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The Law of The Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus

Filed Under: God's Laws/Teachings, The Indwelling Christ by admin — Comments Off on The Law of The Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus
August 13, 2011

Jesus, your lovingkindness is life that’s changing my heart, drawing me near….to you.  Your love is better than life, I know it well.  And I’ll find all that I need in you.  Hillsong United, Your Love, 1997 Copyright

         It is a most unfortunate practice prevalent in almost all English translations and paraphrases of the New Testament that different words in the original Greek text are translated using only one English word.  Probably the most well-known example is “love” which is used in place of three different Greek words.   Such practice renders the texts confusing at best, and misleading at worst.  A lesser known example of such a word is “life.”  The above popular Hillsong song is an illustration of our point.

         Take a look at what has been done with “life”–click on the “LexiConc” tab next to “Primary Results”.  In short, there are at least six different root nouns each translated “life.”  We will consider only a couple of them in this post.

          The first word is “bios“, from which we get our words “biology”, “biosphere”, and “biography”.  It refers to created, natural life that has come to each person through our common ancestor, Adam.  It is finite, or has an ending, and originates in this realm.  There are different levels of “bios”.  Starting with human bios, there is a lower level of animal bios, and below that, plant bios.  In the same way, there is created life higher than human bios, and it is angelic bios or “life”, since angels are also created beings.  (We have for purposes of simplicity combined all forms of angelic life into one level, although we believe there are actually several levels of angelic life.)  The scriptures say that man has been created lower than the angels, for a little while. 

          Now take a look at the ficus tree or ivy in your home.  Let’s say that the ficus knows the words and the tune to the famous Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah.  And let’s say that the ficus wants, with all of its being, to sing them.  The ficus has a problem:  it has no lungs with which to draw in air, so that it can expel the air through its vocal cords (that it also doesn’t have) to form words with its lips (that it also doesn’t have).  You see, in our silly example, that the ficus lacks the capacity to sing–the capacity to sing is not indigenous to its species.  The same is true, to a lesser extent, for your dog, even though it is one level of bios higher than the plant.

            The second word we’ll consider is “zoe.”  It refers to life that is NOT created, that is endless and indestructible–in short, it is divine life.  Zoe is higher than angelic bios, since Zoe has no beginning and no end.  Here is the critical point:  it is not from this realm, but is from the heavenly realm–from your heavenly Father, to be precise.  Thus, it is holy, righteous, and perfect.  In the Bible, it is usually referred to with a number of different adjectives, such as “eternal life”, or “everlasting life”, or “abundant life”.  These adjectives do not describe so much Zoe’s duration as they describe its species!

          Just like the ficus in our examle, your bios, dear reader, is at least two life forms lower than the life form that exists in Father and in His son, Jesus the messiah.  Divine life is not indigenous to our species!  Furthermore, our life form simply does not have the capacity needed to be holy, righteous and perfect.  (We sincerely apologize to all who are struggling mightily to be holy, righteous and perfect–if you arrive there, please let us know!  And we also apologize to anyone who has been told by their church or denomination that they CAN get there, if they would just have faith, or try harder, or whatever, but whoever told you it depends upon your effort was wrong.)  Like the ficus, we may know the “words” and the “tune”, and we may want with all of our heart to be holy, but the capacity is simply not there.

          Jesus did not come, live, die, be resurrected, and leave simply to tell you to try harder to live according to divine Zoe.  He knows it is not indigenous to your species–He CREATED your species!  Instead, He came to IMPART HIS ZOE INTO YOUR BIOS.  What we are talking about here is a change roughly comparable to enabling the poor ficus to sing the Hallelujah Chorus, and to sing it better than anyone has ever heard it sung!   Anyone, anywhere, who wants to, can become a partaker of His divine nature!  Now, let’s look at the Hillsong verses again with a better translation:

Jesus, your lovingkindness is life (zoe) that’s changing my heart, drawing me near….to you.  Your love is better than life (bios), I know it well.  And I’ll find all that I need in you. 

