Morning Watch Monday 4/6 God s Selection, Our Destiny (3) Romans 10:4-21 Rom. 10:4-8 (4, 8) 4 For Christ is the 1 end of the law unto righteousness to everyone who believes. 5 For Moses writes concerning the righteousness which is out of the law: The man who does them shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness which is out of faith speaks in this way, Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into heaven? that is, to bring Christ down; 7 Or, Who will descend into the 1 abyss? that is, to bring Christ up from the dead. 8 But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of the faith which we proclaim, Matt. 5:17-18 17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish, but to 2 fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, Until heaven and earth pass away, one iota or one serif shall by no means pass away from the law until all come to pass. Rom. 8:3-4 3 For that which the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh, 4 That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit. 2 Cor. 5:21 21 Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Gal. 2:21 21 I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness is through law, then Christ has died for nothing. Gal. 3:21 21 Is then the law against the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given which was able to give life, righteousness would have indeed been of law. Phil. 3:4 4 Though I myself have something to be confident of in the flesh as well. If any other man thinks that he has confidence in the flesh, I more: 1 Pet. 2:24 24 Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree, in order that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose bruise you were healed. Footnotes Rom. 10:4 1 Christ came to fulfill the law (Matt. 5:17) that He might terminate the law and replace it (8:3-4). Thus, everyone who believes in Him receives God s righteousness, which is Christ Himself. 7 1 The Greek word is used in Luke 8:31 in reference to the dwelling place of the demons; in Rev. 9:1, 2, 11 to denote the place out of which the locusts, whose king is Apollyon (Antichrist), will come; in Rev. 11:7 and 17:8 to signify the place out of which the beast, the Antichrist, will ascend; and in Rev. 20:1, 3 to specify the place into which Satan will be cast and imprisoned during the millennium. The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, uses this word for deep in Gen. 1:2. Here, in this verse, it points to the place Christ visited after His death and before His resurrection, which place, according to Acts 2:24, 27, is Hades; for Acts 2:24, 27 reveals that Christ went into Hades after He died, and rose from that place in His resurrection. Hence, according to biblical usage, the word abyss always refers to the region of death and of Satan s power of darkness, which is the lower parts of the earth (Eph. 4:9), into which Christ descended after His death, which He conquered, and from which He ascended in His resurrection. Matt. 5:17 2 Here for Christ to fulfill the law means (1) that, on the positive side, He kept the law, (2) that, on the negative side, through His substitutionary death on the cross He fulfilled the requirement of the law, and (3) that in this section He complemented the old law with His new law, as repeatedly expressed by the word But I say to (or, tell) you (vv. 22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44). Christ s keeping of the law qualified Him to fulfill the requirement of the law through His substitutionary death on the cross. Christ s fulfilling of the requirement of the law through His substitutionary death on the cross brought in the resurrection life to complement the law, to fill the law to the full. The old law, the lower law, with the demand that it be kept and the requirement that man be punished, is over. The kingdom people, as the children of the Father, now need to fulfill only the new law, the higher law, by the resurrection life, which is the eternal life of the Father. The old law was given through Moses, whereas the new law was decreed by Christ personally. Concerning the law there are two aspects: the commandments of the law and the principle of the law. The commandments of the law were fulfilled and complemented by the Lord s coming, whereas the principle of the law was replaced by the principle of faith according to God s New Testament economy. Romans 10:4 says, For Christ is the end of the law unto righteousness to everyone who believes. Christ is the end of the law. This means that He has completed and terminated the law. He came to fulfill the law (Matt. 5:17). By fulfilling the law He ended and terminated the law. The result of Christ s terminating the law is that God s righteousness is given to everyone who believes in Christ. When He died on the cross, Christ completed and terminated the law. The law ended in Him. Since the law was terminated on the cross of Christ, we should be under it no longer. We may simply receive God s righteousness by believing in Christ. The Jews treasured the law and tried to keep it that they might establish their own righteousness before God. They did not see that the law had been fully completed and terminated by Christ. If they had seen this, they would have stopped their attempts to keep the law. They would never again
