The COMMANDMENTS (3)
“And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”—Exodus 20:3
God reveals Himself by His Word through His Spirit. It is my contention that all divine revelation is of the Father through the Son by the agency of the Holy Spirit. Here, then, God reveals Himself through His Word in a miraculous way to His people; “God spake all these words, saying…” And what He says is a disclosure of —
(1) His person: “I am.” Recall that this is the title He authorized Moses to use when he went to Pharaoh to plead for the release of the Israelites from Egypt. It is also of no little value to remember that the Lord Jesus Christ laid claim to the title when He declared to the “the Jews,” “Before Abraham was, I am,” and so outraged them that “they took up stones to cast at Him [John 8:58 and context].” The significance of the title, with respect to deity, is afforded in Revelation 1:8, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Simply put, the Eternal One.”
(2) His position: “the LORD thy God.” It is the position of priority and authority. The significance of the word LORD is disclosed in Psalm 83:18: “…thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.”
(3) His compassion: “I… have brought thee out of Egypt, out of the land of bondage.” This signifying that what is being said is directed to the redeemed, not to the world at large. The New Testament confirms this; “…the Gentiles, … have not the law [See Romans 2:14].” As we noted previously, the commandments were not given in order that men might be saved, but that by them those who are His people might reveal themselves as such by loving submission to His revealed will. Obedience to the commandments is simply “thanks-living.”
It is important to recognize that this principle is paralleled in the New Testament “under grace.” It is to believers, not to the unregenerate that the call to obedience is issued. It is to “His own” that the Savior says, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
First and foremost, then is this commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” The obvious implication is that God, because He is God, should have no competitors in our lives. No person or thing is to be the primary object of our love, to say nothing of our worship, other than He. He is to be our “first love.”
The threat of competition is illustrated variously in the New Testament. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God…[Mt. 6:33].” “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him [I John 2:15].” “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me… [Mt. 10:10].” People, position, possessions, even personal welfare—all is to be subordinated to the will of God out of love and respect for Him.
When the rich young ruler had revealed that his love for the material world was competing with love for God, “he went away sorrowful,” and the Savior turned to the disciples and said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God,” to which the disciples responded with amazement, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus replied, “with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” Impetuous Peter reacted saying, “Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?” Jesus responded, “every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” (See the whole account, Mt. 19:16-30) God is a benevolent Master!
The first commandment, understood and taken seriously, introduces us to our spiritual bankruptcy. Paul said, “When the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” That is the necessary reaction of everyone, saved or unconverted, who understands even this first precept of “the law.” If this is what God requires, we have come short; woefully short. If we are to make it to heaven, it must be on some other ground. Happily, that ground is at Calvary. “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe [Rom. 3:20-22].”
“On Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.”
Saved by His grace alone,
"Pastor" Frasier
God reveals Himself by His Word through His Spirit. It is my contention that all divine revelation is of the Father through the Son by the agency of the Holy Spirit. Here, then, God reveals Himself through His Word in a miraculous way to His people; “God spake all these words, saying…” And what He says is a disclosure of —
(1) His person: “I am.” Recall that this is the title He authorized Moses to use when he went to Pharaoh to plead for the release of the Israelites from Egypt. It is also of no little value to remember that the Lord Jesus Christ laid claim to the title when He declared to the “the Jews,” “Before Abraham was, I am,” and so outraged them that “they took up stones to cast at Him [John 8:58 and context].” The significance of the title, with respect to deity, is afforded in Revelation 1:8, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Simply put, the Eternal One.”
(2) His position: “the LORD thy God.” It is the position of priority and authority. The significance of the word LORD is disclosed in Psalm 83:18: “…thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.”
(3) His compassion: “I… have brought thee out of Egypt, out of the land of bondage.” This signifying that what is being said is directed to the redeemed, not to the world at large. The New Testament confirms this; “…the Gentiles, … have not the law [See Romans 2:14].” As we noted previously, the commandments were not given in order that men might be saved, but that by them those who are His people might reveal themselves as such by loving submission to His revealed will. Obedience to the commandments is simply “thanks-living.”
It is important to recognize that this principle is paralleled in the New Testament “under grace.” It is to believers, not to the unregenerate that the call to obedience is issued. It is to “His own” that the Savior says, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
First and foremost, then is this commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” The obvious implication is that God, because He is God, should have no competitors in our lives. No person or thing is to be the primary object of our love, to say nothing of our worship, other than He. He is to be our “first love.”
The threat of competition is illustrated variously in the New Testament. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God…[Mt. 6:33].” “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him [I John 2:15].” “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me… [Mt. 10:10].” People, position, possessions, even personal welfare—all is to be subordinated to the will of God out of love and respect for Him.
When the rich young ruler had revealed that his love for the material world was competing with love for God, “he went away sorrowful,” and the Savior turned to the disciples and said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God,” to which the disciples responded with amazement, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus replied, “with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” Impetuous Peter reacted saying, “Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?” Jesus responded, “every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” (See the whole account, Mt. 19:16-30) God is a benevolent Master!
The first commandment, understood and taken seriously, introduces us to our spiritual bankruptcy. Paul said, “When the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” That is the necessary reaction of everyone, saved or unconverted, who understands even this first precept of “the law.” If this is what God requires, we have come short; woefully short. If we are to make it to heaven, it must be on some other ground. Happily, that ground is at Calvary. “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe [Rom. 3:20-22].”
“On Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.”
Saved by His grace alone,
"Pastor" Frasier
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