The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Eighteen - K Mar 29, 2020 by: John Herbert | Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T009_20200329.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Re 22:14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. We will continue today in our study not the tree of life. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday March 29th 2020 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 18K ‘I Know Your Works….’ 1). Ge 2:8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Re 2:7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’ We had seen last time how the tree of life was first seen in the Garden of Eden in conjunction with the newly created Man and Woman and the rulership for which they were created. a). And we had seen that once the Man and the Woman had been disqualified to rule in the place of Satan because of sin, that they were then prevented from eating from the tree of life by being expelled from the Garden – Ge 3:24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. Once rulership was no longer possible because of sin, so Adam and Eve and their offspring, separated from regality, were barred from having access to the tree of life as this particular tree is always associated with regality, never with perpetuity of physical life. b). The tree of life, along with the Garden ceased to exist on the earth following the flood of Noah. And as all human beings from Adam and the Woman onwards have been procreated in Adam’s likeness and image, born ‘dead in trespasses and sin’, no access to the tree of life has been possible and nor could there be as the tree is no longer present in the world of Men. c). But, the tree of life is seen again in the Book of the Revelation, firstly in conjunction with the Millennial Kingdom, and then in conjunction with the endless ages. And as with the tree of life in the Garden of Eden, rulership is what is in view in both places in Revelation. 2). In Revelation Chapter 2 eating from the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God is promised ‘to him who overcomes’, it is promised to those who will be crowned rulers during the Millennial Kingdom, and will provide for them the wisdom and understanding necessary to rule in righteousness and with justice and equity as a firstborn son of God within the Theocracy of the 7th Day. a). And this promise for the overcomers is reiterated in Revelation Chapter 22 – Re 22:12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” 14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. Note the context here – the Lord said He is coming ‘quickly’, literally suddenly and His reward will be with Him ‘to give everyone according to their work’. This is a Judgment Seat picture once again, where reward or loss will be determined and reflects back on Revelation Chapters 2 and 3. b). The overcomers, ‘who do His commandments’ are seen to be ‘blessed’ – these are the ones, the same overcomers seen in Revelation Chapter 2, who will ‘have the right to the tree of life’ and will ‘enter through the gates into the city’ [the New Jerusalem]. c). Those who have been overcome by the world, the flesh and the Devil on the other hand, Christians found to be unfaithful at the Judgment Seat, are described in v15 and are seen outside the city, having neither access to the city, nor the tree of life found inside it. And these seen here in v15 are the same unfaithful Christians that Paul described in Galatians Chapter 5. Verses which provide us with parallel Scripture to the verse in Revelation – Ga 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Let’s be in no doubt that those described here, in Galatians, are Christians because we see that inheritance is in view. Simply, those ‘who practice’ ‘the works of the flesh’ ‘will not inherit the Kingdom of God’. They will have no inheritance in the Kingdom. And the works of the flesh are what we again see catalogued in Revelation 22:15, with the same end result - those who will have continually practiced the works of the flesh during their Christian life are denied access to the New Jerusalem, the place of rulership, and denied access to the tree of life, the wisdom by which rulership will be administered. d). All that is in view then in both Revelation 2:7 and Revelation 22:12-15 is Millennial in its scope and Christian in its application. But if we go back to the beginning of Revelation Chapter 22, we find a completely different timeframe and a different group of people – Re 22:1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. In these verses we move beyond the Millennial Kingdom to the time of the new heavens and new earth in which righteousness will dwell, to the time of the endless ages that we call eternity. We see ‘the throne of God and of the Lamb’, the joint throne which will only be occupied by Father and Son beyond the Kingdom Age, with respect to the rulership of the universe from the New Jerusalem upon the new earth. e). We also see ‘there shall be no more night there’ – a statement we must take in conjunction with the promise God made to Noah in – Ge 8:22 “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.” And the Lord’s servants seen in this future timeframe are said to ‘reign forever and ever’ – to reign throughout the endless ages. And that which is in view here with respect to rulership in the endless ages is not the earth which now is, for that rule will have finished, and that earth will have passed away, but the universe itself. f). And in conjunction with