Morning Watch Monday 4/6 Continued... have tried to establish their own righteousness before God, but would have taken Christ as their righteousness. The principle is the same with a great many Christians today. After being saved, they make up their minds to do good to please God. As a result, they spontaneously make regulations for themselves, regulations which may be considered as their self-made laws, and they endeavor to fulfill them in order that they may be pleasing to God. Like the Jews, they do not see that Christ is the end, the termination of all regulations and that they should take Him as their life that they may live righteously before God. Furthermore, they need to see that the genuine righteousness before God is Christ, the One who has terminated the law that He might be the living righteousness to everyone who believes in Him. Romans 10 unfolds so much of Christ that we may know how to participate in and enjoy Him as our real and living righteousness before God. We need to read verses 5 through 7. For Moses writes that the man who does the righteousness which is out of the law shall live in it. But the righteousness which is out of faith speaks in this way, Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into heaven? That is, to bring Christ down. Or, Who will descend into the abyss? That is, to bring Christ up from among the dead. Paul s writing is very deep. Apparently these verses do not mention the incarnation and resurrection of Christ; actually both are included in this portion. Although Paul did not use the words incarnation and resurrection, he nevertheless had both of them in mind when he wrote this part of Romans. Paul quotes Deuteronomy 30:12 saying, Do not say in your hearts, Who will ascend into heaven? He then points out that this means to bring Christ down and that this refers to Christ s incarnation for Christ came down from the heavens in His incarnation. Furthermore, Paul says that we should not ask, Who will descend into the abyss? To descend into the abyss means to bring Christ up from among the dead, and this refers to Christ s resurrection. To descend into the abyss means to die and to enter into hades. When Christ died He descended into the abyss, and in resurrection He was brought up from among the dead, that is, out of the abyss. Christ is the One who has passed through incarnation and resurrection. Therefore, we may say that He is the processed Christ, Christ incarnated and resurrected. Christ has passed through a long process from incarnation through resurrection. In this process He accomplished everything that is required by God s righteousness, holiness, and glory and all that is needed to enable us to partake of Him. He was God incarnated to be a man, and, as a man, He was transfigured through resurrection into the lifegiving Spirit (1. Cor. 15:45). Now in resurrection as the life-giving Spirit He is so available to us that we may receive Him and take Him in at any time and in any place. We need to say a word about the abyss mentioned in verse 7. In Greek the word rendered as abyss is abyssos. This word is used in Luke 8:31 (translated deep in KJV) referring to the dwelling place of the demons. It also occurs in Revelation 9:1, 2, 11 (always translated bottomless pit by KJV in Revelation) denoting the place out of which the locusts, whose king is Apollyon, will come; in Revelation 11:7 and 17:8 signifying the place out of which the beast which is the antichrist will ascend; and in Revelation 20:1, 3 specifying the place into which Satan will be cast and imprisoned during the millennium. The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, uses this word for the word deep in Genesis 1:2. Here in Romans 10:7 it points to the place Christ visited after His death and before His resurrection, which place, according to Acts 2:24, 27, is hades. For Acts 2:24, 27 reveals that Christ went into hades after He died and rose from that place in His resurrection. So, according to biblical usage, the word abyss always refers to the region of death and of Satan s power of darkness into which Christ after His death descended as into the lower parts of the earth (Eph. 4:9), which He conquered, and from which He ascended in His resurrection. Please pay attention to what Paul says in verse 8. But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart: that is, the word of the faith which we preach. The resurrected Christ as the living Word is near us, in our mouth and in our heart. In this verse Paul suddenly uses the term the Word interchangeably for Christ, indicating thereby that this Word undoubtedly is Christ Himself. Christ in resurrection as the life-giving Spirit is the living Word. This corresponds to the New Testament revelation that the Word is the Spirit. If you read Ephesians 6:18 in the Greek, you will discover that the Spirit is the Word. Hence, Christ in His resurrection is both the Spirit and the Word. He is the Spirit for us to touch and He is the Word for us to understand. We may receive Him as both the Spirit and the Word. The resurrected Christ as the life-giving Spirit is the living Word that is so near to us. He is in our mouth and in our heart. Our mouth is for calling, and our heart is for believing. Thus, we