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Insights and understanding, 4 of 4

2/28/2026

Hi all,

The word 'tzitzit' (tsit-zit) means 'fringes', which was commanded by God to be on the clothing of ancient Israelis as a reminder of the Word of God in Numbers 15:37-41:

"Speak to the Israelites and say to them to make tzitzit (tassels) on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, with a blue cord on each tzitzit. You will have these tassels to look at to remind you of the Word of God, to do all His commands, that you may obey them and not follow your own hearts and eyes to fulfill your lusts. Then you will remember to obey all my commands and that you are consecrated to your God."

The strings (tassels) must be tied directly to the clothing which means no clip-on tassels are permitted. There are 4, one on each corner, with each made of 4 threads (one of them blue) looped over to make 8 total. Then 5 knots are made in the 8 tassels near the top, making the tassel (tzitzit) into one cord. Because the Hebrew alphabet has a number associated with each letter, the name 'tzitzit' in Hebrew is also the number 600. By including the 5 knots in the 8 tassels for a total of 13, they add up to 613 - the number of laws in the Law of Moses, reminding the wearer of the commands of the Lord.

Why a blue thread?
In ancient Israel every Israelite's clothing had a tzitzit at each corner of their clothes. Over time clothing styles changed, and now they have prayer shawls with tzitzit, usually of wide blue and white stripes. In ancient times God commanded a blue thread be included among the white threads. The blue dye was made from the chilazon snail, a type of Murex, that lives in the Mediterranean. Blue is the color of heaven and God; reminding each Israelite they were God's nobility, called as a nation to be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6).

What David did
The whole of I Samuel 24 is about David cutting off the hem of Saul's robe while Saul was relieving himself in the cave where David was hiding. Verse 5 tells us David's conscience 'struck him', which is a good translation of the Hebrew 'nakah'. It means to 'strike, beat, give a wound, or punish'. David felt very convicted he had cut the hem of Saul's garment. In ancient times and in some funerals today, a person's tzitzit was cut off at their funeral, showing they are no longer bound to the Laws of Moses. Some customs bury the person with their prayer shawl, but with one of the tzitzit damaged or removed to show the same.

David's conscience bothered him because he had performed the funeral ceremony of cutting off a tzitzit from Saul, telling him that he is a dead man, released from having to obey God's Word - a direct reference to I Samuel 15 when Saul deliberately disobeyed the Lord - talk about putting salt in the wound David! David's repentance was so powerful Saul himself repented for trying to kill David, and went home.

What the woman of Mark 5 did
In Matthew 9:20, Mark 5:24-34 and Luke 8:43-44 we see a woman with a severe and chronic (12 years) hemorrhaging condition. "When she had heard of Jesus she touched his clothes, for she said within herself; If I just touch the hem of His clothes I will be whole.'" He told her:"Your faith has made you whole."

A few chapters later, in Matthew 14:35-36, we are told:"And when the people of the place recognized Jesus was there, they told everyone in the area. People brought their sick to Him and begged Him to at least let them touch the hem of His clothes, and all who touched it were healed."

We could speculate that because she is first mentioned in Matthew 9 of touching the hem (tzitzit) of His clothes and was healed, the crowds of Matthew 14 had heard how she was healed, and emulated her, full of faith because of her faith and actions. We don't know, but we do know the tzitzit stands for the Word of God, and there in the crowd before their very eyes was the Word of God in the flesh - the whole of the Word fulfilling the 613 commands perfectly, in the flesh - and just touching the Living Word through touching the tzitzit, healed many people.

The Lord's Supper - part of a larger communal meal
In most churches today, the Lord's Supper is celebrated as a separate part of a service. In the first century the Lord's Supper was part of the meal. Matthew 26:26:"As they were eating Jesus took the bread and blessed it, and gave it to His disciples saying; Take, eat, this is my body...." Mark 14:22:"While they were eating Jesus took the bread..."

In house church, food is integral, and in some cultures today resembles the way Jesus celebrated that first 'Lord's Supper'. In fact it was the celebration of these community meals that helped Christianity grow so quickly throughout the Roman Empire. This is because Roman, Greek, and Jewish culture all had these large family and friends meals as part of the basic social fabric of Mediterranean life in the first century. When Jews, Greeks, and Romans became Christians, they naturally incorporated Christ into the community meals they'd been doing all their lives.

