At
the end of my previous post K190, I said that many people know how to
put on their Sunday best; but they do not know how to put on God's best.
Jesus said that it could be a serious matter if we do not know what to
put on (or how to put on our wedding garment) when we face the King of
the universe too (Mat 22:11-12). I have explained 'What is the wedding
garment' in K190. But I want to discuss further on this garment today.
What is this garment that is the garment of glory or salvation in God's presence?
Of
course, we rule out the physical garments or beautiful garments that we
have in our wardrobes. But, is it our garment of praise, or the garment
of grace, the garment of joy and gladness, the garment of positive
thinking and good opinion on God and on all the blessings of God, or the
inner garment of our minds? Of course, we can think of all the good
things of God and say that they are the garments. But it is good to go
back to the origin of all our garments in the days of God's creation and
find out what Adam and Eve wore in the garden of Eden. Did Adam and Eve
originally wear tree skins and leaves? No, they were not covered by
tree skins or tree trunks, but they were not naked. They were covered by
the 'garment' of God (or the command of God which protected them). It
was beautiful and glorious beyond all our words or descriptions. But do
they still have that garment today? No. It is sad to know that that they
have lost it because of their disobedience or lawlessness. The
day that they departed from the command of God was the day when the
glory of God departed from them. However,
1. many believers still prefer to say that they have lost it because of their ignorance or their 'weakness' for food; not because of their sins
2. many hyper grace preachers, however, prefer to say that it is because of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree of the law, or God's laws.
What is the real cause that made us lost our 'garment'?
I
will ask the preachers, If your earthly father asked you not to do
'something' and you did it, do you say that it was only your ignorance.
No, it was your rebellion or disobedience. Do you turn around and tell
your father that the 'something' which he asked you to do was the real
culprit of your disobedience? No, if you had disobeyed, please don't try
to twist and turn to say that something else has caused you to disobey.
Similarly, today Jesus would still want the sinners to just humbly
accept and confess their disobedience to God. If we humbly confess our
disobedience to God, we would humbly return to God. If we humbly return
to God and God's command (or return like the prodigal son), we will find
our 'garment' back. This explains why the Lord's parable showed us that
the King would still want us to wear the 'garment'. This will also
explain that body nakedness is not an eye sore to God; but spiritual
nakedness, lawlessness, disobedience, or shifting of the blame is.
Today
many preachers know how to preach popular, anointed, or positive
messages without any preaching against sins. They preach, "There is
nothing wrong with God, nothing wrong with His words, and NOTHING WRONG
WITH YOU TOO." Indirectly or deceitfully, they are preaching that men
should not blame themselves for any wrongdoings including their own
sins. Hence, the people who listen to them day and night can never truly
confess their sins to God and repent. Yes, they will 'repent' because
they want to change their minds only. They just want to believe. They
may have their 'feet' washed daily by the words of Jesus, but they are
never clean within. They may keep putting on the garment of God but they
are still naked. They are still an eye sore to God spiritually:
Joh
13:10 KJV Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to
wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
Rev
3:17-18 KJV Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods,
and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: (18) I counsel thee to buy
of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white
raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy
nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou
mayest see.
God has simple plan to restore our garment
However,
the plan was so simple that the Israelites still missed it. In the
first covenant, God gave the Israelites His laws and commandments to
obey Him AGAIN (after the whole world were lost in disobedience and
lawlessness since Adam's fall). Many think that the first command that
God gave to the lost world were the Ten Commandments and the law of
Moses. However, the first command that God gave to men was His command
to Abraham. Hence, all those who simply believed and obeyed like Abraham
would be considered as 'clothed' by the righteousness of God. In
another words, when God spoke or commanded, men who obeyed like Abraham
and obeyed with faith would be justified and would find their 'garment'
again. But .. .. sadly, this plan was made complicated by the Pharisees
and the scribes who did not really believe or obey God's commandments.
They would only want to 'use' God's commandments.
But the devil and the Pharisees would corrupt God's plan and stop us from finding our 'garments' back
Because
of them, God's simple commandments were multiplied to become so
numerous, complicated, and religious, that the people could not follow
the law of God any more.
Mar 7:6-8 KJV He answered and said unto
them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written,
This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from
me. (7) Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men. (8) For laying aside the commandment of God, ye
hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many
other such like things ye do.
Anyway God had foreseen this problem
i.e. When His laws became more and more, it would become more difficult
for the people to truly obey Him and find their 'garment' back. Hence,
in God's wisdom, Jesus would instead summarize and simplify God's
commandments (Mat 22:35-40). He knew the strategy of the devil: When the
devil knows that he cannot remove God's law or commandment, he would
multiply, complicate, or corrupt it. Obviously, the devil was very
unhappy when Jesus said:
Mat 22:40 KJV On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
It
means that the people can now SIMPLY obey God and the rebellious cannot
find any excuse to reject God's commandments and the law and the
prophets of God. The reply of Jesus probably had silent the lawyer who
planned to argue with Jesus about the many commandments which they must
obey under the law (or their 'law'). Today many preachers, 'lawyers',
and false prophets may still want to test us and say, "If they are so
many God's commandments in the Ten Commandments and none of us can obey
all of them, why do we still keep them?" I will tell them, Do you think
that you will obey God's commandments only if there is less commandment
or only if it is just a commandment to obey God? Jesus will still tell
you that there are not many commandments - only two. But you must still
'love your neighbour as thyself' (Luk 10:36-37) which includes honouring
thy parents too:
Mar 7:10-11 KJV For Moses said, Honour thy father
and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the
death: (11) But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It
is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be
profited by me; he shall be free.
