THE SEVEN VOICES
OF THE SON OF GOD
Publication #94.74
(Part 3)
THE VOICE OF MAJESTY
"The Voice of the Lord is full of MAJESTY" (Psa 29:4).
The Voice of Majesty is the third voice we hear that ushers us toward maturity. The first was the voice of Thunder (initial Salvation), then came the voice of Power (Baptism of the Spirit), and now the voice of Majesty (Sonship).
Voice, in the Old Testament of the Bible, comes from the Hebrew word, Kole, which means to call aloud. Kole is the lifting up of one's voice in urgency, a voice that compels its hearers to not only listen, but also react. It is more than a mere discourse of words, idle chatter, a whisper, or a suggestion of some sort. It comes with enough force to get one's undivided attention. The first appearance of this word in the scriptures was when Adam and Eve "heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool (wind, breeze, or spirit) of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God (Gen 3:8).
When a person hears the Spirit of the Lord's voice walking, or thundering, from the heaven's, it will draw their attention in a similar way it did the first time Adam and Eve heard it. It will open their eyes that they may see they are naked. They will want to hide themselves; at least, until they see the slain Lamb of God and know His blood has atoned their sins. Even though they may run and hide among the trees, hoping to avoid a confrontation with the living God while in the midst of the worldly noise of rustling leaves, it will not last. A day will come when they hear their own voice confessing Him as Lord.
The Lord's voice of Power follows, and they receive that which was promised (Lk. 24:49, Acts 1:4, Acts 2:2-2). They are filled with the His Spirit. They enter a new realm, a dimension of Christ, that imparts a certain amount of power. This will seem like the ultimate glory of their walk in Christ, but if they are called to Sonship, they will hear the third voice — the Voice of Majesty — and know there is more.
Majesty — what a tremendous word, in any language. The word speaks of grandeur, glory, magnificence, splendor, loftiness, nobility, dignity, integrity. It is something high and lifted up. Only those of royalty, the king and his house, merit such honor. Majesty is a word reserved for kings. It is not given to the common man.
The word in our text (Psa. 29:4) is translated from hadar, which carries the same thought — magnificence or splendor. Hadar is that which pertains to royalty. It is the glory of a king, and especially the Glory of the King of kings, our Lord Jesus.
The Voice of the Lord is full of Majesty. It is high and lifted up. His Voice proceeds from His throne with resplendent glory. The Lord's sounding rays of glory draw our eyes from one glory to the one that is far greater — leaving us undone. The prophet Isaiah knew something of hearing and seeing this Lord of majesty:
"In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." (Isa. 6:1-5).
Isaiah, meaning, Jehovah has saved, first had his eyes set upon Uzziah, which means the Strength of God. To our dismay, however, there came a time when our own Uzziah, the strength of God, the power of God, died.
We were like Isaiah, a people that Jehovah/Jesus saved, and after the baptism of His Spirit, we knew something of His power. For instance, in the late 1940s and early 1950s the manifestation of miraculous powers were tremendous, but since then it has been sporadic and in varying degrees. The major thrust of that power, called Latter Rain, waned after a short time. The Voice that is full of Majesty began to be heard. Some listened intently, willing to walk in obscurity for a season, while others attempted to keep a dying thing alive. Hopefully, we can hear a voice today in the few words of this study and see why Uzziah, God's Strength of Latter Rain, had to die.
God's Strength is good. It is one of the essential things that leads to a mature life in Christ, but our eyes cannot remain focused on God's Strength alone if we expect to reign with Him. The focus must become higher. We must mature. We must ascend and find ourselves in the throne of the Son. We must be consumed by His blazing glory. We must have more than unrestrained power alone. We must hear and see Him — He who is High and Lifted up.
Power may equip and enable us to be good soldiers, wherewith to battle the enemy night and day. It may make us good field-hands who tirelessly sow and gather in the wheat of the Kingdom. But soldiers and field-hands do not reign. They are essential parts of the reigning power, but they are not those who reign.
Once we hear the Voice of Majesty, and the door-posts of Uzziah's secure houses move, things begin to change. Everything shakes when the King speaks from above, not only our earthly securities, but those things of the heavens as well:
"And this Word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear" (Heb 12:27-28).
