Posts for category ‘Walking with God’

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Genesis 26:18—-Isaiah12:3—John 7:37-38

Genesis 26:18 And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

Isaiah12:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. ³Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

John 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. ³⁸He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

When we look into the scripture and see the types and shadows of Jesus and His ministry we find that Isaac is one of these shadows.

When Isaac re-dug the wells of his father Abraham if we think about it a little we can see that the water from these wells are pictured in some of the things that Jesus restored or re-dug for us in His finished work at the cross.

When the scripture says to draw water from the “wells of salvation” I believe that we could say it this way; “draw water from the wells of Jesus”.  The reason I say this is because His name, Jesus, means “salvation; savior.”

Matthew 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. ²¹And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

When we look at the Hebrew word used in Isaiah12:3 3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation, the word “salvation” is the same root word for Jesus’ name in Hebrew.

So let’s look at the “wells of Jesus” not necessarily in order of importance.

1.         RESTORATION OF THE WELL OF SONSHIP-RELATIONSHIP

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Galatians 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

1 John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. ²Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

To all who receive Him He gives to them the power to become sons (children) of God.

We also receive the Spirit of adoption through which we cry out Abba, Father. God Almighty is truly our Father.

We must drink of this well or in other words believe He is who He says He is and that we are who He says we are in order for us to fulfill His purpose for us in the life we live here. If I do not have a clear understanding that I am who He says I am then I live a life that short changes Him, the world and me as well.

Today we are children of God. This must be heard, believed and received into the very core of our being.

2.         RESTORATION OF THE WELL OF THE BROKEN IMAGE OF GOD IN MAN

Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Romans 8:29 For 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.

We see in these verses the intention of our Father God, even in the Garden of Eden. Our Father foreknew Adam even before He made him in the Garden.

When the Lord God placed man in the Garden of Eden it is clearly stated that man was made in the image and likeness of God Himself.

The image and likeness of God was broken when they disobeyed the Word that was given to them.

John 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; ²¹That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. ²²And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: ²³I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Could it be that even the above verses are about the image and likeness of God being restored so that we would be “one inThem?”

It seems to me that we need to drink fully of the water of this “well of Jesus” that has been re-dug for us.

3.         RESTORATION OF THE WELL OF DOMINION-KINGDOM RELATIONSHIP

Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Psalms 8:4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?  ⁵For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. ⁶Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet

Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

The dominion mandate that the LORD GOD gave to Adam was what the serpent was after. It was what he wanted above everything else. He thought that this was what separated him from being God.

What satan did in Adam in breaking the image of God in man and taking the dominion or kingdom by deceit, God our Father more than overcame by what HE did in Christ Jesus

We see in Psalm 8:5 that Father

“made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.”

The word angel is defined as follows:

0430 ‘elohiym,  el-o-heem’  gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative:–angels, X exceeding, God (gods)(-dess, -ly), X (very) great, judges, X mighty.

It seems to me that Father God made man a little lower than Himself. This tells me that the serpent wanted that position and this is what he was after in the garden. Satan wanted this because, in reality, angels are a lower order of being or creation than man is as a son of God.

This is why the scripture says the following in 1 Peter 1:12:

Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

Angels desired to look into the glory that the LORD created when He made Adam as His son (see Luke 3.38).

Jesus, at the cross, re-dug for us the “dominion or kingdom relationship” well so that we could drink deeply from it.

In this He has done the following:

Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.”

We, by drinking from this well, have the power to be “witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Wherever we are we have this ability to demonstrate the kingdom life, purpose and plan in our lives that men might see God in us.

4.         RESTORATION OF THE WELL OF KINGDOM AUTHORITY-THE DESTRUCTION OF THE  WORKS OF THE DEVIL

Luke 11:20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.

Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom

1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

The word destroy in 1John 3:8 does not mean to obliterate or to completely put out of existence. It means to dissolve, melt, breakup or put off.

3089. loo’-o a primary verb; to “loosen” (literally or figuratively):–break (up), destroy, dissolve, (un-loose, melt, put off.

This throws light on what Jesus did when the scripture says “destroy the works of the devil.”

Since we know that the devil is still at work it helps us to understand that Jesus did not fail. If ice melts it did not cease to exist. It was just loosed from its form or simply dissolved.

So the works of the devil have been dissolved in our lives by Jesus. We have been given authority to keep it that way, ourselves, if we know and believe what Jesus did for us and what He provided for us at the cross and in pouring out His Spirit on us.