Eph 6:2-3 KJV Honour thy father
and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) (3) That it
may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
Jesus did not just cleanse us; He gave us new garments too
But
the rebellious will still argue, "No, Jesus did not come to restore
God's laws as our 'garment'; he came just to cleanse us with His blood.
When we are cleansed, we don't need any garment. We are nakedly clean
and we are more accepted by God under grace. God would never be angry
with us because of our lawlessness or nakedness. He will always smile at
us - this is the new covenant. We are totally justified apart from the
law or commandments of God."
I will tell them, What are you trying to
say? I thought you agreed that there are two cleansing? I have
explained in K114 that we are first cleansed by the blood of Jesus, and
then continuously cleansed by the washing of His words (including
washing by His laws). Hence, the second cleansing is a covering or
'garment' which continuously keep us clean. I have explained in K114
that, if we have only the first cleansing, we have no part with Him; but
if we have only the second cleansing, we are not saved too. Hence,
Jesus showed Peter clearly that a true disciple must be clean (or
cleansed) by both cleansing:
1. the first cleansing is known as cleansing from sins unto salvation
2. the second cleansing is cleansing from sins unto sanctification:
Joh 13:8-10 KJV Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
(9) Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my
hands and my head. (10) Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth
not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean,
but not all.
2Ti 2:21-22 KJV If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified,
and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
(22) Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith,
charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Eph 5:26-27 KJV That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, (27) That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
We have a part to play in keeping our garments clean too
Hence, there is a certain 'garment' which God would give to us and He wants us to wear it before we meet Him, whether we are:
1. the believers who will meet Him as His guest with the 'wedding garment', or
2. the church who will meet Him as the bride with the spotless garment
Rev
3:3-6 KJV Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and
hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on
thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon
thee. (4) Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. (5) He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment;
and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will
confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. (6) He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Rev
16:14-15 KJV For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles,
which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to
gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. (15)
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Hence,
in the last days, we don't need bullet proof clothings or supernatural
garments which makes us invulnerable; we need spotless garment. And we
should not take it for granted or make foolish assumption that it is
given to everyone who will just do nothing.
We don't just put on the law of God with our mouth only
Many
boastful and lawless preachers will argue, "We believe in the law of
God. We meditate on the law of God day and night. We had preached Psalm
1:1-3. We have high regard for the law of God too. We had preached
Joshua 1:8. Please stop saying that we are lawless. Even if we are
lawless, God would still forgive us all our lawlessness (Heb 8:10,
10:16). Who are you to condemn us? You do not have the right to condemn
our lawlessness .. "
I will tell them, I am the voice that is in your
conscience. Can you imagine, What if it is the voice of God? Can you
withstand it?
If we believe in the law of God, mediate on His laws,
have high regard for His laws, or put on His laws, it does not mean that
we have the law of God in our hearts. If we do not do the law of God,
but always wear the law of God at 'the corner of our mouth', we do not
have the law of God. It is the wrong way to 'wear' the law of God. The
right way is to stop preaching evasive lawless doctrine and stop
confessing like the lukewarm believers.
We don't just put on the law of God like the confession of grace
Many
preachers today are still preaching evasively and radically that we
should just meditate and confess the law of God like the Pharisees or
like those who confess grace. I will tell them, Yes, we could do nothing
if we would just confess grace, but if we would really want to put on
the armour of light (Rom 13:12) or the garment of God, we do not just
confess it.
We do not need to teach the true believers to know
how to put on the law or the garment of God; but for those who are
ignorant or blinded by their lawlessness, I will tell them how to put on
the law of God:
Rom 13:9-14 KJV For this, Thou shalt not commit
adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear
false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other
commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (10) Love worketh no ill to his
neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (11) And that,
knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for
now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. (12) The night is
far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of
darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. (13) Let us
walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in
chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. (14) But put ye
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to
fulfil the lusts thereof.
Eph 4:23-32 KJV And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; (24) And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. (25) Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. (26) Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: (27) Neither give place to the devil. (28) Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour,
working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to
give to him that needeth. (29) Let no corrupt communication proceed
out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that
it may minister grace unto the hearers. (30) And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption ..
Col
3:5-16 KJV Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth;
fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and
covetousness, which is idolatry: (6) For which things' sake the wrath
of God cometh on the children of disobedience: (7) In the which ye
also walked some time, when ye lived in them. (8) But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. (9) Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; (10) And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: .. .. (12) Put on
therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies,
kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; (13) Forbearing
one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel
against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. (14) And above all these things put on charity,
which is the bond of perfectness. (15) And let the peace of God rule
in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye
thankful. (16) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all
wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Somebody said, If you do not know how what to put off, you do not know how to put on too. I think, There is some truth in it.
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