universal rule we again see the tree of life ‘which bore twelve fruits’, whose leaves ‘were for the healing of the nations’. g). Let’s remember that we are now dealing with the time when the previously unfaithful, eternally saved Jew, Christian and Gentile will have had every tear wiped away from their eyes, the time for which they have been eternally saved. h). And the nations are those Gentile nations seen during the Millennial Kingdom who received the good news concerning Christ and the Kingdom through the evangelistic work of the nation of Israel in the antitype of Jonah. And these nations must also be understood as ‘eternally saved’ in this timeframe. i). So, the faithful eternally saved and the previously unfaithful eternally saved from the Millennial Kingdom, along with the Gentile nations reached by Israel during the Kingdom Age are now all seen as ‘His servants who shall serve Him’. And their service will be in fulfillment of God’s purpose for creating Man in the first place – rulership. j). And those who will be rulers in God’s universal Kingdom will have access to the tree of life to be properly equipped for whatever rule throughout the universe will look like. k). However, before these extraordinary, unimaginable, heady days of universal rule can come to pass, we have the mandate to first access the Millennial Kingdom as an overcomer in order to eat from the tree of life within the context of ruling the nations upon this earth with a rod of iron. l). And as we had seen last time, 4 of the Proverbs written by Solomon, the king of Israel who asked God for wisdom to rule His people, provide us with great spiritual truth concerning the tree of life and how it’s future access is determined by our pilgrim journey - Pr 3:13 Happy [blessed] is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding; 14 For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. 16 Length of days is in her right hand, In her left hand riches and honor. 17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy [blessed] are all who retain her. Pr 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise. Pr 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. Pr 15:4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit. We had seen the tree of life connected to finding wisdom and gaining understanding in this present age. We had seen it connected to the righteous acts of the saints and winning souls as a result of finding wisdom and gaining understanding, and we had seen it connected to our hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. And finally, connected to having a ‘wholesome tongue’. m). So, what should we understand having ‘a wholesome tongue’ to mean for us in relation to our present pilgrim journey, whereby we might access the tree of life in that future Day? n). Well, as we would expect the answer is to be found in the Scriptures and it is the Book of James that provides for us the commentary on Proverbs 15:4 as well as making connection with that previously seen in Proverbs in relation to the tree of life. 3). Jas 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience [patient endurance]. 4 But let patience [patient endurance] have its perfect [end time] work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. The Book of James, as we know, is a Book about the salvation of the soul and with this salvation in mind James begins by exhorting us to ‘count it all joy when you fall into various trials’, because the trials of life produce patient endurance and if patient endurance is allowed to perform its end time work in us then when we stand at the Judgment Seat we will be completed, not lacking in any part of our being, spirit, soul and body. a). But, if we lack wisdom now with respect to the complete ramifications surrounding this process and the salvation of the soul, then we are to ask for that wisdom and God will give it to us ‘liberally’, bountifully, IF we ask, ‘in faith, with no doubting’. b). Wisdom then will be given to us bountifully if we ask for it in the context of the faith. Not only then must we believe that God will grant wisdom to us, but we must ask for it understanding the connection there is between wisdom and the saving of the soul – asking for it and accepting it in the certainty that it will change the way we live, the way we think and the way we relate to one another. This then would find a companion verse in - Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. And the wisdom we are to receive from the Lord will come through the Word of God brought forth from above – Jas 1:19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Now, let’s keep in mind that we are trying to understand having ‘a wholesome tongue’. To ask for wisdom is an action of the tongue and here in James 1:19 we are exhorted to be swift to hear but slow to speak, another action of the tongue. And there is a direct connection between being slow to speak and being slow to wrath. And we are told plainly that the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God, the very righteousness we are to seek first along with the Kingdom. c). What might we conclude then? The wrath of man, our anger, contentiousness and/or bitterness towards one another will be revealed through the action of our tongue as we rush to vent on the recipient of our wrath. d). Therefore, because of this, we should ‘lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness [be swift to hear] the implanted word which is able to save your souls’. e). But we must be doers of the Word we hear. There must be action, there must be good works that come out of this – Jas 1:26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. And here we have it - ‘be slow to speak, slow to wrath’, this is what we have heard – this is bridling our tongue. But if we rush to vent our wrath, to chastise someone with the valor of our tongue then we have deceived our own heart. We are walking in deception, and if we are easily deceived in this, how might we be just as easily deceived elsewhere? Jas 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell [Gehenna]. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh. James demonstrates how small our tongue is compared with the rest of our body and yet it can defile our whole body, being described as ‘an unruly evil, full of deadly poison’, that can be set ‘on fire’ by Gehenna. f). It is the same tongue that we use to bless God that we use to ‘curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.’ g). And he points out that this is completely contrary to the natural order by showing that a spring of water does not intermittently give out fresh and saltwater. And in the same way a fig tree only ever produces figs, never olives. But for us, ‘out of the same mouth proceed blessings and cursing’. And he concludes, ‘My brethren, these things ought not to be so’. h). And no doubt we would agree with him, but James also said in v8 that ‘no man can tame the tongue’. So, if we shouldn’t bless God and curse men with the same tongue and yet the tongue cannot be tamed, are we at an impasse? i). Thankfully no. Left to our own devices, in our own strength, the taming of the tongue is impossible. But if we turn to the Gospels for a moment, we can find the Lord’s words on the subject that will show us the way – Lk 6:43 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. It is then, from the abundance of our heart that our mouth speaks. If our heart is filled with ‘good treasure’, then good will come from our mouth. Our tongue will be bridled. If on the other hand our heart is filled with ‘evil treasure’, then our mouth will bring forth evil. j). So, how are we to be filled with ‘good treasure’? – We have already seen it as we studied Proverbs 3 last time – Col 2:2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And do we remember how wisdom is described in Proverbs 3? – Pr 3:13 Happy [blessed] is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding; 14 For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. And it is the good treasure and evil treasure of the heart and their connection with ‘wisdom’ that James then talks about as we continue in James Chapter 3 – Jas 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. The ‘wise and understanding’ in v13 are those who will have found wisdom and gained understanding as seen in the verses from Proverbs 3. k). And those who are wise, and understanding will be doers of the Word and will have works done in ‘the meekness of wisdom’. l). The wise and understanding are contrasted with those who are not, who would be hearers of the Word only thereby deceiving themselves, who have ‘bitter envy and self-seeking’ in their hearts. m). And having set this contrast James then reveals the origins of that contained in the hearts of each group. Envy and self- seeking are shown to be ‘wisdom’ that has not been brought forth from above, but is ‘earthly’, coming solely from fleshly desire, the product of the sin nature encouraged and inspired by the demonic forces of darkness. And we are told that when this is present then ‘confusion and every evil thing are there’. There will be contention, disruption, strife, agitation, the complete absence of peace. n). Just as the works of the wise and understanding are demonstrated through works done in the meekness of wisdom so in contrast the ‘works’ of envy and self-seeking will focus completely on imposing a personal ‘religious’ worldview on others and will be manifest through what comes out of the mouth, whether the aggression of anger, the continuing clamor of contention and complaining, the daily drip of criticism and judgment, the flail of fault finding, or the slippery, silkiness of drawing disciples away. Jas 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. The wisdom that is from above is the diametric opposite of that which is earthly, sensual, demonic. We see that in its essence this wisdom is ‘pure’, it is undefiled and untainted in any way, as it is the wisdom of God and completely apart from self. It is also ‘peaceable’, producing tranquility instead of confusion. It is gentle rather than contentious and willing to yield in all humility – Php 2:1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. It is seen to be ‘full of mercy’, forgiveness, compassion, producing good fruits, the righteous acts of the saints. The wisdom from above never plays favorites and is always consistent. o). If this wisdom from above is the good treasure in our heart then this will be witnessed by what comes from our bridled tongue, because from the abundance of our heart our mouth will speak. And according to James 3:18 those who are wise, and understanding will sow the fruit of righteousness, that which comes out of their mouth, in peace as these are the ones who make peace – Mt 5: 5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. And here we will find our wholesome tongue, with the promise of being adopted as a firstborn son for those who possess one and theirs will be the tree of life because of it. p). But more on this next time – If the Lord is willing. The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Eighteen - K Mar 29, 2020 Speaker: John Herbert Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T009_20200329.