2 Timothy 1:8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, ⁹who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,¹⁰but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,

2673. katargeo,- to be (render) entirely idle (useless), literally or figuratively:–abolish, become (make) of no (none, without) effect, bring (come) to nought, make void.

We also know that death has not been done away with because people are still dying physically.

What Apostle Paul is saying is that “spiritual death” is rendered useless or made of no effect, or brought to naught because we have been given the very “life of God” by being born again.

What Adam lost in the Garden has more than been restored to us in Christ Jesus. Adam died but not physically; he lost the image of God; he lost the sonship-relationship; he lost kingdom dominion and authority in dying spiritually or being separated from the Life of God.

I say again:  What satan did in Adam God our Father more than overcame and restored for us in Christ Jesus.

Just as Jesus demonstrated the authority of the Kingdom of God by His words, deeds, attitudes and by what motivated Him, so we can also drink from this well that He has restored to us.

John 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

Now let’s do what the “woman at the well” did.

John 4:6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. ⁷A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”  ⁸For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. ⁹Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. ¹⁰Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” ¹¹The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? ¹²“Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” ¹³Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, ¹⁴“but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

The “Wells of Jesus” are flowing!  The ‘Wells of Jesus” are life giving! The “Wells of Jesus” are ours to drink from!!

Drink deeply and fully.

James 4:2-3

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Genesis 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. ⁹ And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

 

Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: ¹⁷But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

 

Genesis 3:1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? ²And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: ³But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. ⁴And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: ⁵For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil

 

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DID FATHER GOD KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING? WHY DIDN’T HE SAY SOMETHING TO ADAM?

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Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

 

Genesis 12:9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. ¹⁰And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.

 

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DID GOD KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING? WHY DIDN’T HE SAY SOMETHING TO ABRAHAM?

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Isaiah 38:1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. ²Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, ³And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. ⁴Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, ⁵Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.

 

2Chronciles 33:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem: ²But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. ³For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. ⁴Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be forever. ⁵And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. ⁶And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. ⁷And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:

 

2Kings 21:10 And the LORD spake by his servants the prophets, saying, ¹¹Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: ¹²Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. ¹³And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.

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DID FATHER KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING? WHY DIDN’T HE SAY SOMETHING TO HEZEKIAH?

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The question for each one of these incidents or happenings in the lives of God’s men was:

 

Why did the LORD not say something to them in their circumstances?

 

It has been said to me that a good father would say something to his children, or at least give them a warning about the action that they are about to take.

 

Let us look at this and see if there is something that we might gain from these thoughts that would help us in our walk with the LORD.

 

1. The LORD GOD had already given Adam directions about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he had led Abram to the land that he had spoken of and HE had told Hezekiah to “set his house in order”.

 

1. In none of the three cases did the men of God ask the LORD about the situation they just acted upon.

 

1. Swiftness to act can be a good thing sometimes but not always is this true.

 

1. The men of God were not told that they had no access to God. They only acted on what they knew or felt, due to the words spoken or the circumstances that they were in.

 

Adam, I believe did not really know who he was or his identity as far as God was concerned. So he believed the lie the serpent spoke:  “You shall not surely die.” He believed the LORD GOD was holding out on him, so he ate.

 

Abram got to “the land that I will show you” and when he arrived there was a famine in the land. So, acting swiftly, and not asking the LORD GOD anything, he “went south” to Egypt.

 

Hezekiah, in his circumstance did not want to die, just as none of us would want to die. He told the LORD GOD all the good things that he had done and other reasons why he should live.

 

In each of the cases none of the men of God asked the LORD GOD what HE was doing, what HE wanted or what would be the results of their actions.

 

This is not just a case for asking but also a case for drawing near to the LORD GOD for fellowship and communion with HIM so as to really know HIS heart and purpose.

 

I have said that the LORD does not answer questions that we do not ask! I still believe this to be true but there are exceptions to everything.

 

Gideon did not ask the LORD if he was a “mighty man of valor.” The LORD just spoke up and told him that he was.

 

When there came another famine in the land in the days of Isaac the LORD told him not to go down to Egypt.

 

The LORD told Elijah to “anoint Elisha to be prophet in your place” but HE did not, it seems, tell Elisha to anoint a man to be prophet in his place.

 

What is this all about and why all the words? Only this: We must take it on ourselves to purposefully “draw near to God!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This article is to give some insight as to what I have come to see and understand concerning the “fear of The LORD”  and how we, as God’s people, must begin to live in it and by it.

There are many scriptures that use the phrase “fear of the LORD.” I will use only a few of them. At this time I am not trying to do a complete study of the subject.