At the sound of this voice, the Voice of Majesty, we no longer hear Him as the suffering Lamb of God, nor as the Captain of His army — but as our King! We hear Him and see Him sitting upon a throne, High and Lifted up, with His Glory flowing down. It fills His temple. We are swallowed in the smoke of His consuming passion. The words of His terrible voice are the bowing of His heavens, coming down and not only shaking and filling these temples of His, but touching the mountains of our kingdoms, and shrouding them in the smoke of His Holy Fire (Psa. 144:5).
When we hear that shaking, earthquaking Voice of Majesty, and when we get a glimpse of our Lord sitting High and Lifted up on His Throne, our glory as children and as servants begins to vanish. We cry out — "Woe is me! for I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips." Truly, we quake at the sound of His voice and melt in His presence.
Once we hear the wonderful words that are carried in His Majestic Voice we are never the same. The fact is, once we hear His voice of any fashion, we are never the same. Nevertheless, this is the voice that calls us to Sonship, whereby we cry Abba Father (Rom. 8:14-17). It is the voice that places us as Sons of God in His Kingdom of power and dominion.
And please know this, dear readers, these sons are not "adopted sons," as we know the term in the western world. In that era, and in the culture of the east, the adoption of a son was packed with great significance and was an ordinance that heralded the first stage of a child becoming a man. The ceremony of the adoption dealt with the male child and the beginning of his relationship with his father. When used to denote our relationship with God, it speaks of those who ARE BORN OF GOD, who have BECOME OF AGE, and can be placed under THE FATHER'S CARE. From that day forth they are taught of Him. They are no longer called children — but SONS. This, brethren, is what SONSHIP is. It is simply growing up.
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance gives the following as the meaning of adoption that is found in Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:5: "huiothesia, the placing as a son, i.e. adoption... SONSHIP in respect to God." (With understanding, there is no reason to fear a biblical term that has been so badly maligned — sonship).
This third voice of the Lord brings the revelation of Jesus' Majesty. It reveals Kingship. It sheds light on Him as the King of kings and Lord of lords. It enables us to see and know that we are more than children who abide under the tutorship of our mother and the servants (Gal. 4:1-5). We rejoice, for now we have come to the day of enough maturity that we can be called the Sons of God! This majestic voice opens our understanding. It sheds light that there is more to our Christian life than being forgiven and washed clean by the purity of His word, as wonderful as initial salvation is. We see that as tremendous as the power of His word is, there is more.
When we hear His Voice of Majesty, our eyes are opened to the glorious wonder of Sonship. We see there is something beyond the realms we once knew — of infants, of babes and toddlers, of children and of servants — and it is glorious! The marvel of growing to maturity dawns for the first time upon the horizons of our understand. We see the work that is set before us, the reconciliation of the whole world, and we know that we are not going anywhere, except deeper into Him. When that majestic voice is heard, we rejoice, knowing that the prayer of Jesus shall be fulfilled: "I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil" (Jn. 17:15).
WHO HAS HEARD THE VOICE OF MAJESTY?
Those who have heard this particular Voice know what it is to be placed as a son of God. In the Jewish customs it took place when the boy was twelve years old. With this small amount of insight, we can understand more clearly why the twelve year old Jesus told His mother, "Why is it that ye sought Me? Did ye not know that I must be about my Father?" (Luke 2:49). He was twelve years old; He was placed as a Son; and it was time for Him to begin His training under the hand of His Father — and He was. From that time, to the day at the Jordan river when the Kingdom was placed into His hands, He was taught of His Father. All He heard His Father say and saw Him do during the time of being about Him — He spoke and did as a mature Son.
Jesus heard His Father's Voice of Majesty at the age of twelve years when He was "adopted," "placed into His care" — "Sonship." He heard it again when He rose from the Jordan river, but this time it placed Him as a mature Son, a Son with authority. His Father declared from the heavens, "Thou art My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11). And one other time the Father spoke those Majestic Words to Him. It was when He was upon the Mount of transfiguration. Each time this announcement came, it had to do with Jesus being placed as a Son, and each time — He was placed into a HIGHER place as a Son. The first place was as a twelve year old youth to be taught of His Father; the second place was as a manifested Son while still in the earthly tabernacle of His body; and the third place was in a glorified, transfigured body. What a beautiful example for us to follow.
Who has heard this same Voice of Majesty, the Voice that initiated our Lord into Sonship? Many across the land and around the world may have heard the "doctrine" we call "Sonship," but have they heard "the Voice of Sonship?" There is a vast difference. Some have, but we believe more have not.
