A Word About Shadows

Summary Scripture:

James 1:17 - Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

We have often heard this word ‘shadow’ used with the word ‘types’, when speaking of the purpose of the Old and New Testaments. The Old Covenant is said to be filled with shadows and types of those things that are to come in the New Testament. However, the word is used in many other instances that are very needful for our understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven. Here we will take a moment to go through some of the ways this word is used in scripture, and afterwards you will be able to discern its meaning instantly when you come across it in your future studies.

Shadow: The phonetic pronunciation of the Greek word is skee-ah:

Strong’s number is <G4639>

a) of “a shadow,” caused by the interception of light, or when light springs up in the mist of darkness;

Mark 4:31-32

31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:

32 But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.

A tree is unable to cast a shadow in the night, but when the sun rises, the light from the sun intercepts or interrupts the darkness and the tree is able to cast a shadow and provide shade for those who lodge under it. In this case shadow is offered as a protection or comfort device.

Acts 5:12-16

12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.

13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.

14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)

15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.

16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.

Here again we see the shadow of the man of God as being anointed enough to heal the sick and cast out unclean spirits. Peter’s personage (body), cast forth the shadow of the Spirit of God. It was the shadow of the New Man that healed the sick. Paul confirms this in his writings to the church at Corinth.

2 Corinthians 12:9

9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Here he speaks of the power of Christ resting upon him. The word Christ means the anointed One. It is the power of the anointing of Christ that rested upon a man (episkenoo, pronounced epee-skay-no’-o); or to abide with and tented upon. Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary.

Power: from <G1410> (dunamai);

1. Force: specially, miraculous power

2. Ability: to work miracles

3. Meaning: the power of God resting on the body of the

believer, gives meaning to what it is to be a son of God.

4. Might: power, strength, a wonderful work.

Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary.

b) “The image” or “outline” cast by an object, or event

in scripture;

16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

c) Ceremonies under the Law; of the tabernacle and its appurtenances and offerings,

Hebrews 8:4-5

4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:

5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

d) Shadow: Of things appointed under the Law, Hebrews 10:1-2

1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.

e) Shadow of Death: The darkness and spiritual death of ignorance, Matthew 4:15-16

15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of

death light is sprung up. and Luke 1:76-79

76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of

peace.

Here, we also have one of the responsibilities of the New Testament ministry of the Prophet. His word is to go out before the Apostolic Manual to prepare the hearts of the people through messages that compel them to repent. Then, they might be able to receive the Knowledge or revelation of the salvation the Father has sent from Heaven. This revelation of the kingdom of Heaven and its salvation will be delivered by the apostle. Subsequently the prophet will continue to confirm the revelation.

f) Shadow of Turning: that which is changeable, inconsistent, unstable, fluctuating and faithless.) This implies an alternation of the light: God is immutable, unchanging, constant, enduring, inflexible, fixed, set and steadfast. There are no changes on earth or in the hearts of the sons that can cast a shadow on the source of all power, light and knowledge, which are the attributes of our Father. Therefore, in him is no shadow of turning. James 1:16-17 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Note that the 16th verse gives a warning to the sons of God. They are the beloved brethren. He tells them not to err. But in the next verse he explains or points to the object of his concern: the gifts given to us by God. The gift comes from God. It is good and perfect, but it comes from the Father of lights. Paul called God the Father of spirits, thus referring to the church as spiritual beings. Jesus said the same thing to Nicodemus, “that which is born of the spirit is spirit.” But now James refers to God as the Father of lights. And as the principle of scripture prevails, the apostles taught nothing that the Master had not thought beforehand, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid”. Matthew 5:14. We are the lights referred to here: the church, the body of Christ, the sons of God. Nevertheless, the Father is a Father of lights, and in that light, there is no variableness or shadow of turning.

Variableness:

1. variation, (contrast, change, difference, deviation,) or

2. transmutation (the change, alter or adapt);

3. fickleness, (unfaithful, changeable, inconstant and

unsteady).

(2) Caused by change in others: God gave us the ability to make our election sure. We have the ability to choose to serve in righteousness or to yield ourselves to our own will. That makes us mutable, or changeable. We can choose to walk away from God or the work of His Christ. This is the great trial of the sons, choice. While writing the above the Lord spoke to me in no uncertain terms, directing me to the rest of the chapter. He wanted me to see how the sons of God often deceive themselves while caught in the shadow of their turning.

James 1:11-12

11 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.

12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hathpromised to them that love him.

When we read this passage, we think in terms of the very wealthy falling from grace. However, the Lord wants us to see the rich as he sees them. In our discussion of this scripture, we see that to be rich is to abound. We tend to stop at abounding in worldly wealth, but you can abound in other areas that are just as dangerous as the love of money. You can abound in self and selfishness, a comfort zone, or your way or ways. You can live in these so long until you become rich in self-righteousness. Here is the great temptation that lead to variableness: a shadow of turning that glooms over your life and gift as an undetected cloud of death. These all war against the will of God for your life and the gift he has given you.

