REVELATION 3:14-17
Laodicea
Write, "These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God" (Revelation 3:14).
In Revelation, Jesus is referred to as the true and faithful witness of God. "The beginning of the creation of God" the Greek does not signify that Jesus is a created being, but that He is the original cause of creation.
For "all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist" (Colossians 1:16-17).
"All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3). Jesus is the origination of the creation powers or the origin of God's creation.
So He is actually the creative force, and that's what Revelation is speaking of here - the creative force of the creation of God.
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would that you were cold or hot. So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue you out of my mouth (Revelation 3:15-16).
The reason for the lukewarm conditions: "Because you say, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing" (Revelation 3:17).
Their trust in materialism has brought them to a lukewarm state. "You cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24).
Mixing the two wi l l lead you into becoming lukewarm.
"You know not that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (Revelation 3:17).
The contrasting views one was their own view about themselves, the other was God's view about them. Jesus said that you do err if you judge yourself by men (Luke 18:9-14).
Many times we look around and judge ourselves by man's standard. We might think we're all right. But man's
standard isn't the standard by which we're to judge ourselves or by which we'll be judged.
Jesus Christ is the standard.
He demonstrates to us what God intended man to be. Hold yourself up next to Him and see how you look. That
will give you an idea of what the true judgment will be like.
If you say, "Well, I'm better than Chuck Smith" - that's not going to buy you anything!
Jesus said, "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20).
You'll never make it on your own righteousness. The only
righteousness which is acceptable is the righteousness which God has imputed unto you by your faith in Jesus Christ.
The righteousness which is of Christ through faith is the only way you'll get an entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
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