Seeking the Commandments to Live
Peter and Rohnel, to the scattered pilgrims of Christ in the world, to the little children, and to the faithful: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are reminded by the Scriptures to diligently pursue God’s commandments that our flesh does not esteem, even after we receive the Gospel. A willing Spirit has to contend with weak flesh that is set at enmity with the holy things of the Lord. We are being transformed, a new heaven and earth are being made as the old is destroyed. Let’s therefore patiently hearken unto the Lord and seek to hasten the completion of His good work in us.
Deu 4:1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.
Deu 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
The carnal mind of mankind does not esteem Jesus Christ. I speak of the true Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God, who is also the Spirit of God’s Commandments, and not the Jesus Christ whom much of the world knows and esteems. The Words of the Father are His Holy Commandments and are sent in the appointed time to save us from our sins. The Father sent Christ, the Word of God, into the world to speak the commandments and save the world from their sins. This Christ is the Saviour.
Joh 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
The first man, Adam, in every man is a marred vessel that is at enmity with the Spirit of God, which is the Commandments. Thus, a new vessel needs to be made in the hands of the Potter.
Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
A blessed few, the Elect, see this transformation now in this age and never taste of death, which is the sleep Paul cites in explaining the mystery of the coming of the Lord for salvation.
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
All things are being made new and are being changed when the Lord comes to dwell within us. Our understanding of Christ has also changed. When our appointed time of salvation arrives, the Lord comes to us in Spirit and in Truth. We now have a new Jesus, the Truth, the Living Word of God, whom we worship in Spirit. When the Promise of our Baptism in Christ comes, the Christ we knew in the flesh we no longer know, as all things are becoming new.
2Co 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Understanding Christ as the Commandments that come to dwell in us is receiving the Gospel and how we prepare for His coming. The hidden mystery, concealed from all generations, is being revealed to the saints.
Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
We only see and receive this Gospel by the mercy of God, who draws us near and opens our eyes and ears to see the Son as the Living Commandments. No man comes to Christ on their own or chooses to follow Him. Our eyes are opened to see the Son as the Commandments, and we are given faith to believe in them, and thus we are being raised into eternal life.
Joh 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
Joh 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me drag [draw] him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
It is a battle to learn to esteem Jesus Christ, the living Word. All flesh esteems Him not, meaning we esteem not the Commandments. All mankind, even those who claim His name and profess faith [us in our former ignorance], show little respect, actually disdain for the Commandments. There is nothing about them that we innately desire, as all flesh is set naturally at enmity with the things of the Spirit. Many give lip service to Christ, but our hearts remain far from seeking to love God by obeying the Commandments. We cannot believe the report of the Gospel and await a time when we are drawn to Christ and given the gift of His faith.
Isa 53:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
Isa 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Esteeming the Other Jesus
When our spiritual journey begins, we first come to know the other Jesus. The flesh Jesus, unlike the living Word, is esteemed and admired by many millions worldwide and is often spoken of, praised, and sung about. We wander in the wilderness for many years, believing this Christ is the true light from heaven, making little progress towards salvation. We abide in a light that is actually darkness, which is also referred to as strong delusion.
Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
The deadly wound our beast receives when first coming to know Christ is quickly healed, and we remain a beast being deceived and deceiving.
Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
When this is our Jesus, judgment is always out there in the future, and our emphasis is on outward rather than on the inward, as we naturally seek the esteem of men above the Lord.
Mat 23:5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments
In the journey to salvation, we go astray from the Commandments being taught by false prophets and deceivers who teach us everything but the true Gospel. We esteem not the holy things of the Lord, His Commandments, and show disdain for them by wallowing in our many lusts and calling ourselves delivered. In our appointed deception, we trust in lying words that do not profit us in Spirit and follow after the gods of our carnal mind.
Jer 7:8 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.
Jer 7:9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;
Jer 7:10 And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?
The events in the Scriptures are spoken and done in parables. Thus, we as spiritual Pharisees do not understand that the Lord was speaking about the Holy Commandments of the Father, which we do not esteem and follow after. Our flesh seeks the honour of men, and we reject the Lord and all His ministers that preach the Gospel.
Joh 5:39 you Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
Joh 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
Joh 5:41 I receive not honour from men.
Joh 5:42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.