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Re 22:14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. We will continue today in our study not the tree of life. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday March 29th 2020 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 18K ‘I Know Your Works….’ 1). Ge 2:8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Re 2:7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’ We had seen last time how the tree of life was first seen in the Garden of Eden in conjunction with the newly created Man and Woman and the rulership for which they were created. a). And we had seen that once the Man and the Woman had been disqualified to rule in the place of Satan because of sin, that they were then prevented from eating from the tree of life by being expelled from the Garden – Ge 3:24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. Once rulership was no longer possible because of sin, so Adam and Eve and their offspring, separated from regality, were barred from having access to the tree of life as this particular tree is always associated with regality, never with perpetuity of physical life. b). The tree of life, along with the Garden ceased to exist on the earth following the flood of Noah. And as all human beings from Adam and the Woman onwards have been procreated in Adam’s likeness and image, born ‘dead in trespasses and sin’, no access to the tree of life has been possible and nor could there be as the tree is no longer present in the world of Men. c). But, the tree of life is seen again in the Book of the Revelation, firstly in conjunction with the Millennial Kingdom, and then in conjunction with the endless ages. And as with the tree of life in the Garden of Eden, rulership is what is in view in both places in Revelation. 2). In Revelation Chapter 2 eating from the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God is promised ‘to him who overcomes’, it is promised to those who will be crowned rulers during the Millennial Kingdom, and will provide for them the wisdom and understanding necessary to rule in righteousness and with justice and equity as a firstborn son of God within the Theocracy of the 7th Day. a). And this promise for the overcomers is reiterated in Revelation Chapter 22 – Re 22:12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” 14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. Note the context here – the Lord said He is coming ‘quickly’, literally suddenly and His reward will be with Him ‘to give everyone according to their work’. This is a Judgment Seat picture once again, where reward or loss will be determined and reflects back on Revelation Chapters 2 and 3. b). The overcomers, ‘who do His commandments’ are seen to be ‘blessed’ – these are the ones, the same overcomers seen in Revelation Chapter 2, who will ‘have the right to the tree of life’ and will ‘enter through the gates into the city’ [the New Jerusalem]. c). Those who have been overcome by the world, the flesh and the Devil on the other hand, Christians found to be unfaithful at the Judgment Seat, are described in v15 and are seen outside the city, having neither access to the city, nor the tree of life found inside it. And these seen here in v15 are the same unfaithful Christians that Paul described in Galatians Chapter 5. Verses which provide us with parallel Scripture to the verse in Revelation – Ga 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Let’s be in no doubt that those described here, in Galatians, are Christians because we see that inheritance is in view. Simply, those ‘who practice’ ‘the works of the flesh’ ‘will not inherit the Kingdom of God’. They will have no inheritance in the Kingdom. And the works of the flesh are what we again see catalogued in Revelation 22:15, with the same end result - those who will have continually practiced the works of the flesh during their Christian life are denied access to the New Jerusalem, the place of rulership, and denied access to the tree of life, the wisdom by which rulership will be administered. d). All that is in view then in both Revelation 2:7 and Revelation 22:12-15 is Millennial in its scope and Christian in its application. But if we go back to the beginning of Revelation Chapter 22, we find a completely different timeframe and a different group of people – Re 22:1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. In these verses we move beyond the Millennial Kingdom to the time of the new heavens and new earth in which righteousness will dwell, to the time of the endless ages that we call eternity. We see ‘the throne of God and of the Lamb’, the joint throne which will only be occupied by Father and Son beyond the Kingdom Age, with respect to the rulership of the universe from the New Jerusalem upon the new earth. e). We also see ‘there shall be no more night there’ – a statement we must take in conjunction with the promise God made to Noah in – Ge 8:22 “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease.” And the Lord’s servants seen in this future timeframe are said to ‘reign forever and ever’ – to reign throughout the endless ages. And that which is in view here with respect to rulership in the endless ages is not the earth which now is, for that rule will have finished, and that earth will have passed away, but the universe itself. f). And in conjunction