Dear Beloved of God, in Christ Jesus.
We give glory to God for the gift of another new day, we thank God for the privilege of life and for His unending mercy and grace upon us always. Praise God!
STUDYING AND UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE – PART 429
We are still in Isaiah Chapter 45.
Another verse that I quickly want us to look into is verse 7:
Isaiah 45:7 KJV
[7]I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
This is just one of the many verses some men of God ignorantly hold unto, to preach and give people the impression that God does evil. I have been there before too.
But I thank God for His revelation. It was not easy. It requires humility, prayers and many years of genuine and serious study of the Scriptures.
Knowing how to interpret the Scriptures is not the duty of Pastors alone. It’s the duty of every believer in Christ Jesus.
Paul writes to Timothy in
2 Timothy 2:15
[15]Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Now back to Isaiah 45:7
We have repeatedly on this platform, looked into the fact that God is not an evil God neither does He do any evil and those who have been following our series will understand that pure truth.
I am going to share with us some evidences again using the New Covenant lenses, before I explain what Isaiah was saying in verse 7.
First of all, let’s look at what James has to say:
James 1:13
[13]Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.
If God does not tempt people with evil, where then does evil come from?
James has also provided that answer.
James 1:14-15
[14]But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
[15]Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Who is the originator of this enticement, lust and sin mentioned above?
2 Corinthians 11:3 GNT
I am afraid that your minds will be corrupted and that you will abandon your full and pure devotion to Christ-in the same way that Eve was deceived by the snake’s clever lies.
Now you have the answer right?
That’s why James continues in verse 17 and says…
James 1:16-17
[16]Do not err, my beloved brethren.
It means do not go astray from the truth. Don’t allow yourself to be seduced away from the truth.
Now, let’s see what comes from God Himself.
[17]Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
So, when New Covenant says God cannot do evil and you say no, that you want to follow Old Covenant writings that were written in coded forms that need explanation, then you still have a long way to go in unlearning and relearning.
When the Bible says God cannot…
It shows a unidirectional emphatic statement. It has no reverse.
Just like when Titus 1:2 and also Heb 6:18 say…
“God cannot lie.”
When you see an emphatic word like “cannot”, always pay attention to such words in the Bible. Cannot means God definitely cannot do evil. It’s not in his nature. His nature is pure Love.
When this is settled in your heart about God, then you will have the right perspective of God.
However, if you are still viewing God with the lenses of the Old Covenant, which God Himself did not approve as a means of justification, then your mind will always be believing errors spewed from various un-regenerated pulpits and mouths.
Now, back to Isaiah 45:7
Did God actually create evil?
The answer is no. Evil comes to people as a result of their disobedience to God’s offer of safety/Salvation.
Let me paraphrase verse 7 for better understanding. Remember Isaiah opened the chapter with message of Salvation which he used Cyrus to portray…?
Isaiah was saying to his audience that in God’s offer of Salvation, whoever listens, believes and receives it, gets saved (has peace, bliss, eternal rest); but whoever rejects the offer faces the opposite (evil, disaster, calamity etc), which is caused by the devil.
It happened in Eden already. We can use that as the basis for this explanation. Gen 3:1 & verse 13.
How did we know it was the devil? Because Paul says so in 2 Cor 2:11
[11]Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Also here…
2 Corinthians 11:3 GNT
I am afraid that your minds will be corrupted and that you will abandon your full and pure devotion to Christ-in the same way that Eve was deceived by the snake’s clever lies.
That’s exactly what James meant when he says a person is tempted when led astray…James 1:13-14.
The devil is the real killer not God.
Jesus said it Himself…
John 8:43-44
[43]Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
[44]Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
To be continued…stay tuned and stay blessed…Praise God.
Prayers:
👉By the authority in the name of Jesus, every form of seduction or treachery from the pit of hell targeted against you and your family, be thwarted now, in Jesus name.
👉No one on this platform will be a victim of destruction in Jesus name.
👉You are safe, secured and blessed always in Jesus name.
Bible readings for today: Reflection time on all the Chapters you have read so far from the past six days and covering of missed Chapters.
I call you blessed now and always.
Saturday May 30, 2020 (DDMI)