can call upon Him with our mouth and believe in Him with our heart. When we call on Him we are saved; when we believe in Him we are justified. After being processed through incarnation and resurrection, Christ today is both the Lord sitting on the throne of God in heaven and the life-giving Spirit moving on the earth. Thus, He is near and available to us. He is so near that He is even in our mouth and in our heart. No one can be nearer than this. He is so available that whoever believes in Him with his heart and calls on Him with his mouth will partake of Him. He has accomplished everything and He has passed through every process. He is now moving on earth, ready for and available to anyone who will receive Him. LS Romans Message 23 God s Selection, Our Destiny (3) pg. 267-270 (V. Through Christ; A. Christ, the End of the Law; B. Christ, Incarnated and Resurrected [paragraphs 1-3]; C. Christ, Near You) Living Stream Ministry, 1984, used by permission
Morning Watch Tuesday 4/7 Rom. 10:9-10 9 That if you confess with your 1 mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God has 2 raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 For with the heart there is believing unto righteousness, and 1 with the mouth there is confession unto salvation. Rom. 9:21-24 21 Or does not the potter have authority over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? 22 And what if God, wishing to demonstrate His wrath and make His power known, endured with much long-suffering vessels of wrath fitted for destruction, 23 In order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory, 24 Even us, whom He has also called, not only from among the Jews but also from among the Gentiles? Psa. 81:10 10 I am Jehovah your God, Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. Acts 2:21 21 And it shall be that everyone who 1 calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 1 Cor. 1:2 2 To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, the called saints, with all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, who is theirs and ours: Footnotes Rom. 10:9 1 Christ needs our participation in Him. Since we have been made vessels to contain Him, we need to believe with our heart to receive Him, and to call on Him continually with our mouth to take Him in, thus allowing His riches to fill our empty vessel (9:21-23). 9 2 Christ s being raised from the dead was invisible; hence, it requires our believing. Moreover, although Christ s death has redeemed us, it is His life in resurrection alone that can save us. Therefore, only when we believe in the great miracle that God performed in Him in raising Him from the dead can we be both redeemed and saved. 10 1 To believe with the heart is toward God; to confess with the mouth is toward man. To believe with the heart is to believe in Christ, who was glorified and raised by God from the dead; to confess with the mouth is to confess that Jesus, who was despised and rejected by man, is Lord. Both are conditions for our being justified and saved. Acts 2:21 1 [paragraph 2] In the New Testament, calling on the name of the Lord was first mentioned by Peter, here, on the day of Pentecost, as the fulfillment of Joel s prophecy. This fulfillment is related to God s outpouring of the all-inclusive Spirit economically upon His chosen people that they may participate in His New Testament jubilee. Joel s prophecy and its fulfillment concerning God s New Testament jubilee have two aspects: on God s side, He poured out His Spirit in the ascension of the resurrected Christ; on our side, we call on the name of the ascended Lord, who has accomplished all, attained unto all, and obtained all. Calling on the Lord s name is vitally necessary in order for us, the believers in Christ, to participate in and enjoy the allinclusive Christ with all He has accomplished, attained, and obtained (1 Cor. 1:2). It is a major practice in God s New Testament economy that enables us to enjoy the processed Triune God for our full salvation (Rom. 10:10-13). The early believers practiced this everywhere (1 Cor. 1:2), and to the unbelievers, especially the persecutors, it became a popular sign of Christ s believers (9:14, 21). When Stephen suffered persecution, he practiced this (7:59), and his practice surely impressed Saul, one of his persecutors (7:58-60; 22:20). Later, the unbelieving Saul persecuted the callers (9:14, 21) by taking their calling as a sign. Immediately after Saul was caught by the Lord, Ananias, who brought Saul into the fellowship of the Body of Christ, charged him to be baptized, calling on the name of the Lord, to show others that he too had become such a caller. By his word to Timothy in 2 Tim. 2:22, Paul indicated that in the early days all the Lord s seekers practiced such calling. Undoubtedly, he was one who practiced this, since he charged his young co-worker Timothy to do this that Timothy might enjoy the Lord as he did. We need to read verses 9 through 13. That if you confess with your mouth, Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from among the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes unto righteousness and with the mouth man confesses unto salvation. For the scripture says, All who believe on Him shall not be put to shame. For there is no difference between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord of all is rich to all who call upon Him. For, Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Paul says that with the heart man believes unto
