Now let’s continue on. Let’s go to Deuteronomy 18, and we will see that God is going to satisfy two things here. He’s going to prophesy of it in Deuteronomy 18. Number one, He is going to speak to men as a man. Number two, we’re going to see that He is going to dwell with men as a man. And that is the ultimate of God tabernacling with men. Quite a thing to contemplate when we understand it. So how much has God, shall we say, put Himself out for the sake of mankind? We can put it another way, as we’ll see later on. How much has God humbled Himself to show His love for mankind?

Now let’s come here to Deuteronomy 18:15, and here’s the prophecy of it. “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me;...” In other words, just a human being. “...Unto Him ye shall hearken;...” And that means, “You shall listen to Him.” Now here’s why He said He’s going to do it. Again, God took them up on their proposition. “…According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not” (vs. 15-16). More concerned of self than they were that God loved them. More concerned with their own flesh than they were how to live God’s way. And then when things come on people today because they have the same attitude, then they wonder, “Well, why does God allow it? Why didn’t God stop it? Why didn’t God intervene?” Well, because you didn’t want God to. And you didn’t want to do God’s way. So therefore you pushed Him out even further from your life. And like we’ve said before, if that’s what you want, that’s what God is going to let you do. Because He’s given free moral agency, hasn’t He? Yes indeed.

Now verse 17. So when Moses went up and talked to God, “And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.” In other words, “They’re well-intentioned, but...they really don’t want Me.” Isn’t that something? God, Who made and created mankind after His own image, male and female, blessed them with the ability to reproduce themselves, multiply and replenish the earth, God provides everything that there is, all things necessary for life and living on this earth, and man says, “God, I don’t want you.” Or, “God, I’m going to make my own god. I don’t like You as God. I want to have an idol. I want to see this big belly Buddha,” or whatever the idol may be. So mankind has done this to God over, and over, and over again.

So He said, “Alright. I’m going to take them up on their proposition.” Verse 18, “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put My words in His mouth; and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him.” Now then, because God is going to do this, He is now going to hold every human being accountable in a special way that He hasn’t done in the past. “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken [listen] unto My words which He shall speak in My name, I will require it of him. But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die” (vs. 18-20). So God says, “Ok. I’m going to do the ultimate, and I’m going to require the ultimate.”

Now let’s see how this works out. How did God do that? Now let’s come back to Hebrews 2, because this ties in with what we talked about yesterday about “What is man, that You are mindful of him?” Now we’re talking about what God has done to come to men, to dwell among men, and to make the way of God known, spoken to people by God, Who became a man. Because, after all, that’s what people wanted, didn’t they? Isn’t that why they told God, “Stay up in the mountain, but, you know, Moses, you talk to Him and we’ll hear. We’ll listen to a man.” God said, “Alright. I’m going to take you up on your proposition. I’m going to come as a man, and now you better listen to Him. Because I’m going to require it of you a special way.” The ultimate thing that God can do is going to require the ultimate responsibility upon the recipients of it.

So here in Hebrews 2 we find, beginning in verse 6, and here’s a quoting of Hebrews - not Hebrews, but Psalm 8. “But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? Or the son of man, that Thou visitest him? Thou madest him all little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of Thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him” (Heb. 2:6-8). God hasn’t given the ultimate to man yet. But that’s the destiny that all things will be put under man. So what He did, He put it all under Christ.

Now in order for God to fulfill His promise to mankind He did a great and a marvelous thing. Now verse 9, “But we see Jesus,...” And we’re going to see He was God, as we’ve gone through the series, “Was Jesus God?” Yes He was. “...Who was made a little lower than the angels...” Because, see, if He came as an angel men would still say, “Well, You came as an angel. That’s still greater than a man. Why don’t You come as a man? Why don’t You meet us on our terms?” So He was made a little lower than the angels, “...for the suffering of death,...” To die. Because, you see, men say, “God, why did You make us die?” Well, it was because of sin. So He came for the very purpose of suffering death, and because of that, and the death that He suffered, “...crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became Him, for Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings” (vs. 9-10). So even God was then perfected by becoming a man to suffer the things of a man, and to die, and then be resurrected back to life by the power of the Father.

So let’s come to Philippians 2, and let’s see how God did this. Quite a phenomenal thing. And as we read this, let’s ask the question: for God to do this, does He love us? You bet He does. For God to do this, did He show and demonstrate His willingness? Yes He did. Does He also show that He, in doing this, is telling us that He wants us to live with Him? Yes He did. Now let’s pick it up here in Philippians 2:5. Let’s see what He did. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God,...” Now that actually means in the Greek, “existing as God.” “Being” there comes from the Greek huparchon, which means, “a state of being.” And if He was in the state of being in the form of God, that means He was existing as God. “...Thought it not robbery to be equal with God:…” (vs. 5-6). Oh, but all the religious leaders thought that that was a terrible thing, that He was the Son of God, and made Himself equal with God, and sought to kill Him and to destroy Him!

