Christian Author and Pastor Ron Craig
The primary point in these current lessons is to get across the biblical reality that God is not going to step down from His glorious throne to intervene in world problems, because He has already come down in the human form of Jesus Christ, and solved all human problems through His sacrifice, and through Holy-Spirit-empowered preaching of that redemptive message, and doing it in the all-authoritative name of Jesus Christ. In other words, God has delegated to His chosen representatives all of the authority we need to get the job done; and has commanded us to do it. His representatives are all of us Christians—born again into the family of God. Not just nominal church members!
However, in order to get that pivotal point over to the reader, I need to establish the biblical truth that in the very beginning God gave mankind all authority over the earth itself, and all of its animal-kingdom inhabitants. Genesis 1:26-28 establishes that fact. Then, Exodus 3:7-10 reveals that God did not alter that arrangement. He said that He had come down to deliver Israel, but sent Moses (a human being) to do that job. Next, we found in Psalms 106:23 that Moses (God’s chosen representative for that occasion) not only had authority to get Israel delivered from Egypt, but even had some clout with God Himself. He stood between sinning Israel and their God. Galatians 3:19, as well as the book of Hebrews, portrays Moses as the mediator of the Old Testament. A Mediator has authority to carry out God–given orders. Well, Christ is our Mediator (Hebrews 8:6), and He carries out His orders through the church (Matthew 28:18-20, John 20:21).
I am not making up some unauthorized doctrine here. Ezekiel 22:30-31 sheds even more light on this issue. “And I [God] sought for a man among them, who would make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I should not destroy it: But, I found none. Therefore, have I poured out My indignation upon them [Israel]; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath [because of their sins]: Their own way I have recompensed upon their heads, says the Lord GOD.” Just as Moses had stood in the gap between Israel and God’s wrath when they made a golden calf and worshipped it, much later in Israel’s history God looked for some man who would be brave enough to be a go-between for God’s people when they had kept on sinning, but found nobody with the spiritual guts to do so. Thus, the blame for Israel’s captivity lay not at the feet of God, or even altogether at the feet of sinning Israel, but instead came about at least partially because God could not find a human being who would exercise the authority He had delegated to Israel’s leaders to accomplish Israel’s deliverance once again.
Many more Scriptures on this subject coming up just around the corner, and those reveal that God has not altered His original plan, but is still looking for human beings, who will accept the awesome authority God has delegated to the church today, as well as the responsibility that goes along with that authority. Where do you and I stand?
(If you are not a committed member of some other Christian fellowship, you are invited to visit Living Way Fellowship at 2041 County Road 73, in Killen area. From Killen, going north on US 43, turn right on County Road 73 and go 2 and 1/2 miles. We are on the right. You can’t miss the sign out front—Living Way Fellowship. Sunday 10:00 A.M., Wednesday 7:00 P.M. Ron Craig is the pastor, teacher and Christian book author. Contact us at ronwritercraig@gmail.com, or log onto our church website at www.livingwayfellowshiponline.org. While logged
on our website, check out my books and audio podcasts. Wouldn’t hurt!)