Morning Watch Tuesday 4/7 Continued... righteousness. Unto is an equivalent of a Greek preposition which, in many instances, means resulting in. Therefore the result of believing with the heart is righteousness, while the result of confessing with the mouth is salvation. If we want to be justified, that is, to have the righteousness of God, we must believe in the Lord Jesus. If we want to be saved, we need to confess the Lord Jesus, that is to call upon Him. In Romans 9:21, 23 we are told that under God s selection we, the called ones, have been made vessels of mercy unto honor and glory. However, we still must realize that such vessels by themselves are empty. Vessels need content. Although Romans 9 tells us that we are vessels, it does not give us the way to be filled. It is wonderful to be a vessel of mercy unto honor and glory, but it is pitiful to be empty. We need to be filled. The way to be filled is found in Romans 10. Every vessel has a mouth, an opening. If it has no mouth, it is not a vessel. Instruments such as hammers, knives, and axes have no mouths. However, we are vessels, and as vessels we have an opening our mouth. Do you know why you have a mouth? You were made with a mouth that you might be filled with the riches of Christ. Our mouth was made for calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. The Lord is so rich! He is rich to all who call upon Him. There is a verse in the Psalms which says, Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it (81:10). As empty vessels with a mouth we should open our mouth wide that we may be filled with the riches of the Lord. In order to be saved we need to call upon the name of the Lord. However, calling upon His name is not only for salvation; it is also the way in which we receive the riches of Christ. The Lord is rich to all who call upon Him. When we call upon Him, we participate in and enjoy His riches. Do you want to participate in and enjoy the riches of Christ? If you do, do not be silent; open your mouth and call upon Him. In recent years the Lord has revealed very much to us regarding this matter of calling on His name. Even as late as ten years ago we knew little about this. We thank the Lord that He has made us clear. We appreciate Romans 10, especially verse 12. For there is no difference between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord of all is rich to all who call upon Him. Verse 13 has been used a great deal in gospel preaching. But we also must use it with verse 12, not for gospel preaching, but for filling up all the empty vessels with the riches of the Godhead. If you will open your mouth wide and call upon the Lord, the riches of divinity will be your portion. Now, we have the way to fill the empty vessels. We have a mouth to call on Him that we may be filled with Him, and we have a heart to believe in Him and to retain Him. LS Romans Message 23 God s Selection, Our Destiny (3) pg. 270-272 (D. Christ, Believed in and Called Upon [paragraphs 1-3]) Living Stream Ministry, 1984, used by permission
Morning Watch Wednesday 4/8 Rom. 10:11-13 11 For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on Him shall not be put to shame. 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all and 1 rich to all who call upon Him; 13 For whoever 1 calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Eph. 3:8 8 To me, less than the least of all saints, was this grace given to announce to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ as the gospel 2 Tim. 2:21-22 21 If therefore anyone cleanses himself from these, he will be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, useful to the master, prepared unto every good work. 22 But flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Psa. 116:12-13 12 What shall I return to Jehovah For all His benefits toward me? 13 I will take up the cup of salvation And call upon the name of Jehovah. Isa. 55:1, 6 1 Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, And you who have no money; Come, buy and eat; Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. 6 Seek Jehovah while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Footnotes Rom. 10:12 1 This shows that God selects us, redeems us, justifies us, sanctifies us, conforms us, and glorifies us in Christ in order that we may enjoy His unsearchable riches in Christ (Eph. 3:8). The secret to this enjoyment is to call on His name. 13 1 Calling on the name of the Lord is the secret not only to our salvation but also to our enjoyment of the Lord s riches. Beginning with Enosh, the third generation of mankind, and continuing all the way down to the New Testament believers, God s chosen and redeemed ones enjoyed Christ s redemption and salvation and all His riches by means of this secret (see note 21 1 in Acts 2). The Bible reveals clearly that calling on the Lord is the way to partake of and enjoy the Lord. Deuteronomy 4:7 (ASV) says that the Lord is nigh unto us whenever we call upon Him. Psalm 145:18 says, the Lord is nigh to all them that call upon Him. Psalm 18:6 and 