Join us in today’s episode as we delve deep into the mysteries of the Bible, exploring concepts that challenge our understanding and stretch the limits of human comprehension. Through the lens of Hebrews, we’ll peer into the eternal nature of God and the extraordinary role of His Son in our universe. Discover the profound revelation that Jesus is not only the heir of all things but was also the divine agent through whom the universe was created. This revelation challenges conventional beliefs and invites you to consider the vastness of divine wisdom through a fresh perspective.
The CEM Network is pleased to present Ronald L. Dart and Born to Win.
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There are so many mysteries in the Bible. Yes, I know it was written in another language, another culture, and there’s much that we simply don’t know about that culture, but I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about things that we aren’t programmed to understand. We are programmed, you know, just like a computer has to have an operating system to, well, operate, so do we. And just as a small example, our system of thought addresses everything in terms of a beginning and a middle and an end. So grasping the idea of a being that is eternal, that is, who has always existed, is just beyond our capacity to imagine or think about. It’s hard enough to imagine living forever into the future with no end. But when we turn around and look back, we can’t help ourselves. We have to ask, where did God come from? And, of course, there is no answer to that. He didn’t come from anywhere. He just is eternal. and always has been. That he has simply always been doesn’t compute. Now, I don’t say that we’re not willing to believe it, only that we can’t really understand it. And I don’t mean to say that we can’t understand God. We can, but only in terms in which he chooses to reveal himself. When we step one step beyond that, in reality, we’re lost. I picked up on this, though, in Jeremiah 9, verse 23. Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory in his riches. Let him that glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, Now we can understand and know God at the human level in terms of the things he reveals of himself to human beings. But wait a minute. God isn’t human, is he? Now right there we have something to grapple with. The author of the book of Hebrews challenges us on this idea. In the very first chapter he says this, In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways. But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. Now, that’s huge. When he says that the sun is air of all things, that’s rather more than I can grasp. But then he says that God made the universe through him. The universe. Do you have any idea the scope of what he’s talking about here? Because whenever you get up and look through a telescope at the night sky, we don’t see anywhere near the edge of the universe. We see stars that some of them are so far away that if we could travel to them at the speed of light, we couldn’t live long enough to get to them. They are so far out. This universe that God has made through the sun may be even bigger than that. The sun is the radiance of God’s glory. And the exact representation of his being, the writer of Hebrews continues, he sustains all things by his, that is the Son’s powerful word. And after he, the Son, had provided purifications for our sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. Now, we know, anybody who studied the Bible, that when he talks about the Son, he’s talking about the one that you and I know as Jesus. whom he says, through whom he says, he made the worlds, who came down and provided purification for our sins, and has returned and is now sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. This is the reality that the writer of Hebrews presents us with. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, You are my son, this day I have become your father. Or again, I will be his father and he will be my son. Now, this little passage of Scripture makes it very difficult to believe, as some do, that Jesus was an angel in time past. Because Paul, who I think wrote this book, makes it clear that this was never said to any of the angels. To which of the angels did God ever say, you are my son, this day have I become your father? And the implication is, none. And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, that’s Jesus, he says, let all God’s angels worship him. In speaking of the angels, he says, he makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire. So angels are servants. But of the Son, he says, now, you’ve got to keep your pronouns straight. Who’s talking to who here? Of the Son, he says, quote, Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore, God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. Now, the logic of our language starts to desert us right here. And we are safe, safest, if we just take it as he says it right here. God is speaking about the Son. He says, “‘Your throne, O God, will last forever.'” Therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions. There’s only one way to take this. There are two here who are called God, one speaking and the other spoken to. Both called God. Now, I suppose this is part of the reasoning of Christian theologians who accept that Father and Son are both God. The only reason this is a problem for us is if we use the word God solely in the sense of the one supreme being. That’s a customary usage in our society. And sometimes we like to make a word mean the same thing in every context. Language doesn’t work that way. You must look at the context to see what you’re talking about. Now, if we can bring ourselves to understand that God is a kind of being, sort of like a human being is a kind of being, the difficulty disappears. My Father and I are both human. We are of humankind. The Divine Father and Son are both God. They are of the God kind. Now, there may be another way to understand this, but I haven’t seen it. I’ve read some very strained arguments looking for another way, but they, in my opinion, did violence to the plain meaning of the text. Now he, God is still speaking, also says, In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth. The heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain. They will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe, like a garment. They will be changed, but you remain the same. And your years will never end. To which of the angels did God ever say, Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies the footstool for your feet? Well, the implication of that, none of them. And, of course, he did say that to the Son. Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? You know, this first chapter of the book of Hebrews is staggering. It opens a window on eternity that we can kind of peer through to try to understand what’s out there. If this was all we had, we might be willing to leave room for another point of view. But this is not all we have. Listen again to how this chapter begins. Hebrews 1, verse 1. In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways. But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. He is flat out making the statement that the Son was the agent of creation of the universe. Now, how did Paul understand this? Listen to this short message, and when I come back, I’ll explain Paul’s view of what we’re talking about.