In Judaism, Jews didn't eat with Gentiles, but they had their own community meal. Romans looked down on the Greeks, but each culture had their own community meals. A good example of them coming together is seen in Acts 18 with the founding of the church at Corinth. Paul led many Jews in the synagogue to Jesus, and as such needed to meet in someone else's house, which turned out to be a Roman name Justus. We are told "and many of the Corinthians (Greeks) also believed and were baptized." Later, in I Corinthians 11:17-34 some of those in this racially and socio-economically mixed body of believers, refused to eat with the rest.

For Romans, the community meal, the meal was open to family, friends, and neighbors, but segregated by social and economic status. For Greeks, usually only elite people were invited, the poorer classes were shunned. For Jews, only Jews were invited. The meal was about remembering their history, bonding around the things of God, reinforcing their unique identity and strengthening social and family bonds. Now imagine these 3 cultures thrown together for a community meal. They were all new believers in Jesus, and each had their own expectations of what these meals should look like. Additionally, Corinth was a sea port and it was known that the city's white collar workers never mixed with dock workers, sailors, and shop owners. It is no wonder Paul's first letter to the Corinthians addressed at least 10 major issues! At least 3 of those involved separating into insulated little groups who didn't associate with the others, and strife!

Paul brought it all together for them in I Corinthians 11:17-34 by writing to them to focus on the real reason they had come together:To celebrate the life, sacrifice, and promises of Jesus Christ. Paul urged them in so many words to lay aside that which divides; their prejudices, their preconceived ideas of what the traditional communal meal should look like, and focus on Jesus. Paul repeats what he said he learned directly from the Lord:Take the bread which represents the body broken, and the wine which represents the blood shed, and partake together.

Paul told those who chose to separate from the others; "Many are weak and sickly among you, and many have died early, because you have not properly discerned the Lord's body." In context, the discerning of the Lord's body isn't about healing, but about the body of Christ. That He died and rose for Jew, Greek and Roman, and if you dismiss race, socio-economic, and life history issues from those in the room, you can focus on what Jesus did for each one present. This provides for a true community meal.

If you are in a house church, or maybe a Bible study or prayer group, consider this:Have a meal together and somewhere after everyone has eaten most of their meal but still talking and eating and sharing, step in to casually pass around bread and juice or wine. Get everyone's attention, and point out the rich conversations going on, how Jesus saved each person with no concern for who they were or where they came from, just that He loves each one - and then after a moment to consider and get one's heart right, eat the bread, drink the fruit of the vine....and then continue in the conversations, reflections, and appreciation for each one present.

More insights and understandings next week to close the series. Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected] or [email protected]

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Insights and understanding, 3 of 4

2/21/2026

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Hi all,

During the time I was on staff as the Bible school Director of a large megachurch, about 1998 or 1999, a well known teacher was a guest speaker during a week-long conference. Because of my position Barb and I were seated on the front row a few seats from the Pastor. At one point the speaker asked the congregation to come forward and leave $100 cash or checks written to her on the platform as a point of faith. When I say 'asked' I am being polite. More like yelled at, urged, exhorted, preached at, all with a dose of condemnation for those who didn't comply. It was to get from God whatever the desire was:Healing, financial breakthrough, loved one to be saved, or something else.

Barb and I were horrified at her manipulation, and were even more horrified when senior members of the church staff got up and did as she requested. To my great shame I too got up and left a check on the platform in what would prove to be the last 'fear of man' act of my life. I glared at the pastor as I walked back to my seat, wanting him to put a stop to the nonsense. But at the same time I felt pressured by him and my immediate boss (the Associate Pastor) to comply.

Some time after that set of meetings I got the dreaded phone call from the pastor. When I saw the caller ID on my office phone I froze in fear, but just then the Lord spoke to me:"I'm the one who put you here and I'm the only one who can remove you." All fear of being fired left, peace came, and I answered the phone. (I wasn't fired)

The core teaching from; 'Give $100 to get your answered prayer', finds its roots in the earlier Word of Faith teaching of the 100 fold return.
That phrase is from Mark 4:1-20, the Parable of the Sower (Planter). In v1-8 Jesus teaches the parable of the planter planting seed; Some fell by the path and birds came and ate the seed. Other seed fell on stony ground, but because it had no soil once sprouted it dried up and withered away. Some fell among thorns (weeds) and the weeds choked off the seed so it never grew to the point it produced. And in v8, some fell on good ground and produced some thirty, some sixty, and some one hundred fold.

