups today that reject His role as Messiah, and that reject His role as the
coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords over the whole earth.
The Essence of the Lord Jesus Christ
When you say that a person's name represents his character, which is the way
it's being used here, we should also look at the fact that that tells us something else about the person of Jesus Christ.
And that is that it deals with His essence. When we talk about His character, we're talking about His essence.
Deity
The Lord Jesus Christ possesses certain divine attributes. Here they are:
Sovereignty
The first one is sovereignty (Ephesians 1:5, Psalm 150:3).
I wish we had time to read these verses, but we'll let you do that on your own. They declare to us that He is sovereign. What
does that mean? It means that Jesus Christ has complete freedom to decide as His will alone directs. He is completely independent of
any other will in the universe. He is Supreme Sovereign King. He is the final authority. No human being is going to frustrate His sovereignty.
No angelic being (fallen or otherwise – including Satan) is going to frustrate His sovereignty. The first thing to remember about the Lord
Jesus Christ is that He is sovereign.
Righteousness
The second thing is that he is righteousness.
Romans 3:22 and 2 Corinthians 5:21 tell us this. This means that He has absolute perfection so He can do no wrong. Human
righteousness is always relative. But the righteousness that Jesus Christ has is absolute righteousness. Nobody can be in heaven unless
he also has this kind of absolute righteousness. That is the basic prerequisite for getting into heaven. There is no way
that a person can secure that kind of righteousness, except the fact that God just gives it to you. The only way that God
will give it to you is if you accept it as a gift. The character of Jesus Christ includes sovereignty, and it includes righteousness.
Justice
Thirdly, it includes justice (Deuteronomy 32:4 and 2 Chronicles 19:7). Justice means that He is perfectly fair in all of His dealings. God is
no respecter of persons. In His judgment, God's justice demands that He does what is fair. When you take these two characteristics, the
righteousness of God and the justice of God, what you come out with is the holiness
of God. When the Bible talks about God's holiness, it is talking about the fact that He is absolutely sinless; He is absolute righteousness;
He is absolutely fair; and, He is perfect justice. These two constitute the holiness of God. This is the supreme characteristic that
governs God. This is the supreme characteristic that governs Jesus Christ.
Sometimes people have made the mistake of thinking it is
God's sovereignty. No. God's sovereignty, though He is absolute King, is restricted by His Holiness. His Holiness controls what His
sovereignty can do. God could not sin. God could not do something that is not fair. God's holiness restricts His sovereignty.
His holiness is the supreme controlling element in the character of Jesus Christ.
Love
Then, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ, as God, is love (1 John 4:7-16). That means that the Lord Jesus is free from all mental attitude
ill will in any form. That is, he has "agape" love. "Agape" love is a mental attitude love. It is not the emotional type. The other kind
of love is the "phileo" love which is emotional. "Agape" love is free of all mental attitude ill will.
It means that He directs this attitude toward exercising his mercy toward us in our misery. He directs His
love toward His own perfections. His love is directed toward His Holiness. Don't forget that.
There isn't anything in you that appeals to God, and there isn't anything in you that God is so excited about, and so privileged
to have. The only thing that God loves in you and me is His own holiness that He puts into us. That is all. There's nothing else in
us that appeals to God whatsoever.
You can see why there is a lot in some of you that doesn't appeal to the rest of us, and it doesn't appeal to God. The only thing that appeals
to Him is His perfections that He puts in there. So, that's grace. We start with zero. We are zero. We continue as zeros, and the only value
we have is what He puts into us. So, you don't want to forget that the next time you decide to play high and mighty.
Eternal Life
He is also eternal life (1 Timothy 1:17, Revelation 1:8, Psalm 90:2). That means that He has life without beginning or ending. He always was.
This is the quality of life which He shares with us. You and I now have a quality of life which is known as eternal life. It is
a life without beginning – that we can grasp. A life with no ending – that just blows our minds. That is infinity. That's an infinite
concept which we cannot grasp. God always was. That's the kind of life that we have. Without that life, you will be in the lake of fire
for all eternity. You will be living and existing forever, but you will not have eternal life unless you have God's kind of life.
Omniscience
Then of course, there are the three "omnis." The first one is omniscience (1 John 3:20, Proverbs 15:3). That means that Jesus Christ always knew
everything that was or will be. You want to remember that Job 42:2 tells us that He reads our minds. He knows everything we think. The Lord
Jesus Christ does not learn things in His deity. In His humanity, He learned things, but in His deity, He did not learn things.
He knows everything. That's why the concept of foreknowledge must be understood as an expression of God's personal intimacy with you
and me as individuals – that He has made a choice in the direction that we are going to go, and He moves us in that direction.
That is the doctrine of election.
There are some people who think that foreknowledge means that God looked down the channels of time;
He looked at different people; and, He said, "Well, there's Sam Jones. He's going to become a Christian." Some people thing that that's
how God now knew – because He could look ahead to see that Sam Jones was going to become a Christian.
Or they think that He looked down and said, "Well, there's Susie Q." I sure thought she'd make
it, but she didn't. She didn't accept it. She didn't become a Christian. So, they say that God has foreknowledge of who's going to be saved
and who's not going to be saved because he can look ahead and see. No. That would imply that God is learning things. Omniscience means that
the reason God knows that you're going to be saved or you're not going to be saved is because He has made that decision. That's foreknowledge:
"to know one" is the biblical word for the most intense intimacy: "Adam knew his wife and she conceived." That is the implication of this word.
God's foreknowledge is His intimate relationship with you because He is directing you. He has become one with you.
Omnipresence
There is omnipresence (Jeremiah 23:24, Psalm 139:8, Acts 17:27). That means that God is everywhere at the same time. No one can escape God's presence
to hide his acts in any way. God is everywhere.
