The Lord’s Work – Part 38
“You say, that verse is talking about idols, Pastor!” I agree. “That isn’t fair for you to use that verse and apply it to men, Pastor!” I disagree.
Psalms 115:4-8 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. 5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: 6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: 7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. 8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
If you put any value in your works, you are like an idol. That is what you are like. Like a figure, like a statue. And that is what man’s works truly are: idols. And every one that trusteth in idols, the work of men’s hands, is as lifeless and useless, and incapable of working true good OR true evil, as an idol.
Men are just like the idols that they make.
True works, true good or true evil, are the things that proceed out of the hearts.
Psalms 58:1-2 … Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? 2 Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.
It doesn’t matter what comes out of the mouth in the flesh, the heart is working wickedness.
In heart, in spirit, all an unsaved man can work, is evil. It is not in him to do good. Even when he does good in the flesh, he did it while working evil in the spirit.
Isaiah 19:14 The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.
Man has a perverse spirit in him. And it is the spirit in the man causes the works to be evil, or good. It is the spirit that works.
Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
1 Corinthians 12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
Revelation 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
You think an evil spirit can’t work “good works” after the flesh? Devils can do miracles! Devils can work good, after the flesh, carnally, naturally. Deceitfully. They look good according to the flesh, in men’s eyes, but they are evil in truth. They are outside of Jesus Christ, they are outside of the work of God, and they result in eternal death.
Jeremiah 4:22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
True good must be done in the spirit, and in understanding. But we don’t have the ability to do good.
Adam and Eve had knowledge OF good, but perhaps.. not knowledge TO DO good.
You say, “what about the Israel in the OT?” Surely they did good works under the law.
Haggai 2:11-14 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, 12 If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. 13 Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. 14 Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.
If holy things touch unholy things, they are unclean. If a clean thing touches an unclean thing (a dead thing), it is as unclean as the dead thing itself. So is every work of your hands.
If it comes from the flesh, if it touches the flesh, or the fleshly heart, or the spirit that is in mankind, it is unclean.
“Every work of their hands is evil?” You say, “well that’s just because they were doing evil at the time.”
Jeremiah 32:30-31 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the LORD. 31 For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face,
Remember: I didn’t say it, the Lord did. They have only done evil.
You say, well at some time they had to have been doing good and not evil.” I didn’t say it, the Lord did. They have only done evil from their youth, they have only provoked the Lord since they built it.
You say, “what about under Moses?” HA!
Deuteronomy 9:7 Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.
Not during the time of Moses and Joshua, not during the days of the judges, or during the reigns of David, or Solomon, or Hezekiah, or Josiah did they do anything but provoke the Lord and do evil with their hands. And the problem… was the defiled spirit of (no) understanding, which defiled the work of their hands. Their works were done with men’s flesh. They proceeded out of man’s carnal heart.
And if Israel has only done evil, because that is all that comes out of their hearts, then we have ONLY done evil, in the flesh, because that is all that comes out of our hearts.
What is it that comes out of man’s heart? An evil spirit. An idol. The work of our hands!!
Malachi 1:11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.
The only occurrence of “pure offering”. Used prophetically. Futuristic. This was not present under the law.
You say, “God gave them the law so that they would know how to do good works, right?” Wrong! The law was a schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ.
Galatians 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
The law wasn’t the true. It was like school. It was the example, but given to teach the true.
But, the law is a curse, and Christ came to redeem us from the law.
Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
The Jews had…
Romans 2:20 … the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
2 Timothy 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
The law showed…
Hebrews 8:5 … the example and shadow of heavenly things, …
The very best things that men’s hands can make…
Hebrews 9:24 … the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; …
The law taught you the form of good things. The form of righteousness. And it was to accuse you and convince you that you CANNOT obey the law. You DO NOT possess true righteousness. You have a need for a righteousness greater than your own.
“Oh well, I obey a lot of the law!” If you offend in 1 point, you are guilty of all!
If you think the law is there to justify you, you do not “hear the law”. The law is bondage. Ye could not be justified by the law of Moses (Acts 13:39). But, man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law (Romans 3:28).
The law was only a figure of the true. The law does not allow you to do true good.
Romans 7:18-21 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me [its not the motivation!]; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
No matter the motive… every time you WOULD do good, it turns out evil. Why?
It is the law! Because we are under the law of sin, the spirit of bondage working in us, we cannot do true good things. Every work of our hands is a carnal offering: a figure, an idol! Every work of our hands, every sacrifice we may give is under the law, and tainted by the law of sin and death.
Everything that proceeds out of our heart, touches the spirit of sin that is in our evil heart. So no matter what we work in flesh, in spirit.. we work an evil thing. An idol.
You may have knowledge of what a good work looks like, but the law does not allow you to work true good. it does not give you understanding to work true good. It merely shows you the pattern, the shadow of true good.
At the very best, man’s good works are shadows of true good works, figures of the true.
That’s just the origin of man’s works. They come from an evil heart. And they are all counted evil.
That’s just the nature of carnal works. Carnal things are shadows of the true spiritual things.
Man’s good works… are “good”.. but only after a figure. They are fake, reprobate. And God will reject them as fake.
This is strong meat.
Hebrews 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
We have to divide good from the figure of the good. We have to divide true good, from the figure of good. We have to divide the good. You ever heard anyone teach that? Well… I believe its Scriptural.
Here is the first mention of “good” in the whole Bible.
Genesis 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
That thing, that very first thing that God created that was “good”? It was immediately DIVIDED.
We have to find the light, find the good, find the truth, and divide it.
Nothing that has a shred of darkness in it can be “good”. Nothing that has a shred evil in it can be good. Good is divided away from the evil, the fake, the fraudulent, the reprobate.
We have to divide the light from the darkness.
We have to divide the true light from the carnal pattern of light.
We have to divide the Light of this world, from the light of this world.
We have to divide the true good, from the figure of good.
.
.
.
One correction to make:
“worketh good” – 1 time
“worketh right*” – 0 times
That was incorrect!
“worketh good” – 1 time
“worketh right*” – 3 times
We saw the “worketh good”. That said that God would reward:
Romans 2:9-10 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
But somehow I messed up the search or recorded the “worketh right*” wrong and missed the opportunity to show you all three of the occurrences.
While I don’t believe these go against the doctrine that I’ve taught, I need to correct my mistake, and I need address each one. One or two could be considered a bit difficult to understand, so I want to make sure you’ve seen them. Because if they were presented and taught incorrectly, they could be used to deceive people into believing man’s works are true good works, that they are acceptable to God, that men could be saved by their own works, or that our works play a role in our salvation. So we need to look at each one.
#1
Psalms 15:1-2 … LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
That is perfectly in line with what we’ve been teaching. The only people worthy to dwell in God’s home are the righteous. And the righteous are not the wicked. The Righteous are not sinners.
If someone “worketh righteousness” in truth, they are righteous – born of God – as righteous as Jesus Christ.
Walking uprightly, and working righteousness, and speaking the truth in the heart, these are equivalent in the same person: the righteous. So then do you know who the righteous are? The wise. Those that hear the word of God and keep it (in their hearts). Those that receive the truth – the gospel of Jesus Christ.
#2:
Isaiah 64:5 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
With no context, the false prophets, the false brethren would teach that God gives salvation to those that “worketh righteousness”.
First of all, this is OT, so in a way, after the figure, this was true for them. If they feared the Lord and followed the law the Lord would “save” them. But their salvation was not like ours.
Second of all, the context is important. The OT salvation was not the true. It was not truly working righteousness. But for the saved it is true. And we can see that this righteousness is not a reference to the righteousness of the law, or “man’s righteousness”. We see this clearly, from the context.
Isaiah 64:4-6 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. 5 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved. 6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Whoever is working righteousness, the Lord has prepared for them. Fitted them. He has furnished him, supplied him with something. Those that work righteousness have been saved, and given the things that God has prepared for His people (living water, everlasting bread).
But man’s righteousness is nothing but filthy rags.
So this instance of “worketh righteousness” does not say that OT saints worked righteousness in truth. It says that they did NOT. But we could perhaps say that it teaches that, 1 – those that waited on the Lord in the OT, working righteousness after the figure, under the law, would be provided with spiritual things. BUT, what we know to be true, and how we should understand this, is, those that “worketh righteousness”, are the righteous, who have been given eternal life and true righteousness. They are the righteous. They are saved, they do not sin, and they do not fade/die.
The NT cross reference for Isaiah 64 is in 1 Corinthians 2. Here we can understand what is given to those that “worketh righteousness”.
1 Corinthians 2:1-9 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. … 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: … 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
These things which are prepared for and given to them that worketh righteousness are spiritual things. Things that must be taught, known, and spoken. The gospel of Jesus Christ.
For the OT saints their only hope was to do right after the figure and to have faith in their resurrection by the Lord, to wait on the Lord for salvation.
But no OT saint did true right. They did figures, while in truth, the figures were nothing but filthy rags.
However, the promise is that if a man will fear the Lord and seek the Lord, he will find the Lord.
For those that wait on the Lord, the Lord has prepared spiritual things for them, which things were hidden in the OT, but today are known, taught and spoken.
If a man will fear the Lord and seek the Lord, the Lord will bring near those things (living water, the gospel, eternal life) to give to the man through the Spirit revealing the word of God to a man.
The only good man’s righteousness was good for was to be temporarily preserved until God could bring near true righteousness, which is only given by grace through faith.
In fact, this is in the manner in which the third and final occurrence appears.
Feb 13 2022
The Lord’s Work – Part 38
Downloadable Word document:
The Lord’s Work – Part 38
The Lord’s Work – Part 38
“You say, that verse is talking about idols, Pastor!” I agree. “That isn’t fair for you to use that verse and apply it to men, Pastor!” I disagree.
Psalms 115:4-8 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. 5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: 6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: 7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. 8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
If you put any value in your works, you are like an idol. That is what you are like. Like a figure, like a statue. And that is what man’s works truly are: idols. And every one that trusteth in idols, the work of men’s hands, is as lifeless and useless, and incapable of working true good OR true evil, as an idol.
Men are just like the idols that they make.
True works, true good or true evil, are the things that proceed out of the hearts.
Psalms 58:1-2 … Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? 2 Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.
It doesn’t matter what comes out of the mouth in the flesh, the heart is working wickedness.
In heart, in spirit, all an unsaved man can work, is evil. It is not in him to do good. Even when he does good in the flesh, he did it while working evil in the spirit.
Isaiah 19:14 The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.
Man has a perverse spirit in him. And it is the spirit in the man causes the works to be evil, or good. It is the spirit that works.
Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
1 Corinthians 12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
Revelation 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
You think an evil spirit can’t work “good works” after the flesh? Devils can do miracles! Devils can work good, after the flesh, carnally, naturally. Deceitfully. They look good according to the flesh, in men’s eyes, but they are evil in truth. They are outside of Jesus Christ, they are outside of the work of God, and they result in eternal death.
Jeremiah 4:22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
True good must be done in the spirit, and in understanding. But we don’t have the ability to do good.
Adam and Eve had knowledge OF good, but perhaps.. not knowledge TO DO good.
You say, “what about the Israel in the OT?” Surely they did good works under the law.
Haggai 2:11-14 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, 12 If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. 13 Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. 14 Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.
If holy things touch unholy things, they are unclean. If a clean thing touches an unclean thing (a dead thing), it is as unclean as the dead thing itself. So is every work of your hands.
If it comes from the flesh, if it touches the flesh, or the fleshly heart, or the spirit that is in mankind, it is unclean.
“Every work of their hands is evil?” You say, “well that’s just because they were doing evil at the time.”
Jeremiah 32:30-31 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the LORD. 31 For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face,
Remember: I didn’t say it, the Lord did. They have only done evil.
You say, well at some time they had to have been doing good and not evil.” I didn’t say it, the Lord did. They have only done evil from their youth, they have only provoked the Lord since they built it.
You say, “what about under Moses?” HA!
Deuteronomy 9:7 Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.
Not during the time of Moses and Joshua, not during the days of the judges, or during the reigns of David, or Solomon, or Hezekiah, or Josiah did they do anything but provoke the Lord and do evil with their hands. And the problem… was the defiled spirit of (no) understanding, which defiled the work of their hands. Their works were done with men’s flesh. They proceeded out of man’s carnal heart.
And if Israel has only done evil, because that is all that comes out of their hearts, then we have ONLY done evil, in the flesh, because that is all that comes out of our hearts.
What is it that comes out of man’s heart? An evil spirit. An idol. The work of our hands!!
Malachi 1:11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.
The only occurrence of “pure offering”. Used prophetically. Futuristic. This was not present under the law.
You say, “God gave them the law so that they would know how to do good works, right?” Wrong! The law was a schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ.
Galatians 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
The law wasn’t the true. It was like school. It was the example, but given to teach the true.
But, the law is a curse, and Christ came to redeem us from the law.
Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
The Jews had…
Romans 2:20 … the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
2 Timothy 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
The law showed…
Hebrews 8:5 … the example and shadow of heavenly things, …
The very best things that men’s hands can make…
Hebrews 9:24 … the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; …
The law taught you the form of good things. The form of righteousness. And it was to accuse you and convince you that you CANNOT obey the law. You DO NOT possess true righteousness. You have a need for a righteousness greater than your own.
“Oh well, I obey a lot of the law!” If you offend in 1 point, you are guilty of all!
If you think the law is there to justify you, you do not “hear the law”. The law is bondage. Ye could not be justified by the law of Moses (Acts 13:39). But, man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law (Romans 3:28).
The law was only a figure of the true. The law does not allow you to do true good.
Romans 7:18-21 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me [its not the motivation!]; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
No matter the motive… every time you WOULD do good, it turns out evil. Why?
It is the law! Because we are under the law of sin, the spirit of bondage working in us, we cannot do true good things. Every work of our hands is a carnal offering: a figure, an idol! Every work of our hands, every sacrifice we may give is under the law, and tainted by the law of sin and death.
Everything that proceeds out of our heart, touches the spirit of sin that is in our evil heart. So no matter what we work in flesh, in spirit.. we work an evil thing. An idol.
You may have knowledge of what a good work looks like, but the law does not allow you to work true good. it does not give you understanding to work true good. It merely shows you the pattern, the shadow of true good.
At the very best, man’s good works are shadows of true good works, figures of the true.
That’s just the origin of man’s works. They come from an evil heart. And they are all counted evil.
That’s just the nature of carnal works. Carnal things are shadows of the true spiritual things.
Man’s good works… are “good”.. but only after a figure. They are fake, reprobate. And God will reject them as fake.
This is strong meat.
Hebrews 5:14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
We have to divide good from the figure of the good. We have to divide true good, from the figure of good. We have to divide the good. You ever heard anyone teach that? Well… I believe its Scriptural.
Here is the first mention of “good” in the whole Bible.
Genesis 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
That thing, that very first thing that God created that was “good”? It was immediately DIVIDED.
We have to find the light, find the good, find the truth, and divide it.
Nothing that has a shred of darkness in it can be “good”. Nothing that has a shred evil in it can be good. Good is divided away from the evil, the fake, the fraudulent, the reprobate.
We have to divide the light from the darkness.
We have to divide the true light from the carnal pattern of light.
