"Two" has a double meaning, such as man
and woman united in Holy
Matrimony and becoming One, speaking of union or unity. Number
Two speaks of difference, for good or for evil. Number 2 mentioned
over 800 times in the Bible. Lets begin with God and look at at the
following contrasts. God---devil; Righteousness---Unrighteousness;
Good---evil; True--false; Life---death; Love---hate;
Light---darkness;
Time--eternity; Law---Grace; Faith---works; Friend--enemy; Day---
night; Heaven---hell; Saved---lost; Concerned--unconcerned,
etc. You can find many contrasts in Proverbs chapters 11-15, et al.
Let us look at Isaiah 5:20, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and
good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that
put
bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" We can just look around and
see
this happening every day. No one can ever change right into wrong or
wrong into right, no matter what is taught today. Romans 5:19, "For
as
by one man's disobedience (Adam's) many were made sinners, so by
the obedience of one (Christ) shall many be made righteous." Also we
read in Philippians 2:8 about the willingness of Jesus to die for us
on the
cross and pay our sin debt, a debt He did not owe, and a debt we
could
not pay. "And being found in fashion as a man, He (Christ) humbled
Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross.
"No man can serve two masters;---"according to the words of Jesus in
Matthew 6:24. And there is the solid foundation and sandy
foundation.
These are described in Matthew chapter 7 verses 24-27. The solid
foundation is the only sufficient one. Christ is that foundation, He
is the
Rock we must build upon, by believing His precious Word and trusting
in Him."---The Foundation of God standeth sure.." (2 Tim. 2:19).
I Cor. 3:11, "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid,
which
is Jesus Christ." The Bible also speaks of the double minded man,
James
1:8, "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways," This kind of
a
person is unreliable, he cannot be trusted.
Study of Number 3
That which is solid, real,
complete, entire and substantial. The perfectly complete
TRINITY consisting of the FATHER, SON and HOLY SPIRIT. They are
the
complete GODHEAD, (One God, in three persons). Three of God's
Attributes:
Omniscience (ALL WISE), Omnipresence (PRESENT EVERYWHERE),
Omnipotence (ALL-POWERFUL). God knows everything, and is present
everywhere at the same time and is Almighty (having absolute
power). There are
three divisions completing time: Past, Present, and Future. The
complete sum of
human capability: Thought, word, and deed. Three kingdoms embrace
our ideas
of matter: Mineral, vegetable, and animal. Three denotes Divine
Perfection as seen
in the Trinity. Three, the Divine completeness of The Shepherd's
care; JESUS is the
GOOD SHEPHERD in death (John 10:4), Ps. 22; The GREAT SHEPHERD in
life,
Ps. 23; And the CHIEF SHEPHERD in HIS sure RETURN, Ps. 24. God is
Love,
(I John 4:8-16)---Walk in Love (Eph. 5:2). God is Spirit, (John
4:24)---Walk in the
Spirit (Gal. 5:16). God is Light, (I John 1:5) Walk in the Light
(Eph. 5:8). Three gifts
of Grace---Faith, Hope, Love. Three-fold nature of man; Body,
Soul, and spirit.
Three-fold nature of sin; Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life. The
three hours as Christ hung on the cross, testifies to our complete
ruin, and our
complete salvation, and also shows that His children are complete
in Him.
Three-fold corruption of God's Holy Word; By taking from, Adding
to, and Altering
(Gen. chapters 2 & 3), Eve omitted the word "freely" and added,
"Neither shall ye
touch it", also altered the words, "ye shall surely die", to "lest
ye die." Omitting,
adding and altering God's Precious Word has been going on ever
since. Men are
doing it today via the many different versions, omitting many
words and verses that
are in the KJV. The Bible is "The God Breathed Book." My advice is
to check out
different versions with the King James. As the saying goes, "If it
ain't broke... don't
fix it. "Man's three greatest enemies; The World, The Flesh, and
the devil. I refuse to
even capitalize the devil's name. Baptism: In the name of the
Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost, (Matthew 28:19-20). In Rev. 4:8, the four beasts saying
unto the Lord,
"HOLY, holy, holy,--- Lord God Almighty which was, and is and is
to come." In
verse 9 they give Glory, honor, and Thanks. And in vs. 11 the four
and twenty
elders said, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor
and power: for
Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and
were created." God
will make a new creature (person) out of all who will trust the
Wonderful and Only
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. This also is for His pleasure,
glory and honor. In
Isaiah 6:3, the seraphims cried, "And one cried unto another, and
said, Holy, holy,
holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory."
Study of Number Four
Four denotes God's creative
works---Gen 1:1, "In the beginning
God created the heaven and the earth."
Four has reference to all that
is created. Four is the number of
material completeness. Four is the number of the great elements;
Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Four are the regions of the earth;
North, South, East, and West. Four are the divisions of the day;
Morning, Noon, Evening, and midnight. Four seasons of the year;
Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Four divisions of mankind;
Land, tongues, Families, and Nations. In the parable of the
sower
in Matthew 13, four kinds of soil, Wayside, Stony Ground, The
Thorns, and Good Ground. The Prodigal son's welcome (Luke 15),
Three things material and one moral, The Robe, The Ring, The
Shoes,
and the Kiss. Four "children" of the Book of Daniel; Daniel
alone and
then Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego together. The brazen altar
which displayed the Divine Judgment was Four Sided, and had four
horns, one on each corner. Brass speaks of judgment and the
sacrifice
offered on the altar pointed to Calvary, the Lord Jesus as He
was
judged in our place. The blood that was shed at the altar
pointed to
the shed blood of Jesus as He atoned for our sins. Paul speaks
of
suffering in 2 Cor. 4:8-9: They are four-fold; Troubled, but not
distressed. Perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not
forsaken.
Cast Down, but not destroyed. Now, lets go to the PRINCE OF
PEACE: Prince denotes Founder, Author, Ruler, etc. The Lord
Jesus
Christ is the Author of Peace--(I Cor. 14:33). He is the Lord of
Peace,
II Thess. 3:16). He is the God of Peace----(Rom. 15:33 & Phil.
4:9).
He is our Peace----(Eph. 2:14). Colossians 1:20, "And having
made
peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all
things unto
Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or
things in
heaven. "Romans 5:1, "Therefore being justified by faith, we
have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. "Ephesians 2:14, "For He
is
our peace, who hath made both (Jew and Gentile) one, and hath
broken
down the middle wall of partition between us;" The Church is One
Body
of true born again believers in Christ. Many are the assemblies
of true
believers in Christ, but only one true Church, purchased with
the blood
of Christ according to Acts 20:28. Also we find in I Cor.
12:12-13,
"For as the body is one, and hath any members, and all the
members of
one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by
one Spirit
are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or
Gentiles,
whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into
one
Spirit." The Body is the Church and Christ is the Head, (Eph.
5:23).
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"There is a name I love to hear, I love to sing its worth;
It sound like music in mine ear, The sweetest name on earth.
It tells me of a Savior's love, who died to set me free;
It tells me of His precious blood, the sinner's perfect plea."
----F. Whitfield
Study of Number Five
Number Five is the number of
Grace---Five letters, G-Great,
R-Redemption A-At, C-Christ's, E-Expense, or Great Riches at
Christ's Expense. Three Persons of the God-head, and their
manifestation in creation. Redemption follows creation. Man
and
creation must be redeemed. Thus we have; 1. Father, 2. Son,
3. Holy Spirit, 4. Creation, 5. Redemption. The Five Books of
the
Bible are called the Books of Moses, and they reveal the
Wonderful,
Marvelous, and Amazing Grace of God.
Grace is the unmerited favor of God to man, demonstrated in
the
greatest way, I believe, as Jesus suffered, bled and died on
the cross
with our sins upon Himself. He certainly paid our sin debt in
full. But
before anyone is benefited by His payment for our sins we must
accept His payment. We accept His payment by accepting His
finished work on calvary, trusting Jesus as our personal
Savior. Grace
means favor: Favor shown to the miserable we call Mercy. Favor
shown to the poor we call pity. Favor shown to the suffering
we call
compassion. Favor shown to the obstinate (stubborn) we call
patience.
Favor to the unworthy we call Grace. John 3:14-15 can be
divided into
Five parts;
1. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness;
2. even so must the Son of man be lifted up;
3. That whosoever believeth in Him;
4. should not perish;
5. but have everlasting life. Also John 3:16;
1. For God so loved the world;
2. that He gave His only begotten Son;
3. that whosoever believeth in Him;
4. should not perish;
5. but have everlasting life.
The Ministry gifts of Christ
to His body (Church); 1. Apostles; 2. Prophets;
3. Evangelists; 4. Pastors; 5. Teachers; for the perfecting of
the saints, for
the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body (The
Church),
see Eph. 4:11-12. When we look at the five fingers on each
hand and the
five toes on each foot they should remind us of God's Grace.
Five senses of
God's Grace: 1. The virgin birth of Christ; 2. The deity of
Christ; 3. His
sinless life; 4. His sacrificial death; 5. His bodily
resurrection. According to
Romans 4:25, Jesus was delivered for our offenses, and was
raised again for
our justification. Rom. 5:1, "Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:" All who trust Him
100% for
salvation will receive peace with God and everlasting life.
Evangelist R. E. Layne
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