There is another scripture the Lord instructed me to mention here, “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump (Gal 5:7-9). Any act of disobedience is sin before the Lord. However, most saints don’t consider their self-righteousness a sin. They really see it as self-rightness. In other words, their way of doing things have nothing to do with being disobedient to God. It is simply about doing that which they think is good for them, and also what is good for the working of their ministry. Now I can see why the Lord wanted us to look more closely at this chapter he inspired James to write. “The rich man will fade in his ways,” says the word of the Lord. I am all too familiar with this operation. I had failed in it for many years. In the name of love and the Lord, I made decisions that were contrary to the will of God in dealing with the unrighteousness of others. These decisions sometimes undermined the chastening of the Lord in the life of these people.

It is the responsibility of the apostle to purge the Christian church of false doctrines; the contaminations, destruction and divisiveness of sinners, and to keep it separated from satanic, worldly influences. God did not leave this to chance or some self-derived plan of action. He made his method very clear and

precise. A great example of this instructional method is found in the Paul’s letter to the chaotic Corinthian Church.

1 Corinthians 5:1-13

1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.

2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.

Though the crime of this brother is grave, he is still a brother and a child of God, until the Lord himself departs from him. Therefore, we are cautioned to deal with such who are out of the way, with a spirit of meekness, considering ourselves. What this means is that if we do unrighteous judgement of the matter,

then we leave no room for repentance. But as we continue to read, the purpose of the chastening of the council, in turning him over to satan for the destruction of his flesh, was so that he might come to repentance and return in obedience to the faith, so that his soul might be saved. Before we go any further with this brother, I just want to interject right here how so many people in the church, especially leaders, never stop to think of the affect their sin, or disobedience to God will have on the people they serve. If you are not a leader, your disobedience has an effect on the people in your sphere of influence.

There is no form of disobedience that is ineffectual to you or the people that come into contact with you. You may not be the fornicator, or the adulterer, but if you are self-willed, self motivated, and your life and ministry is self-planned, then you do not walk in the Spirit of God. You serve him on your terms and in your time frame. He is not at liberty to instruct you without rebuttal, indecisiveness or an out-right, “no, I can’t do that.” In such cases the Lord is not leading through instituted authority.

There is an attempt to overshadow his immutability by a shadow of turning in you. But as I said earlier, there is no force on the earth or in the souls of any of the sons of God, that is able to over-shadow the light that He is. He will not change. He will simply execute judgement, as did Paul.

3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,

4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved

in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Paul allowed the Holy Spirit to judge the matter. The brother was turned over to the satan to be chastened in the flesh. While you or others may think this is cruel and unusual punishment coming from a Christian, but might I remind you, this was done by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?

Paul has already made it clear that the church should be in morning for their brother, due to the fact that his soul is in jeopardy. That would be a clear indication of their love for the brother. They would be in prayer and fasting, interceding for his life. But instead, he says, “You are a proud church, even

in the midst of such sin, you glory in what you think to be your servitude to God.” This is also true of many who are guilty of self-rightness. They glory in the work they do for, or in the name of the Lord. But they work in their pride, and pride is iniquity. Consider the following passages:

• Proverbs 10:29

The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.

• Luke 13:27

27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

• Matthew 23:23

23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Many will find themselves in hell because they did not allow themselves to be pastored or shepherded. They despised God’s instituted authority when it did not agree with their way or time frames. They grieved God’s leadership and caused the people of God to suffer lack, because they themselves were not willing to submit to all that God wanted to do through their vessel. They quenched and grieved the Holy Ghost with every rebuttal, every “no, I can’t,” every “I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that.”

God wanted to expand their borders and increase their measure for the benefit of his Body, but they would not allow it. They are deceived and will be damned in the judgement; for the Lord will leave them to their own way and allow them to reach others he places in their comfort zone. But at the end of the day, they will be lost, due to their shadow of turning. They allowed the desire of their own soul to override the will of the Holy Ghost in them. They did what they wanted to do. But it is not too late. If you are guilty of such a shadow, then return to obedience to the Spirit of God in you. Stop listening to your own heart, as it is not the Spirit of God. Become teachable, as a little child before the Lord. You don’t have to protect yourself from a Godly leader,

7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

Stop burying your pride and arrogance in self-rightness. Get rid of it. Christ was led by the Father to suffer the cruel death of crucifixion. He was willing to do whatever was the will of the Father. He is our example. The apostles and most of the early church suffered greatly and gladly, doing the will of the Father. They were led as lambs to the slaughter, and God is not able to tell us to go to Walmart’s parking lot to pass out tracks. Our comfort zones are padded with upcoming destruction. Flee the snare of your own mindset. Run to God in repentance and get up in submission and a willing heart. The truth is, nothing is received of God that is not from a willing heart. Our work is in vain as it relates to our security in God. Submission is the only good ground for the work and labor of the ministry of reconciliation.

Don’t allow the deception. If you are not being led completely by the Spirit in your servitude, then you are not rendering the total supply God wants to distribute through you. Change this course. Submit to God’s rule in your life with a glad heart, and the way of the Lord will be a strength to you. We are the sons of the Living God in whom there is no shadow of turning. We are the light of this world, and in us will be no

shadow of turning.