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The apostle John was that disciple who was closest to Jesus. His gospel offers the greatest insight to the teachings of Jesus. Write or call for a free introductory CD to The Testimony of John album. Write to Born to Win, Post Office Box 560, White House, Texas 75791. Or call toll free 1-888-BIBLE-44. And tell us the call letters of this station.
SPEAKER 02 :
It’s surprising how many really important things Paul puts in his letters, almost like a throwaway line. It’s not exactly what he’s talking about, but nevertheless, it’s there. He was writing to the Ephesians, for example. really kind of talking about himself and his ministry. He said in chapter 3, verse 8, This is given to me. I am the least of all saints, this grace, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and to make men see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God who created all things by Jesus Christ. Now, that’s really a fascinating statement. As I said, it’s not really the subject he’s writing about at all, but it’s clear as crystal. He says plainly, God created all things by Jesus Christ. In Hebrews, we saw it was through Jesus Christ. We might be able to find a way to explain away the first chapter of Hebrews, but then we’re still left with this that talks about it. And that still isn’t all. When Paul wrote to the Colossians, he did something similar on a different subject. He says in chapter 1, verse 15 of Colossians, Jesus is the image of the invisible God. The image of him, I think we got something very similar to this in the first chapter of Hebrews. He is the firstborn of every creature. For by him were all things created. Jesus is the creator. You know, you go back to the Declaration of Independence where they spoke of all men being created equal and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. The claim made here by Paul is that Creator who gave us our rights is none other than the one we know as Jesus Christ. By Him were all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible, invisible, thrones, dominions, principalities, powers. All things were created by Him and for Him. Think about that. Not only that, he is before all things, and by him all things consist. Before all things? Well, yeah. What he’s trying to tell us here is that Jesus was there before anything you and I can see was here. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. So by now we should have a faint picture begin to form in our minds. of an eternal relationship, one that transcends and started long before man ever existed, or even an environment for man or a ground for man to stand on. And that relationship, it was father and son. It even suggests that the one who said, “‘Let there be light,’ was none other than the Son.” If all that’s confusing to us, we should resist thinking that it’s wrong. There are temptations. There’s a temptation in all human beings just to toss out anything that doesn’t fit our preconceptions. Or if we borrow from the analogy of a jigsaw puzzle, if we find a piece that just doesn’t look like it ought to go but just won’t fit where we want to put it, we pull out a little pen knife and we whittle it down to make it fit. That’s the way we tend to work with stuff. And I suppose if we found a piece that wasn’t even the right color, we might just throw it in the trash. No, no self-respecting jigsaw puzzle worker would ever do that, because he knows long since that as sure as he tosses that piece, later on there will be a place where it belongs. You know, it’s a whole lot better, borrowing an expression from Mary, the mother of Jesus, that we hide these things in our heart. to see what presents itself later. Now, to add to all of this, there was one disciple who seems to have had a special relationship with Jesus. He wrote one of the official gospel accounts and three letters that are preserved in the New Testament. Here’s what he had to say about all this. It probably formed the foundation of what Paul wrote. His name is John, and he said this right at the beginning of his gospel. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, that’s by the Word, and without Him was not anything made that was made. Well, you don’t have very many places to go with that. If you’ve come through Hebrews and Ephesians and Colossians, you have to realize the Word is none other than Jesus. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Now, at points like this, our system of logic kind of wants to rebel a little bit. How is it possible to be with God and to be God? The traditional doctrine of the Trinity offers a way of explaining this, but if you’ve ever read much of that, you realize it still declares the whole thing to be a mystery. Let’s take a step back from it and look at it again. Is it possible to be Stephen and with Stephen at the same time? Well, no, that’s not a problem. All you’ve got there is two guys have the same name. I’m always amused to get a letter addressed to Dear Ron and sign Ron. In fact, one friend writes to me and signs the letter The Other Ron. So that really is no mystery to us when we reduce it to the human level. Why should it be a big problem when we talk about it at the God level? But here you’ve got two individuals who have the same characteristics, made up the same way, formed of the same substance, the same character, and bearing the same name. It doesn’t pose a major problem in my way of thinking. Now, returning to John again, let’s start from the beginning. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. Just didn’t get it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. Now, this is written by John about the other John. The other John is John the Baptist. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe. John was not that light. He was sent to testify about that light. That was the true light that lights every man that comes into the world. That light, oh my, that’s Jesus, the light of the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world didn’t know him. John sees an irony in that, and there’s one certainly there. Here was Jesus walking up and down the dusty roads of Galilee in the world, the world that was made by him, a world that didn’t have a clue about who he really was. Once again, we have confirmation. He was in the world. This can be speaking of none other than the Word. And the one who was in the world made the world. How many times do they have to say this in the Bible before we get it? He came to his own, John said, and his own received him not. His own, obviously meaning Israel. He was indeed despised by the religious establishment at the time. He came to them and they wouldn’t have it. But as many as received him, to them he gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, who were born not of blood or the will of the flesh, but of the will of God. To those who received him, and there were some who did in that day and some who still do, he gave the power to become the sons of God. It’s fascinating that it is the Son of God who grants power to others to become sons of God. Now we come to the crunch of what John is driving at. Verse 14, And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. So the Word became flesh. The Word became known to us as Jesus the Christ. Now, how did all this come to pass? First, grab a pencil and a piece of paper. I want to give you an address and a phone number because I’d really like to send you a free CD of this program. Jot down the address or phone number, and I’ll be right back.
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For a free CD of this radio program that you can share with friends and others, write or call this week only and request the program titled The Authentic Jesus. Write to Born to Win, Post Office Box 560, White House, Texas 75791. or call toll-free 1-888-BIBLE-44. That’s 1-888-242-5344. And tell us the call letters of this station.
