SUMMATION
SUM AND SUBSTANCE

Jeremiah 21: 8, "You shall also say to this people, 'Thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I set before you the Way of Life and the way of death."

Jer. 23: 23-25, "Am I a God who is near,' declares the Lord, and not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in hiding places, so I do not see him?' declares the Lord'. 'Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?' declares the Lord." "I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My Name, saying, 'I had a dream, I had a dream."

Mankind holds in his possession, everything that can be known and is known, concerning his purpose for being, and his eternal destiny in one of two realms, and he is left with the choice of which to choose. All was revealed to Adam, and the choice was given and made. All was revealed to the race of man, at the time of Noah, and the choice was given and made. All was revealed to Abraham in the covenant, and the choice was given and made. All was revealed to the descendants of Abraham, at the time when they were led out of Egypt. The choice was given and made, and continued to be held out to all six million of them, (Approx-imately), plus all nations who surrounded them, as well as all of those to come.

Everything was embodied in the covenants. First to the Woman in the garden. It was promised that her offspring would, bruise the deceivers head. Once again God's purpose and judgment was ex-pressed in the covenant to Noah, the first judgment against the whole earth was a foreshadowing of the final destruction, which would be more intense and complete. Embodied in the Covenant made to Abraham, was the all inclusive revelation, that everything of the natural realm, must have a new infusion of life, and this life must be derived from God, the source of all life. Just as the Apostle Paul, expressed it. The revelation is that since the time of Adam, the whole creation is groaning and travailing in birth pangs and birth throw's, until now, just waiting for it's time of deliverance from the realm of darkness and death, into the glorious time of the revealing of all believers adoption as son's, the redemption of the body. In the meantime, from Noah to Abraham, to Moses, to Jesus, to the First Believers, to all to follow, ' A New Hope', is born with-in and prevails, from the moment of first exercising faith. And by faith, entering into corporate union, (fellowship) with the One in Whom all Life resides, The Lord Jesus Christ. Only True Faith avails one of the living reality, and such Faith produces real Substance, embodied in Jesus Christ. True faith in God's Word, concerning His Son, Jesus Christ, always produces New Life.

God in concert, among all three Persons of the God-head, has been faithfully ministering, and then causing all His efforts to be recorded, even doing so ahead of the events ever taking place, all for the benefit of the race of man. God in His long-suffering, mercy and grace, persevered, overcoming and conquering every obstacle that His Arch enemy, Satan in partnership with the majority of the race of man, through-out the centuries, has thrown in His pathway.

Before His, ( Christ's ) coming, everything pointed forward to His arrival. After His coming, everything points back to His being the Sum and Substance of all that was and is in the mind and heart of God, concerning His creation, (about His creation, and His eternal destiny), pertaining to His creation. It has always been God's intent that His, Son, have the preeminence in everything. He holds first place in the mind and heart of, God, the Heavenly Father; therefore it should be no different for any of His, Begotten, Adopted, offspring, who make up the body in which He dwells. He has been given a Name by His Heavenly Father, which is a name, above every name. There is no other person in all of the universe who's name is of such importance, as His.

All of the obstacles of which man, who cannot see or under-stand Spiritual Purposes, has been a party to, have their origin in the false ideas that originate with God's enemy, and man's enemy, and are planted in mankind's mind, and heart.

When consideration is given to summing up all of mankind's, concerted thought and effort throughout his history, in both secular and religious realms, it can be condensed simply to this. Mankind, had been given a place of supremacy over God's creation and his own destiny, but abdicated this position through an act of self-will. The deceit under which he has been laboring all these many centuries, is, if he just tries hard enough, and long enough, he can rise to this former position, and there-by reclaim his likeness to God. His endeavor, is, to once again have everything in subjection to him. His effort is to regain control. When mankind became awakened to the realization that he was no longer in control, but being obsessed with the idea of the need of control, he began by his own intellectual reasoning, to produce a counterfeit structure, to re-establish control through many and varied means. The means he chose always proved inadequate, and so he introduced false god's, in the hope they might bring success.