We have to divide the Light of this world, from the light of this world.
We have to divide the true good, from the figure of good.
.
.
.
One correction to make:
“worketh good” – 1 time
“worketh right*” – 0 times
That was incorrect!
“worketh good” – 1 time
“worketh right*” – 3 times
We saw the “worketh good”. That said that God would reward:
Romans 2:9-10 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
But somehow I messed up the search or recorded the “worketh right*” wrong and missed the opportunity to show you all three of the occurrences.
While I don’t believe these go against the doctrine that I’ve taught, I need to correct my mistake, and I need address each one. One or two could be considered a bit difficult to understand, so I want to make sure you’ve seen them. Because if they were presented and taught incorrectly, they could be used to deceive people into believing man’s works are true good works, that they are acceptable to God, that men could be saved by their own works, or that our works play a role in our salvation. So we need to look at each one.
#1
Psalms 15:1-2 … LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
That is perfectly in line with what we’ve been teaching. The only people worthy to dwell in God’s home are the righteous. And the righteous are not the wicked. The Righteous are not sinners.
If someone “worketh righteousness” in truth, they are righteous – born of God – as righteous as Jesus Christ.
Walking uprightly, and working righteousness, and speaking the truth in the heart, these are equivalent in the same person: the righteous. So then do you know who the righteous are? The wise. Those that hear the word of God and keep it (in their hearts). Those that receive the truth – the gospel of Jesus Christ.
#2:
Isaiah 64:5 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
With no context, the false prophets, the false brethren would teach that God gives salvation to those that “worketh righteousness”.
First of all, this is OT, so in a way, after the figure, this was true for them. If they feared the Lord and followed the law the Lord would “save” them. But their salvation was not like ours.
Second of all, the context is important. The OT salvation was not the true. It was not truly working righteousness. But for the saved it is true. And we can see that this righteousness is not a reference to the righteousness of the law, or “man’s righteousness”. We see this clearly, from the context.
Isaiah 64:4-6 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. 5 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved. 6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Whoever is working righteousness, the Lord has prepared for them. Fitted them. He has furnished him, supplied him with something. Those that work righteousness have been saved, and given the things that God has prepared for His people (living water, everlasting bread).
But man’s righteousness is nothing but filthy rags.
So this instance of “worketh righteousness” does not say that OT saints worked righteousness in truth. It says that they did NOT. But we could perhaps say that it teaches that, 1 – those that waited on the Lord in the OT, working righteousness after the figure, under the law, would be provided with spiritual things. BUT, what we know to be true, and how we should understand this, is, those that “worketh righteousness”, are the righteous, who have been given eternal life and true righteousness. They are the righteous. They are saved, they do not sin, and they do not fade/die.
The NT cross reference for Isaiah 64 is in 1 Corinthians 2. Here we can understand what is given to those that “worketh righteousness”.
1 Corinthians 2:1-9 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. … 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: … 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
These things which are prepared for and given to them that worketh righteousness are spiritual things. Things that must be taught, known, and spoken. The gospel of Jesus Christ.
For the OT saints their only hope was to do right after the figure and to have faith in their resurrection by the Lord, to wait on the Lord for salvation.
But no OT saint did true right. They did figures, while in truth, the figures were nothing but filthy rags.
However, the promise is that if a man will fear the Lord and seek the Lord, he will find the Lord.
For those that wait on the Lord, the Lord has prepared spiritual things for them, which things were hidden in the OT, but today are known, taught and spoken.
If a man will fear the Lord and seek the Lord, the Lord will bring near those things (living water, the gospel, eternal life) to give to the man through the Spirit revealing the word of God to a man.
The only good man’s righteousness was good for was to be temporarily preserved until God could bring near true righteousness, which is only given by grace through faith.
In fact, this is in the manner in which the third and final occurrence appears.
By Pastor • Christian Doctrine, Good Works • 0