118:5 say that David called upon the Lord in his distress. In Psalm 50:15 the Lord asks us to call upon Him in the day of trouble, and in Psalm 86:7 David did it accordingly. Psalm 81:7 says that the children of Israel did the same thing (Exo. 2:23) and that the Lord told them, Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it (v. 10). Psalm 86:5 says that the Lord is good, ready to forgive, and is plenteous in mercy to all that call upon Him. Psalm 116:3-4 says, The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the Lord. Verse 13 of the same Psalm says, I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. In order to take the cup of salvation, that is, to participate and enjoy the Lord s salvation, we need to call upon the name of the Lord. Isaiah 12:2-6 tells us that the Lord is our salvation, our strength and our song, and that we can draw water out of the wells of His salvation with joy. The way to draw water out of the wells of the Lord s salvation, that is, to enjoy the Lord as our salvation, is to praise Him, to call upon His name, to sing unto Him, and even to cry out and shout. In Isaiah 55:1-6 we find God s wonderful calling to the people. He calls the thirsty ones to come to the waters, to enjoy the riches of the Lord s provision, such as wine, milk, and good food, and to delight themselves in fatness. The way to do this is to seek the Lord and to call upon him while he is near. Isaiah 64:7 shows us that by calling upon the Lord we can stir up ourselves to take hold of Him. Lamentations 3:55-57 makes it clear that when we call upon the Lord He draws near to us and that our calling upon Him is our breathing, our cry. By this we can realize that to call upon the Lord is not only to cry to Him, but also to experience a spiritual breathing (Exo. 2:23) in which we breathe out all that is within us, whether it be agony, pain, pressure, etc. Jeremiah did this when he called upon the Lord out of the low dungeon, that is, out of the lowest pit. Whenever we are in a spiritual dungeon or pit, under a certain suppression, we can call on the Lord, breathing out the heaviness within us, and thus be delivered from the lowest pit. This kind of calling on the Lord not only enables us to breathe out the negative things from within us, but also to breathe in the Lord Himself with all His riches as our strength, enjoyment, comfort, and rest. In this way we partake of the riches of the Lord. Hence, here in Romans 10:12 Paul tells us that the Lord is rich to all who call upon Him. Today in resurrection the Lord is ready and available for our participation in Him and He is rich for our enjoyment of Him. We simply need to call on Him all the time. Calling on Him, we partake of and enjoy all His riches. Calling on the Lord is different from merely praying to Him. The Greek word for call on or call upon means to invoke a person, to call a person by name. Although it is possible to pray to the Lord silently, calling on the Lord requires that we cry out to Him or address Him audibly. The Hebrew word for call in Genesis 4:26 firstly means to call out to or to cry unto. Isaiah 12:4 and 6 show that to call upon the Lord s name is to cry out and shout. Lamentations 3:55 and 56 reveal the same thing to call upon the Lord s name is to cry to the Lord. Hence, David said, I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God (2 Sam. 22:7). To call upon the Lord is to cry to Him. LS Romans Message 23 God s Selection, Our Destiny (3) pg. 272-274 (D. Christ, Believed in and Called Upon [paragraphs 4-6]) Living Stream Ministry, 1984, used by permission
Morning Watch Thursday 4/9 Rom. 10:13-15 13 See Wednesday 14 How then shall they call upon Him into whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe into Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without one who proclaims Him? 15 And how shall they proclaim Him unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the news of good things! Lam. 3:55-57 55 I called upon Your name, O Jehovah, From the lowest pit. 56 You have heard my voice; do not hide Your ear at my breathing, at my cry. 57 You drew near in the day that I called upon You; You said, Do not fear. Isa. 12:2-4 2 God is now my salvation; I will trust and not dread; For Jah Jehovah is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation. 3 Therefore you will draw water with rejoicing From the springs of salvation, 4 And you will say in that day, Give thanks to Jehovah; call upon His name! Make His deeds known among the peoples; Remind them that His name is exalted. Rom. 1:14-16 14 I am debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to foolish; 15 So, for my part, I am ready to announce the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one who believes, both to Jew first and to Greek. According to the Scripture record, this matter of calling on the name of the Lord began with the third generation of mankind. From the time of Enosh men began to call upon the name of the Lord (Gen. 4:26). Then Abraham (Gen. 12:8), Isaac (Gen. 26:25), Job (Job 12:4), Moses (Deut. 4:7), Jabez (1 Chron. 4:10), Samson (Judg. 16:28), Samuel (1 Sam. 12:18), David (2 Sam. 22:4; 1 Chron. 