Because he found himself to be unruly, his first effort was with-in the family. That has proved to be a failure, and he didn't stop there, he endeavored to establish control through tribal rule. He soon found himself to be with-out control in this area as well, for there are always those in every society who refuse to abide by control. When the time came for a governmental structure to be set up by God, even though it was a perfect structure, providing for all of man's need to control his own destiny, it to soon failed, because man didn't realize, that all control resides in the Sovereign Hand of an all knowing, all powerful, ever present Spirit Being. Instead of deferring to Him by faith, he soon endeavored to take control of God's Chosen family, and failed, because he relegated God to a secondary position in administering His own affairs. At this juncture in his existence, and falling short, missing the mark of what he had been created to be, the creation including his own physical being became contaminated with sickness and disease. His effort to regain control of his health and well being in this area, has also turned out to be a failure. He started out with cures of one kind or another, but all originating in his own perverted mind. Some were based on superstitions, some on concoctions that only propagated the sickness. Follow the course of mankind's effort to the modern day in the field of medicine, and observe how these efforts have multiplied. As his practice in the field of medicine progressed and advanced, so has thedisease and sickness. As one malady has been addressed, many more have arisen, more egregious than the previous. Only the Lord Jesus Christ, the great physician, has displayed the power to heal and cure all manner of sickness and disease. Such will be the health conditions in His kingdom, and to a great extent it can be more tolerable for the true believer in the world today, because as he, by faith looks to the Lord and finds direction in the manner in which to live now, many of the problems that plague others will be cured for the believer. Most, if not all of mankind's problems arise from his own perverted way of life and the misuse of the provisions mankind has at his disposal.

As nations developed into larger bodies, mankind devised larger and more sophisticated means of control. Armies with weapons capable of annihilating whole continents is the result. Still mankind finds himself unable to control himself, or his fellow Man. This condition always leaves him facing the next great event; but to control--he remains at the mercy of all. Under the initial revelation given to mankind, at the time of Noah, and then again when God delivered the people Israel from slavery, He gave evidence to them and to the world, that He, God was able to control all of the elements in their behalf, if they would just believe Him for it and look to Him for their well being. All of this was embodied in the first covenant. And it's here that any believing person gains understanding. The Word of God is like a Two Edged Sword. Embodied in His revealed Word is both sides made clear. One side offers Life, and blessing, and the other offers death and cursing, with only the grave and it's destructive controlling power.

The power of God to deliver, and set mankind free, and to sustain him in every area of life was revealed to them, this was the blessing side of the sword. Because of the weakness in themselves, God brought the Law in along side of the promise, and this side of the sword pronounced death and destruction. Therefore they incurred the judgment of God. Jeremiah 25: 30-31, "Therefore you shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them, "The Lord will roar from on high, and utter His voice from His Holy habitation; he will roar mightily against his fold, (pasture, land), He will shout like those who tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A clamor has come to the end of the earth, because the Lord has a controversy with the nations. He is entering into judgment with all flesh; As for the wicked, He has given them to the sword,' declares the Lord." The covenant of Law that had been made with Israel, was an instrument of condemnation and death, and so the Apostles Paul expounds.

The New Covenant in Jesus blood, abrogates, nullifies, fulfills, all the Law of sin and death. The New Covenant is the Reality of which the covenant given to Israel, as well as all of the forms and ceremonies, and statutes, were but shadows, and types, and analogies. Jesus, the first and only man to display complete control, in regard to keeping all the precepts of a Holy, righteous, victorious, Life; Instituted the New Covenant, the night He died, and in death bequeathed all to the heir appointed by God, His Heavenly Father. In resurrection, He became that Heir, and in His generous heart of Love and grace, made all True Believers, joint heirs to eternal life, and all the benefits of all the Spiritual blessings that go with it. Thus the Two Edged Sword of the Word of God, has done its perfect work, in accomplishing everything God sent Him forth to accomplish.

