"God, Who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son whom He hath appointed heir of all things..." (Hebrews 1:1-2).

        Sundry times-- the Greek is "polumeros" meaning: many parts (or portions).
        Truth was parceled out at different times, line upon line, here a little, there a little, even as His name was revealed to man by degrees. He said, "I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of GOD ALMIGHTY, but by My name JEHOVAH was I not known to them." (Exodus 6:3). Through the many centuries He revealed various names-- El Elyon (the Most High God); Adonai (Master); El Olam (God of the ages); El Shaddai (The ALL-sufficient One); Jehovah-jireh (God will provide); and the list could go on and on, as each experience and outworking of His purpose brought a further revelation of Him to His people, and He revealed another name which related to what He was doing among them. All through the Scriptures we have an ongoing, a progressive revelation of DIVINE HANDIWORK, and it is wonderful!
        Divers manners-- the Greek is "polutropos" meaning: many ways (fashion).
        Not only did He have MANY PARTS in His unfolding revelation, but He also had MANY WAYS of expressing what He said. Ephesians 3:10 speaks of the "MANIFOLD wisdom of God." "Polopoikilos"-- divers colors, variegated, or many tinted. Reminds us of Joseph's coat of many colors/pieces. A coat made up of many pieces, and while it is not so stated in the Scripture, it is well possible that each piece was of a different color. His very coat was prophetic of the multi-faceted revelation which would become a garment covering for His people. Not only many pieces sewed together to make a whole garment, but beautiful in its many colors, revealing His glorious purpose and plan being wrought out through the ages.
        God did not speak "ONCE  FOR ALL," but in separate revelations, each of which set forth only a part of His will, progressively leading onward. The revelation came in MANY FORMS-- law, prophecy, history, psalms, sign, type, parable-- each bringing man closer to a clear revelation.
        In time past He spoke by the prophets. Prophet-- the word means: to speak forth, speak out, and thus-- one through whom God speaks, who speaks forth by divine revelation. "If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak to him in a dream." (Num. 12:6). We also find that Moses had a singular qualification that  exceeded normal prophets. "With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches." (Num. 12:8). It was a clear word unto Moses-- to whom God would "tell it like it is." No dark speeches. The Hebrew word is "chidah" meaning: a knot, an acute hidden saying. The leadership of Moses required a clear word-- mouth to mouth, for there was no room for guess-work, nor time to unravel knotty mysteries-- the Spirit of God was upon him in understanding, and a knowing of God's will for them.
        The Psalmist said, "I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength, and His wonderful works that He hath done." (Psalm 78:2-4). So, from generation to generation the DARK SAYINGS were passed down. They could tell their children the praises of the Lord, of His strength, of His wonderful works-- but the mystery of the truth in the DARK SAYINGS often escaped them-- for it required a real quickening of the Spirit to open their understanding to those things.
        Betimes, the Psalmist could also say-- "My mouth shall speak wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp." (Ps. 49:3-4).
        An interesting point-- as he began to sing to the Lord, the Spirit giving an inner quickening, he could open the dark saying, and give clarity to the parable. Moffatt's translation here is precious.
         "My message will be wise and good, a baffling truth on which I brood;
         And as I catch its meaning dim, I render on the lyre this hymn."
        I dare say, there is a lot of hymnology/theology that is far off base, as the carnal mind harmonizes the creed and doctrine of religious Babylon. But there are also some precious, profound truths that have been opened up by the song writers touched by the Spirit of God, and they speak deep within our hearts-- quickening and refreshing, and stabilizing our hope in Him.
        God's promise remains true, both in its historical fulfillment, and in its applications for the future. "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee (Moses), and will put My words in His mouth; and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him." (Deut. 18:18).
        Peter picks up this promise and beautifully applies it to Jesus Christ. "For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever He shall say unto you. - Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you..." (Acts 3:22, 26).
        Moses said that God would "Raise up a prophet like unto me." Jesus Christ is that One whom God raised up. And without a doubt, the lesser was truly fulfilled in the Greater. Moses was but a mere shadow of that which was to come-- THE PROPHET JESUS CHRIST! HE had the words of God-- "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63). Again, "The words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works." (John 14:10). HE was/is a true prophet speaking the words of truth filled with the life of the Spirit.
        Moses also warned the people-- "When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him." (Deut. 18:22). Presumptuously-- Hebrew word used here is "zadon" and literally means: PRIDE. Speaking out of their own self-ego, out of the pride of their own heart. Ah, we have heard such words, and they leave one empty- -there is no life in their speech. They would speak to enhance their own image. And, sad, but very true, we have numerous men that fit the words of Jude 12. "These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots." We need not belabor the point, suffice it to say that we need to keep focused in upon THE PROPHET, to hear what the Spirit saith unto His called out.
         Praise God, He does have His true prophets in every age and generation, and they have foretold some tremendous things-- however much they might have spoken in parables and dark sayings. Piece by piece, bit by bit, truth has been given, and received into the hearts of His people. However many PARTS there might be, they are all gathered into the whole, BY HIS SON. Every dark saying finds its fulfillment in Christ our Lord-- and "Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." (1 Cor. 1:30-31).
         God spake in times past and the FIRST TESTAMENT was instituted. In these latter days He has also spoken, and the NEW TESTAMENT was given. Same God speaking! And now HE SPEAKS AGAIN and His message takes on a new form and substance-- for He is speaking "BY His Son." By-- Greek "en" and literally means IN, WITH, BY. He is speaking IN His Son. He is speaking BY His Son. He is speaking WITH His Son. His Son IS the truth personified.
         Paul writes, "How I long for you to grow more certain in your knowledge and more sure in your grasp of God Himself. May your spiritual experience become richer as you see more and more fully God's great secret, Christ Himself! For it is in Him, and in Him alone, that men will find all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Col. 2:2-3, Phillips).
         God has "spoken unto us by His Son." We find that there is no definite article before the word "Son," making it to read "The son," and which would give emphasis to the identity of Jesus Christ, but in particular it speaks of the QUALITY-- the quality of SONSHIP as revealed in Christ. The essence of the message forth-told by the prophets is now IN HIS SON. In Him God was/is speaking. The SON IS THE MESSAGE! He personified love, compassion, mercy, hope. HE IS the new covenant. God spoke it IN SON, not just by Him, but IN HIM. Not just with Him, but IN HIM. It is all IN HIM! Therefore, "He that hath the Son hath life." (1 John 5:12).
         Jehovah, the I AM, was in Jesus. I AM, from the Hebrew YHWH meaning, I will become what I please to become. It pleases Him to become our healing. It pleases Him to become our righteousness. It pleases Him to become our peace. And yes, if we need a message of judgment-- a correctional change, HE is that message too. "For judgment I AM come into this world." (John 9:39). "The Father hath committed all judgment unto the Son." (John 5:22).
         "IN HIM all fullness was pleased to dwell." (Col. 1:19, Interlinear) .
         Amplified reads-- "For it pleased the Father that all the divine fullness - the sum total of the divine perfection, powers and attributes --should dwell in Him permanently."
         "For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." (Col. 2:9).
         Amplified-- "Giving complete expression of the divine nature."
         What an awesome working of God! In time past God spoke unto the fathers by the prophets-- in many parts, in many ways, disclosing His will and purpose for man. BUT NOW He speaks a full message, a complete message. It is a NEW TESTAMENT, which Young's Translation speaks of as-- "A dispensation, A FULL ARRANGEMENT."  "We beheld HIS glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, FULL of grace and truth." (John 1:14). Herein is a message that staggers the mind with its glory and blessing. Moses was a prophet of God, and instrumental in bringing a piece, a part of the message, and there was a glory in that fragment. But "that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth." (2 Cor.3:10).
         "For the law was given by Moses, but GRACE AND TRUTH came by Jesus Christ." (John 1:17). The law had no grace-- for "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy." (Heb. 10:28). And the law had no truth, i.e. REALITY, it only prefigured the real. "If that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second." (Heb. 8:7). "If Joshua had given them rest, then would He not have spoken of another day." (Heb. 4:8). Little did men know what the reality would be! One of the beautiful "parts" was the message of the Passover, with the sacrificing of a lamb, and yet who among them understood the depth of meaning behind the outward symbol? Until He came who knew that the Lamb would be a MAN? It took the inspiration of the Spirit for John the Baptist to declare, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29). Even so, "He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not." (John 1:10). How could they know? They looked for a Messiah, but HE CAME UNDER A SHADOW, born of a virgin-- and they knew Him not.
         Saul zealously opposed what he thought was heresy-- a message proclaiming a MAN was the Almighty. Without a revelation it was/is all a mystery, a dark saying that needs to be opened up by the Spirit of God. Yet ALL THE MESSAGE IS IN THE SON, and as He reveals Himself, we know the truth that HE IS!
         Type and shadow, still all points to Him. "The revelation of Jesus Christ." (Rev. 1:1). He told them plainly, "I AM the way, the truth, and the life." " I AM the Door." " I AM the Good Shepherd." " I AM" the living water." ALL IN THE SON-- yet God was speaking. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God." (John 1:1). With-- the Greek word is "pros"-- direction toward. All that HE DID and SAID pointed back to the Father. As all the rays of the Sun lead up to the Sun, witness to the Sun-- that the Sun is LIGHT, HEAT, etc. So Jesus Christ was the message that turned mankind to the Father. HE was a revelation of the heart of the Father. GOD SPOKE TO HIS CREATION THROUGH THE SON-- and the message has scarcely begun to be heard and understood. But GOD IS STILL SPEAKING even in this day.
         "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John." (John 1:6). He joined the long list of the prophets with a message from the Lord. "I am the voice of One who is crying out in the wilderness." (John 1:23). The ONE crying out was GOD, John was just His articulate voice, mouth-piece. The God who spake in times past was even then speaking through John. But the Founder and FOUNDATION of the New Testament is not just a mouth-piece but HIS SON, a manifestation of the God nature/message. "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." (John 14:9). The message of the Father revealed in the Son. NOW this ONENESS between the Father and Son is extended to all who become ONE IN HIM. As Jesus prayed, "As Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also MAY BE ONE IN US." (John 17:21). The emphasis is not one with each other, but ONE IN US. With the SON being the way into that oneness. "He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit."
         We have already pointed out that there is no definite article (the) before the word SON, thus it emphasizes character, nature, quality. A relationship closer, more intimate than prophets. There are apostles-- SENT ONES. There are prophets-- those who SPEAK FORTH. There are evangelists-- those who ANNOUNCE THE GOSPEL. There are teaching pastors-- those who FEED THE FLOCK. But there is a realm beyond all these ministries, precious as they might be, and it is the realm of HIS SONS. These "in part" ministries are given for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, TILL "we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of THE SON OF GOD, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." (Eph. 4:13-14).
         THE SON reaches out to include all of the "corporate son." "HE is also the Head of His body, the church; seeing He is the Beginning, the Firstborn from among the dead, so that HE ALONE in everything and in every respect might occupy the chief place-- stand first and pre-eminent." (Col. 1:18). HE is forming a corporate son, of which He is the HEAD.
         Same principle is found in Galatians 3:16, though it changes the metaphor to that of a seed. "He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." Though spoken of in the singular, it is not speaking only of Jesus Christ, but of the whole enchristed (anointed) body. "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: SO ALSO IS CHRIST." (1 Cor. 12:12). "For ye are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal. 3:28) .
         Paul also wrote to the Romans that "Whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON, that He might be the Firstborn among many brethren." (Romans 8:29). Herein shall our Father be glorified, as each of us in particular are conformed to the image of HIS SON. Partakers of His divine nature, "that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9). The image is His, the light is His, the divine nature is His-- it is GOD ALL THE WAY, revealing Himself through a people who IN HIM become His message to the world.
         With Paul we can also make our confession, "It PLEASED God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen." (Gal. 1:15-16). Pleased-- "eudokeo" meaning-- to think well of. Same word as we saw in Col. 1:19, that "It pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell." All that is now being wrought IN US is "according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself: -according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will: that we should be to the praise of His glory." (Eph. 1:9, 11-12).
         Separated me from my mother's womb, called me by His grace-- it all sounds so wonderful-- a high and holy calling. But what Paul didn't say at that time, though certainly spoken enough times in His other writings, is the record of all the PROCESSING REQUIRED TO CHANGE US FROM GLORY TO GLORY.
       "I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may BE MADE perfect in one." (John 17:23). Be made-- teleioo, to complete, consummate, finish. It is Divine handiwork in the MAKING of His sons, that they might become a further unveiling of the Father's message. Not speaking of themselves, but of HIM! A state of being that proclaims Him, even if no words are uttered.
         "For it became Him (Amplified, it was an act worthy of God, and fitting to the divine nature) in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." (Heb. 2:10). Made perfect-- literally, to carry to the goal or consummation. It implies no moral imperfection in our Lord, but the consummation of the human experience of suffering the death of the cross. He could say, "It is finished." Thus He blazed the trail, the way of the cross, "leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps." (1 Peter 2:21). It was a DARK SAYING at the time the prophet Isaiah uttered it-- "I have trodden the winepress alone; and of  the people there was none with Me." (Isa. 63:3). But how beautifully the truth unfolds now that we can look back to the happenings at Calvary, and see the essential working of the cross.
       THE CROSS-- "by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Gal. 6:14). Such a working of divine grace cannot be lightly spoken of.
         "Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." (Heb. 12:6). Chasteneth-- paideuo, to instruct, child-train. It does not have the idea of punishment, but of corrective measures that are used for our growing up. The purpose, "for our profit," that He might ultimately receive us into Himself. There is a developing oneness in Him as we are made "partakers of His holiness." (Heb. 12:10) .
         SHARED EXPERIENCES! How much will we also participate in HIS experience? "Lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matt. 3:17). Oh, that He might also be well pleased with us! "The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter." (Lam. 4:2). We have this treasure in earthen vessels-- and often people are far more conscious of the "earthy" part, and they do not see the fine gold. But the work is HIS, and we are "confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Phil. 1:6). And so THE WORK GOES ON-- and He changes us from glory to glory. But "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." (Col. 3:4).
         How long the world has waited for this consummation of God's working in His first fruits. "The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own. The world of creation cannot as yet see reality, not because it chooses to be blind, but because in God's purpose it has been so limited-- yet it has been given hope. And the hope is that in the end the whole of created life will be rescued from the tyranny of change and decay, and have its share in that magnificent liberty which can only belong to the children of God." (Romans 8:19-21).
         What a glorious progression is taking place. Prophets giving out parables and dark sayings. Little by little the fragments of truth come together as the Spirit quickens, and the vision is a little more clear. Then THE SON came on the scene, a living demonstration of the message-- not fully known by those who were blinded, but a first fruits are apprehended and led onward step by step-- ultimately to become EXPRESSIONS OF THE MESSAGE-- with GOD SPEAKING THROUGH THESE SONS.
         "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 alight of the nations; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house." (Isa. 42:6-7).- "I will also give thee for a light of the nations, that thou mayest BE MY SALVATION unto the end of the earth." (Isa. 49:6).
        Called, held, kept, given-- what workings of divine grace until such a time that HE can GIVE US for a light. He is "the Father of lights," (James 1:17) and He is bringing forth a people of His own kind. He has and will speak IN, WITH, BY His sons, for they shall both experience and then give forth HIS SALVATION. Laborers together with God, they seek only to do His will.
        "It is IN HIM that all the fullness of Deity continues to live embodied. AND THROUGH UNION WITH HIM you too are filled with it." (Col. 2:9-10, Williams). Low we bow at His feet, to worship and praise Him for all His inworkings.
_______________________________________________
(1)Prinzing, Ray and Doris "Letters of Truth"  Boise, Idaho 83705, P.O. Box 5822

Back to Top of Page  Exit to Introduction Menu  Back to Letters of Truth Library  List
  Back to Main Book Libray of Ray and Doris Prinzing