But here’s what God did. Now notice, you go back and you read all of the things of the praise of God, “There’s none like Him; He’s greatest in heaven; greatest in earth; none in the universe; He controls and upholds all things by the word of His power.” And men say, “Yes, all that power but, you know, You don’t look upon us as little human beings squirming down here on this earth.” Yes, He did. Verse 7, “[He] made Himself of no reputation,...” And in the Greek this means, “He emptied himself.” Divested Himself. “...And took upon Him the form of a servant [slave],...”

Now there are a lot of people who are still today incensed at slavery in the United States in the 19th century. But you know, there are still slaves today. And the greatest number of them are in the same - are in Africa, by the way. So no one is going to tell God, “God, You never knew what it was like to be a slave.” Yes, He does. “...And was made in the likeness of men:” (vs. 7). That’s why God created man in His own image and His own likeness, so that God could do this. Because that was the very prophesy that was given back in Genesis 3:16, after Adam and Eve had sinned, that God was going to send a Man to be the sacrifice for their sins and to destroy the works of Satan the devil.

“...In the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man,...” That means, every function of the human body that human beings had, Christ had. And He gave all, being God, gave that all up to become a human being to fulfill the desire of the children of Israel, that “Oh, if a man would talk to us we would listen!” Now that’s something, isn’t it? And “…He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (vs. 7-8). There you have it. Did the ultimate, didn’t He? No question about it.

So He was born of the virgin Mary, came into the world. Let’s come to John 1. And isn’t it interesting, as we go to John 1, that when we consider, after Jesus, being born of the virgin Mary, growing up as a child, being taught by special vision and revelation by God the Father, as we find in Isaiah 50. He wasn’t taught of any man. He didn’t learn the Jewish myths and fables. No, He wasn’t like an ordinary Jew. He was like an ordinary man, but taught of God. Conceived of the Holy Spirit and filled with the Holy Spirit from conception. And He had a special mission to do, and He was going to keep the promise that He gave back in Deuteronomy 18.

Now let’s begin right here in verse 1. We know these, and we’ve covered these verses, haven’t we? But aren’t these the same verses that Satan likes to come to and attack over and over again. And as we have seen, that men like to re-translate according to their interpretation of what God is, and what God should do, and what God should be. Because, “We don’t believe that Jesus was God before He became human. We only believe that He was conceived at the time of His conception.” So they have to come and change the words. And as I’ve mentioned before, this is the simplest Greek that could possibly be, and was written that way in a profound and direct way so that you know that Christ was God before He became human. And when He became human He was God manifest in the flesh.

Now let’s read a couple verses here. “In the beginning was the Word,...” And that’s where we started, isn’t it? “...And the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John1:1). Now, you know, it’s like Paul Harvey has said many times, because he believes in the Ten Commandments and he gets after people who say, “Well, you know, there are things hard in the Bible to understand.” So he says, “Well, when you read the Ten Commandments,” he says, “what’s hard to understand about those?” And he says, “It’s not the hard things that get them down, it’s their lack of desire to keep the simple things that they know are clear.” And so that’s what we have here. This is clear.

“The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him;...” Now if He made them, everything, how could He only exist in a moment of time thousands of years later? See, it’s incongruous. “...And without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in [the] darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (vs. 2-5). See, because men have darkness in their minds and they don’t want to let the light of God come in. No, they love the darkness, because it says that their deeds are evil.

Now let’s drop down to verse 9. “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” In other words, every human being that comes into the world has life because of Him. Now notice verse 10. “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.” So even when He came in the flesh the world didn’t want it. Well, that’s what they said they wanted. Amazing, isn’t it? Is human nature and human desire fickle and carnal? Yes. Without a doubt. The world knew Him not. Now, moreover, verse 11, “He came unto His own,...” Because He was of the brethren, as the prophecy was. “...And His own received Him not.” Now to be received means to welcome Him like you would a long-lost family member. Well they rejected Him. Now because they rejected Him, then, verse 12, John writes, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power [authority] to become the sons of God,...” So see, you have the world over here that does all the rejecting and getting rid of God. So God says, “Alright, as many as receive Me, believe Me, repent of their sins, and love Me, you’re going to be the sons of God.” Well, we covered that yesterday, didn’t we, concerning how we’re going to have a new body, a new mind, see.