21:16), Jonah (Jonah 1:6), Elijah (1 Kings 18:24), Elisha (2 Kings 5:11), Jeremiah (Lam. 3:55) they all practiced this matter of calling on the name of the Lord. Moreover, in Joel 2:32, Zephaniah 3:9, and Zechariah 13:9 it is prophesied that people will call on the name of the Lord. On the day of Pentecost the New Testament believers also called on the name of the Lord to receive the outpoured Spirit as the fulfillment of Joel s prophecy (Acts 2:17-21). God poured out His Spirit, and the believers opened their mouths to receive the Spirit by calling on the name of the Lord. The Spirit has been poured out by God, but we have to receive Him. The way to receive Him is to open our mouths and call on the Lord. Hence, the New Testament believers, like Stephen (Acts 7:59), practiced this. By practicing this they made it known that they were followers of the Lord (Acts 9:14). When Paul was Saul, the persecutor of the church, he intended to arrest the believers, recognizing them by their calling on the name of the Lord. After he was converted, he was advised to wash away his sins (mainly his persecution of those who called on the Lord) by calling on the name of the Lord himself (Acts 22:16). Undoubtedly, this practice was common among the early saints. In addressing his first epistle to the church at Corinth Paul said, All that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Cor. 1:2). This indicates that all the early believers practiced this matter of calling. In his second epistle to Timothy, Paul charged him to pursue spiritual things with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart (2:22). So, we must practice it too. The Old Testament saints called on the Lord daily (Psa. 88:9) and throughout their entire life (Psa. 116:2). How about us? We should practice it more, calling on the Lord out of a pure heart (2 Tim. 2:22) and with a pure lip (Zeph. 3:9, Heb.). If we practice this, we will certainly partake of the Lord s riches and enjoy them. To call on the Lord is not only for salvation, but also for the enjoyment of the Lord with all His riches. First Corinthians opens with calling on the name of the Lord, revealing that it is a book of the enjoyment of the Lord. It tells us that Christ is our wisdom and power (1 Cor. 1:24) and that He has been made our righteousness, sanctification, redemption (1:30), and so many other items for our enjoyment. Eventually, in resurrection He became the life-giving Spirit of whom we may drink (1 Cor. 15:45; 12:13). The way to drink of Him as the life-giving Spirit is to call on His name. Thus, 1 Corinthians 12:3 indicates that if we say, Lord Jesus, we are immediately in the Spirit. To say, Lord Jesus is to call on the name of the Lord. Jesus is the name of the Lord, and the Spirit is His person. When we call on the name of the Lord, we get the person of the Lord. When we call, Lord Jesus, we get the Spirit. This kind of calling on the name of the Lord to receive the Spirit is not only spiritual breathing, but also spiritual drinking. When we call on the name of the Lord, we breathe Him in as the breath of life and we drink of Him as the water of life. The second stanza of hymn number seventy-three in our hymnal says, Blessed Jesus! Mighty Savior! In Thy Name is all I need; Just to breathe the Name of Jesus, Is to drink of Life indeed. This is the way for us to partake of and enjoy the Lord. We all need to do it. May the Lord bless us in this matter. May it be fully recovered in these days. LS Romans Message 23 God s Selection, Our Destiny (3) pg. 274-276 (D. Christ, Believed in and Called Upon [paragraphs 7-10]) Living Stream Ministry, 1984, used by permission
Morning Watch Friday 4/10 Rom. 10:16-21 (16-17, 20) 16 But not all have 1 obeyed the gospel, for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us? 17 So faith comes out of hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. 18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes surely: Their voice has gone out into all the earth and their words to the ends of the inhabited earth. 19 But I say, Did Israel not know this? First, Moses says, I will provoke you to jealousy by them who are not a nation; by a nation without understanding I will anger you. 20 And Isaiah is very bold and says, I was found by those who did not seek Me; I became manifest to those who did not ask for Me. 21 But with regard to Israel he says, All the day long I have stretched out My hands to a people who disobey and contradict. Rom. 16:26-27 26 But has now been manifested, and through the prophetic writings, according to the command of the eternal God, has been made known to all the Gentiles for the obedience of faith; 27 To the only wise God through Jesus Christ, to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. John 5:24 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, He who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment but has passed out of death into life. Gal. 3:2, 5 2 This only I wish to learn from you, Did you receive the Spirit out of the works of law or out of the hearing of faith? 