SPEAKER 02 :
Now, the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise. This is the first chapter of the book of Matthew telling us about the birth of Jesus. When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, that is, before they consummated the marriage, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Now, Luke has a lot more detail about that. We’ll talk about him another time. But Joseph, I have no doubt, was distressed by this. And being a just man, we’re told, he didn’t want to make her a public example. He had a mind to put her away privately. But while he was still thinking it over, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David. And you’ve got to understand one thing, too. This is important, that he was the son of David. Because the lineage of Jesus Christ traces back to David, king of Israel. And David was a type of Christ. Fear not to take you, Mary, your wife. For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. for he shall save his people from their sins. Now, this is really important. It was important that all this be testified by somebody other than Mary. You can see why that would be so. If Mary was the only one who could testify to it, everybody would say, well, you made the story up because you slept with some kid and got pregnant. In fact, later, Jesus’ adversaries would hint that he was an illegitimate child. But it didn’t depend solely on Mary’s story. Joseph also could testify as to the fact that an angel had appeared and told him what was going on. And the concept of witnesses and testimony was bigger than we might think. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did what the angel bid him to do and took his wife into his house. And he didn’t know her, that is, he’s speaking of carnal knowledge, until she had brought forth her firstborn son and called his name Jesus. Now, right here, we walk into another arena entirely from everything we’ve been in the New Testament. We’re going to an Old Testament prophet. And if we are going to be thorough, we have to take a serious look at this prophet. Now let me set the stage for you. I’ve made this point again and again, but forgive me for going through it one more time. To understand the latter fulfillment of any prophecy, you need to grasp the historical concept behind it. It is sometimes said that prophecy is dual. That is, it has two fulfillments, one in history, another in the distant future, perhaps in the last days. In the broadest sense, that is true. But in fact, there may be even more than two fulfillments. You can take this temple as an example. Solomon built the first temple. The prophets came along and said, this temple is going to be destroyed. Okay, it was destroyed by the Babylonians. When the exiles came back from Babylonia, they built another temple. That temple was destroyed by the Romans. There are those who expect a third temple, which might be destroyed yet again by some future power. There seems to be a repeated pattern in here. The reasons behind that are many, and I’ve talked about them elsewhere. The terms that are used for all of this stuff is type and antitype. If you read much work about prophecy, you’re going to come into them. The word type comes from the Greek. It simply means a model, you know, like you would make a little model airplane. Aircraft manufacturers will build what they call a prototype. Actually, they do a mock-up even before that. I remember sitting in the mock-up of a I think it was a Falcon 10 that was being built, and it was all made of wood. And the whole purpose was you could sit in it and get a feeling for the size of the thing and know what it was going to be like when the real airplane was finished. Okay, after that, they build a prototype and actually get out and fly the prototype. They bring it back, and they make modifications upon it, and you get then the real model. In biblical terms, type and eddy type. David is called a type of Christ. Christ in that situation would be the anti-type. Now, you get into this quite a bit in the writings of the prophets, and you have to be careful with it. It’s a good idea to approach the writings of a prophet like you would view an impressionistic painting. You don’t want to get too close to the picture. You see it better if you stand back and get the impression that the artist wanted you to get from the painting you’re looking at. Sometimes it can be a great deal more powerful than a photograph would be. But if you get too close, even closer, get out your magnifying glass, all you see are the brush marks, and you lose the picture completely. This is a mistake commonly made by people who try to study the Bible. Take a step back and look at the whole thing. Now, with all that said, we can consider what Isaiah had to say about this child that was to be born. In Isaiah chapter 7, it came to pass in the days of Ahaz, the king of Judah, that the king of Syria and the king of Israel got together in a confederation and went up to war against it, but they couldn’t seem to win. Well, when it was told to the king in Judah, the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim, his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, like the trees of the wood, are moved with the wind, big stirring. This was a frightening development. It would have been one thing to be at war with either of these powers, and another thing altogether to be at war with both of them at the same time. So the Lord said to Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, you and your son, and say unto him, Take heed, be quiet, don’t be afraid, neither be faint-hearted. For the two tails of these smoking firebrands, not a particularly complimentary expression, Because Syria and Ephraim have taken counsel against you, saying, Let’s go up against Judah and vex it, and let’s make a breach for us, and set our own king up down there. Thus saith the Lord God, It will not stand, neither will it come to pass. Within 65 years, Ephraim will be broken that it’s not a people, and so will Syria. The head of Ephraim is Samaria. The head of Samaria is Pekarimali’s son. You’ve got to believe this. If you won’t believe it, you won’t be established. It’s at this point that God said to Ahaz, ask for a sign. Ask it anywhere. And he said, I won’t. And God said, okay, I’m going to give you one. More on this next time.
SPEAKER 03 :
You have heard Ronald L. Dart. If you would like more information or if you have any questions, write to Born to Win, Post Office Box 560, White House, Texas 75791. In the U.S. and Canada, call toll free 1-888-BIBLE-44 and visit our website at borntowin.org.
SPEAKER 01 :
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