          Hasn’t God commanded us to be holy?  Actually, before the cross it was a command; after the cross it is a promise.  And so we come to the Law of the Spirit of Life (zoe) in Christ Jesus.   Look at these amazing words:

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.  Romans 8:1-2 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

          The author of these words, the apostle Paul, is making the point in the eighth chapter of Romans that the Torah, the comandments given to Moses and Israel at Mount Sanai had a fatal weakness:  it couldn’t do away with sin permanently.  So God sent Jesus as a final offering for sin to accomplish the satisfaction of the law, and at the same time, provided for the imbuement of His own nature into those who believe in Him.  This nature, His own “zoe”, once imparted would inexhorably accomplish the requirement of the Torah within the believer.

For what the Law (of Moses) could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us.  Romans 8:3-4

          The Law of the spirit of life (zoe) in Christ Jesus was not a part of the Torah given to Israel, but a higher law, one that did not originate “through the flesh”.   Do we not say:  two things are certain in life (bios)–death and taxes.  Actually, it would be better to say, death and sin.  The laws of Torah were not able to overcome these certainties, because they (sin and death) were higher laws.  In the same way, the law of the spirit of life (zoe) is such a higher law, but one even higher than sin and death.

          Think of the law of gravity as similar comparison:  you can defeat the law of gravity for a period of time, but eventually you must succumb to its inexhorable effects.  In the same way, the law of the spirit of zoe in Christ Jesus cannot be ultimately overcome; instead, IT OVERCOMES.  Its effects are continuous–and those effects are freedom from sin and death.  Moreover, while it is at work, it is changing your heart, drawing you nearer and nearer to Him, and fulfilling the law of Torah, all of God’s commandments, in your heart!  Do you see, dear reader, why we sing of Him and of His lovingkindness?  There is simply nothing more wonderful than this good news–for all who will trust Him to do it, He will give you His own nature, and that nature will eventually change you into His likeness with an unending divine life!  It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done–choose life, the divine zoe of Jesus.

Blessed are you, O Lord of Life, and blessed are You, Father, for the wonderful gifts of Life You have ordained for all mankind.  Open the eyes and the hearts of our readers–may they have this Life and have it more abundantly!

 

 

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Loving Like Jesus Loves

Filed Under: Love of God, The Indwelling Christ by admin — Comments Off on Loving Like Jesus Loves
August 10, 2011

Do you want more and more of God’s kindness and peace?  Then learn to know him better and better.  For as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life:  he even shares his own glory and his own goodness with us!  And by that same mighty power he has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings he promised; for instance, the promise to save us from the lust and rottenness all around us, and to give us his own character.

But to obtain these gifts, you need more than faith; you must also work hard to be good, and even that is not enough.  For then, you must learn to know God better and discover what he wants you to do.  Next, learn to put aside your own desires so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have his way with you.  This will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply.  2 Peter 1:2-7 The Living Bible (TLB)

          The natural progression of the Christian’s life is to become like his or her Master; so why do so many Christians lament the fact that they do not have the love of Jesus…that is, they do not love like Jesus loves?  They are painfully aware that the love of Christ Jesus, so evident in some, is sorely lacking in their inmost being.  No amount of effort can “gin up” the love of Jesus, because the source of the love of Jesus is neither our efforts nor our vast learning.  This amazing passage from The Living Bible uncovers, for the most part, what is lacking and what actually blocks the love of Jesus from full expression in the lives of many believers.  The problem, dear reader, is in our spirits–we have enthroned a false image of God, and until the image is corrected, one can only reflect the image of God that one has. 

