Sermon Tone Analysis

*Introduction*

* *

To say that the Bible is merely a human book without any supernatural component to it, is to reveal a superficial acquaintance with it and with its divine author.

The Bible is fully human and it is fully divine without any contradiction or compromise of either aspect.

As human beings we need to be guided into it and through it by a divine docent who is fully aware of all of its subtleties and wonderful nuances.

On our own, we will major on the minors and miss the pure substance that Jesus Christ desires to pour into our hearts and spirits.

Jesus Christ himself is the Central theme of the entire bible.

From Genesis to Revelation each book points to Him and to His Finished Work.

Once one begins to allow each book of the Bible to share its particular portion, the Bible becomes a fascinating and glorious picture of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev 19:16).

As 1 Timothy 6:15-16 says;  ……, “He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see,” i.e.  no one can see Him without being brought (Ps 65:4) into His marvelous light (1 Pet 2:9).

Only the entrance of the word of God gives this special frequency of light (Ps 119:105) and that particular wavelength of light will shine on Him who is the light of the World (John 8:12).

Our purpose today in this booklet, is to edify the reader in the divine authorship of the bible, to show that it is a book that points to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and His Finished Work and finally to inspire each reader to read afresh the pages of the word of life for his own enrichment and growth in the true faith.

*/Chapter One/*

*Divine Authorship of the Bible*

*John 17:14* \\ I have given them */Your word/*; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

*John 17:17*

Sanctify them by Your truth.

*/Your word/* is truth.

*Matthew 24:35* \\ Heaven and earth will pass away, but */My words/* will by no means pass away.

*Revelation 3:8** \\ *“I know your works.

See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept */My word/*, and have not denied My name.

As these verses proclaim, Jesus Christ knew that what He had brought to mankind was the Word of God or the “Word from God”.

“I have given them Your Word” are words from one of His last prayers.

Because of the perfection of His walk with the Father, he could say without apology and wavering, “I have given them Your” very Word.

He brought wisdom from above in James 3:17 which “is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”

He brought the word from God which is able to build us up (Acts 20:32) and make us wise in 2 Timothy 3:14 because it is living and imparting supernatural life (Ps 119:25, Col 3:16).

In Him alone there is immortality and His life was the light of men (John 1:4).

Jesus knew that what he had brought to mankind would outlast everything else here on the earth.

In Matt 25:35 he stated it quite emphatically, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away”.

Jesus Christ knew that he was building on and building with something that is bedrock to all of reality, the word of the Living God (Ps 119:89).

He knew that he and other "holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21) and that the result was not just what men desired to say.

He knew that God was speaking to all mankind in and through Him in Hebrews 1.

*Hebrews 1:1-2a*

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, \\ has in these last days spoken to us by His Son,

Jesus knew that the Father was the author of this word and that without the Father, He could do absolutely nothing of eternal value: 

 

*John 8:28*

Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.

*John 5:19* \\ Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.

*John 5:30* \\ I can of Myself do nothing.

As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

Space does not allow us to present all the testimony that the Scriptures gives to the fact that it is indeed the Word that God himself has given to all of Mankind.

*/Chapter Two/*

*A Book that points to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ*

*John 5:46-47* \\ For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.

But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

*Hebrews 1:1-2* 

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,

has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

*1 Corinthians 1:30** \\ *But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—

This is an exhaustive subject and a comprehensive treatment of it is not possible here.

What I would like to focus upon is one example that is very edifying to my heart.

In Numbers 5:11-31 there is a detailed explanation of what is called the Law of Jealousy.

In it there is a provision made to settle a dispute between a husband and his wife.

Should the husband suspect sexual misconduct by his wife and not be able to prove it, he could bring his wife to the tabernacle.

There the priest would apply this process and the matter would be settled.

The determination of guilt came by having the accused wife drink a cup of water which had dirt from the floor of the tabernacle and the ink from the document which detailed the accusations with their consequential curses.

After drinking this potion, if she were guilty of adultery, her abdomen would swell and her thigh would waste away.

If she were innocent, no symptoms would result and the husband would know that he was captive to excessive jealousy.

The guilt for the conflict would then be on him.

Seen by itself this Law seems to be just another example of the barbaric practices by male chauvinistic tribes that has no relevance to our “modern” society with its liberated values.

Don’t misunderstand, I’m not an advocate for turning back the clock or a return to the abuse of women and children etc.

I am just a simple person who wants to hear what God is saying through His Word, so I must allow this part of the Bible to share its particular portion.

When I do, a fascinating and glorious picture of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev 19:16) is the result.

What I find uniquely pertinent to us today is that the Numbers 5 passage shows the importance of the need for the determination of guilt to be left to God himself.

For only God knows the heart, and only He can search it out with any accuracy (Jer.17:10).

*Proverbs 16:2* All the ways of a man /are /pure in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the spirits.

*Proverbs 21:2* Every way of a man /is /right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the hearts.

In the New Testament, John 8:1-12 gives us the only example of a situation where Jesus Christ handles an incident any where close to the one described in Numbers 5.

Here a woman, caught in adultery, the very act, is brought to Jesus Christ to see how He would respond.

In the midst of the discussion, Jesus stoops down, and writes on the ground.

He wrote on the dirt with his finger.

*John 8:4-5 * /They said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.

"Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.

But what do You say?"/

I have heard a great deal of speculation over the years as to what he wrote and what He was thinking.

Although no one can be dogmatic, this is what I think.

He was thinking about Number 5:11-31.

As He put his finger into the dirt he was thinking of the bitter cup with the curses which had been written and scraped off and put in the water.

Does Justice require that this dirt be put into a cup of water?

Does a formal document with charges and testimony need to be prepared and the ink scraped off into that water?

Does this scene demand that her guilt be formally established?

Should we wait to see if her abdomen swells and her thigh wastes away?

Or do we stone her now on the testimony of these men?

What does Justice require?

*John 8:7** *So/ when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."/

*/Chapter Three/*

*The Cup of Wrath*

Jesus Christ was not neglecting justice, or the law, far from it, for he came to fulfill it, exalt it, and make honorable (Matt 5:17; Isaiah 42:21).

He was thinking of the full cup of God’s wrath and anger.

*Isaiah 51:17 *

Rouse yourself!

Rouse yourself!

Arise, O Jerusalem, You who have drunk from the Lord’s hand the cup of His anger; The chalice of reeling you have drained to the dregs.

He knew the reality of the price that this sin and all sin would require.

He also knew that not one of the persons standing before Him could drink that cup without eternal consequences.

He further knew that His purpose for living was to drink that bitter cup for all the sins of mankind (Numbers 5:23, 24).

*Matthew 26:39* \\ And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.”

*Matthew 26:42* \\ He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.”

*John 18:11*

So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”

He knew that in “His hour”, he would be reeling and staggering and stumbling.