He went into detail privately with the disciples in v13-20, explaining the ground represents the human heart, and the various conditions the Word (Jesus is the Word) finds when it (He) is planted in hearts. The good soil produced He said now for the 2nd time in v20; "Some 30, some 60, some 100 fold". The rest of the chapter through v34 is related to this parable, including the instruction to be careful what we hear, and that how we value the things of God is how He will give to us. (v24)

Word of Faith (WOF) teachers took the '100 fold return' out of context, turning it into a teaching about giving - give to get - that if you give $10 God will give you back $100 or $1000. Clearly that is wrong. Here is what Jesus meant by the expression; "some 30, some 60, some 100 fold return."

This was a common agricultural assessment of a crop.
Farmers would talk of getting 30, 60, or 100 fold return on their crop in any given year. The '100 fold return' is not a mathematical statement, but rather one of completion, maturity, the best one could get out of the given situation. Consider that if a seed falls on stony ground and only sprouts, that is the best it could have done in that situation. If a seed falls among thorns and weeds and grows up but gets choked off, it is the best that seed could have done in that situation.

The good heart is like good soil and produces 100 fold - not a literal amount, but of maturity and completion. It produced the highest and best it could because it had good soil. Today we use 10 or 100 in the same way. For example:On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your interaction with our team member today? Or:How pretty is she (or handsome is he)? A 6 or 8? How do you like our product on a scale of 1 to 100? You aren't literally saying you found the number 10 or 100 as a mathematical formula, rather a representation of the highest and best. That's how Jesus was using percents.

I read once somewhere about a farmer whose crop got hit by hail. But it wasn't a total loss, for he was able to harvest enough to pay the bank what he owed and live on for the next year. But all around him farmers were completely wiped out, unable to meet their loan payments. While the farmer was very disappointed with his crop, a friend pointed out he was in far better condition than any other farmer in the area, telling him he got a 100 fold return - he got the best return he could for the given circumstances.

Let me say it another way. Sometimes because the situation is rocky, you will only get a 30 fold return - but that is the best you could do given the situation. Sometimes 'weeds' may have grown up to interfere with a transaction or family situation, giving you only 60 fold of what you wanted. But for the situation, 60 fold was the best you could do. You got the most out of it by God's grace that could be had for that situation.

This kind of thing happens all the time in our lives - God's grace in difficult situations - and we need to start seeing that while we often don't get the fullness of the 'crop' we desired, we did by His grace get the fullness of what we could given the situation. It may be just 30 or 60 fold, but it was the highest and best possible outcome for the given situation.

Can the devil hear your prayer language? (And is there a prayer language with which we speak to the devil?)
I Corinthians 13:1:"Though I speak in the tongues (languages) of men and angels, if I don't have love..." In Romans 8:26-27 we are told our infirmity is that we don't know how to pray as we should, so the Holy Spirit joins us so that we pray 'according to the will of God', speaking of tongues.

A key point in that verse is that tongues is to the Father. It isn't to the devil. There are intense tongues spoken in intercession during which you know you are heavily interceding for someone and the Father uses that prayer to Him to help the oppressed be free of demonic forces and strengthened spiritually and emotionally, but the prayer is to the Father. I remember once seeing a famous TV preacher bringing someone on stage for deliverance and telling the crowd to stretch their hands towards the woman and pray in tongues 'against the devil'. Nope, that isn't what the New Testament says. Tongues goes to the Father. The devil doesn't shriek at the sound of your prayer language. He isn't afraid. To him, it's a language like any other of men or angels - from which he came.

We might ask:Does the devil understand the words of an American, German, Chinese, Spanish or Italian? Yes, for the devil and his minions are all over the planet. So does he also understand languages of angels, from whom he fell? Yes, of course. If I move to Germany and need to speak German, I was raised with American English and will remember it. So what difference does it make if the devil understands what I am praying to the Father, whether in my native language or a heaven-given language I never learned?

