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Author
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Topic: Why a 1st day 2
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Betty Louise
Advanced Member
Member # 7175
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posted
I worship Jesus every day or at least I try to. I go to Church on Sunday morning and most Wednesday nights, depending on hubby's health.
betty
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Luk 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Posts: 5051 | From: Houston, Texas | Registered: May 2008
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Brother Paul
Advanced Member
Member # 7959
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posted
You are so right my sister...about all of this there is no doubt in my experience and study either. This study is just about how the Lord always held the first day in a certain esteem as well as the seventh day...and yes, for Christians Christ IS our rest and we worship on the first day because He rose from the dead on that day and that was the day the Apostles passed on to us...
Brother Paul
Posts: 235 | From: Cambridge, MA | Registered: Dec 2009
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Carol Swenson
Admin
Member # 6929
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posted
Reasons why Jesus Christ has become our Sabbath Rest
The Sabbath was a command given specifically to Israel.
There is no biblical record whatsoever of anybody keeping the Sabbath prior to Exodus 16 (Neh. 9:13-14). Even after they received the full-blown Sabbath command (Ex. 20:8-11), Israel who often condemned the sins of her pagan neighbors, never criticized their violation of the Sabbath.
The Sabbath was part of God’s ceremonial law and not grounded in His unchanging character.
The Sabbath was a ceremonial law given specifically to Israel, not grounded in God’s unchanging nature. Similar to the entire old covenant, it has been fulfilled and brought to completion in Christ (Mt. 5:17). If David had a right to make an exception in the ceremonial law, Jesus had more (Mt. 12:1-8; c.f 5:21-48). Even Jesus said," The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath" (Mk. 2:27). Moreover, He called Himself the "Lord of the Sabbath" (Lk. 6:5).
The Sabbath was the sign of the Old Covenant.
(Ex. 31:16-17; Neh. 9:14; Eze. 20:12). Because we are now under the New Covenant we are no longer under obligation to keep the Old Covenant, particularly the sign of the Old Covenant. The writer to the Hebrews remarked, "When He said, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear" (Heb. 8:13).
The New Testament nowhere commands Christians to observe the Sabbath.
The church is warned of many sins in the New Testament, but breaking (or observing) the Sabbath is never mentioned. The book of Acts mentions the Sabbath nine times, never once as a day of worship for Christians. If anything, the Apostle Paul rebuked the Galatians for attempting to add the observance of days to the sufficiency of Christ’s work for salvation (Gal. 4:9-11). The church even changed their day of worship from Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath) to Sunday (the Lord’s Day) (Ac. 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2) to show that a new order had been erected with the resurrection of Christ (Jn. 20:1, 19).
Jesus Christ through His redemptive work regained the Sabbath that Adam lost.
Jesus Christ came to complete a redemptive work (Jn. 4:34; 5:36) by restoring the rest that was forfeited in the Garden. In following the same pattern for the first creation, Jesus Christ began the work spoken of in Genesis 3:15 (c.f. Gen. 1:3). He completed the work on the cross (Jn. 17:4; 19:30; c.f. Gen. 1:5). The work was met with God’s satisfaction by the resurrection and ascension of Christ (Rom. 1:3-4; Gen. 1:4) leading again to divine rest (Heb. 10:11-12; c.f. Gen. 2:1-3).
The Sabbath was a sign that pointed to something greater.
Like much of the Old Testament, the Sabbath pointed to Jesus Christ. The Old Testament Sabbath preached the gospel when it called for faith and a cessation of work (Rom. 4:4-5). We dishonor our Savior when the signs still receive the preeminence that He alone deserves. Now that Jesus is here, the signs have become obsolete (Heb. 8:13). The Apostle Paul said, "Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ" (Col. 2:16-17). Jesus is the new Joshua that leads God’s children to a greater Promised Land of rest (Mt. 1:21). Jesus is the new Sabbatical Jubilee (Lev. 25:8-10) that provides a greater cancellation of debts (Lk. 4:18-19).
Jesus Christ has now become the Sabbath rest for Christians under the New Covenant.
God has completed His work of the new creation. Christians are the first fruits of that creation (2 Cor.. 5:17; Gal. 6:15). Our rest, as it was enjoyed by Adam everyday, has again been restored. During this life we still deal with some remnants of the curse, but we recognize our rest in Christ (from meritorious works) through faith and daily worship (Col. 3:17). Due to His redemptive work, He has become our Sabbath rest. Jesus said, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Mt. 11:28-30; c.f. Heb. 4:1-11).
The Christian’s ultimate Sabbath rest will be enjoyed in heaven.
(Rev. 14:13; c.f. 14:11). Though we currently rest in Jesus Christ under the New Covenant, our supreme Sabbatical rest will be realized in heaven where we will enjoy the ultimate rest in the culmination of God’s new creation (Rev. 21:4; 22:1-2) away from the curse in the direct presence of the Lamb (Rev. 22:3).
http://thegracetabernacle.org/studies/gtsn_sabbath.html#top
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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Carol Swenson
Admin
Member # 6929
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posted
Greetings and blessings Brother Paul. I think I have missed the point of your topic.
We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of Christ. Is there any day of the week that is NOT holy or devoted to His service?
When we study the Old Testament, we find what are called types that are fulfilled in the coming of the Messiah. In these types, there is a correspondence between people, events or rituals of the Old Testament and Jesus Christ. Paul taught us in his writings that the sacrifices and rituals were a shadow of things to come (Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 10:1).
Christ is our Sabbath rest. We are sinful and fall short of God’s glory. Outside of Christ, the law of God can only condemn us. It is a heavy yoke we cannot bear (Acts 15:10). And so Christ graciously calls us to Himself to rest in Him:
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30).
The book of Hebrews also points us to Christ as our Sabbath rest. Throughout this book the writer of Hebrews demonstrates the superiority of Christ and the New Covenant over the types and shadows of the Old Covenant. Chapter 1 begins:
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; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they (Hebrews 1:1–4).
In contrast to the priests of the Old Testament, whose work was never finished, who could never sit down—Christ, “when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High.” We see this theme throughout the book:
Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens (Hebrews 8:1).
But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool (Hebrews 10:12–13).
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2).
Christ completed His works of righteousness and redemption. He declared on the cross “It is finished” and has now sat down at the right hand of the Most High.
Hebrews 4 draws an interesting parallel between God’s rest after His work at creation and Christ’s rest after His work of redemption. This passage calls us to heed the gospel that we might enter God’s rest. It warns us not to miss the rest that God has provided for us in Christ, as so many did in the Old Testament because of disobedience and hardness of heart. Verse 10 points us to Christ’s finished work:
For He who has entered His rest has Himself also ceased from His works as God did from His (Hebrews 4:10).
This is the rest we need. We cannot rest in the unfinished and unholy works of our hands. We must rest in the finished work of Christ for our salvation. And so in the next verse the writer of Hebrews exhorts us:
Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience (Hebrews 4:11).
Christ is our Sabbath. He is the rest we need. We must rest in Him.
(Founders Journal)
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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Betty Louise
Advanced Member
Member # 7175
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posted
God bless you, Bro. Paul. I am not sure what you are asking. I do not want to argue anymore about whether we should worship on Saturday or Sunday. I believe it is not good to be arguing. Jesus is coming soon and I want to spend my time more wisely.
Betty
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Luk 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Posts: 5051 | From: Houston, Texas | Registered: May 2008
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Brother Paul
Advanced Member
Member # 7959
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posted
While prayerfully studying my Bible one 7th day Sabbath morning (our Saturday), it came to me, perhaps the Spirit illumining my heart, that all throughout the Scriptures, the LORD honors the first day, which is also the eighth day, the day following a 7th day or Sabbath, as well as other first days, without ever taking away from the honor He bestowed upon the seventh day Sabbath. In addition, what I began to see was that in God's divine plan, many of these first days, which are also eighth days, are also designated to be Sabbaths! What? That’s correct! Many special 1st days are days of rest (Shabbat) from worldly works, and days of Holy convocation! Now I realize that many others may also have seen this truth aforetime, but for me, in light of the events of the death, burial, and resurrection, of Y’shua Ha’ Moschiach (Jesus), this became very significant, because as a Christian, there was a time when I wondered if we should not also observe the 7th day Sabbath, as Christ Himself did, while continuing to gather and worship on the 1st day of the week in memorial of His resurrection, as the Church was taught by the Apostles, and has thus always taught. I understood that the primary reason for why we meet on the first day of the week is because this is the day that Messiah rose from the dead, and that Messiah Himself is our Sabbath (and His rest is glorious), but I also caught a glimpse that the LORD Himself had long ago indicated the idea of a special personal association of “God with us“ (the Shem of Messiah), as being significant to many special first, or eighth days. Thus honoring the first and the last as a personal testimony regarding Himself who is Himself the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega, and used this to emphasize that He is “with us”. God declares Himself many times to be the beginning and the end, the Aleph and the Tau, the first and the last, so why wouldn’t the first and the last both be honorable types of memorialization and together represent a kind of typification of God being with us, and for us, each in it’s own special way?
Here is a question? Is God only honored in the rest, and not also in the movement? Yeah, also in the movement! For is it not written that “in Him, we live and move and have our being”? Yes, our very being and ability to move is dependent on the movement of God in the first of all 1st days. So God’s movements and His rest are essential to our being. In fact, the entire symphony of creation clearly includes both movements and rests. It is “in Messiah“, the second/last Adam, the new first of another new order, that we see a newness of life, a liberation, a new chance, the beginning of a new cycle of existence, a new meaning of resting from our works, and the taking of fallen man out of the dark by the coming of a new Light making us into a “new man”. This was the dawning of a new day in the redemptive plan of God, making us new creations in Him, who is the first and the last. So it came as no surprise to me when I began to see or hear of Messiah being typified in all first and eighth day associations relative to the Old Testament covenants, feasts, and holy days.
On the first day of man, Adam and Eve were created in the image of God, but on a new first day within the godly line of Seth, men began to call on the name of the Lord. This new first was also indicative of a day of hope, in that through this new line of ‘God seeking man so mankind would seek God’, though Seth, who was made after the image of Adam, eventually, the promised seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15), that is Messiah Himself, would one day come forth to provide redemption and give new life to mankind, and that in this new line God would ever be honored.
In the story of Noah, we see yet another first day of new hope, and promise of new life, and a second chance in a renewed world when on the 17th day of the seventh month, the Ark comes to rest on the mountains of Ararat. A day of liberation from the limits of their confinement.
We see a similar theme in the story of Abram! He is the first of all Hebrews (river crosser), brought through the waters, and throughout his life, the LORD was “with him“! Abram is the one to whom is given the covenant of circumcision, wherein the blood was shed! Every male of his line is to be brought forth on the eighth day of their life, which is a new first day in that individual’s life, to be circumcised (the very day on which vitamin K for blood coagulation is the most prominent in our blood) into the covenant of the children of God by faith. This eighth day, which is a type of first day, is likewise, therefore, a day of entrance into a new order of life, into the community of God's people, and into a new Covenant relationship “with” God. It is a separation (a being set apart) from the bondage of idolatrous trappings, representing a dispelling of the darkness holding captive the nations in which their ancestors dwelt, and an entrance into and communion with the light of the one and only true God, the Creator, the God of their father Abraham. This small token of blood being offered consecrated the male child into the community of faith looking forward to that day of full entrance into His eternal rest, when the finished work of Messiah, Abraham’s future seed, would be accomplished in the second Adam, the God-man Christ Jesus.
Later on, the same seventh month as Noah’s new liberation from the confines of the Ark and the beginning their newness of life, actually becomes the first month of God’s Holy Calendar as given to the children of Israel, through Moses. The first day of the month of Nisan became (the Civil Seventh month) the first day of the acceptable year of the Lord. An association is made here between 7th’s and 1rst’s, of new beginnings and of resting, a ceasing from being tossed to and fro, or controlled as it were, by the earthly conditions that have managed to subject us, and an introduction to a new order of existence, a new life as it were, a liberation from bondage, a redemption by the shedding of blood (the Passover lamb), a passing through the waters (the Red Sea), and by the power of the Holy Spirit, a bringing forth of a renewed people into a new order of existence, as the result of this direct intervention of God being "with“ them. The parallels to the Gospel message here are so precise and many, and though I have not time to go into all of them here, there are many fine books written that engage this subject matter. One this author would like to recommend is called, God’s Appointed Times and is written by author Barney Kasdan (Lederer Books, 1993).
Brother Paul
Posts: 235 | From: Cambridge, MA | Registered: Dec 2009
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