The Voice of Sonship transforms the person from the inside out, while the doctrine merely masks the outer man. It draws imaginations in the mind of what a son is supposed to be, and then men and women dress themselves in those fabricated religious garments of the carnal mind.
Dressing the old man in religious garb changes nothing in his nature. It does not matter how much one knows about the righteousness of the Son, the authority of the Son, the power of the Son, the glory of the Son, or any other attribute of the Son of God, without the inner work of the Spirit a son will never be manifested.
Have you ever wondered why it is, brethren, that after twenty or thirty years of a man or woman walking in "sonship," he or she is still as carnal as the day they first heard its doctrine? Have we been shocked when those who have walked with us for so long in this wonderful doctrine fall away? Or have we been bewildered and heartbroken after our dear friends embraced the doctrine of Sonship for many years, only to end up on the ash-heap of divorce, or back in the lure of the world? — Yes, we have. We have been heartbroken, bewildered, shocked, and have wondered greatly why such things happen after they knew the "doctrine" so well. One simple answer is, that is all it was to them — a doctrine! They heard a doctrine and not the Voice of Majesty. They heard the voice of their earthy father, Adam, and not the Voice of the heavenly Father. In their spirit they are still in the world, or at best the outer courts, and there has been no change to their inner man.
There are many things that cause us to wonder if people are hearing the doctrine of majesty (the letter), rather than the Voice of Majesty (the Word). Among those things are the practices we see in fellowships and churches across the land that embrace the more indepth teachings of today. And please know, my friends, there is nothing wrong with doctrine, whether one is teaching it or learning it, as long as it is given and received by inspiration. For example:
Jesus taught many things which were called His doctrine (Mrk. 4:2). "The people were astonished at His doctrine...for His Word was with power" (Mark 11:18, Lk. 4:23). He said, "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself" (John 7:17). The apostles taught doctrine, and the people stood fast in it (Acts 2:42, Rom. 6:17). Paul encouraged Timothy to continue in the doctrine that he was taught, the doctrine which is according to godliness, that which is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (1 Tim. 4:14-16, 6:3, 2 Tim. 3:16).
You see, INSPIRED DOCTRINE is powerful, it is good, it is pure, it is something to stand fast in, to continue in. Doctrine is good for reproof, for correction, and instruction. Doctrine, the Doctrine of Christ, leads to godliness and righteousness.
We often hear people say that they don't want anything to do with "doctrine." The message we hear in such statements is that they are unteachable, that they refuse to learn. There is a doctrine, for sure, that we want to avoid, as Jesus warned, and that is the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees (Mt. 16:11-12). The Doctrine of Christ, however, is another matter.
Once a person hears the Voice of Majesty, i.e., the Voice of Sonship — DOCTRINE is one thing he will receive an abundance of. This is one of the things Sonship is all about — learning (doctrine) of the Father. Sonship leaves the realm of the mother and servants where the child is always asking and praying for things, and getting them.
Sonship is the realm wherein we stop asking for childish things and start seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. It is the realm wherein all those things that we need are added to us, as we need them. It is here that we seek to know the only true God and Jesus Christ — which is eternal life (Jn. 17:3).
When we are placed into the Father's care, our focus of life changes from the outward to the inward where He dwells. When we hear the call to Sonship, we hear the Voice of our Lord, the King. When we hear the call of the King, the call to learn of Him and to sit with Him in His throne, we begin the process of establishing His Kingdom in the earth — in our earth. From the age of twelve years to thirty, spiritually speaking, we hear His Voice, we learn His ways, and we reign with Him in our own lives. We always hear Him, obey Him, and learn of Him. The entirety of our lives are spent in seeking Him and doing His will.
No longer do we spend our lives building outward kingdoms of this world, for the Kingdom wherein He dwells is paramount, and in it He reigns supreme. No longer is our desire to erect a church building and gather a congregation to reign over, for we see Him as the only Shepherd and Bishop of our souls (1 Pet. 2:25). In Sonship we learn that to build monuments unto ourselves is to usurp our Lord's authority. We learn that it is all right to meet together, to fellowship, to worship in one place and in one accord, to share the riches of inspiration — but to think for the people is far from us.
