Hebrews 4:12
Part iii
The Word and Its Purity
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
 I am fully persuaded that the Bible I read every day has been sent to me by God. Yes, it is the English bible known as the King James Bible; however, I prefer to say, God’s Bible. How did I receive this Bible? The cover bears the name of a man I never met, Harry R. Williams; and yet, God put his Bible into my hands and heart. It is a 1914 Holman Bible; I gather that by the date of the maps which are dated 1914.
The Great Wall of Egypt
  It is the only Bible that I have seen with the Great Wall of Egypt on the maps, and after further research into historical records I found such a wall. There is a book published in 1884 by H. Clay Trumbull on Kadesh-Barnea; of course, with the liberal maps that we have today you will not find the Great Wall of Egypt. Why is this Great Wall of Egypt so important? Its former existence destroys the liberal theologian’s deception of the Red Sea, for God truly parted the Red Sea. For it was impossible for Moses to lead the people of Israel through the desert into the promised land by the northern route. He would have gone head on into the Great Wall of Egypt which was fortified by the Egyptians. This was a wall to stay the northern invasions that frequented the nation of Egypt, and a means to control the movements of not only people, but also commerce. Of course, God could have easily defeated the Egyptians at this wall, but the glorious victory and greater miracle was what He had planned in the waters of the Red Sea.
My Bible
  Let’s return to the Bible that I hold in my hand. I did not purchase this Bible; it was being thrown away or cast away (like myself) and I acquired it by God’s divine hand. Both of us, being castaways, bonded immediately, and I trust every word, every smudge, and every faded page in this Bible with my very life and soul. For it has proven itself faithful to me in every way. Its pages are truly worn thin, and yet, still very legible. It has the distinct voice of the Spirit of God, I’m sure that Mr. Williams enjoyed listening to the very same Spirit of God. What more could a child of God need? Now, how can a God (who created the world) be so concerned with one Bible out of many. Which child of God should receive this Bible? I say, and believe, that this Bible came to me under strict divine guidance. God gave Mr. Harry R. William’s bible to me after it had served him many years, thank you Lord for passing his Bible on to me.
The Creator — The Sustainer — The Maintainer
  The Creator of all things is also the Sustainer of all things, He is able to keep such a book that contains His very word. This is such an amazing book, and He tells us that this book is settled in heaven. Don’t scratch your head, it is simple: by faith to believe that the Almighty, the Creator of all things, and the living God is the Living Word. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1) God has breathed life into this Word, the words of God are supernatural. When you open its pages you suffer with Abel, you walk with Enoch, your trials are in Noah, and your joys are in the new world. You travel with Abraham to a new land and possess it with Isaac; yet always being a stranger. While the world is passing you by, God is preparing for you a new heaven and a new earth. With Isaac we are heirs with Christ, and heirs of the promises given to Abraham. In Jacob you see the old land or the old world, you see the old life tearing at you, so you meet the lord at Bethel (the house of God). There we see heaven open for the first time, and we are blessed in Jacob. Then we see the blessing of Joseph, he is clothed with a coat of many colors, and God chooses him to be the heir over his brethren. And after much persecution from his brethren and the world, Joseph shows forth the love of God in a mere man, for he becomes the savior of the world in the natural realm. We could say of Joseph that he is a great type of the Person of Christ. Joseph saved an earthly people, and Christ saved and is saving a heavenly people. Then we come up out of Egypt with Moses and we hear the words, Moses, Moses. We behold the burning bush, and hear the voice of God, the great I AM. And the wonder is the bush that burned with fire is not consumed: for God was in the fire. For our God is a consuming fire; yet God showed grace. The bush burned, but was not consumed, what a wonderful picture of the grace of God; we learn so much with Moses.
Where God Can Dwell
  For the first time since the fall of Adam, God desired to dwell among men, but only in His specific way and place: in the Tabernacle. God’s desire is to dwell among men, but you see, Adam ruined that for all mankind because of sin that he brought into the world. So now in the end of the age, God has sent forth His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to redeem a people among whom God can dwell, but these are heavenly people. They are of God, purchased by God, and redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ; through which all the sacrifices (under the law of Moses) were a type of this wonderful Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. Now, God is working again in His creatorial power using His Word both Living and written to draw men unto Himself by being created of God or born again by the Spirit of God. This divine miracle of the new birth creates a heavenly being, or beings, known as the children of God. They enter into the heavenly because of the finished work of Christ on the cross at Calvary. All these divine actions are declared in the Bible and brought home to the heart by the Spirit of God.