Although mankind in the main has failed to realize it and therefore failed to understand, Jesus and all the appointed ones, who He called, and who spoke and wrote, were not presenting one form of worship, or religious endeavors, as being preferential one over the other. But it now became a point of recognition, that the offering under the New Covenant, which was Jesus Life poured out in His own blood, (Him being the Holy Son of God), was the True Offering, of which the Levitical offerings were but a portrait. This act constituted His signature. This act sealed the New Covenant, thus validating it. For a testament or will is never in force, until the one who made it is dead. (Heb. 9:16-17).

His offering under the New Covenant, was better, because it was enacted on better promises. Promises, by which God bound Himself with an oath. Promises which were given and kept, by a superior workman, because Jesus was a superior Person, the only begotten Son of God. The New Covenant is a covenant that was enacted on the basis of an indestructible life. He came and lived and died, and rose again, there-by declaring to the whole universe, here was a man who was in control of all aspects of mankind's existence, both in this age, and in the eternal. It's amazing how blinded man refuses to acknowledge, for himself, all the benefits afforded him, just for the receiving. But for the few that do, only a small part of the whole that is included in the, Rest of God, provided in Jesus Christ, is entered into and enjoyed. Heb. 4: 8-11. "For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience."

Substitutes of all kind are still being offered in place of the fullness of the Gift of Life that is to be found in Jesus. Day's are still being substituted, as holy days, when only His rest, on any day or everyday is to be held Holy unto the Lord. This amounts to His sharing Himself in Life with the believer. All other activity with-in the function of the body that is not to his Glory, is a substitute for false piety, and religious, show of, "Will Worship".

In the Rest of God provided for in Jesus Christ, where freedom and liberty prevail, anything the believer can do, on any day of the week or year, is acceptable on any other day. When a believer, walking in the enlightenment of His Spirit, is shown something that is not to God's glory on a particular day, what ever it might be, that, is not acceptable on any other day, regardless of the day.

Everything embodied in the inheritance bequeathed to the believer, from God through Jesus Christ, has it's foundation in the creation account. The Sum and Substance of all that is implied in the Sabbath Rest of God, both in physical and spiritual realm, has its consummation in the rest which is to be found in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Genesis 1: 31, "And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning the Sixth Day". Chap. 2: 1-3, "Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. And by the Seventh day God completed His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had dome. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which He had created and made. This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord made the earth and the heavens."

The creation was brought into being by God alone, without any outside help. Incorporate in the creation were all the life giving properties, that were necessary so that each species could reproduce it self, and there-by continue to sustain it self right on through-out the centuries until today. The only time this self sustaining ability changed, was when God brought His power to bear upon it. It continued under this God fulfilling purpose until a change was necessary according to God's assessment of its condition, (i.e.the flood).

Counting time according to Biblical genealogy, approximately Two Thousand Years of time pass between Adam and Abraham. From the Covenant Promise of God to Abraham, and the giving of the covenant of Law to the children of Israel, through Moses, is approximately Five Hundred Years. Incorporate in the Law, God spells out the way of faith. The manner of life He had meant mankind to have lived all along. All would become a living reality, if they would have followed His leading, and His providing for them everything necessary for them, to enjoy a life of rest in His provision for them in the land of promise. The life giving and sustaining properties, were embodied in His Word, and could be realized only by a Faith that was of a quality, the same as their father Abraham. And so the Law was given to guide them along the pathway of life until Messiah, (Jesus) came and provided them and all the world, the True Life, the only Life that God would accept.

Exodus 20: 8-11, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you of your son or your daughter, your male servant or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

For a Summation of the Shadow to Substance, once again read, Heb.3:1-4:16.