Once we have heard the Voice of Majesty, we no longer are satisfied with the fishes and the loaves (the outward blessings alone) — for the deep calleth to the deep, wherein only He can sate. When we have need of fish, He will add that to us, but such things are not our livelihood. In Sonship, although we may enjoy fellowship, we do not have to go to "church" in order to be filled — for He is our sustenance, the true bread from heaven. We live by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God, as our Lord before us said (Mt. 4:4).
Those who have not heard the Voice of Majesty have fed upon the loaves of the Pharisees for so long, and have drank so deeply from the doctrines of the Sadducees, that they must go religiously to their broken cisterns in order to continue on. Please know, however, if you are attending weekly meetings and are truly hearing the Voice of the Lord in Majesty, you are drinking deeply of the Lord, and His Spirit is in your midst. If this is true, then I am not referring to you, but there are many to whom I do refer. Even so, if they have not heard this resounding voice from the heavens, this is all right. They can not respond to a call they have not heard. They may act the part of being a son of God as best they can conjure up in their own minds, but they will never manifest the Son. Our Lord Jesus called such people hypocrites, which comes from the Greek word, hupokrites, and means, an actor under an assumed character. This is what will commonly happen when people hear only the letter of a Word rather than the Voice of a Word.
Oh, but to hear that call from our Father, to truly hear His Voice from the heavens, to find our place from whence we came, is to walk beyond the first paths that were set before us. It is marvelous, and what is more, we don't have to don the actor's garb. Once we hear that Voice and are placed in His charge, we are never the same. Our dear friend and anointed writer, J. Preston Eby, wrote this concerning our placement as Sons:
"That's what this journey into God is all about — a return to the lords...I tell you, my beloved, there is something within me, an inner compulsion, and I know that I have passed the point of no return. There is no turning back from this Quest for God. I can't go back to the world — the world has nothing to offer me; it is all vanity and vexation of spirit. I can't go back to religion — religion holds nothing for me anymore; it is an abomination. I can't even go back to Pentecost, back to the Holy Place — for the veil has been rent, and I have tasted the powers of the world to come. There is no turning back, because my heart has returned to the Lord.
"Do you know what it takes to discover and appropriate all the glorious and eternal reality of this land — what is required? It takes some seeking. You don't just stumble into the Feast of Tabernacles. You don't slide into God's glory. You don't coast into the fullness of God. You don't accidentally enter into life and immortality. You don't just wake up one fine morning to discover yourself a manifested son of God. There are laws that govern our ascent. There is a prescribed order for entering into the Kingdom of God. There is a pre-ordained path of progression. 'One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple' (Ps. 27:4). David said 'I'll seek this.' Let me assure you, precious friend of mine, you don't get this glory by asking. You get things by asking. But the fullness of God is not acquired by asking.
"'Seek ye FIRST the Kingdom of God and His righteousness...' Seek — until you find and put on the righteousness of the Kingdom. Pursue it relentlessly. Settle for nothing less. That is the pathway to sonship! In the 'gift' realm you can receive a measure of power without righteousness. That dispensation of power is free, by pure grace. But the sonship that God is raising up in the earth in this hour, to set creation free, will not and cannot receive the omnipotence of God apart from the righteousness of God. Should the sons of God receive unlimited power without corresponding righteousness, the Kingdom of God would be forever shipwrecked upon the shoals of carnality and Self. The Pattern Son who came in the fullness of the power of Divine Life was also pure and undefiled, holy and harmless, sinless and separate from sinners. His is the nature and ability given to sons. Seek and ye shall find — the Lord!" — End quote.
Now that we have heard the Voice of the Lord, the Voice that is full of Majesty — do we understand why we cannot be caught up in the world, or in the rigors of religion? Can we see why those things fail to satisfy our hunger and thirst for righteousness? But can't we also see, and without malice, why those who embrace the letter of this doctrine are building their own kingdoms and monuments, and why they spend their time consumed of those things that pass with time and fade with the using? Hopefully we can.
Let us therefore, not contend with those who have not heard, but someday shall. Let us go on to perfection. Let us press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God that is found in Christ Jesus. Let us learn the doctrine of our Lord, wherein we can walk always in His righteousness. And in all our letting, let us also be ready to hear the other voices that follow, not forsaking any of those sounds that will bring us to the full Manifestation of the Sons of God. Glory to Him!
Elwin R. Roach
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