          Therefore, if your image of God (whom, as a matter of fact, Jesus is the exact representation of) is unloving, your image of Jesus is also.  In other words, you can project no more of a loving image than you actually believe God has.  God will not allow you to project an image of Him that you do not believe He has.  The main theological point here is that the Father and Son are one, in nature, in actions, in words, and in attributes.  Do you believe we need a loving Jesus to save us from an angry God?  Then stop! and go no further until your view of Father is corrected.  Listen to Peter’s words:   Then learn to know him better and better.  For as you know him better,…he even shares…his own goodness with us!  The source of the love of Jesus is, in point of fact, your loving Father in heaven. 

          Perhaps you do not view God as angry; instead, you think He is ambivalent, or at the moment placated, but able to become very angry again.  Perhaps, you think He is hopeful, having His fingers crossed that enough people will come to their senses so that He won’t have to unleash great tribulation and punishment on the earth.  Here is the main question:  do you think He is poised to send the vast majority of everyone who has ever lived to hell to be tormented and tortured in fire and flames forever?  Your answer to this question determines whether the love of Jesus is blocked from full expression in your life.

          Father has specifically stated in His laws dealing with man’s punishment of man, a very important limitation on man’s authority:  do not punish to the extent that your brother is degraded in your eyes.  The Bible clearly testifies over and over about the love of God, and at one point the apostle John even says “God is love.”   As the previous link proves, it has been the plan and purpose of God from the beginning to manifest Jesus’ love in us, those who are the first to believe.  The problem has come in, after the time of Constantine, that the angry God of the Old Testament must exact revenge for all the people living in sin and unbelief–as though the blood of Christ did not pay for all sins for all times and absolutely, irrevocably destroy the works of the devil, and conciliate all men to Himself!

          If you think God is indeed going to send millions or even billions to hell for eternity, then you have degraded your brother in your own eyes.  Much more could be said about the ramifications of this judgment that you have formed, but we urge you reconsider–this is the reason the love of Jesus is blocked from full expression in your life.  If you truly desire the love of Jesus to flow out from you as a sweet savor and aroma,  pray that Father’s will be done in the earth as it is in heaven, and believe that some way, some how, He will drag all men to Himself because Christ was lifted up.  He will do this, and He will not violate their free will in the process!      

          The problem is the doctrine of eternal punishment–banish this hideous doctrine from your heart, and here is a wonder you will find:  you can begin to know the true, loving nature of your heavenly Father, and His real character.  You will stop degrading your brother in your own eyes as “going to hell”, and you will begin to see him as your Father sees him:  as a future brother in Christ!  Finally, you will grow to love him deeply.  This is the love of Christ.  It is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes!

Blessed are You, O Lord our loving God.  Who is like You O Lord?  Soon everyone will be like You!  Amen, let it be so.

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When We All Get To Heaven

Filed Under: The Indwelling Christ, Worshiping Heart by admin — Comments Off on When We All Get To Heaven
July 23, 2011

Let not your heart be disturbed.  Believe in God, and believe in Me.  In My Father’s house are many abodes; yet if not I would have told you, for I am going to make ready a place for you.  And if I should be going and making ready a place for you, I am coming again and I will be taking you along to Myself, that where I am, you also may be.  And where I am going you are aware, and of the way you are aware.  Thomas is saying to Him, “Lord, we are not aware whither Thou art going, and how can we be aware of the way?”  Jesus is saying to him “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one is coming to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.  And henceforth you know Him and have seen Him.”  John 14:1-7 Concordant Version of the New Testament

          It is the prevailing view in the United States, that if one is “good” he will go to “heaven”, and if one is “bad”, his ultimate destination is “hell.”  Each sect and/or denomination has its own definitions of “good” and “bad”, as does each un-churched person.  And the general consensus is that “heaven” is a desirable but largely-unknown utopia, and “hell” is an equally unknown very bad place.  However, anyone with an open heart and an open mind can, with a little study and effort, quickly determine that the origins of each of these propositions is pagan from ancient times.  After the edict of Constantine, when all the pagan temples became Christian cathedrals and all the pagan priests became Christian priests by fiat, the Church incorporated these pagan ideas into mainstream Christianity as doctrines where they have remained firmly entrenched to this day, and scriptures (such as the above passage from the gospel of John) are mistakenly interpreted to justify these wrong ideas.