I asked the Lord in a visitation when He was teaching me some of these things:"Why tongues? It's so controversial and misunderstood." He replied (shortened):"If you can receive this, the earth was delegated to man, so for the most part the Father and I function by invitation in the earth. Though we retain our right as Creator. But man doesn't know how to pray as he should. The Father had to find a way to by-pass man's ignorance to get His will done on earth. He does this by giving a person a language they never learned, by-passing their ignorance, and filling that language with His will and His emotions and His desires, in their spirit. Then they pray it to Him, completing the loop and make the transaction legal. For truly, truly I tell you:No one will be able to bring accusation against us on that day. All will be revealed to have been done justly and in righteousness."

That may be lots to think about, enough for today, I'll close the series next week. Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

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Insights and understanding, 2 of 4, Wedding, outer darkness

2/14/2026

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Hi all,

In the Parable of the Wedding Feast of Matthew 22:1-14 the guests are assembled, but one guest isn't wearing a wedding garment. When asked why, he is speechless. The order is given he be thrown out to the outer darkness where there is weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Jesus concludes saying:For many are invited, but few are chosen.

The parable starts with:"The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king, who made a marriage for his son." Jesus is obviously talking about the Father and Himself. Verse 3 says:He sent servants to call them (it was time to start) who had been invited, but they would not come." In the first century it was custom for the host to send reminders of the great day approaching. Verses 4-5 tells us the king sent more servants, and told those invited about all the food and provision made for them; "But they made light of it." Literally; "They paid no attention to the invitation", and went back to their farms and jobs.

In verses 6-7 it says some of those people even treated the messengers horribly and even killed some. The king was angry and sent His armies to kill those who had murdered his servants and destroyed their city. This is an obvious reference to the treatment (Old Testament) prophets had received at the hands of unbelieving Jews of Israel. So the king in verses 8-10 instructs his servants to invite those who had not been originally invited (Gentiles in the parable), and he said, the good and the bad were invited.

In verses 11-12 the king notices someone there without a wedding garment and asks how he got there. The man was speechless.

Wedding garments in the orient
It was the custom of the day for a king hosting a wedding or a host in a 'regular' wedding, to provide a light linen outer coat to all guests. This custom persists in modern form in China where guests are often provided wedding coats or other gifts by the bride and groom to show appreciation for them coming to their wedding. In Jesus' day kings and 'regular' weddings, the host provided a light linen coat so all guests would be properly clothed and equal being all dressed the same, no matter their social status. The wearing of the provided wedding garment showed at the wedding there was no rank, no social status, the king or host was making all equal for the happy day, so all could mix and mingle freely.

The man without such a wedding garment stood out, making it clear he had tried to come to the wedding of his own accord. This is symbolic of a person trying to work their way into heaven, into the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The man was given the opportunity to confess but he was silent. "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so" from Psalm 107:2 states, but the man was silent. He wasn't redeemed yet tried to get into (heaven) the wedding feast on his own. Romans 10:9-10 which came long after Jesus' parable in Matthew, also says we believe with our heart but confession to salvation is made with our mouth. The man was silent, meaning not saved.

Outer darkness
The king then arrested him and had him thrown out into 'outer darkness' where there is weeping and the gnashing of teeth. In those day as in many parts of the world today, there are no street lights. The wedding banquet was fully lit with many oil lamps, but they did not light the streets. The term 'outer darkness' was a first century term used when someone was kicked out of a business or home, meaning 'kicked to the street' or 'kicked to the curb' we might say. They had been in the place of light and found themselves thrown out into the darkness, the term 'weeping and gnashing of teeth' was a term for that person being quite angry. Update it to modern terms and think of a person thrown out of a pub, bar, or restaurant and out on the street cursing and spitting in anger at his fate. But it was his own actions that caused others to throw him out.

In the parable it is a picture of the unsaved, on the outside looking in to those who readily accepted both the invitation AND the wedding garment the host had provided.

You may recall in Genesis 3:21 the Lord God made coats of skins for Adam and Eve, covering their (sin) nakedness. Ephesians 5:27 says for husbands to love their wives as Christ does the church, that He might present it to Himself 'without spot or wrinkle' on our garments. In The Revelation 19:7-14 it say of the believers in heaven at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb:"To them was given fine linen clean and white. For the linen is the righteousness of the saints." These same saints in v14 still clothed in their wedding clothes accompany the Lord on horses at Armageddon at His return.