“...Even to them that believe on His name: which [who] were born [begotten]...” It doesn’t mean born. “…[Who were begotten], not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (vs. 12-13). That means by the will of God. So you see, you are where you are today in the church of God because of the will of God. Now you have to provide your willingness to it. And if you do, then you can enter into a great and marvelous relationship with God, as we’re going to see tomorrow. One greater than other people do not even know or understand.

Now let’s continue, verse 14. “And the Word was made flesh,...” Because He was spirit before, and He was God before. In order to become a man He had to be made flesh, or became flesh. “...And dwelt among us,...” Now the King James Version here, in translating that “dwelt”, kind of missed the mark a little bit. Because the meaning of the Greek here is, “...and tabernacled among us.” That means, all the way through. Now you have the tabernacle of God. He wanted to dwell with men in the Garden of Eden, but they didn’t want Him. They sinned, so God put them out. God administered to them all during the time before the flood, and they didn’t want that. They went on their evil ways. God brought the flood. He changed the administration; He gave man the jurisdiction of judging men who killed men, and instituted the administration of death. And then they went even further and rejected Him in building the Tower of Babel, and saying, “We’re going to go our own way.” So God confused their languages. So then what did God do? Chose one man. One man was willing - Abraham. And then Isaac, and then Jacob, and then the children of Israel. And the children of Israel said, “Oh yes, we’re willing.” But they never really were. So now He comes, comes as a man and tabernacles among us. So all the way the whole theme of the Feast of Tabernacles is, “How is God going to dwell with His people?” And we’ll see a little bit more tomorrow on that.

So He tabernacled among us. “...(And we be held His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth. John bare witness of Him, and cried, saying, This was He of Whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me [or has precedence over me]: for He was before me. And of His fulness [John writes] have all we received, and grace for grace” (vs. 14-16). And that means, grace upon grace. Your whole relationship with God is based upon grace: the grace of the Holy Spirit of God, the grace of the love of God, the grace of Christ being in you, the grace of the forgiveness of your sins, the grace of being able to have direct contact and fellowship with God the Father through prayer and study; the grace of the fellowship with each other. And by grace are we saved. All of this. And all of these are the graces and gifts of God which He gives to us, which he says, “Grace for grace.”

Now let’s come down here to verse 19. “And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.” Now notice the questions that they asked him. “And they asked him, What [are you] then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not.” But Jesus said he was. Isn’t it interesting? That sometimes those that God uses, they don’t even know what they’re doing as far as how God is using them? He knew he was to prepare the way, but he didn’t consider himself Elijah. Jesus said he was. Now notice the next sentence. “Art thou that Prophet?” (vs. 19-21). Meaning, going back to Deuteronomy 18, they were looking for God to provide at that time the Prophet.

Now let’s come to Acts 3, and let’s see something very important. Because a couple of years ago I heard a man say, who is supposed to be a minister of God, that he was that Prophet. Now that’s not so. That’s a lie. And we can prove it right here by the Scriptures. Now let’s pick it up here, let’s pick it up here in verse 22. “For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A Prophet shall the LORD your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever He shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed from among the [his] people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and [even] those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities” (vs. 22-26). So here he is saying that Christ was that Prophet.

Now let’s come to the book of John, the Gospel of John, and let’s see that after the feeding of the five thousand there were many people who understood. This is John the sixth chapter, here, not the fifth chapter. They could see by what He was doing that He was that Prophet. Now we’ve got a tape on that, so if you want to write in for it you can receive it. So Jesus fed the five thousand, and let’s pick it up here in John 6:12. Now everybody ate and was full. And what was it that they fed them with? They fed them with five barley loves and two small fishes to feed five thousand people. Now verse 12, “When they were filled, He said unto His disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.” Now notice verse 14. “Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world.” So then Jesus left and hid Himself, because, knowing that He was that Prophet they wanted to take and make Him king. Verse 15, “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take Him by force, to make Him a king, He departed again into a mountain Himself alone” (John 6:12-15). So there we have, it’s really quite something.

Now let’s look and see how else Jesus fulfilled dwelling among men, teaching the word of God. Now let’s come here to the book of Luke. Let’s come to Luke. The book of Luke 4, and let’s see how He did. Jesus went around proclaiming the word of God. Now also, He had to meet, as we saw on the Day of Atonement, He had to meet Satan the devil and conquer him and overcome him. Now let’s continue on here in Luke 4, and let’s see how He spoke the word of God. It’s called the gospel, the good news, which is then the good news of God, the gospel of Christ; because God manifest in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, the one Who was Creator of everything, came to this earth to fulfill the promise that God gave. That God would come in the flesh and to tabernacle and dwell among His people, and to teach them the word of God as man to man, rather than God to man. Very profound.