with universal rule we again see the tree of life ‘which bore twelve fruits’, whose leaves ‘were for the healing of the nations’. g). Let’s remember that we are now dealing with the time when the previously unfaithful, eternally saved Jew, Christian and Gentile will have had every tear wiped away from their eyes, the time for which they have been eternally saved. h). And the nations are those Gentile nations seen during the Millennial Kingdom who received the good news concerning Christ and the Kingdom through the evangelistic work of the nation of Israel in the antitype of Jonah. And these nations must also be understood as ‘eternally saved’ in this timeframe. i). So, the faithful eternally saved and the previously unfaithful eternally saved from the Millennial Kingdom, along with the Gentile nations reached by Israel during the Kingdom Age are now all seen as ‘His servants who shall serve Him’. And their service will be in fulfillment of God’s purpose for creating Man in the first place – rulership. j). And those who will be rulers in God’s universal Kingdom will have access to the tree of life to be properly equipped for whatever rule throughout the universe will look like. k). However, before these extraordinary, unimaginable, heady days of universal rule can come to pass, we have the mandate to first access the Millennial Kingdom as an overcomer in order to eat from the tree of life within the context of ruling the nations upon this earth with a rod of iron. l). And as we had seen last time, 4 of the Proverbs written by Solomon, the king of Israel who asked God for wisdom to rule His people, provide us with great spiritual truth concerning the tree of life and how it’s future access is determined by our pilgrim journey - Pr 3:13 Happy [blessed] is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding; 14 For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. 16 Length of days is in her right hand, In her left hand riches and honor. 17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy [blessed] are all who retain her. Pr 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise. Pr 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. Pr 15:4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit. We had seen the tree of life connected to finding wisdom and gaining understanding in this present age. We had seen it connected to the righteous acts of the saints and winning souls as a result of finding wisdom and gaining understanding, and we had seen it connected to our hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. And finally, connected to having a ‘wholesome tongue’. m). So, what should we understand having ‘a wholesome tongue’ to mean for us in relation to our present pilgrim journey, whereby we might access the tree of life in that future Day? n). Well, as we would expect the answer is to be found in the Scriptures and it is the Book of James that provides for us the commentary on Proverbs 15:4 as well as making connection with that previously seen in Proverbs in relation to the tree of life. 3). Jas 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience [patient endurance]. 4 But let patience [patient endurance] have its perfect [end time] work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. The Book of James, as we know, is a Book about the salvation of the soul and with this salvation in mind James begins by exhorting us to ‘count it all joy when you fall into various trials’, because the trials of life produce patient endurance and if patient endurance is allowed to perform its end time work in us then when we stand at the Judgment Seat we will be completed, not lacking in any part of our being, spirit, soul and body. a). But, if we lack wisdom now with respect to the complete ramifications surrounding this process and the salvation of the soul, then we are to ask for that wisdom and God will give it to us ‘liberally’, bountifully, IF we ask, ‘in faith, with no doubting’. b). Wisdom then will be given to us bountifully if we ask for it in the context of the faith. Not only then must we believe that God will grant wisdom to us, but we must ask for it understanding the connection there is between wisdom and the saving of the soul – asking for it and accepting it in the certainty that it will change the way we live, the way we think and the way we relate to one another. This then would find a companion verse in - Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. And the wisdom we are to receive from the Lord will come through the Word of God brought forth from above – Jas 1:19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Now, let’s keep in mind that we are trying to understand having ‘a wholesome tongue’. To ask for wisdom is an action of the tongue and here in James 1:19 we are exhorted to be swift to hear but slow to speak, another action of the tongue. And there is a direct connection between being slow to speak and being slow to wrath. And we are told plainly that the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God, the very righteousness we are to seek first along with the Kingdom. c). What might we conclude then? The wrath of man, our anger, contentiousness and/or bitterness towards one another will be revealed through the action of our tongue as we rush to vent on the recipient of our wrath. d). Therefore, because of this, we should ‘lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness [be swift to hear] the implanted word which is able to save your souls’. e). But we must be doers of the Word we hear. There must be action, there must be good works that come out of this – Jas 1:26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. And here we have it - ‘be slow to speak, slow to wrath’, this is what we have heard – this is bridling our tongue. But if we rush to vent our wrath, to chastise someone with the valor of our tongue then we have deceived our own heart. We are walking in deception, and if we are easily deceived in this, how might we be just as easily deceived elsewhere? Jas 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell [Gehenna]. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh. James demonstrates how small our tongue is compared with the rest of our body and yet it can defile our whole body, being described as ‘an unruly evil, full of deadly poison’, that can be set ‘on fire’ by Gehenna. f). It is the same tongue that we use to bless God that we use to ‘curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.’ g). And he points out that this is completely contrary to the natural order by showing that a spring of water does not intermittently give out fresh and saltwater. And in the same way a fig tree only ever produces figs, never olives. But for us, ‘out of the same mouth proceed blessings and cursing’. And he concludes, ‘My brethren, these things ought not to be so’. h). And no doubt we would agree with him, but James also said in v8 that ‘no man can tame the tongue’. So, if we shouldn’t bless God and curse men with the same tongue and yet the tongue cannot be tamed, are we at an impasse? i). Thankfully no. Left to our own devices, in our own strength, the taming of the tongue is impossible. But if we turn to the Gospels for a moment, we can find the Lord’s words on the subject that will show us the way – Lk 6:43 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. It is then, from the abundance of our heart that our mouth speaks. If our heart is filled with ‘good treasure’, then good will come from our mouth. Our tongue will be bridled. If on the other hand our heart is filled with ‘evil treasure’, then our mouth will bring forth evil. j). So, how are we to be filled with ‘good treasure’? – We have already seen it as we studied Proverbs 3 last time – Col 2:2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And do we remember how wisdom is described in Proverbs 3? – Pr 3:13 Happy [blessed] is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding; 14 For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. And it is the good treasure and evil treasure of the heart and their connection with ‘wisdom’ that James then talks about as we continue in James Chapter 3 – Jas 3:13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. The ‘wise and understanding’ in v13 are those who will have found wisdom and gained understanding as seen in the verses from Proverbs 3. k). And those who are wise, and understanding will be doers of the Word and will have works done in ‘the meekness of wisdom’. l). The wise and understanding are contrasted with those who are not, who would be hearers of the Word only thereby deceiving themselves, who have ‘bitter envy and self-seeking’ in their hearts. m). And having set this contrast James then reveals the origins of that contained in the hearts of each group. Envy and self- seeking are shown to be ‘wisdom’ that has not been brought forth from above, but is ‘earthly’, coming solely from fleshly desire, the product of the sin nature encouraged and inspired by the demonic forces of darkness. And we are told that when this is present then ‘confusion and every evil thing are there’. There will be contention, disruption, strife, agitation, the complete absence of peace. n). Just as the works of the wise and understanding are demonstrated through works done in the meekness of wisdom so in contrast the ‘works’ of envy and self-seeking will focus completely on imposing a personal ‘religious’ worldview on others and will be manifest through what comes out of the mouth, whether the aggression of anger, the continuing clamor of contention and complaining, the daily drip of criticism and judgment, the flail of fault finding, or the slippery, silkiness of drawing disciples away. Jas 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. The wisdom that is from above is the diametric opposite of that which is earthly, sensual, demonic. We see that in its essence this wisdom is ‘pure’, it is undefiled and untainted in any way, as it is the wisdom of God and completely apart from self. It is also ‘peaceable’, producing tranquility instead of confusion. It is gentle rather than contentious and willing to yield in all humility – Php 2:1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. It is seen to be ‘full of mercy’, forgiveness, compassion, producing good fruits, the righteous acts of the saints. The wisdom from above never plays favorites and is always consistent. o). If this wisdom from above is the good treasure in our heart then this will be witnessed by what comes from our bridled tongue, because from the abundance of our heart our mouth will speak. And according to James 3:18 those who are wise, and understanding will sow the fruit of righteousness, that which comes out of their mouth, in peace as these are the ones who make peace – Mt 5: 5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. And here we will find our wholesome tongue, with the promise of being adopted as a firstborn son for those who possess one and theirs will be the tree of life because of it. p). But more on this next time – If the Lord is willing.