          Hear the Lord’s words:  don’t trouble your hearts with notions of streets of gold and whether there are golf courses in heaven (as we have heard one man say), or with fears of torture and burning and other ideas associated with that hideous doctrine.  Believe in God and believe in Me. 

          We are not intending to prove the falsity of that which is false, but instead to lift up and magnify that which is true.  So, open your hearts and minds, and ask the Lord Spirit to reveal the truth of these matters to you.  Believe Him, not us.

          The word “abodes” in the above translation is alternatively rendered “dwelling places” (NASB), “mansions” (King James Version), “homes” (Amplified Bible), “rooms” (New International Version), and “dwellings” (Wycliffe Bible).  The problem, however, is NOT with the translation of “abodes”; instead, the problem begins with assuming that “My Father’s house” is in heaven.  The Lord Jesus has never said that His Father’s house is in heaven, nor has it ever been His goal to bring a select few, chosen or believing (according to the Calvinist view or the Arminian view), into heaven and leaving the large majority of humanity behind to endure their “just” reward of “great tribulation” as a preview of eternal torment in hell.  Rightly decide the location of “My Father’s house”, and the Lord’s meaning of what He said above becomes clear and simple.

          Beloved of God, if you are wondering, “Well, where is God’s house?” you are not alone.  Do you notice that Thomas didn’t get it, either?  Let’s begin by speculating what was going through Thomas’ mind and see if it sheds some light for us 2,000 years later.  Notice also how the Lord had previously used the phrase:

And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”  Luke 2:19 English Standard Version (ESV)

And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”  John 2:16 ESV

          And so we can see that Thomas believed, like so many since that time have believed, the word “house” referred to Herod’s temple in Jerusalem, or some other man-made structure.  Thomas was naturally curious about where Jesus was referring, if not to Herod’s temple, to which the Lord had previously referred when speaking of “My Father’s house.”  Later, the Holy Spirit began to reveal that God had chosen to place His name not in a structure made by man, but in another place of His own choosing.

          When  Stephen was brought before the Jewish religious judges (the Great Sanhedrin) for allegedly speaking words “against Moses and God“,  he spoke prophetically of God’s ultimate rejection of Herod’s temple, noting that King David had asked to build God a dwelling place but that Solomon his son had carried it out, and that arrangement was not intended to be permanent.  Stephen quoted the prophet Isaiah’s famous passage about the Kingdom of Heaven:

However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:  Heaven is My throne, and earth is the footstool of My feet; what kind of house will you build for Me? says the Lord, or what place is there for My repose? Was it not My hand which made all these things?  Acts 7:48-50  New American Standard Bible (NASB)

          The Lord Jesus had implicitly and explicitly stated that Jerusalem would be destroyed, and the implications of such destruction were revealed by the Spirit to Stephen and others, such as the writer of the letter to the Hebrews.  Many years later, but again prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, the author to the Hebrews discussed the obsolescence of the temple and sacrifice system (the “old covenant”) and its replacement with a new covenant.   He clearly states that the new covenant is based upon the blood of Jesus and a temple “not made with hands”.