Joh 5:43 I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
Before the Lord opens our eyes to see our sin, we are unaware in our delusion that we despise the Lord’s name. We have mixed up the bread of life, the Commandments, with the idols and lust of the flesh. This is adding to and taking away from the Word, and thus spiritual sickness is the consequence.
Mal 1:6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
Mal 1:7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.
We trust in our knowledge that deceives us, and we are blinded to see the death that still rules in our inward parts.
Mat 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
Mat 23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Our time in deception focused on the outward righteousness and gaining the praise of men is Spiritual Babylon, where we await the Lord sending His angel to preach the Gospel to ears the Lord opens. We honour the Lord with our lips, but our hearts are far from obeying His Commandments.
Luk 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
Mat 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
Lightly esteeming the Commandments, we forget about them, and the result is that we are unfaithful to our Husband and Lord. We take no heed of the many Commandments and warnings, and drift away, forgetting the Commandments and not entering into our place of rest, that is, the Lord’s Commandments.
Deu 32:15 But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
Jer 50:6 My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.
Heb 3:11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.
Heb 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
The true sheep of God, a precious few, do hear the voice of Christ, and come out of their deceptions and begin to follow the Lord, and we are prepared for His coming in power.
Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Following Christ is esteeming the commandments, taking up our cross, and laying down the desires of our flesh. It takes the power of the Living God to come to us and enable this massive change in our hearts.
Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Luk 9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
When the living Christ comes, we truly know the grace of God and begin to bear the fruits of righteousness.
Col 1:6 Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:
It is the Lord’s purpose to turn us first into destruction, being dead in our sins, and then turning our hearts back to Him, the living Commandments.
Psa 90:3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
We are turned back to the Lord, the Commandments, when the eternal Judge comes to dwell in the temple of God. Now we are learning Christ’s righteousness being taught of God, and every knee shall bow to the Lord.
Isa 60:14 The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel
It takes many trials of our faith in the Commandments to learn that we cannot serve two masters. We either esteem the Lord and honor Him, striving to obey His Commandments, or else we serve our flesh and show we still lightly esteem the Commandments. The natural enmity between flesh and Spirit is only overcome when the Lord brings the power of the Gospel to teach us the right ways of God.
Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Joh 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
The cost of being a disciple, a follower of the Lord, who is the fiery commandments of God, is very high. We are told to count these costs before we start to follow Him. There is no profit for the flesh and only suffering and loss. We remind ourselves of these costs so when the time comes, we can pay the cost and obey the Lord. The road is narrow, and the price of what needs to be given up is high.
Php 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake
Luk 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple
A spiritual man judges all things and is made Spiritual by the coming of the Lord to their inward parts. The measuring stick or the plumbline by which we examine ourselves and judge all matters is the Commandments. These are what is “least esteemed” in the church and why Paul rebuked the carnal Corinthians for going to man’s law and logic to make judgments. The saints shall judge the world in righteousness as we are made into sons of God and become Jesus Christ through whom the greater works are done. We are being raised and trained to be saviours.
1Co 6:4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge [The Commandments] who are least esteemed in the church.
The living commandments that abide in our hearts and minds expose our sins, revealing the darkness within that needs to be cast out and overcome. Before faith comes, we do not come to the light, as no flesh wants its nakedness and darkest sins revealed. When the Lord comes, we are drawn to them, the throne of grace, and that is how our deeds begin to be wrought in God and no longer originate from our carnal impulses.
Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Joh 3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Joh 3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
We are all clay in the Lord’s hands, having no free will and relying on the Lord for our very being. Whether we esteem His Commandments or not is all His work in us. The Lord does not leave us to our own devices to figure it out. God, through Christ, makes known His Commandments, which are the power that brings salvation, that also reveals His wrath or judgment against our sin. We know the Lord by knowing the Commandments, which manifest Christ’s glory, that is, our obedience.
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
Rom 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Rom 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
Those marked by God are those who receive the Gospel that is preached unto them. Our disdain for the Commandments is turned into esteem when a cherub, a messenger of the Lord, is sent to preach the Gospel to us. When that Gospel is received, we begin to come towards or seek the Commandments and strive to be obedient. Those who cry and sigh over their sins are those who acknowledge needing a Saviour, a spiritual physician, and the Lord answers the prayer and comes.
Eze 9:3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side;
Eze 9:4 And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
We are saved by truth and grace. Mercy/truth opens our eyes to see the Lord in truth, and the grace that follows is how we are quickened out of our sins. The desire to love God, meaning to obey the Lord, is put into our hearts and grows by the Spirit of Grace that is the Father’s Commandments.