5 He therefore who bountifully supplies to you the Spirit and does works of power among you, does He do it out of the works of law or out of the hearing of faith? Heb. 11:1, 6 1 Now faith is the substantiation of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 6 But without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to Him, for he who comes forward to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Footnotes Rom. 10:16 1 To our human feeling, obeying the gospel is deeper than believing the gospel. Before we believe the gospel, we are first subdued by the Holy Spirit so that we will obey the gospel. Those who do not obey the gospel may become enemies of God s gospel (11:28), enemies of God Himself. In verses 14 and 15 Paul says, How then shall they call upon Him in Whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of Whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without one who preaches? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who announce glad tidings of good things! Calling upon the Lord requires believing in Him, believing in Him requires the hearing of Him, and the hearing of Him requires the preaching of the glad tidings. If the gospel is to be preached, someone must be sent by God. Those who are sent by God preach the glad tidings that people may hear, believe, call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. After we have believed in the Lord and called upon Him we must also preach Him. Christ has been preached and heard throughout the whole earth. He has been preached by the sent ones and heard by both the Jews and the nations. Many of them have believed unto righteousness and have called unto salvation. In verses 16 through 21 we see Christ received and rejected. On the one hand Christ has been received by the nations, but on the other hand He has been rejected by Israel. Both chapters nine and ten of Romans cover one point the selection of God. God s selection is our destiny. This selection is of God who calls; it is of God s mercy and sovereignty; it is by the righteousness of faith, and it is through Christ. Of all the chapters in the book of Romans, chapter ten presents the most about Christ. In 10:4 Christ is called the end of the law. In no other chapter in the whole New Testament is Christ designated in such a way. Hence, Romans 10 gives us a very crucial title of Christ: the end of the law. This Christ was incarnated by coming down from heaven and was resurrected by coming up from the abyss. Having passed through this process, Christ, who is the end of the law, has become the living Word. He is near us, even in our mouth and in our heart. The two phrases in your mouth and in your heart imply that Christ is like the air. Only air can be in our mouth and in our heart. The resurrected Christ is the living Word, which is the Spirit; He is like the air, the breath, that we take into our being. All we need to do is exercise our mouth to breathe Him in, our heart to receive Him, and our spirit to retain Him. If we do this, we shall be saved and supplied with all His riches by calling on His name. We also need to preach Him. As we preach Him and people hear Him, some will believe and others will reject. Romans 10 presents an excellent description and definition of Christ for our participation. We not only have to believe in Him with our heart, but also call on Him with our mouth. We have to call on Him, not only for salvation, but also for the enjoyment of His riches. We were made vessels to contain Him; we were selected and predestinated to be His containers. This requires our cooperation in receiving Him and taking Him in. In order to do this we need to open ourselves from the depths of our being and call upon Him with our mouth from deep within our spirit. Thus, in chapter nine we have the vessels and in chapter ten we are given the way to have the vessels filled with the riches of Christ. This is the economy of God s selection, the purpose of His heart s desire. LS Romans Message 23 God s Selection, Our Destiny (3) pg. 276-277 (E. Christ, Preached and Heard; F. Christ, Received and Rejected) Living Stream Ministry, 1984, used by permission
Saturday 4/11 Rom. 10:4-21(4, 8-17); Matt. 5:17-18; Rom. 9:21-24; 2 Tim. 2:21-22; Rom. 1:14-16 Lord s Day 4/12 Heb. 11:1-10 1 Now faith is the substantiation of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For in this the elders have obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not come into being out of things which appear. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying to his gifts; and through faith, though he has died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was translated so that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had translated him. For before his translation he obtained the testimony that he had been well pleasing to God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to Him, for he who comes forward to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 7 By faith Noah, having been divinely instructed concerning things not yet seen and being moved by pious fear, prepared an ark for the salvation of his house, through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. 8 By faith Abraham, being called, obeyed to go out unto a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt as a foreigner in the land of promise as in a foreign land, making his home in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the fellow heirs of the same promise; 10 For he eagerly waited for the city which has the foundations, whose Architect and Builder is God.