Omnipotent
Then the third "omni" is that God is omnipotent (Matthew 19:26, Luke 1:37, Revelation 19:6). That means that God is all powerful in executing
His will. He is without limit in His ability and in His authority. There is no superior force in the universe.
Immutability
The next divine attribute is immutability. God is immutable (Matthew 3:6, James 1:17). That means that God is unchangeable in all of His
essence. That means that He is fully trustworthy, and He's fully reliable in all of His dealings. God is not going to double-cross you.
God is not going to change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Here is one quality you can be sure that the devil does not have. This is why the devil, who gives great power to some people, is
not dependable, because the devil is not immutable. He'll turn on you. He'll double-cross you. But God is immutable. He never changes.
Veracity
Then one more attribute of deity is veracity (John 3:33, Titus 1:2). That means absolute truthfulness. It is impossible for God to lie.
He is absolute truth.
So, when the Lord Jesus Christ says to these people in Philadelphia, "You did not deny My name, what is he talking about? He means that
they did not attack the deity of Jesus Christ. It means that they did not attack His humanity, including His supernatural virgin
birth. It means that they did not attack His role as Savior (Acts 4:12). It means that they did not attack His authority as King of Kings
and Lord of Lords. It means that they did not attack the moral lifestyle which was revealed by Him. They did not deny
that someday He is going to return from heaven to execute that. They did not use His name in curse words. Satan does that to degrade
the Son of God. They did not insult and humiliate the bride of Christ, the church – the born-again saints which bear His name.
The believer is under attack and in rejection because he bears the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and because he refuses to deny that
name. If you've got some problem in life, whatever the great frustration, or whatever the great tragedy that you face, it is always wise to
look over the essence of God, and to realize that you are dealing with a God who, every moment of every day, is exercising this character.
He is exercising His name in your behalf in terms of what this represents. Every moment of every day, He is acting in this way in your
behalf: His sovereignty; His righteousness; His justice; His love; His eternal life; His omniscience; His omnipresence; His omnipotence;
His immutability; and, His veracity. The whole thing is constantly working there in your behalf. The hardest thing that God had to do was
get you into heaven.
The hardest thing He had to do was to give you absolute righteousness and preserve His own holiness. He's done that. From here on, the
rest is easy for Him.
So, there's no problem with our having a God who can solve our problems. Loyalty to the name of Jesus Christ
keeps all this functioning for you. That is a fantastic list of qualities to be working in your behalf.
In closing, I want to read John 15:20-21: "Remember the word that I said unto you, 'The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have
persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also.'" The Lord said to the Philadelphia
believers, "I'm so happy with you because, in spite of the attacks upon you; the weakness; and, the rejection, you have been faithful to My
Word." And that brings a consequence. Verse 21: "But all these things they will do unto you for My namesake because they don't know Him
that sent Me." Why are they going to do these things to you? Because you are exercising full allegiance toward the name of Jesus, and all
that we have seen that that represents.
Acts 9:15-16: "But the Lord said to him, 'Go your way, for he is a chosen vessel unto Me (speaking about Paul) to bear My name before the
gentiles and kings and the children of Israel, for I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name." For the sake of the
character and the reputation of the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul was going to suffer great, great things.
Our guiding principle, therefore, is found in Colossians 3:17: "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in
the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him."
Whatever it is you do, and whatever it is you face, do it on the basis of what the word "Lord;" what the word "Jesus;" and, what the word
"Christ" connotes, and on the basis of that which is His character and His essence as we looked at it here. If everything you do is done
in terms of that, it is going to give you a lot of guidance and a lot of direction in life.
There are some ways that you will not deny His
name like we talked about in the last session if this is kept in mind. Remember who it is you're dealing with – His essence. If you
remember what His name represents, your mouth is not going to be fouled with curse words; your eyes are not going to be indulged in looking
at that which is degrading and humiliating; and, your presence will not be found in places of entertainment that the world has, and that the
world considers innocent, but which are undermining your womanhood and your manhood.
The whole picture will come into focus if you keep in mind that in what you do, you will be careful not to deny His name in the process.
Where is the future for the name of Christ? Philippians 2:9-11: "Wherefore God also has highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which
is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, things in heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth,
and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father."
While we have some cute women in our day who like to get married and keep their own maiden name and not use the name of their husband,
fortunately, that is not the case with us who are the bride of Christ? We bear His name. Do you realize that this passage of Scripture
has just said that, because of the name that He bears; the character that that represents; and, what Lord Jesus Christ means relative to who
He is, the result of your bearing His name in your marriage to Him as his bride is going to cause every knowledgeable creature
under heaven and earth to bow to you? Take a look at other believers. Can you believe that somebody is going to curtsy to that
person as royalty? Please do not forget that. That's exactly what you are. You are the royal family of God.
That is who has gathered here now. It is the royal family of God. Why? Why are you the royal family of God? For the simple reason
that you bear the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is a fantastic, marvelous honor to be bestowed upon us.
You should not forget who you are. You should not forget the name you bear. It is a very terrible thing when a wife forgets who she
is, and that she reflects upon her husband's name, and acts in a way that is disgraceful to that name. It's terrible when you have children who
forget the honor of their family name, and they act in a way that brings disgrace upon that name.
The name we bear is the name to whom all rational
creatures will someday bow, and you will be part of that, because 1 Peter 2:9 says, "You are a chosen generation: a royal priesthood; a holy
nation of people of your own, that you should show forth the praise of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."
You are part of the royal family of God, and I hope that you will remember that, and that we will treat each other as royalty.
Dr. John E. Danish, 1977
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