Hath God Said?

     Some time ago I was doing a study and came upon Gen. 3:1. The phrase “hath God said” has been ringing in my spirit. (Gen. 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.) Notice how the woman added to the Word of God. God never told Adam “not to touch” it. The original command given by God was: (Gen. 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.)

      The very FIRST recorded conversation between mankind and someone other than God resulted in corrupting His Word. Man, with his natural understanding has twisted the Word to suit his ideas and beliefs, added to the Word to confirm some idea or belief, ignored the Word where it didn’t line up with his ideas or doctrines, accepted the pagan teachings of tradition, and many times has accused God of not meaning what He said when he’s encountered something in the Word that contradicts his doctrines. (Matt. 15:7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.  Mark 7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.)  Strong’s Concordance: none effect ; to render void, deprive of force and authority. (Prov. 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 1 Thes.2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. 1 John 2:14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.)

      That living Word of God turned the world upside-down in those early centuries. It brought life to the hearers. There’s a world of difference between reading the Bible, memorizing and quoting scripture, believing certain doctrines; or having the Living Word inside. Many years ago I was reading (1 John 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?), and sought the Lord regarding this as I didn’t have a love for my fellow man. I left it with the Lord, knowing He would provide an answer. Some months later there was a program on TV, 60 minutes or something like it, and they were interviewing transvestites. My first reaction was disgust, and all of a sudden I was stopped dead in my tracks and the Lord spoke to me and said, “How can I love them if I can’t love them through you?” What a humbling experience that was: a little taste of the love our Father has for His creation and the realization that it had to be that Living Word in me exhibiting that love to the world. (Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. John 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.) As a human being I am incapable of loving my fellow man, let alone someone that the carnal man recoils from in disgust, but that Living Word inside can and does love as the Father loves, “while we were yet sinners”. This is that true Word that is quick and powerful, which works and abides in us, changing the inner man. This is the Word that Jesus said they made of “none effect” with their traditions. This is the Word that has been set aside and made of “none effect”; exchanging it for rules and regulations, religious doctrines, programs, rituals, ceremonies, objects of worship, and religion instead of life. (Eph. 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:)

        Jesus came and walked in this death realm with no condemnation for anyone. (John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.) Many times He spoke very harshly to the “religious” Pharisees, who should have known Him and known better than to corrupt the Word of God. But in spite of this in (Luke 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.) He answered them saying “the kingdom of God is within you”! What! The kingdom of God is within the Pharasees!! Yes, but they were blind and couldn’t see spiritual things, but Praise God, He will open the eyes of the blind and bring the prisoners out of the prison house! (Is. 42:6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. Ps. 68:18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.) Jesus preached to those disobedient spirits of Noah’s day, bringing them into captivity to Himself, and leading those who were held captive in that prison house of death. Truly He did conquer death for all of us.

     ( Prov. 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Prov. 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.) It matters not what man “thinks”. (Rom. 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. Ps. 51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.) If it hasn’t been revealed to him, through his trust in the Lord, by that indwelling Word of God, even though it may “seem” right, it is nothing more than carnal knowledge which brings forth death. Man has lived all these many millennia according to the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”, deciding what HE thinks is right, listening to other voices, being led by his own carnal, natural reasoning. (Matt. 7: 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.) All these things were done out of the natural man instead of that abiding Word within and the Lord didn’t know them. (1 Cor. 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.)

     (Matt. 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.) Strong’s Concordance: converted; to turn, turn around. A little child is totally dependent upon his/her parents, they trust implicitly, they have no preconceived ideas, they believe without question, and they follow after and learn from them. What a different picture that is from how we’ve lived, self sufficient, self reliant, questioning so much of what our Father has said, forming our own ideas and beliefs, and listening to men instead of our Father. (Rom. 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Heb. 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.)

         The Israelites being delivered out of bondage in Egypt, and witnessing the mighty power of God wanted to listen to a man rather than their loving deliverer. (Ex. 20:19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.) It is no different today. Man would rather listen to their favorite preachers, authors, or TV evangelists than to “be still” and listen to the Father, seeking Him with all their heart. Those who hunger and thirst after the Lord are labeled fanatics and/or heretics. “Just go to church on Sunday, live decent, according to the golden rule and moral standards, but don’t get too carried away and go overboard. People will think you’ve gone off the deep end.” (Matt. 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.)  The world thinks one cannot find, worship, or hear from God apart from a “man”. Thank God for Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, king David, the prophets, John the Baptist, the disciples, Paul, and others, who all heard the living “Word of God”.

     Have you ever been hungry, sitting down and opening the Bible, when a “word” you had never seen before, jumped off the page and became a living part of you? That is the living Word. That is the “hath God said” Word. Eve didn’t hear “that Word”. She only heard the “dead” letter of the Word that was told to her by Adam. The dead word is the word spoken and taught by those who “aren’t sent”, the word that is “learned” by our natural minds, and the word that has produced all the “religions” of the world. The word that produces death, wars, condemnation, self righteousness, division, hatred, contempt for God, contempt for others, a lack of compassion and mercy and love for those for whom Christ died, and stripping God of His almighty power. The living Word within produces the very nature of God, which Jesus is. (Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 1 Cor. 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.)

 ( 2 Tim 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Prov 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.  Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Ps. 119:10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 12 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. 1 John 2: 27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.1 Cor. 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.)