Many are invited but few are chosen
I mentioned above the custom of the host sending out reminders before the day of the wedding feast. Upon acceptance it is understood the guests arrive and are given the wedding garment. This means the chosen are those who accept AND comply with the condition of attending. They choose to accept the invitation and are therefore chosen to be allowed in - whereas the man who refused the wedding garment and refused to confess was thrown out. Many are invited, but few of the invited comply with the invitation's requirements. True believers in Jesus have both accepted the invitation AND complied with the condition. Consider the famous John 3:16:God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son, that all who believe in Him will have eternal life. The invitation is there for God invited us by giving us His Son. The requirement is to believe in that Son. The invitation is given, but few will comply with the requirement within the invitation.

The cross in the desert
As Israel starts its march across the desert the Lord gives them very specific instructions about how they are to travel. Their general direction is east, having come from Egypt and going east to Israel. In Numbers 1:50 He says to 'camp around the tabernacle' behind family standards, with Levites in the center. The tabernacle with the cloud of day and pillar of fire by night was at the very center of the camp. Chapter 2 has God's instructions on which tribe travels on which side of the tabernacle as they march forward. In v3-9 the Lord says the "east side toward the rising of the sun' will be Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, totaling 186,400. This is the majority of the population, making it a long column as they marched behind tribal standards.

The north and south sides were roughly equal. The south tribes were Reuben, Simeon, and Gad for 151,450. The north was Dan, Asher, and Naphtali for 157,600. These were like 2 pillars or arms proceeding from the central tabernacle, even as Judah, Issachar and Zebulun were the long leg of 186,400 extending far east. On the west was the fewest of all, comprised of Ephraim, and half tribes of Manasseh and Benjamin, for 108,100. If you look at this from the air, it makes a perfect cross, with Judah leading the way towards as the Lord said, the rising of the sun.

Another cross...
Nearly 1000 years later Judah finds itself captive in Babylon, most of the population having been captured and transported there by Nebucadnezzar. Those include Daniel and Ezekiel. Some quickly fall away from their faith, while others remain faithful. In Ezekiel 9:4 the Lord tells Ezekiel to go and put a mark on the heads of those who cry out when they see the sins of their brethren, marking them as belonging to God. The word 'mark' is 'tav' or 'taw' and was expressed differently through the centuries, but often as an + or X.

Marks on the forehead (or wrist) were later used by Rome when they took slaves, taking away their name and tattooing a number on their head or wrist. The 666 of The Revelation communicates that those who receive that mark are slaves of that economic and political system. In Romans 16:22-23 we learn who received dictation from Paul for the letter to the Romans:"I Tertius who wrote this letter greet you...Erastus the Treasurer of the city greets you, and Quartus, a brother."

Paul wrote to the Romans from Corinth, for the name Erastus was discovered there stating he was in fact the Treasurer of the city. The name 'Tertius' is the Roman number 3, and Quartus is the Roman number 4, showing in Christ socio-economic status means nothing, for the great apostle had working with him the Treasurer and two slaves - amazing grace.

More next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

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Insights and understanding, 1 of 4

2/7/2026

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Hi all,

I love studying Jewish culture of the Bible because it provides context and understanding of things otherwise lost on us. And some things don't have anything to do with culture:Sometimes a preacher will lift a verse out of context and twist the meaning for a sermon, book, or web grab, so what we think is God really isn't. So I hope this will be fun and at least part of it new information.

Some of what we'll cover in this series is:Can the devil hear your prayer language? What is the 100 fold return? What is 'outer darkness'? What is the significance of the 'clean linen' at the Marriage Super of the Lamb? Why did Steven say he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God? And more!

We can't know His higher ways
Many a preacher has based a sermon about the mysteries of God on Isaiah 55:7-11:

"Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

The focus is always on we cannot know God's higher ways. His ways are higher, His thoughts are higher, and we mere humans cannot know these higher things. But look at what it actually says:"Let the wicked forsake (leave, turn his back on and leave) their ways and their (unrighteous) thoughts and the Lord....will pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways."