Oh; Professing believer, take note of the fact that it is and always has been God's provision of the all sufficient rest that is held out to us, and not something we work out through self effort. The importance is not in the day itself, but in the good work God performed in the time preceding the day on which He rested and invited man to enter into that rest with Him. Everything necessary to sustain Adam, both in Spiritual Sustenance, and in the Physical was offered to him. He chose the physical, the material, and ignored the Spiritual, and there-by lost his position as lord of God's creation here on earth. From that time until now, mankind in the majority has concentrated on the material, and physical, and has continued to ignore the Spiritual. Consequently God and all of His provision for life have been missed by unbelieving mankind. Only the Spiritually minded person will ever regain this position of Lord-ship over the affairs of this world, as is manifest in Jesus Christ. Read the creation account again and take note of Adam's position before his act of disobedience and the position he is relegated to after he makes his choice. He abdicates his position as lord of the Manor, to that of a field hand, eking out his living through sweat and toil, but always in the physical realm. He is estranged from God from here on through out his life time, and God must always come to him in order for him to have a realization of God's presence. God in Jesus Christ performed the work of reconciling the world unto Himself.

Exodus 23:12-13, "Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor in order that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female salve, as well as your stranger, may refresh themselves. Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard; and do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth."

To understand what it was that the Lord was asking of the people who were bearing His name you must read carefully Exodus Chapters 19: 1--25: 40.

(Exodus, 2: 23--7:1), The purpose of God, in calling His People Israel out of Egypt and saving them to dwell in the promised land, as a free people with no one to depend upon but their God, who had sworn to supply all their need, is revealed here-in.

(Numbers, 12: 3--8), Moses stood before them as God, and to speak against him was just as though they were speaking out against God, Himself. Moses was a prophet like unto Christ.

(Numbers 13: 27--15: 3), The land proves to be everything God had declared it to be and more. The rebellious heart of the people shows its self right from the outset, and the two edged sword of God's word takes its effect, but the Spirit that God had placed in the heart of Moses as he stands before the people as God's faithful servant, manifest the Love of God and the compassion of God and the forgiveness of God for their rebellion, because He had in mind the fulfillment of His covenant promise to Abraham. That when the promised Seed,(Jesus the Christ) would come He would wipe out all their transgressions, and pardon the iniquities of those who believed His Word for the work that He would perform in their be-half.

(Numbers 20:6-13), The judgment of God , against Aaron and Moses, for their disobedience, reveals that no matter what position one might hold before the Lord, one must maintain a continual walk of faith and trust in Him, and not in ones own ability or standing, apart from complete dependence upon the Presence and Power of the Lord through His Spirit, to provide the direction and successful accomplishment to whatever the endeavor in life might be. Deuteronomy, 12:8--11a, "You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes; for you have not yet come to the resting place and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you. When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security, then it shall come about that the place in which the Lord your God shall choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I shall command you."

Their offering was a lamb of the flock that God had supplied for them; and was to be offered at the Tabernacle in Jerusalem. The believer in this age of grace, has had the Lamb of God offered for us at Calvary, and since then we come with an offering of faith in behalf of His Word concerning His Son Jesus Christ. That is all God requires of us, He has provided everything else. The place God has chosen to place His name in this age of grace is in His Son, who has become the head of the body the church, and the true believer identified with Him, becomes God's dwelling place, wherever the true believer might be found throughout the entire world.

Everything then and everything now is all predicated on the same foundation rock. (Deut. 8: 2-3), But pay close attention to the purpose God has in treating His chosen out ones the way He does. Ver. 3b, "that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out the mouth of the Lord."

The absolute surety of God in keeping His part of the promise to His chosen out ones, regardless of the opposition; the enemies of God and the enemies of God's people, Jew or Gentile is given. (Num. 23: 8--24: 25).

The judgment of God against disobedience, for all people for all time, is shown in Israel being the object lesson on the stage of life, and remains so until today, (Rom. 15: 4--13). (Num. 32: 10--15).The judgment is removed in Jesus Christ however, and the Rest of God is in Him.

There came a time in the history of Israel when the land had rest from war, but seemingly the people never entered into the rest that God meant them to have and know as a people abiding under His Name and Banner.