When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete.  But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear…Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary…But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;  and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption…Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.  For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;…  Hebrews 8:13-9:1-2, 11-12, and 23-24 NASB

          We have quoted from this passage at length because some say the place being prepared is in the heavens, where Christ made His offering.  But we wish to point out that the author is referring to “the holy place”, not to “My Father’s house”.  We do not dispute there are heavenlies and that Christ entered there–we contend that Father prefers things that are not “made with hands” and that heaven is not the believer’s final destination.  Instead, “My Father’s house” is the New Jerusalem, a spiritual temple, coming down out of the heavens and ultimately filling the entire earth.  It is a living temple, not made with hands, but made with living stones.  Each stone is an individual who has tasted the kindness of the Lord and whose heart is a dwelling place, an “abode” for Father and the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

          Christ in you, the hope of glory….a mystery now revealed, the promise of the Father, that He would indwell each believer, was the “place” referred to by the Lord Jesus in our opening scripture.  And yes, there are many of them.  Later on in the same chapter of John, the Lord said:

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you…In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you (all)…If anyone loves me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him.  John 14:18, 20, 24 NASB

          Every one of these “abodes” has been prepared by Jesus, just as He said.  It was the purpose of His going, as well as the destination of His going.  It is a part of His promise that He would come again and receive each one to Himself.  Thus, those who believe that heaven is the ultimate destination point to passages like 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, contending that the Lord will return, rapture the believers in the air, and proceed directly to heaven. 

          We will indeed “meet” the Lord in the air, just as the scripture says, but the word “meet” in Greek is apantesis, which means to meet a visiting dignitary on the outskirts of town and accompany him back to the visited city, NOT to accompany the dignitary back to the origin of his journey, as is evident from the other two passages in the New Testament using this verb.  (See Matthew 25:1-10 and Acts 28:15-16.)  For example, when Paul was being delivered to Rome for his appeal to Caesar, the brothers came out from Rome some considerable part of the 112 miles to Puteoli to meet Paul and escort him back to Rome.  They did NOT meet Paul and escort him back to Caesarea!  Respectfully, in the same way, we will not meet the Lord in the air and escort Him back to heaven.

          Isaiah also prophesied that Messiah Jesus would be like a nail securely driven into a “place” and it would be a glory to His Father’s house.  Take a look at this remarkable scripture, and understand that it refers to your heart, dear reader.   It is the place where God has caused His name to be remembered and the place which God has chosen.  It has always been His plan, a mystery which was hidden from past ages and generations, to present every man complete in Christ!

          Messiah Jesus intends to take up His throne in the earth, at which time the prayer which He Himself instructed us to pray, will be fulfilled:

Pray then this way:  Our Father who is in heaven–hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Matthew 6:9-10 NASB

          Could there be a prayer that the Lord would teach us to pray, for which Father’s answer would be “No”?  We think not.  Dear reader, if your heart is troubled, or you are searching, look no further.  Your redemption is drawing near–call to Him, He will answer!  Why wait?  Ask Him to make ready your heart NOW.

Blessed are You, O Lord, lover of our souls.  Blessed are You for you have promised better things to come and to prepare the places in our hearts, and if there weren’t MANY, You would have told us so.  How great is Your love and how unfailing is Your purpose! Complete Your preparation in every man!  Make our hearts ready to receive you.  We say Amen to all Your ways. 

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Jonah and Nineveh: A Sample of Bigger Things to Come

Filed Under: Uncategorized by Jamie — 2 Comments
July 19, 2011

“And should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”  Jonah 4:11

This verse is the last verse in the book of Jonah, but it captures the heart of God in this story, and shows His purpose: to redeem and restore those who have been against Him, and to have mercy upon all.

The story of Jonah follows a prophet who receives a call from God to go the most heathen of heathen: the Ninevites, idol worshippers living in the Assyrian capital.  Jonah’s message is one calling for repentance from wickedness, that God might be gracious to them and relent from the calamity He planned to bring on them.  Instead of going to Nineveh, Jonah decides to flee in the opposite direction and hopefully dodge his duty.  In an interesting side note, Jonah flees to the city of Tarshish, the name of which means “refinement.”  God had to refine Jonah in the belly of the whale, where he learned afresh to trust God and willingly come into agreement with Him.  After three days in the whale, God gives Jonah a second chance to go and preach to the Ninevites, and he goes and proclaims God’s message.