The passage actually commands that we leave our ways and thoughts and come up to His higher ways and thoughts. It isn't a statement that He is too high and we too low, rather an invitation to forsake our ways and thoughts and come up to His ways and thoughts.

This is consistent with New Testament realities, including Romans 12:1-2 which says to present our bodies a living sacrifice, undergo a metamorphosis by renewing our minds to His ways and thoughts, and thus we will be able to walk out the good, acceptable and complete will of God. He invites us in Isaiah 55:7-11 to come up to His ways and thoughts.

When I was a teenager I saw this, and set my heart on Psalm 103:7:"He made known His ways to Moses; His acts to the children of Israel." The 'acts' were the miracles the people of Israel saw as they wandered in the wilderness. Even as a teen I had seen Christians living miracle to miracle, with low valleys in between in a roller coaster faith. But Moses knew the ways of God. If we know the ways then the miracles will happen. We can live in His ways and thoughts because we have thoroughly forsaken our own.

Why did Steven see Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father?
The whole of Acts 7 is taken by Steven being arrested and giving his defense before the Sanhedrin. His martyrdom happened like this in v55-59:

"But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep."

Why did Steven see Jesus standing - not sitting - at the right hand of God? Why did it cause them to be enraged enough to drag him out of the city and execute him? It is from Isaiah 3:13:"The Lord stands to plead (accuse), and stands to judge the people." There are several other scriptures that talk of Him standing or arising to judge.

In Judaism God's judgment is seen in two actions:Standing up or arising, and sitting down. The standing up/arising is the accusation against the accused, it is the charging of the crime, for which the Lord states His case. This is seen in Isaiah 2:19-21 and 33:10. Vs 19:"And they will run to holes in the rocks and caves of the earth for fear of the Lord and the glory of His Majesty, when He arises to terribly shake the earth." This is when God comes forward to accuse, to lay the charges against the guilty. He stands to do so.

His accusation is irrefutable because He is Truth. Therefore the accusation contains the sentence. Accused by God, the person knows instantly the accusation is true and accurate in every way. God then sits down to render His judgment.

When Steven saw Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father, the whole of the Sanhedrin understood the Lord was bringing accusation against THEM, not him. Instead, he never sees Jesus sit down. Their destiny lay in their response to Jesus standing. And yet, Steven showed grace. Why? Because as he is dying he says:"Lord lay not this sin to their charge." In other words, 'Lord, dismiss the charges against them, do not hold them accountable.' Once Steven released them from the sin of his murder, the accusation/judgement was dropped. Case dismissed. Whatever other sins the members of the Sanhedrin may stand account for on that day, murdering Steven won't be one of them.

Here is what it means for you and I
This why the New Testament says Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. (Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 10:12, 12:2, I Peter 3:22) Jesus brings no accusation against His own. He carried the 'handwriting of ordinances that was against us, taking it out the way, nailing it to His cross.' The cross caused the dismissal of all charges against us, nailing it to His cross. Jesus is therefore seated with the Father. Now He oversees the body of believers who have accepted His payment of the accusations and justification for those who believe. (Acts 13:39, I Corinthians 6:11) We are justified by faith in Christ.

All accusations, all charges have been dropped, so He isn't standing to accuse. In fact it is better than that, for I Corinthians 6:11 says:"...now are we justified in the name of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of God." Justification means not just pardoned, not just the charges dismissed that were leveled against you, but you stand before the court as if there never were any charges. The Judge justifies us because we've been washed in His blood. All things are new and all things new are of God.

Jesus stands to accuse, and sits to render judgment. II Corinthians 5:10 says:"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for the things he did while in his body, good or bad." So we don't come before a standing Jesus who might stand to accuse, but rather with no accusation, He sits to judge what we've done while in our body. This isn't a threat of hell, for we are already part of His Kingdom. A father may catch his child doing wrong, but there is no threat of disowning the child, only within the family a reckoning. That is the judgment seat of Christ. Not based on accusation, but based on what we've done since being in Him.

So if you've believed the judgment seat of Christ is about you may not be allowed into heaven, now you see the truth. You're already a child of the king, He isn't going to kick you out. He is seated at the right of the Father. The Father was in Christ reconciling us to Himself. Old things are gone, all is new, and what is new is of God.

Amazing grace!
More next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

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