Walking With God
Do you love God? Do you believe in the complete fall of man and the complete grace of God? And do you have the passion/ zeal to dedicate your whole life to serving God? Then, without trying to do anything, we must first become a ‘man of God’. We must become a 'man of God' who can be used freely by the God who we want to devote our whole life to. The people of God do not help God by doing something for God, but they participate in the perfect plan that God has already accomplished. The people of God are the channels through which the things that God wants us to do can be accomplished. We must not forget that the man of God belongs to God and is a ‘man of God’ for God.
Man of God
Man of God is those who are in this world, but do not leave their hearts here and are distinguished people, foreigners, people of Christ. Among those who thought that the world was everything and sought the power of the world, those who were called by God and that are still in the world, embracing the kingdom of God and living for the kingdom of God, are God's people. And if the man of God lives such a distinguished life and stands as Christians, the world will hate the Christians who are being alike and distinguished by Jesus Christ, just as Jesus Christ was crucified and put to death.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (1Co 6:19,20)
and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God. (1Co 3:23)
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which[b] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Gal 6:14 ESV)
If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. (Joh 15:19)
A man of God is a person who is convinced of the fact that he or she comes from God, lives by God, and returns to God, and proves the faith through life. Therefore, God's people are God's witnesses (Isa 43:12, 44:8) and Jesus Christ's witnesses (Luk 24:48/Act 3:15, 5:32, 10:39).
There is no life more beautiful than the life of a Christian living as a man of God. It is a life that the world cannot handle (Heb 11:38). But that life is by no means a beautiful life in the eyes of the world. It is not a life of having more in the world, but a life of giving away what one has in the world. It is not a life of trying to rise to a higher status in the world, but a life of letting go of the high status we had. We will see how to live our lives through God's people who appear in the Bible.
Man of God, Moses and Paul
Moses is recognized as a man of God in the Bible (Deu 33:1/ Jos 14:6/ 1Ch 23:14/ 2Ch 30:16/ Ezr 3:2). God had planned what He would do through him even before he was born, and guided him from his birth (Exo 2:1-10) to his death (Deu 34:1-8). Moses spent 40 years as an Egyptian prince in God's plan, learning all the wisdom of the Egyptians and growing into a capable person (Act 7:20-22). But this is not the end. We firmly believe that if we believe in Jesus Christ and receive salvation, we can and should be like Moses in this world, but the Bible does not say that.
God made Moses grow into a capable person as a prince of Egypt for 40 years in order to create a leader who would lead the Israelites, about 600,000 men (Exo 12:37) and about 2 million men through Moses out of Egypt. Also, the bigger reason was for him to write the 5 books of Moses, the first five books of the Old Testament, to lay the foundation for future Christianity. Other than that, the first 40 years of Moses were very useful for God's kingdom and his people, such as building the tabernacle without mistakes as instructed by God. This can also be found in the case of apostle Paul.
The apostle Paul was a Pharisee among the Jews and was blameless in the righteousness of the law (Phi 3:5,6). He also received strict instructions in the law under Gamaliel, who was a great scholar at the time, and he was even zealous for God (Act 22:3). God guided all these conditions and also used all these circumstances, through the many things he had learned (Act 26:24), God had him write 14 out of the 27 books of the New Testament. This too, like the Five Books of Moses, plays a very important role in establishing Christianity. Paul, too, used all his abilities for God's sake. This is because he was a man of God.
Also, after the age of 40, Moses was led by God to leave Egypt and spend 40 years as a shepherd in the wilderness (Exo 2:11-22). Because Moses' life was not for Moses, and Moses was a man for God who belongs to God, his life must be used for God's kingdom according to God's plan. God made Moses grow and refuse to be called the son of Pharaoh's princess, to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a while, but rather preferred to suffer from God's people (Heb 11:24,25). Because Moses was a man of God, he regarded the disgrace he received for Christ as greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt. He looked toward the kingdom of God (Heb 11:26). So, while Moses spent another 40 years in the wilderness, he was prepared for the mission to lead God's people into the wilderness for the vision of the Exodus that God had in mind. Although the Pharaoh of Egypt did not know, neither the Israelites who were about to leave Egypt, nor Moses himself knew it, God proceeded with God's zeal. And then God called Moses (Exo 3:1-10).
After apostle Paul received God's call (Act 9:1-9), he too used the background of all his education and zeal for the sake of the kingdom of God. This is because he was a man of God. Also, for God's sake, the fact that he was the next-of-king's tribe after King Saul, and that he was a respected Pharisee at the time, the intentions of the law that he had kept so far were regarded as excrement (Phi 3:5-8). In the Bible, we saw that in God's plan, Paul also had Roman citizenship from birth (Act 22:28) and the pagan city of Tarsus, where he was born and raised, played a useful role in preaching the gospel for the kingdom of God as a man of God in the future. In particular, Paul grew up in the Asia Minor region of Tarsus from a young age, and along with Barnabas, who was from Cyprus and met many Gentiles, was prepared as a person familiar with not only the Greek language, the language of the time, but also the Hellenistic culture, which was the culture of the time, and with Barnabas, he was ready to be used as a leading figure for the early world missionary.
Moses and Paul were God's people who were called by God. Because they were people of God, they lived for God and then went to the kingdom of God. This is because God's people do not belong to this world.
Man of God, Samuel
Samuel is a man of God recognized in the Bible (1Sa 9:6,7,8,10). After the people of God left Egypt and spent 40 years in the wilderness with Moses, they came into the land of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua, the leader who succeeded Moses, and sinned if God gave them peace, and if they are punished because of their sins, they cry out to God, and by crying out, He sent a judge to save them, and if they were given peace again, they repeated the history of rebellion and sin again, and at the judges, Samuel was born through Hannah's prayer and led the revival of Israel. Samuel was a man of God. Because he was a man of God, he did not enjoy the world with the power of God, but because he was a man of God, he devoted his life to the kingdom and people of God.
Samuel grew up without a mother and family in the temple from the time he was weaned as a child (1Sa 1:19-28; 2:11). He grew up seeing Hophni and Phinehas, the evil priests before God, and they were opposites of Samuel's teachers. After Eli, the priest, Hophni and Phinehas died on the same day (1Sa 4:11,17,18), Samuel ruled Israel as a judge of God's people (1Sa 7:3-17). Although Israel experienced a surprising victory through Samuel's prayer in the war against the Philistines at Mizpah, Samuel's life was not so glamorous.
After that, Samuel grew old, and because of the rebellion of Israel, who forsook God as king and wanted a king of men, Saul, chosen by Israel, was appointed as king (1Sa 9:1-10:27), and Samuel had a time of sorrow because of the disobedience of Saul, the men's king (1Sa 15:34,35). Then, Samuel distinguishes David by anointing David, who was chosen by God (1Sa 16:1-13), but he died before David became king (1Sa 25:1). Samuel, a man of God, devoted himself to the kingdom of God and the people of God in this way and went to the kingdom of God without the riches and glory of the world.
Man of God, David
David is recognized in the Bible as a man of God (2Ch 8:14/Neh 12:24,36). The Israelites demanded a human king that apart from God to Samuel, a man of God, and God granted their request (1Sa 8:4-9). And God made them to fully pay the price for their choices. And God said to Samuel, 'I have seen a king in the son of Jesse' (1Sa 16:1) and Samuel was sent. Starting from this time, David, a man of God, began his life as a man who belongs to God, a man for God's will, and a man for God.
When Jesus was baptized and came up from the water, the Spirit of God came down from heaven like a dove, and David was also anointed through Samuel, who was sent by God and was greatly moved by the Spirit of God (1Sa 16:13). At this time, Jesus heard, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’(Mat 3:17) and about David, Paul said, ‘After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'’(Act 13:22). Jesus overcame Satan's temptations with the Word of God (Mat 4:1-11), and David also defeated Goliath, the representative general of the Philistines, the enemy of Israel, in the name of God (1Sa 17:41-54). Also, Jesus heard praise from the people through his ministry (Luk 4:14,15), and when David returned after winning the war against the Philistines, he heard from the people the praise, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’(1Sa 18:7). Jesus came as the descendent of Jesse (Isa 11:1), just as David was called the son of Jesse (1Sa 16:1). But that's it. This is the end of ‘everything being prosperous’ on this earth we expect in the name of God’s people, and from then on, David, a man of God, will live a life that reveals Jesus’ suffering and betrayal as ‘a man with God’s heart’.