When the Ninevites hear Jonah’s message, they immediately turn to God in fasting and repentence, from the king down.  And it says in verse 10, “When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.” 

Jonah actually gets upset with God for His mercy on these people, but fittingly describes God’s handling of the Ninevites: “I knew that Thou art a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.” (4: 2).

Jonah unfortunately responded in the way many people do today at the thought that God actually could and would redeem all people.  We wonder how people as horrible as Hitler could ever come into the kingdom of God.  But here we see how God’s heart is to bring all people, especially the worst, to Himself.  Jonah’s name means “dove”, which is a symbol of peace, restoration, and the Holy Spirit.  God plans to bring restoration to even the worst of the worst.  He is ABUNDANT in lovingkindness, having compassion on those who “do not even know their right hand from the left.” God is saying that these people are spiritually dead: they are too spiritually “dumb” to even know one hand from the other.  Paul calls these kind the “natural man”-those who have no spiritual discernment whatsoever: “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” 1 Cor. 2:14

We are all dead in our trespasses and sins until God in His mercy makes us alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:1-5).  He came and opened our darkened minds and hearts so that we could be aware and understand the things of the Spirit of God.  God extended mercy to the Ninevites in kindness. He did not immediately bring calamity on them, for He does not delight in that.  What He DOES delight in is a contrite heart.  And it was His kindness that led them to repentence (Rom. 2:4). 

Does God have to correct and discipline? Yes.  We can choose to rebel and take the long way around, as Jonah did. But ultimately, God’s will prevails.  Nineveh was a glimpse into the plan of God to bring all people to Himself, because of His unfailing love.

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Losing or Gaining Citizenship

Filed Under: Christ's Predominance and Supremacy, God's Laws/Teachings by admin — Comments Off on Losing or Gaining Citizenship
July 17, 2011

Any man, ANY man of the House of Israel who slays an ox or a sheep or a goat in the camp or who slays it outside the camp, and to the entrance of the Tent of Appointment does not bring it, to bring-it-near as a near-offering to YHWH before the Dwelling of YHWH; bloodguilt is to be reckoned to that man, blood he has shed, that man is to be cut off from amid his kinspeople–in order that the children of Israel may bring their slaughter-offerings that they are slaughtering in the open field, that they may bring them to YHWH, to the entrance of the Tent of Appointment, to the priest and slaughter them as slaughter-offerings of shalom (greeting) to YHWH.  The priest is to dash their (animal’s) blood against the slaughter-site of YHWH, at the entrance of the Tent of Appointment, and is to turn the fat into smoke as a soothing savor to YHWH–that they may slaughter no longer their slaughter-offerings to the hairy (goat demons) after whom they go whoring.  A law for the ages shall this be for them, throughout their generations.  Leviticus 17:3-7 Schocken Bible

Boiling it down to its essentials, here is what Moses was saying:  when you slay an animal that was supposed to be a sacrifice, WHEREVER the animal is killed (either in the camp/city, or outside the camp/city) you must be very careful to make certain that the blood of the animal, and its other parts, are brought to the priest and offered in the manner prescribed for the Sacred Gift of Greeting, (of which we wrote earlier) and have the blood applied to the altar.   If you decide NOT to apply the blood to the altar, you are legally “cut off” from your kinspeople.  This means that under God’s law, you are no longer a citizen of Israel.  If you were of the tribe of Judah, you are no longer a Jew.  If you were of the tribe of Reuben, you are no longer a Reubenite.  If you were of the tribe of Benjamin, you are no longer a Benjamite, and etc.  Note that there are no exceptions.  The seriousness of this matter can hardly be overstated.

Whatever else may be said of this law, one should carefully note that it is “a law for the ages” and not be in too big a hurry to declare that it is “Old Testament”, meaning that it has been abolished and is no longer of any effect.  Moses clearly states that its effectiveness will continue through more than one age.  Therefore, we admonish you, dear reader, with all earnestness not to be guilty of this legal offense, even though you are nearly 2,000 years removed from the destruction of Herod’s temple and the end of sacrifices.  As we shall discuss below, you are not excused merely because God sent His armies to destroy Jerusalem and the temple.