• Job 28:28 And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.”
• Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

 If someone asked if you want to be wise and have knowledge in your life most, if not all, would say certainly. We see here in at least two verses that to have wisdom you must operate in the fear of the LORD.

• Deuteronomy 31:12 Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law
• Psalms 34:11 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

 In the above two scriptures we see that the “fear of the LORD” is learned. If the “fear of the LORD” is learned behavior how do I learn it?

We see in these two verses that you have to hear and listen. Now I think that the hearing and listening is done on purpose. It is not just letting sound go in our head, but on purpose hearing and listening to what our Father God is saying.

If I am wise I will choose on purpose to hear and listen. Look at these verses:

• Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
• Proverbs 1:29 Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD, ³⁰They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. ³¹Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
• Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate

If I don’t like what I am experiencing as far as how my life is going I may not have heard and listened to the counsel of the LORD.

Once again I will say hearing and listening is not just letting sound go in our head but on purpose hearing and listening to what our Father God is saying and then prove I heard and listened by doing what HE said. 

Next I want to give you a definition of the “fear of the LORD.” I believe that the “fear of the LORD” is manifested in our lives in the following ways:

• I love God greatly.
• I respect God greatly.
• I hate what HE hates.
• I love what HE loves.

 If I love God and if I respect God I will begin to imitate HIM in

1. my thoughts
2. my words
3. my deeds
4. my attitudes and
5. what I allow to motivate me.

I could say it this way:  I will begin to, on purpose, take on HIS nature and character. Now I realize that the preliminary step to all of this is the new birth. However, being born again is not necessarily proof that you are walking or living in the fear of the LORD. I will deal with this a little later

First I must find what God Himself says about His nature and character if I want to imitate HIM. If we go to the Old Testament we will find a clear description given by the LORD Himself of:

1. who He is
2. what HE is like
3.  what HE does and
4. why HE does it or
5. what His character and nature is.

 Moses was talking to the LORD and said:

Exodus 33:18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. To say that in our terms he asked the LORD what HE was like, what HE did and why HE did it.

The LORD said back to Moses:

Exodus 33:19 And he said, “I will make all the light of my being come before you, and will make clear to you what I am;”—Bible in Basic English

Then the LORD enlarged on this in:

Exodus 34:6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, ⁷“keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,

From these verses the LORD Himself tells us that HE is “merciful (Hebrew, compassionate), gracious (full of grace), longsuffering (slow to anger), full of goodness and truth, keeping mercy (Hebrew, lovingkindness, covenant keeping) and one who forgives.

Our statement that we are to imitate Him if we love and respect HIM is valid because we see Jesus Himself doing this.

• John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
  
• John 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
• John 8:26 I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of (from) him.
  
• John 8:29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

In these four verses we see Jesus, in effect, saying:

I only do what I see my Father do and say what I hear my Father say.

He loves and respects His Father so much that He imitates Him in all that He does.  We have instructions from the Apostle Paul as follows:

• 1Corinthians 11:1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
• Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. ²And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

 So, clearly, if we will set our hearts to learn the Word, Will and Way of our Father imitating Him in our everyday life, we will be living in the “fear of the LORD.”

Apostle Paul gives us further instructions:

Ephesians 4:21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: ²² that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, ²³ and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, ²⁴ and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

No longer allow the old Adamic nature to rule your life “PUT OFF” the old man. He says “PUT ON” 

1. The new man
2. The new creation
3. The hidden man of the heart

 On purpose begin to imitate Jesus and act on the Word of God. Let His love and His very nature and character be made manifest in your life by presenting to HIM your body for HIM to live HIS life through. 

Now to go back and deal with the statement I made earlier:  ”being born again is not necessarily proof that you are walking or living in the fear of the LORD.”

We see evidence of this in the scripture when Paul told the Romans: 

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. ²And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

If the Romans were really loving God, respecting God and imitating Him then Paul would not have told them to “be not conformed to this world.” Obviously they were being conformed to this world or not imitating God because they were not living in the “fear of the LORD.”

We see a similar situation in:

Ephesians 4:17  This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, ¹⁸ Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

The Ephesians were walking as other Gentiles (unbelievers), so Paul is instructed them to live as those who are born again and imitate God. He even says in:

Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. ² And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

He is telling them to “imitate Christ” who 

• loved HIS Father
• respected HIS Father and
• presented HIS body

 to HIS Father as a sacrifice that was “a sweet-smelling aroma” to HIS Father.