David will suffer 'for no reason', just as Jesus said, 'If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason.''(Joh 15:24,25).
Since they hid their net for me without cause and without cause dug a pit for me, (Psa 35:7)
I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God. Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal.(Psa 69:3,4)
In addition, David will be betrayed by a close friend just as Jesus said, ‘I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.’(Joh 13:18).
Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.(Psa 41:9)
If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend,(Psa 55:12,13)
That's right. The life of David, who was chosen and called as a man of God, was filled with a life that revealed the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. Afterwards, David was lowered even further by the incident of Bathsheba and Uriah, realizing his sinful nature (2Sa 11:1-12:31/ Psa 51:1-19) and devoted the rest of his life to build the temple (1Ch 22: 2-29:25). This, too, was to reveal Jesus Christ, who would come as the true temple through Solomon's Temple. In the same way, the people of God are those who fulfill the roles God has given them.
That role could be leaving Mesopotamia, a fertile and prosperous land like Abraham, and finally sacrifice his beloved son, whom he bore after 25 years in Canaan, a land where famine awaits, as a burnt offering, the life of hearing from God, ‘Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.’(Gen 22:12),
or that role can be like Joseph, who lost his mother at an early age and grew up among three step-mothers who were not his biological mothers and 10 half-brothers, and finally was sold by his brothers and was subjected to slavery and imprisonment in Egypt, the land where God's people will come, and finally was able to make the confession, ‘But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God’(Gen 45:7,8),
or it could be that role like Rahab, the prostitute, who said after hearing that the Israelites won the war in the wilderness, ‘When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.’(Jos 2:11), a life betraying the country and idols she had with her all her life
that role like Moses, passing being the prince of Egypt and going into the wilderness as the leader of God's rebellious people, and the life of lamenting, ‘Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers?’(Num 11:11,12),
that role can be like Caleb, who with Joshua, fought the battle alone with Joshua while the ten spies who accompanies Caleb shouted unbelief, and while everyone died, and confessed to Joshua, ‘I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.’(Jos 14:11,12), a life at the forefront of the battle for conquest of Canaan,
that role can be like Hannah, whom God forbade to conceive, so she was greatly enraged and harassed by the enemy Peninnah, and finally prayed, ‘In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD. And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."’(1Sa 1:10,11) having a life that one has to offer the son that she bore, who is as important as her life, to God's temple as soon as the child is weaned,
Or it could be a life like that of Elijah, who led the victory in the battle of the fire on Mount Carmel, but fled from Jezebel, who was chasing him with the motive to kill, and lamented to God, 'I have had enough, LORD, Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.' (1Ki 19:4), and in the end, ascended to heaven in a whirlwind with fire chariots and fire horses,
that role can be like raising a dead child like Elisha (2Ki 4:32-37) performing countless miracles, but had to watch the faithless actions of his servant Gehazi (2Ki 5:20-27), always surrounded by horses and chariots of fire (2Ki 6:16,17), but in the end it could be a life of dying of a disease,
that role can be like an unknown name in the Bible, who obeyed God's words and proclaimed the word of God to the evil king Jeroboam, ‘O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: 'A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you’(1Ki 13:2), a life deceived by a false prophet and eventually torn to death by a lion.
Apostle Paul said to Timothy, ‘For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.’(1Ti 6:7-12) talked about how to live as a man of God, and to all Christians, ‘and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’(2Ti 3:15-17) emphasizing hat Christians should live as people of God, holding onto the word of God as life. The men of God are the people of the Word. Men of God are people who go on the way God wants them to go.
The Bible that transcends time, Walking with God, continues.
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