Scriptures:
- Rev 12:7-11
- Psalms 119:44-48
- 1 Kings 8:6-8
- Rev 12:10
- Job 1:6-8
- Matthew 10:32-33
- Rev 12:11-12
- John 5:22-24
- John 5:31-40
- John 15:26-27
- 1 John 5:6-10
- 1 John 5:11-12
- John 5:18
- Rev 9:9-10
Above The Law
Rev 12:7-11
7And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 9And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,
“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. 11“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
Testimony
What is a testimony?
testimony = marturia (Greek): testimony, witness, record
Webster’s dictionary defines TESTIMONY: n. presentation of evidence; things stated before a court as bearing upon a case under trial.
The word TESTIMONY can be applied to personally witnessing an event, and/or sharing the factual events of something an individual has personally witnessed and/or experienced.
In a court of law, when a “witness” is sworn in, that person pledges to only “testify” of the truthful facts as they know them, and/or personally witnessed them.
In business, we are familiar with the word “testimonials.” These are supposedly true statements made either by satisfied customers, or dissatisfied customers.
A Christian’s " testimony" can be a story of how God did something miraculous in their lives.
A Christian's "salvation testimony" is the story of how they accepted Christ as their personal savior.
The Old Testimony
Psalms 119:44-48
44So I will keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever.
45And I will walk at liberty,
For I seek Your precepts.
46I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings
And shall not be ashamed.
47for I delight in your commands
because I love them.
48I reach out for your commands, which I love,
that I may meditate on your decrees.
- So whose testimony was David talking about?
- God’s testimony
- What was God’s testimony then?
- the 10 commandments
- Is this our testimony now?
- no, this was prior to Jesus
The Ark of the Testimony
Many translations refer to the Ark of the Covenant as the Ark of the Testimony.
What was in the Ark of the Testimony?
1 Kings 8:6-8
6The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles. 8These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 9There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.
- What was in the Ark of the Testimony?
- the 10 Commandments
old covenant -> new covenant
Old Testament -> New Testament
The old testimony -> The new testimony
David was under God’s old testimony.
Prior to Jesus, our testimony was related to how well we had kept the commandments of the law.
The Prosecutor
Rev 12:10
10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,
“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.
- Who is the “accuser of our brethren”?
- Satan
- What does it mean to accuse someone?
- charge (someone) with an offense or crime
- What does he accuse us of?
- breaking the laws of Moses - the laws of God
- claiming that we should be punished for our sins
- To whom does he make these accusations?
- to God
- Would God allow Satan in His presence to accuse us?
- <let’s see>
Job 1:6-8
6Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7The LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” 8The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.”
- What was satan doing walking around the earth?
- he was looking for someone to accuse
- So did God let satan in his presence to accuse people?
- apparently yes
- What does satan hope to gain from accusing us?
- If Satan can have us convicted of our sins then we must be punished for them - death/hell
Imagine a courtroom where God is the judge and satan is accusing us of our crimes. Satan’s role is to prosecute us and convince God that we deserve punishment. He is going to point to the books of the law and say that we have violated the laws that God gave.
Our Defense
If satan is prosecuting us, what defense do we have?
Matthew 10:32-33
32“Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33“But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
- What do we need to do for Jesus to confess us before God?
- “confess Him before men”
- What happens if we don’t confess Him?
- He will deny us
- “I never knew you”
- What do we need to confess?
- that Jesus is God and is the key to eternal life
confess = homologeó (Greek): to speak the same, to agree
We need to confess that Jesus is God and is our savior. We need to testify that Jesus is God and that only through Him can we achieve eternal life.
What is Jesus’ defense?
- Since we have accepted Him as our savior, we are not held accountable to the law
- That we exempt from the law
- That we are “above the law”
What does it mean to be “above the law”?
- not subject to the law; immune to the law
example: federal witness under witness protection
note: This is not to say that there will not be consequences here on earth for our sins. There is also the possibility of the withholding of some rewards that we would have otherwise received.
Our Testimony
Rev 12:11-12
11“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
- How does it say that we overcome?
- “the word or our testimony”
- What is “the word of our testimony”
- stating that Jesus is God and is the key to eternal life
- When do we need to give this testimony?
- before we die
- not on Judgment Day
It’s as if we take the stand to give our testimony with the hopes of defeating the case brought against us by satan. Our testimony is our proof that we have attained the status to be above the law. Our testimony is that Jesus Christ is our savior and than we are exempt from the punishment of the law.
Jesus Became the Judge
Now imagine what would happen if your defense attorney served as both judge as well as your defense attorney.
John 5:22-24
22Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. 24“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
- So now you are truly above the law
If we truly love Christ we will want to do what pleases Him and not take advantage of our freedom.
The New Testimony
Jesus’ Testimony
John 5:31-40
31“If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. 32There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is true.
