Youtube video: https://youtu.be/DComisg7iQ4
Heb 1:1-3; (NET) After God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets,
v2 in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world.
v3 The Son is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word...
We are in a study of the doctrine of the winner believer Heb 12:2; Rev 2:7; those who the world does not deserve Heb 11:37-40; who are the unknown, unsung heroes of history as those who testify of the veracity of God's perfect integrity in the darkness of the devil's world during God's prosecution of satan and the fallen angels. 2Cor 6:9;
Winners are those who become the targets of God's grace imputations because they have capacity from believing God's word of truth with the result that they become the ones who God sustains to press His doctrinal advance in the spiritual death of the devil's world because regardless of the devil's hatred God desires every person to be saved. 1Tim 2:4;
In our present segment we are looking at the doctrinal viewpoint of the winner believer. When the believer has doctrinal viewpoint God's Word creates capacity for the believer to trust that God will work for them even when they don't understand exactly how and why because they know from the doctrine that they have learned that God is always true and faithful to His Word because He cannot deny himself.
This is also why doctrinal viewpoint enables the winner believer to have the patience to wait on God's timing regardless of the circumstances. Isa 40:31; and accept His sovereign decision regardless of the temporal outcome because they understand that God's eternal plan is perfect even when everyone else objects. Matt 26:39; Phil 2:5-11; Rom 8:28;
Doctrinal viewpoint aka doctrinal orientation is derived from the absolute reality of God's perfection that is revealed exclusively in God's Word of truth so it can only be acquired by listening to the communication of God's Word. Rom 10:17; Luke 11:28; John 8:31-32;
Winners submit to God's system for the communication of doctrine with the result that they learn to conduct their lives on the basis a doctrinal reality instead of an empirical reality. Rom 1:16-17; Rom 12:3;
Doctrinal viewpoint is what provides winners with cognitive invincibility that is established on the basis of their understanding of the immutability of the veracity, faithfulness of God and His Word. Isa 28:16 Isa 26:3; Psa 119:165; Psa 56:4-6;
All of this is possible because of Jesus' strategic victory over satan on the cross where God made provision for the fall of mankind and every subsequent failure (sin) that was the result of the fall of mankind and their enslavement to satan,
We are presently looking at Psa 138:2; where we see that a legacy of faith (doctrine) aka a spiritual heritage was also conveyed to Israel as the new racial species. David wrote this psalm while he was still a soldier and it reveals his doctrinal viewpoint during his invisible spiritual advance while he was a soldier.
Our expanded translation as far as we got was: "I will worship toward your Holy temple and give thanks to your person because of your grace."
Last time we noted that a good translation of the phrase translated "for Your lovingkindness" in the NASB would be "because of Your grace" but an even better translation for the Hebrew word "chesed" is "unfailing love" so the superior expanded translation of the phrase would be "I will worship toward your Holy temple because of your unfailing love."
The translation of the Hebrew noun cheseth as "unfailing love" comes from research done by R. B. Thieme, Jr. that associates God's love with His other divine attributes.
This means that the translation "unfailing love" is superior because it references an attribute of God's essence while the translation "grace" or "mercy" references God's policy that is established on the basis of His attribute of "unfailing love."
The next word is the Hebrew word "emeth" that is translated "truth" that refers to doctrine so the phrase is properly rendered" because of your unfailing love and your doctrine."
v2c The word "for" is translated from the Hebrew word "ki" that is also causal so we have "You have magnified." Magnified is translated from the perfect tense of the Hebrew "gadal," followed by "imrah" that is translated "Your word" referring to the communication of doctrine or "doctrinal teaching."
'The Hebrew word Imrah" is equivalent to the Greek word "rhema" that refers God's word that is spoken or communicated.
The next phrase "according to all your name" this is a prepositional phrase, "al" plus "shem." The preposition "al" translated "according" actually means "over or above."
We have already seen the word "shem" that means name, renown, or reputation and in this case it should be translated "reputation" so the phrase is "over your reputation" so a good translation of the entire phrase is "You have magnified your doctrinal teaching over your reputation."
In other words Bible doctrine is established on the basis of God's essence, character, and integrity so He makes His personal reputation the basis of the veracity of the principles of doctrine revealed in His Word of truth.
This passage describes His Word as being more important than His personal reputation because God's Word (doctrine) is how God's reputation is communicated.
Satan and the fallen angels have attempted to impugn God's reputation, God's Word refutes their false allegation. Doctrinal orientation is based on the immutable principles of absolute truth satan's allegations are based on emotional sentiment and relativism. Truth focuses on the creator, the lie focuses on the creation.
This means that a good expanded translation of Psa 138:2 is; "I will worship toward the temple of your holiness (heaven), and praise your person (occupation with Christ) because of your unfailing love and your truth (doctrine); because you have magnified your doctrinal teaching over and above your reputation."
This passage is telling us that the communication of God's Word is the most important thing and that the principles that are established in God's Word of truth are more important than anything else.
God's Word reveals that God and His divine decree, are the sine que non of God's plan for mankind and that Bible doctrine is the basis for everything that God does therefore, Bible doctrine is more important than anything else including our requirements for physical life. Matt 4:4; ( Note the Greek word "rhema" translated "word.")
God the Father attaches the highest importance to doctrine because it expresses who and what Jesus Christ is, because it expresses His plan, because it provides the logistics for His plan, and because it provides everything that we will ever need forever and ever.
God the Father attaches the highest honor to the person and the work of Jesus Christ but without the communication of God's Word (Bible doctrine) God's purpose and plan and who Jesus Christ is and what He did cannot be known.
Bible doctrine preexisted the human race. Bible doctrine is the thinking of Christ, Bible doctrine is the plan of God the Father, Bible doctrine is authored under the ministry of God the Holy Spirit; and since God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have always existed, Bible doctrine preexisted with them. John 1:1-2;