One Torah for All

 

One Torah shall be to him that is home-born, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.

Exodus 12:49

back

All Authority

Matithyah [Matthew] 28:18 
And Yeshua came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

The question that one might ask about this is: Exactly when was this authority given to Yeshua?  Many often assume that it was given at or after the incarnation.  However, what we are about to consider will show that this is mistaken; but rather, He was given this authority before creation.

Yochanan [John] 1:3 
All things were made through Him; and without Him was not anything made that has been made.

And again:

Colossians 1:16 
For by Him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through Him, and for Him;

Here we see that Mashiach Yeshua is actually the Creator of all that we see and with which we are blessed.  In order to create in the fashion that He created, authority is needed.

Tehillim [Psalm] 33:6-9
6              By the Word of YHWH were the heavens made,
And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
7              He gathered the waters of the sea together as a heap;
He layed up the deeps in store-houses.
8              Let all the earth fear YHWH;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9              For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.

When we consider this next passage along with the previous one, then a truth comes to light.

Yochanan [John] 1:1 
In beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim.

We can clearly see that it was the Word of YHWH who created the heavens and the earth.  We also know that Yeshua is that Word made flesh and who dwelt among us.  As Yochanan begins his Besorah in a similar fashion to B’reshit 1:1, he does so to draw our attention to this important verse.

B’reshit [Genesis] 1:1 

הָאָרֶץ

וְאֵת

הַשָּׁמַיִם

אֵת

אֱלֹהִים

בָּרָא

בְּרֵאשִׁית

the earth

and

the heavens

 

Elohim

created

In beginning

As we can see the middle word of this sentence is not translated into English, nor can it be.  This word has the title of the sign of the direct object.  It points to what is receiving the action of the verb in a sentence.  It also happens to be the first and last letter of the Hebrew aleph-bet.  We also know from other passages that Mashiach is the first and the last.

Gilyana [Revelation] 1:8 
“I am the Aleph (א ) and the Tau (ת ),” says YHWH Elohim, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

In this passage and in the next, Mashiach Yeshua is speaking to Yochanan, telling him that He is the first and the last.

Gilyana [Revelation] 1:17-18 
17 And when I saw Him, I fell at his feet as one dead.  And He laid His right hand upon me, saying, “Fear not; I am the first and the last,
18 and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Sheol.”

Notice that Mashiach, in order to help clearly identify who it is that is speaking, says that He is the one who died and is now alive forevermore.

Yeshayah [Isaiah] 44:6 
“Thus says YHWH, the King of Israel, and His Redeemer, YHWH Tzava’ot; ‘I am the first, and I am the last; and besides Me there is no Elohim.’”

Here we see that it was YHWH Tzava’ot who first spoke that He was the first and the last.  This is clearly represented by the aleph and the tau in B’reshit 1:1.  Let us examine a couple more verses about the authority that Yeshua our Mashiach was given.  This is also clear testimony that YHWH Tzava’ot became flesh and dwelt among us as Mashiach Yeshua.

Yochanan [John] 10:18 
“No one takes it away from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This commandment I received from My Father.”

Not only did Mashiach have authority, but He also possessed the power that went along with that authority.  He had the power of life.  He not only had the power to lay down His own physical life and then to take it up again, He had the power to give us life as well.

Yochanan [John] 10:27-28 
27 “My sheep hear My Voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
28 and I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.”

Yeshua said that He had received all authority, which includes the power to back up that authority, in heaven and on earth.  Whatever power or authority that exists, it belongs to Him.  As we will see below, understanding the immensity of this is important.

 

The Task Given

Matithyah [Matthew] 28:19 
“On that you make talmidim in all the nations, and you immerse them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Set-apart Spirit;”
 
Above, Yeshua established that He had been given all authority and we examined the scope of that reality.  Within the authority that He had been given, He was about to leave for an extended period of time, and He was now commissioning His followers to do as He had done.  He came and made talmidim and He was sending them forth into the nations of the world to do the same thing that He had done.

YHWH had formerly scattered His people throughout the world because of their sin, rebellion, and disobedience to His Voice.  Now, He had come in the flesh to begin the restoration process, to bring them back to His Father’s house.  Yeshua taught us this basic concept in the parable of the two sons which is commonly referred to as the parable of the prodigal son.  In this parable, the younger son, which represents the ten northern tribes also referred to in Scripture as Ephrayim, left his father’s house and squandered his inheritance.  Likewise, Ephrayim went into the nations and tossed away his identity and became as the goyim, the nations.  In fact, one today cannot tell by outward appearance who is and who is not a descendant of these ten northern tribes.

However, YHWH knows who and where they are, and in these latter days will send forth the call to His children to come out of the nations of the world and will return them back to their rightful inheritance and land.  The commission was for His talmidim to go into all the nations of the world and to find those who are willing to return to the Father’s house and to teach them accordingly.

The beginning of this process of instruction begins with a mikvah and being immersed in water.

Ma’aseh [Acts] 2:38 
And Shim’on said to them, “Repent, and be immersed every one of you in name of the Adon Yeshua because your sins have been forgiven; and you shall receive the gift of the Set-apart Spirit.”

We must be clear here at this point:  it is not the act of immersion which saves a person or causes one’s sins to be forgiven; for if this were the case as some wrongly teach, then salvation would be by a person’s works rather than by His grace.  Salvation is extended to us by and through the ministry of the Set-apart Spirit applying the Blood of Mashiach to each who would receive it in faith.  It is the Blood of Mashiach that saves us.  It is not an act or any such work on our part.

With that being said, we must also understand that once we have received this salvation by and through faith and our sins have been forgiven and wiped away, then we should obey His commandment and be immersed in water as a testimony to what He has already done in our hearts and lives.