33“You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. 34Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved. 35John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.
36“I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. 37And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39You studyc the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
- What are the testimonies that Jesus mentions?
- testimony of John the Baptist
- testimony of Jesus’ works - signs
- God’s
- the scriptures
The Father bears witness to Jesus through Jesus’ testimony, John the Baptist, Jesus’ works, and the Scriptures so that we may come to Jesus for eternal life.
The Holy Spirit’s Testimony
John 15:26-27
26“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
- Who is “the Advocate”?
- the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth
- Who will testify about Jesus?
- the Holy Spirit
- the disciples
- us - Christians
God’s Testimony
1 John 5:6-10
6This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7For there are three that testify: 8thea Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.
- What is the Spirit, water and blood?
- <let’s see>
The human body is more than 60 - 75 percent water. The brain and muscles are 75 percent water, and bones are about 22 percent water.
As we mentioned in the last lesson (Eat My Flesh), the “flesh” referred to Jesus’ human body, testifying to the fact that Jesus was a man. So here “water” is also referring to the human body referring to the fact that Jesus was a man as well. We saw that the bible says that the soul is in the “blood” and it was used to signify the divine part of Jesus. We see the capital “S” in Spirit letting us know that the word here is referring to the Holy Spirit.
So to say that the Spirit, water, and blood testify is to say that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in agreement with the testimony of Jesus.
So what is this testimony?
1 John 5:11-12
11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
The testimony is:
God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son Jesus.
Is saying Jesus is the Son of God different that saying Jesus is equal to God?
John 5:18
18 For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
- We see that in their context stating that you are “the Son of God” is the same as saying that you are God.
Conclusion
In the Old Testament God’s testimony was stored in the Ark of the Covenant. The Israelites built a tabernacle to house the Ark and contain God’s presence. God came to dwell where His testament was.
In the New Testament we hold the new testimony in our hearts. God dwells where His testimony is. We are now the tabernacles in which God dwells. God now dwells within us.
We need to testify in agreement to God’s testimony. God’s testimony used to be His laws and commandments. Currently His testimony is that Jesus Christ is the key to eternal life. God’s testimony is now about Jesus. So in order to be in agreement with God we need to bear the testimony of Jesus. We need to bear the witness of Jesus.
This lesson ties back to the last lesson where we discovered that the “unforgivable sin” is not accepting Jesus as God and as our savior. We must accept Jesus as both Lord and savior.
This week we see that our testimony needs to be that: 1) Jesus is God, and 2) Jesus has given us eternal life through His sacrifice.
Not bearing this testimony is the unforgivable sin because it prevents us from having our sins pardoned. We can choose to either be judged by the law and pay the consequences for all of the sins that we have committed or we can be pardoned for every single sin we’ve committed. We can allow Jesus to pardon us for any wrongs that we have committed. We will then be exempt from all of God’s laws. We will be Above The Law!
Presenter: Michael Leadon
Summary
- We saw that satan is the accuser of our brethren and accuses us of our sins before God
- We used the analogy of a courtroom where satan is the prosecutor and God is the judge
- We saw that Jesus said that He would confess us before God if we confess Him before men
- We used an analogy of Jesus being our defense attorney
- We saw that we would be called to testify on our own behalf - giving our testimony
- God stated that our testimony needs to be that Jesus is God and that He died to give us eternal life
- We then saw that Jesus said that the Father no longer judges anyone but Jesus is the judge now.
- Jesus said whoever believes in Him will not be judged
- If we testify for Jesus then we escape judgment and receive eternal life
- Jesus said that He didn’t come to change the law, but He also said that If we testify for Him we will not be judged by the law
- Case closed
References:
Additional Study
The Spirit of Prophecy
Understanding this unlocks another difficult passage…
Rev 9:9-10
9Then
the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to
the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true
words of God.”
10At
this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do
that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters
who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of
prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”
- What did the fellow servant say were the true words of God?
- “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!”
- Who is the lamb?
- Jesus
- So what did he mean?
- blessed are those who are in Heaven because they accepted Jesus as their savior by believing that God gave us eternal life through Him
- What is prophecy?
prophecy = prophéteia (Greek): the gift of communicating and enforcing revealed truth
4394
prophēteía (from 4396 /prophḗtēs, "prophet," which is derived from 4253
/pró, "before" and 5346 /phēmí, "make clear, assert as a priority") –
properly, what is clarified beforehand; prophecy which involves
divinely-empowered forthtelling (asserting the mind of God) or
foretelling (prediction).
So prophecy means:
- speaking for God
- saying what God wants to be said
- homologeó
So the “spirit of prophecy” is a spirit speaking what God want to be said
So verse 10 means:
“Don’t
worship me! The testimony of Jesus were the words from God. Your
salvation came on account of God, so worship Him not me!”
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