The Purity of the Living Word — and the Purity of the Written Word
  Once again, I remind you of the complete purity of the Word of God. The Spirit of Christ is not going to allow any dross into its holy pages; for He has called His own word ‘holy,’ (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,). (Romans 1:2) No matter what man might think: he understands that if it is not directed by the Spirit of Christ then it becomes wandering in darkness. For only in God’s light is all truth revealed. This was learned from the Son of God, who declared Himself the light of the world.
  Now, the Lord Jesus is sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. And it is His Spirit in the world that is bringing forth the light of grace. It is this light of the Spirit of God that brings forth all truth. And as we receive this truth, we learn of the glory and the Person of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. A child of God reading and musing through the pages of Scripture finds a divine intimacy with the Person of Christ. We often think of the great works of Elijah, the fiery trials that he had, the slaying of 450 prophets of Baal, declaring Jehovah’s name, and Jehovah’s power through His word; yet I believe that the greatest work of Elijah was at the brook Cherith, for there he learned of the Person and power of the Almighty God. It was at brook Cherith that he was separated and cared for by the hand of God. He learned the same intimacy through the divine Creator of all things. There was nothing to detract him from His Creator from sunup to sundown, and through the night. The stars brought God close, and he could feel the presence of the Almighty. He would go on from Cherith to be a witness and an avenger of the Almighty God.
  Elijah’s faith was verified and proven to all by the fire coming down from heaven, and consuming the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the lake of water around the altar. All was consumed as God brought forth a great witness of Himself through the prophet Elijah to reveal His great power to all of Israel. This action by Elijah was the result and validation of God’s word. Israel had turned their back on Jehovah, and they were following after Baal; therefore, the Eternal God sent forth His prophet by the word of God’s power. Elijah witnessed against Israel with the simplicity of this statement, And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD [be] God, follow him: but if Baal, [then] follow him. And the people answered him not a word. (1 Kings 18:21) Israel had gone against the purity of the word of God. They had denied it, and they had put it out of the way; we have the same actions of denial and rebellion today.
The Word of God — Holy — Pure — True — Eternal
  Many make light of God’s word; they mock and deny its purity. They are so concerned with their own self justification that they set themselves as the authority over God’s Word. They look for faults where there are none, this defines their faith because they have no faith. This is Adam’s work, for Adam was the first one who used self-justification before the Almighty God. This is how Adam works, he will not believe the word of God, as in the garden, and he surely will not believe the word of God now after thousands of years of sin and evil. His heart has always been deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: as we read in Jeremiah 17:9, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Is this the man you want judging the word of God? If you depend on man for truth, you have stepped into the deepest pit of deception, for it is the word of God, and the Spirit of God that holds the divine truth, and only through the divine Spirit of God can man understand and enter into the very holiness of the written word of God. Would you rather have Adam, or the man that was sent down from heaven, the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Living Word, and by Christ being pure, He has purified His written Word. Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it. (Psalm 119:140) This verse is for the servant, the true servant of God, for he rejoices in the purity of the very words before him, not only is the word pure, but it is sealed by God Himself through His Spirit. And within the pages of Scripture are the true treasures of God. Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever. (Psalm 119:160) The servant sees that this word is not only founded in purity and the holiness of the Lord, but this word is true from the beginning, and by enduring forever, it has no end. God puts the proof of His testing of His own word within its very pages. The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. (Psalm 12:6) The God of heaven knows the heart and mind of all men. He knows the frailties and the very depth that man has fallen in Adam. Paul declared, when he was speaking of himself and of those who love the Lord Jesus, that we have the mind of Christ. Within its own pages the word of God proves its purity, its holiness, and its truth: all verified by the mind of Christ. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16) The word of God is pure, without dross, it has been tried in the fire seven times, and as God rested on the seventh day so we rest in the validity and holy proof of the divine Scriptures.
The Foundation of Faith
  The word of God is the foundation of faith, it is the written form that brings forth faith in man delivered by Christ, who is the giver and provider of all faith to man. The word that is given of God declares that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17) We must always see the Living Word portrayed in the written word. This is how the Lord Jesus bestows faith that He possesses. I do not possess faith in myself, like grace it must come from without, for in Adam I am totally undone. It has to be the hand of God reaching down from heaven, drawing me by His word, and inserting His faith in my heart by His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who loved me and gave Himself for me. When we consider the history of man, we see that there are those who have walked by faith according to the Spirit of God, and those who have walked without faith in the flesh. We see this testimony drawn out for us in Romans, Chapter 8. But faith, and the word of God, has gone in to all the world. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. (Romans 10:18) And these words that Paul is referring to is the whole of Scripture. I believe that Paul is pointing back to the Old Testament, and even back before the flood, that there has been a testimony of the word of God from the very beginning with and in Adam. Adam was not ignorant of his Creator, and God had set forth perimeters for Adam to obey. Although he was created in the image of God, he was not equal, nor superior to his Creator, and Adam (as a race) would never achieve the greatness that God meant for him because of sin.
The Word — Voice of God
  The Word has testified to all men, but all men have not believed. The Old Testament went out in to all the world, we know this for prior to the coming of the Son of God, we have the Septuagint (or the Greek translation) to the Gentiles. Only the Spirit of God could have maneuvered this translation of the writings of Moses and the prophets so that it would be available to all the world. For the Greek language had become a dominant language in the world by the conquest of Greece into foreign lands; then Rome (the Latin language) extended their control into more land. All this was before the coming, and manifestation of the Living Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Although we have a marvelous Bible that has been miraculously preserved by the Holy Ghost, it is the unction that we receive from the Spirit of Christ that gives us faith and belief in a unsoiled word; unsoiled, and pure sent forth to condemn this present evil world. This word has been the voice of God crying out for centuries, and even over thousands of years, and few listened; in fact, in times past, in the history of man, the word of God was totally rejected of almost all men, and God supernaturally called out men to preserve His word, and even at times hid it so that it would not be destroyed. This is exactly what the Holy Ghost did in the days of Josiah. A study of modern history would reveal the great anti-Christ movement of Nazi Germany (which still exists today), but then under a potentate, Hitler, we have the great display of their hatred for God in the book burning ceremonies. The liberal world will not admit that Satan (working behind the scenes) was in fact, trying to destroy all evidence of the word of God through whatever world Hitler would conquer. Thanks be to God, that He stepped in, and not only destroyed this man, but temporarily destroyed the culture that allowed these diabolical actions. But out of the ruble of Satan’s defeat, man has begun to act in the very same manner in an attempt to remove the truth of the word of God from this world; man is foolish for God will not allow man to go that far. He has set a boundary that man cannot pass over, and that border will continually be the complete purity, and existence of the divine word of God. Even if no man listened there would still be a testimony of the Almighty God in written and spoken form. The preachers of this world, who belong to Christ and to no one else, may look foolish to the world, the world may even call them fools, they may use them in a gainsaying way; yet faith keeps these men of God cleaving to Christ and to His word.
The Geography of the Word of God
  The servant of God finds his delight in the meadows, in the valleys, in the mountains, in the plains of Scripture. The word of God has a geography all of its own that not only encompasses the jewel called Earth, but it encompasses the geography of all the distances of space. The stars are the saint’s roadmap, as the angels are their protectors. The child of God, although he does not see the very realm of heaven, in his spirit knows the geography of this divine place. So, we read in Psalm 119:160, Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever. The servant of God is speaking in all boldness by the very Spirit of God that has given him this word. He declares, Thy word is true from the beginning. This shows his faith in the continuance of the truth of God in a written form. This verse also reveals the continuance of that word through all ages, even forever. What has been revealed in the past in the written word of God carries a present sense, meaning in our day, when the Spirit of God wrote the very words, and gave them to the world, the Spirit of God also saw the course of history and how the very smallest word would transcend that history of man, and would continue in God’s eternal state. The psalmist received the word in his time, and in that present moment. As we read the pureness of the word of God, the children of God receive that pureness in their present moment. God not only gives the word, but through His Spirit applies the very word of truth to the heart and soul of every believer. So, it is no great thing for the servant of God to accept that God’s word will endure forever. As His Living Word is eternal so too is His written word. As the Living Word is pure so too is the written word. The pureness of the word of God comes from the One who is pure, the Son of God. In Psalm 12:6, The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times, we see the work of the Son of God as a purifier. He has purified the very words that have been given to us. He must keep them pure, for they carry the hope that the children of God have in their Savior. The words are given in their purity so that men might repent of their wickedness. The written word of God has been tried seven times in the fires. There is no contradiction in the word of God. For in those seven times: it has been put through the fire, and has been completed, and kept pure in its present state. And who is this purifier? It is the great God of heaven and earth. He is the living God and the Living Word, and He upholds all things by the word of His power. He has a throne of righteousness, and He wields a scepter of righteousness from His glorious high throne. And from this throne of all purity, He keeps His word holy, righteous and pure. God’s word is part of the eternal. It is given once, never to pass away, it has been given of God, and kept by that same God. This is the God who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. The word ‘pure’ can be given to describe both the written word and the Living Word. For the very pureness brings out its meaning, and its reason for its existence. It is the wisdom of God sent down to man, and unlike Solomon, it never waivers from its goal: that man might repent and call upon the name of the Almighty God. The purity of the word generates the love of God to men.
Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (1 John 3:16)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (1 John 3:1)
The Holiness and Pureness of God
  The world is shadowed in darkness, sin brought a darkness not only over man, but in every man. But we, who have been born again by the power of God through the death and resurrection of His beloved Son, perceive that love of God in every moment of our life; for He laid down His life for us, and He has bestowed that love upon us, and in us. In that love He brought forth His purest possession, His only begotten Son, in a holy body that He called that holy thing that was prepared for Him. And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35) Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me. (Hebrews 10:5) He was without spot, He was without blemish, He was without sin; and yet, Isaiah tells us that there was no beauty in Him that we should desire Him. Oh, how our eyes and hearts have been dimmed by sin. That One who loved us unto death, the pureness of God, laid down His life, and took it again.
Just a side note: if you begin at the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ you will find that there were seven major epics or events where the devil and man tried to destroy Him, or tempt Him, so that He would not accomplish the work, the holy work of God that He was sent by God the Father to accomplish on the cross of Calvary. You could say that His divine life was tried seven times before He purified us on the cross of Calvary. In His glorious and holy life on earth this One magnified the purity of God. He magnified the purity of God in His death to bring a day of complete purity in His very resurrection. In His submission to death, He overturned it and defeated it by His resurrection. That pure life that came out of the tomb purifies us with a new life in the Son of God. As He is pure, we are pure in Him. He has purified us because He has called us out of this world as a heavenly people, and as heavenly people, we cannot take anything from this evil world; all has to be changed in a moment of time as God brings forth a new creature in Christ. Christ has become the head of every man. Every man is entitled to salvation through His death upon the cross. But every man will not receive life from His resurrection. Why? because they have not believed on the Son of God. Adam has been taken out of the way, and the new man has been risen from the dead. And He has set forth a new creation in His body: the children of God. He sits as a purifier of the people of this world, and He has given a book that completely describes this great purifier.
  Reading the Scriptures and spending some time in the Book of Exodus, you will find that the word ‘pure’ is mentioned more in this book than in any other book in the Bible. Each time that it is mentioned, it is in regard to the gold of the Tabernacle, and the majority of the time, it is of this purity that speaks of the righteousness and the holiness of the Son of God. If you would like to understand more about the Tabernacle refer to my study on the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was to show forth the purity of the Son of God. It was a shadow of that purity of the Christ of God who would come into the world. ♦ End of Just a Side Note.
  This One who is pure would proclaim to the world that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4) and (Luke 4:4) And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. (Deuteronomy 8:3) And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. He would continue with the word that His word would never pass away. He declared that His word was God’s word for He was very God. Christ declared that heaven and earth would pass away, but not one jot nor tittle would pass from His word. As the gold of the Tabernacle was pure, so the very words of the Living Christ was and is pure. So, His word is worth more, and is purer than all.
A Pure River of Life
  The last mention of the word ‘pure’ in Scripture is found in Revelation 22:1. And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. The Apostle John is showing us a river of life. This water is to bring life, and this water is clear as crystal. Such a contrast from the river Jordan that was a symbol of death. Remember, the Lord Jesus told John the Baptist that it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness, the Lord Jesus was being baptized unto His own death for He would be the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. The river Jordan was known as a muddy river, as the rivers of death have muddied this world. But in the end of the prophetic word, the One who brought forth life is displayed before us as a pure river of life. This water of life proceeds out of His throne. It is clear as crystal, it carries the pureness of that throne, and the pureness of the One who sits on that throne. The Spirit of God in His surety reveals the One as not only God, but as the very Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world.
The Pure Water of Life
  In the Gospel of John, the Lord Jesus referred to Himself as the water of life. (John 4:14) But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 7:38) He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
  The word of God, the Scriptures, is given as a symbol of the water of life that is within the Christ of God. As God is closing out the recorded history of man in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, He would not let us forget that we have life in Him, and in the Lamb. He will not let us forget His pureness, and the pureness of the river of life, or the pureness of the eternal Word of God. It is just like the Eternal God to show us, and to remind us of His Word and His Son, who is figured as the Lamb of God. The phrase water of life is mentioned three times in the entire Bible, and in connection to the Godhead as the Possessor, the Giver, and as the Source of life.
And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. (Revelation 21:6)
And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. (Revelation 22:1)
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17)
The New Math — One Plus One Equals One
  The divine word of God sets us in Christ by the Spirit of God working as a jeweler, He sets a stone, or pearl of great price in a ring or brooch, and in this we see that we are in Christ, and He is in us. The two parts have become one. These two parts are the new creation (the children of God) if we are the ring or brooch then He is the stone that gives us value and gives us life, and this is the manifestation of God’s love to us. We can see the shadow of our personality and being in the word of God. We see in the word of God that my life is in the life of Christ. And the life of Christ is in my life; this is inseparable truth, and as we lay hold of this wonderful truth, we are forever attached and possessed by the Son of His love, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are forever His people, and bride. We are sons born out of darkness by His marvelous light. We are joint heirs of both His death, and His life. And we will spend that life forever with the Christ of God. He is not ashamed to call us brethren. (Hebrews 2) For He has purified us even as He is pure. We have a wonderful Savior, and finally brethren, I would like to repeat the words of the Spirit to the Apostle Paul found in Philippians.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Philippians 4:8)
Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. (Philippians 4:9)
The Greatest Battle Ever Fought — The Death Battle
  Paul stresses to us the peace of God. Is not this peace beyond understanding? Think of the great conflict that was fought by one man, the heavenly man, Jesus Christ. It was the Son of God who went into the greatest battle, and His battlefield was the wood of a cross. The greatest defeat of the enemy of the soul was at a place of death, the place of a skull, Golgotha. Here at Golgotha both death and Satan were conquered by the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Through the horrors of darkness, and in the womb of the morning of the third day, the Son of God began His victory march out of the tomb, for He who was dead was now alive for ever more. It was His resurrection that displayed the victory, and that victory was the defeat of death. It was His resurrection that brought forth a new Man, and in that Man we share our life. He has given us life in Himself. We are partakers of the divine nature, and we have received a glory that one day will be displayed throughout the new creation of the new heavens and the new earth. In the last great creation, God will perform and complete His work of purity: for in the new heaven and the new earth, righteousness will be the new norm, purity will be the means, and Christ will be all in all.  Amen.
♦ Reference to study material on the Great Wall of Shur.
TRUMBALL, H. CLAY, D.D.: Kadesh-Barnea, The importance and probable site with the story of a hunt for it including the studies of the route of the Exodus and the southern boundary of the holy land. New York, Scribner and Sons, 1884. (Excellent reference materials in the index.)
BIBLICAL MAPS, Copyright 1914 by A.J. Holman Co. (#2- The Isthmus of Suez, and the Route of the Exodus)
© Copyright 2017, Michael Haigh
Article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.
All Scripture references are from the King James Bible. (KJB)