In the next section we will examine in further detail what it means to be a talmid of Yeshua our Mashiach.  It is so much more than just getting immersed into His name.

One of the things hotly debated at times is the formula for doing an immersion.  Perhaps if we were to understand that there is not a set formula then a lot of the hurt feelings would never happen.  What we do, we must do by faith.  If it is not by faith, then it will not be pleasing to our heavenly Father.  We should also understand that not everyone is at the same place in his understanding.  Therefore, we should give grace as that is what we would want to receive.

But many wonder: Should we say, “I immerse you in the name of the Father, and in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Ruach Qodesh”?  Or, should we say, “I immerse you in the name of YHWH”?  Or, should we say, “I immerse you in the name of Yeshua our Mashiach”?  Let us examine the above passage a little closer.

Matithyah [Matthew] 10:19-20
19 “But when they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what you shall speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what you shall speak.
20 For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaks in you.”

Please note that when the Holy Spirit speaks through us, it is the Spirit of our heavenly Father YHWH.  It is the Spirit of YHWH.

Galatians 4:6 
And because you are sons, Elohim sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father.”

The truth of the matter is this: the Spirit with which we are filled sometime after we are saved is the Spirit of YHWH the Father, it is the Spirit of YHWH the Son, it is the Set-apart Spirit, the Counselor.  So, when we are to immerse into His name, that name is “YHWH.”  Or, one can also rightly use “Yeshua our Mashiach” for we see this in the following passages.
 
Ma’aseh [Acts] 2:38 
And Shim’on said to them, “Repent, and be immersed every one of you in name of the Adon Yeshua because your sins have been forgiven; and you shall receive the gift of the Set-apart Spirit.”

And again:

Ma’aseh [Acts] 10:48a 
And he commanded them to be immersed in the name of Adonenu Yeshua Mashiach. 

And again:

Act 19:5 
And when they heard this, they were immersed in the name of Adonenu Yeshua Mashiach.

Since Yeshua our Mashiach is YHWH manifested in the flesh, and it is through and by His Blood that we enjoy salvation, then it would seem right and reasonable to use His name, the name of “Adonenu Yeshua Mashiach” to immerse those who desire to be immersed.

Let us remember as we proceed in this study, that Yeshua has all authority in heaven and in earth, and because He has that authority, He is transferring some of that authority to His talmidim to go into the nations of this world and to find His people and to teach them how to live in His kingdom. 

He has passed the mantle to us.

We have as much of that authority as is necessary to get the job done.

Yochanan [John] 14:13 
13 “And whatsoever you shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you shall ask anything in My name, that will I do.
15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

Yeshua taught us that if we keep and obey His commandments then we will walk in a manner that is pleasing to Him.  Therefore, we can ask for what we need to keep His commandments and He will readily give it to us.  Now, lest we think that this is a blank check to get whatever our flesh desires, think again!

Yochanan Aleph [1st John] 5:14 
14 And this is the confidence which we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us;
15 and if we know that He hears us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of Him.

Please note that the confidence that one has before YHWH in prayer is based upon praying and asking according to His will.  When one prays and asks according to His will, whatever he has asked will be given.  So why pray for anything outside His will?  What excuse do we have to pray outside of His will?  If one is truly filled with His Spirit and we actually go to Him and ask Him what His will is in any given situation, then we should know what His will is, right?  And if we pray accordingly, then we are praying according to His will and we will receive that which we have asked for!  Now I ask you, is that not authority?  Is that not power?  To be sure, it is!  We are under obligation not to misuse this power and authority. 

Let us walk in humble confidence before Him at all times; knowing who it is that we are serving!

 

Obedience to His Commandments

Matithyah [Matthew] 28:20 
“teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Yeshua commissioned His talmidim to go forth into all the nations of the world and to find His people.  When they found His people they were commanded to do certain things.  The central thrust of their commission from Yeshua was to teach them how to live a Torah obedient life.  They were to teach them to observe all those things which He had commanded them.

In the Hebrew Peshitta, the word from which observe is translated is the Hebrew word לִשְמֹר – “lishmor,” which means to guard or to protect.  And how does one guard or protect His commandments?  There is only one way, and that is by obeying them, by doing them.

He promises to be with those who obey His commandments.  He does not promise to be with those who do not obey His commandments.  So if one teaches and believes that His commandments (Torah) have been done away with, then they should not expect Mashiach Yeshua to be with them!

The truth of the matter is quite simple: since Yeshua is our Creator as well as our Savior, then He is also the One who gave the Torah to Moshe.  The Torah is His commandments!  The Torah commandments belong to Mashiach Yeshua.  Mashiach gave them to us through Moshe.  We cannot truly follow Yeshua and be His talmid without obeying His commandments.  While salvation does not come through the keeping of the commandments, for that is by and through faith alone, it is the keeping of His commandments through the Spirit that enables us to walk and live a life that is righteous and well-pleasing to our heavenly Father.

ABBA YHWH, please teach us how to live according to Your commandments; then please fill us with Your Spirit that we might actually obey them; in the name of Yeshua our Mashiach.  Amein.

Shabbat Shalom
Zerubbabel ben Emunah
www.onetorahforall.com
zerubbabel@onetorahforall.com

 

© All material is copyrighted and no part may be changed, added to, shortened or edited; however, the entirety of the article may be reproduced as long as the author’s name remains attached to the article.  It is encouraged and a blessing for others to forward these teachings to others, and permission is hereby granted for this as long as the teaching is kept wholly intact, which includes the author’s name and contact information, the “One Torah For All” header, and this copyright paragraph.  Furthermore, it must be passed on without any cost whatsoever to those who receive it.  The act of forwarding or sharing this teaching in any way constitutes agreement by the party forwarding it that he agrees to the terms and conditions of this paragraph.

back