Rom 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
There is no boasting of anyone as the Lord orchestrates every aspect of our transformation from not esteeming the Commandments to loving them and seeking them earnestly.
Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Receiving the Spirit of the Living Commandments is receiving the grace of God into our hearts and minds. This grace is what saves us from our sins and teaches us to choose obedience to the God we love and seek with our whole heart.
Job 5:17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
With open spiritual eyes, one quickly learns to revere and highly esteem the Holy One of Israel. The shame of our sin, our nakedness, starts to fade as the trials and judgment by the commandments bring correction and teach us His righteousness. We learn to look to the Commandments and seek life.
Psa 119:15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
Isa 17:7 At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.
Seek the Lord to Live
When the Living Christ, that is, the Gospel and the Living Commandments, comes to us, judgment has come upon the house of God. The weapons of His warfare accomplish these wondrous works of God. The Commandments are the weapons of His indignation that bring about vengeance for His Temple. We escape out of Spiritual Babylon in no other way.
Jer 50:25 The LORD hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for this is the work of the Lord GOD of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.
Jer 50:26 Come against her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left.
Jer 50:27 Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.
Jer 50:28 The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance of his temple.
When the Gospel is preached to us and we hear it, our Day of Vengeance has come, and what a blessing it is.
Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Isa 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
May this study help us remember the Commandments that are the Living Christ and our Savior. We are caused to seek the Lord and His power unto salvation to overcome spiritual death and enter into newness of life. His mighty power is the Commandments that are His strength.
1Ch 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.
Amo 5:6 Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
When Christ lives in us, the throne of mercy and grace is established in us, and that is where we go in our time of need. We are promised to find the commandments and bring them to mind when we seek them. These are the strange works of God to the children of men and the way of salvation.
Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Jer 29:12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
Jer 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
We are delivered out of our abominations, the plagues of serpents, when we lift up the Commandments and submit ourselves to them, dying daily on the cross.
Joh 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man [the Commandments] be lifted up:
Joh 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Those in whom Christ dwells have the same experience as the Lord, as they are Christ in the world. Many trials of faith come to grow us unto perfection as we are given choices to obey the Commandments or not. This is the way unto maturity and how the gold of our precious faith is bought in the fire of the Lord. We stay on our cross, being dead to the law of the carnal mind and willingly suffering persecution and the reproach of man to be obedient.
Gal 2:19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Remember the cost to be paid. Do not be surprised and expect reproach and persecution from the world that esteems not the holy things of God. We no longer run after the activities the world esteems. These become fiery trials to test our faith and see if we obey our Father in heaven or follow the whims of men.
1Pe 4:4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:
1Pe 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
The Lord’s prophets are given great honor from the Lord, but not from their own house and kin. As Christ’s family did not receive Him at first, so it is with the sons of God in every age.
Mar 6:4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
Mat 10:36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
As our faith grows, our ministry grows, and we have great boldness to preach Christ, knowing it brings much affliction. The ministers of Christ have the Lord with them and follow the commandments in seeking to please their heavenly Father and not men. As the Lord was in the world, so are we.
Joh 8:29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I always do those things that please him.
Losing many things is a big part of the loss and suffering that are key trials of our faith. The Lord is separating a people unto Himself, and the blessing of eternal life far exceeds the pain and cost of the things being taken away.
Mat 19:29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.
There is no turning back once we have received the Gospel. We remain at work in the Lord’s field. We do not go back to bury the dead; we keep our hand on the Gospel in everything we do.
Luk 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Some encouragement to end this study and look past our past failures to obey the Lord. Spiritual publicans and harlots who recognize their need for a Savior enter into the Kingdom of God and receive the Living Spirit, before those who do not need a physician and trust in their own righteousness. Today is the day of salvation, and forget what is past and follow Him today. Those who know they are the chief of sinners are the first to enter into the Kingdom.
Mat 21:28 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
Mat 21:29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
Mat 21:30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
Mat 21:31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
Repent and hearken unto the Lord is what we, the sons of God, strive to do. Seek the Commandments and bear the suffering and reproach that is only for a little while. Our suffering is nothing compared to the hope of the glory yet to be revealed in us.
Isa 51:7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.
1Pe 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin