Joshua is the same as Yeshua, Jesus, the Lord saves. His name is truth and serves as a reminder of
the truth that it is not this man, this leader, who saves, but the Lord. In Jesus' case, it is one and the same. Joshua is given glory and honor for his
heroism and his leadership. He fought
the battles for the Lord, believing in the promises of the Lord to give the
nation the Land but they had to also work for it. We often believe the promises of God but
discount the need to put in our own effort to claim it. There is more to it than naming it and
claiming it, we have to step into the battle sometimes in order to receive the
promise. If we hunger and thirst after
the righteousness God promises, for instance, we must do something to satisfy
those needs, feasting on the Word, both the written word and the Word became
flesh in Jesus. Joshua always trusted
the Lord, never faltered or failed in faith and this led him to take action.
Why should Jesus be compelled to tell them the authority by
which he teaches and performs signs and wonders? Can they not make judgment for
themselves? Occam's razor can be expressed,
"when you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions,
the simpler one is the better." The
simpler explanation for the authority Jesus has is that it is from God. The evidence is that people are healed and
God is praised, that people are more attracted to the Word of God by His
teaching, and that people are delivered from demonic possession and oppression
by His ministry therefore the reasonable explanation is that He is from
God. The more difficult assertion is
that it has a demonic source, for why would that result in improvement in lives
in keeping with prophecy. They have all
the information they need to know that Jesus is indeed the complete fulfillment
of His Name.
Paul says that the Corinthians apparently have come to
question whether Christ was speaking in him as he claimed. This question is likely the result of this
other teaching they have received from the super apostles that is at variance
with Paul's teaching. Paul says that
they have Christ in them by the power of the Holy Spirit and the implication is
that he will be testing them rather than the other way around. His test is simple, if Christ is in you
spiritually there will be evidence of righteousness in their lives. There is no dualism regarding the spirit and
the body. What one does affects the
other. If Christ is in them, he should
see them acting righteously and if they are indulging in sin with the body then
the Spirit of God is not in them. Our call
is simple and plain, our lives are to display the glory of God so that all
might see Him and know the truth, the Lord saves.
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