Now verse 14, after then He overcame Satan the devil and the temptations there, “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of Him through all the region round about. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all” (Luke 4:14-15). So He continued to preach and to teach and to go everywhere doing that.

Let’s come to Matthew 4 and see again where Jesus went everywhere and preached. He taught the word of God, He spoke of God; He showed them the love of God, the mercy of God, the commandments of God, and what God expected of them. Now let’s begin here in Matthew 4:23. “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And His fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto Him all sick people that were taken with divers [different] diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils [demons], and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and He healed them. And there followed Him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond [the] Jordan” (vs. 23-25), the whole area of what we would call Palestine.

Now then, remember - remember the promise that that Prophet, Who was Christ, would teach them the words of God. And God then was going to hold them all accountable for this, you see. So what do we have in Matthew 5? We have the Sermon on the Mount. You want to know the words of God unto eternal life? Read the Sermon on the Mount - chapter 5, chapter 6, chapter 7. And when He got done speaking all of that, we find here in chapter 7:28, “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at His doctrine: for He taught them as one having authority,...” Which He did, from God the Father, “...and not as the scribes” (Matt. 7:28-29).

You see, because - let’s come to John 3 now, and let’s understand something here. Even John the Baptist knew this. John 3, and let’s pick it up here in verse 31. “He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: He that cometh from heaven is above all. And what He hath seen and heard, that He testifieth; and no man recieveth His testimony.” So, see, even here people didn’t want to listen to Him. However, there are some few who do: those that He calls. “[And as many as] hath received His testimony hath set to His seal that God is true. For He Whom God hath sent [that is Christ] speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on [upon] him”(John 3:31-36).

Just like Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees over, and over, and over again. Let’s come over here, let’s come over here to John 5, and let’s pick it up in verse 17. “But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh...” That’s after He did a miracle on the Sabbath, you know, this occasion here, John 5:17. “...My Father worketh, hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath,...” which He didn’t do. He loosed one of the traditional laws of Judaism. “...But said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.” Which He was. “Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son [of man] can do nothing of Himself,...” In other words, it’s not coming out from Himself. Because as a human being, doing that, if He took that of Himself, what would He be doing? Exactly the same as every other human being - sinning against God. Now notice this carefully. “...But what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth Him all things that Himself doeth: and He will shew Him greater works than these, that ye may marvel” (John 5:17-20).

Now let’s come over here to John 14. Isn’t it interesting that all of these things in this particular way are found in the Gospel of John, who was the disciple that loved Jesus, and whom Jesus loved? Now let’s come over here to John 14, and He says, let’s begin right here in verse 26. “But the Comforter, which is the Holy [Spirit] Ghost, whom [which] the Father will send in My name, he [it] shall teach you all things,...” Now that’s the way it should read. “…And bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth,...” because it gives it and takes it back, you see. “...Give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved Me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for My Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and [he] hath nothing in Me.” Not a single thing against Christ. “But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave Me commandment, even so I do” (vs. 26-31).

Just like the prophecy of Deuteronomy 18. When God would come and dwell in the flesh and tabernacle among His creation, He was to bring the words of God, as a man to men. And now they were held accountable and responsible for it in a special and particular and profound way. Now let’s come to John 12 and let’s see that. Now let’s begin here in verse 44. “Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me.” So God the Father is also acting in this and concerned too, isn’t He? “And he that seeth Me seeth Him that sent Me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.” Now, He’s coming to judge the world when He returns. “He that rejecteth Me, and recieveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him:...” What is it that judges him? “...The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:44-48). To fulfill the prophecy that God, raising up this Prophet, Who was God manifest in the flesh, Christ tabernacling among us, coming to His own, teaching the way of God, teaching the word of God. Now then, those words, because they did not want to listen to God as He spoke to them from Mount Sinai. So God took them up on their proposition and came as a man and says, “Now, you are held responsible for what you hear”, because God has dwelt among us.

Now notice, verse 49, “For I have not spoken of Myself;...” He didn’t do it of Himself. “...But the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto Me, so I speak” (vs. 49-50). So now that Christ has come into the world, God manifest into the flesh, because God has tabernacled among men, and has left His word for us to live by, and we know the words of God that He would speak to us as a human being, contained right here in the Bible, we are held accountable for it. Now if we accept it, believe in Christ, we receive eternal life and we can dwell with God. What a great meaning to the Feast of Tabernacles.