Joshua, 11: 23b, "Thus the land had rest from War." (Chap. 15: 63), the sons of Israel could not drive their enemies out of the land, because they were not completely obedient to the Word of God. (Chap. 16: 12-13). (Chap 18:1-3). But in spite of all their disobed-ience, Jehovah, their God, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, remained faithful to His Covenant Promise. (Joshua 21: 43--45). The conclusion of it all as Joshua nears the end of his days as a servant of God, fulfilling God's purpose for him that had been handed to him from Moses. (Joshua 23: 1--24: 33). Notice how the statement given to the Israelites, is expounded by the Apostle Peter. 2Peter, 3: 9, "The Lord is not slow, (slack) about His promises, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."

The Israelites are now left with the twelve heads of the tribes, the priesthood, and the twenty four elders, as their leaders and have a history of about Three Hundred and Fifty Years, known as the time of the Judges, under the administration of the Law. Being of the same nature as Adam, and therefore weak in the weakness of their own sinful flesh, they had no ability to keep the precepts of the Law, and so the refrain runs throughout the time of the Judges. Judges 3: 12, "Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord". (Chap. 4: 1). The result was this indictment against them, Judges 21: 25, "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes".

And so at the conclusion of this period, circumstances became so perverted in their lives, they cried out to their God. Isn't this the way with all mankind, we only cry out to God when we get ourselves in such dire straits that there is no where else to turn, so we cry out , "O'God save me"! And always God is the faithful one and is ready and willing to come to our need. Here-in lies the heart of the Gospel, and the Truth as expounded in the letters to the churches. Heb. 4: 16, "Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and May find grace to help in time of need."

Time has passed for them and the King they chose was not fit to set on the throne as an earthly representative of God here on earth, ruling His people. So Saul is set aside and David, "A man after God's own heart," was established on the Throne. He is a representative of the eternal Kingship of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was to come and assume His rightful place of Lord, over heaven and earth. Sovereign Lord over God's universe, from the seat of government established here on earth, in complete fulfillment of the prayer that Jesus taught as a pattern by which to address God, our heavenly father. "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven."

David comes to the enlightenment, that up until that day, the people Israel, hadn't entered into and enjoyed the Rest that their God meant for them to have and enjoy in the land He had given to them. And based on their passed history of disobedience, and yet the wonders and graciousness of their God, he writes in the Ninety Fifth Psalm, the words that the writer of the book of Hebrews quotes, Fifteen-Hundred years later. Psalm, 95: 1--11, "O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving: Let us shout joyfully to Him with Psalms, (Songs of thanksgiving). For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods, in who's hand are the depths of the earth; the peeks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it is He who made it; and His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts, as at Miribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness; when your fathers tested Me, they tried Me, though they had seen My work. For Forty Years I loathed that generation, and said, they are a people who err in their heart and they do not know My ways. Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter My Rest."

In spite of never fulfilling their appointed purpose of being a people, sanctified, set apart unto their God, in the midst of the surrounding nations, never the less, in response to the Faithfulness of His Son, Jesus Christ in keeping all of God, His Heavenly Fathers will; He provided complete salvation for any and all who will enter into the Rest, He has provided in Him.

And so the writer of the book of Hebrews records for our learning the Truth of God's fulfilled Word in Jesus Christ. (Hebrews, 2: 1--4:16). (Matt. 11: 25--30). Ver. 28-30. "Come unto Me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you Rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I Am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light."

Hebrews, 4: 9--16, "There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience. For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart, and there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Hear Paul, in his letter to the Galatian church, as he instructs the True sons of God after the faith, as to the proper attitude toward the Law keeping aspect of the believers life. ( Gal. 3: 22--4: 11). His summation of it is in verse, 10--11, "You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain." Always there is much opposition to this kind of teaching, because man invariably wants to adhere to an external regimen of legalism. Because, until the He or She is completely set free from the Law of sin and death, and sees themselves completely abiding in Jesus Christ and His finished work in their behalf personally; they cannot envision living without being regulated by some legal standard, imposed externally.

I Pray that you have gained much from reading these pages

DougsStudyDesk