Framing effect

Hebrews 11:3 says, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”

 “He says by faith we know that the worlds were created by the Word of God,” explains Jordan. “Psalm 33:6 says, ‘By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.’

“God said He spoke and things were created. ‘Things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.’

“In other words, they came out of invisible resources. Well, who’s in the invisible resources? God was. When He says the worlds were framed by the Word of God, when you frame something, you have a plan. You frame an idea. You have a pattern for something; a mold.

“Romans 1:20 says, ‘For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.’

“God used some resources in Himself that He created the universe out of and the things that you see are a reflection of something that was in the Creator to start with.

“Proverbs 3:19 says, ‘The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.’

“In other words, when He sat down to create heaven and earth, He already had a blueprint on His table to do it. He already had in His mind what He was going to create, and when He starts creating and framing the worlds by His Word, it was His wisdom, His knowledge and His understanding that put that out there. He had the plan already. He’s putting it together according to the pattern.

“Proverbs 8:11 says, ‘For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. In the chapter’s all the benefits of following wisdom.

“Now, watch what He says about this. This is why it’s so. Verse 22 says, The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.’ Commentaries take that and make that a reference to Jesus Christ. They say this is Jesus talking because He’s called ‘the wisdom of God’ in Luke 11.

“What this really is God had this wise plan by which He was going to frame the worlds and the wise plan’s, ‘Let me tell you about myself.’ When He says in verse 22 that the Lord possessed me, that’s the Lord Jesus Christ.

“And when Jesus Christ set out there to make the universe out of nothing, ‘I was there with him before he created anything.’ So when the Lord Jesus Christ came out of the precipice of nothing, He already had a wise plan. He didn’t just go out there one morning and say, ‘I wonder what I’m going to do today. Oh, I know what, I’ll create a universe!’

“Verse 30 says, ‘Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.’

“You know, if you got somebody brought up with you, that’s a way of saying, ‘We were inseparable.’ Somebody brought up with you is your friend and is your constant companion.

“You remember in Genesis 1 when He does the six days, at the end of those days He says, ‘It’s good.’ Wisdom says, ‘Daily I was His delight. When the Lord Jesus Christ created things, as the Creator God, He had a plan.

“As the king eternal, as the creator God, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Chief Executive Officer. He rules over creation, He directs creation, He harnesses creation. And when it says He’s the king eternal, that’s not just the physical creation; that’s all of the ages that fill up the creation.

“We talk about people’s ‘immortal soul’ but that’s not Scripture. We talk about your immortal, never-dying soul to someone, but that’s not what the word ‘immortal’ means. The word itself means ‘imperishable’; it doesn’t perish and that’s what we mean when we call it an immortal soul.

“Immortality is a reference to resurrection life. The passage in I Corinthians 15 says, ‘Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
[52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
[53] For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
[54] So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.’

 “Everybody’s going to be changed. This dead person, who’s body is getting moldy in the grave, has put on incorruption and this mortal, a person who is not dead yet but is going to die, must put on immortality.

“Notice verse 53. He gets a body that won’t die again. This mortal fellow, who has not yet physically died but is subject to death, is going to put on immortality. He’s going to put on a body that is never subject to dying.

“I Timothy 6:16 says, ‘Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.’

“He says only Jesus Christ has immortality. Well, if only He has has it, do you have it? The answer is, ‘Not yet. You’ll get it in the resurrection.’ ”

(Editor's note: More to come tomorrow)