The altar was always intended as a picture and an example of the altar of the heart:  made of earth and uncut stones not shaped by man, and in “every place where I cause My name to be remembered“, and approached without steps so that anyone may come.  Moses was told by YHWH/Jesus to build all things according to “the pattern shown to you on the mountain.”  This heavenly pattern is fulfilled by applying the blood of the sacrifice to one’s heart when God causes His name to be remembered there, and this law is satisfied in the exact same place–a place made of the dust of the earth, and shaped by God, not man.  And thus we come to one of the main reasons God caused the temple to be destroyed–so that all men of the descendants of Israel may have the opportunity, no matter where they are in the “field” (which is the world), to decide to figuratively apply the blood of the sacrifice to their hearts.

What sacrifice, and what blood?  Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  Has it not been told to you from the beginning?  Simply stated, the blood of Christ Jesus, who was the paschal lamb offered for the sins (hamartia, in Greek) of the whole world.  The apostle John makes it clear that Yeshua the messiah was the propitiation, or sin offering, whose blood was to be applied to the altar for the entire world.  Exactly how is the blood applied to an individual’s heart?  By simply asking the new high priest, the one who is a priest forever, according the new order of Malki-Zadok, who also happens to be Yeshua the messiah.  For, He is both the sacrifice and the priest who applies the blood to the altar.  When God causes you, dear reader, to remember His name, ask Jesus to apply the blood to the altar of your heart.  When you do this in sincerity of heart, let us be the first to welcome you as a new citizen to the Kingdom of God!

Those who wish to build a Third Temple in Jerusalem, and who wish to re-institute the sacrifice of animals in that temple, have decided NOT to apply the blood of the Christ-sacrifice to the altar God has instructed.  The effect of this is that their individual citizenship as Israelites is revoked.   The King of the Jews and of Israel is Jesus the messiah who is the son of David; therefore, to Him belongs the kingship and the kingdom!  In Him is citizenship; one cannot break this law and remain a part of the people of whom Jesus is king!  He is not a Jew who is one outwardly, and neither is circumcision outward, in the flesh, as of old.  Instead, he is a true Jew who is one inwardly, whose heart has been “circumcised“.  We urge our brothers:  cease your hostility against Messiah; turn again to God, and He will remember His promise:  At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son!

On the other hand, ANYONE wishing to have the law fulfilled upon the altar of their heart may do so by merely asking.  In this way, one who is not physically descended from Judah (a Jew) or one of the other tribes may become a “true Jew” by complying with God’s law and may simultaneously make Jesus his king.  Moreover, one is not excluded from this common wealth merely because one is not physically descended from Israel, to which descendants it was first offered.  No, “Israel” includes many who are not descended from Israel.  The sons of Israel are those about whom God has sworn, by His own mouth, that all men will be saved.  This means, of course, that all men will–sooner or later–apply the blood of Christ Jesus the sacrifice to the altar of their hearts.  God will win them over to take this action of their own free will.  So great is His mercy and love, and so effective are His judgments!

We refer to you the teachings of Dr. Stephen Jones, whose writings are of singular importance and definitive on this matter, an exemplar of which may be found at this page.  As a final note, one may ask why this law should be kept NOW, if in the end all men will end up following the law.  Frankly, we do not view it ultimately as a matter of choice, except such choice as Father puts on the heart (by calling to remembrance) of each person.  For those whom God uses this post to spur to action, we are glad.  For those who end up waiting, God will work His judgments effectively and with mercy to cause you to change your mind in His time.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, who has given us the law of Moses as a pattern of things as they exist in Your holy habitation, and who has given all those who receive King Jesus the right to be called sons of God!  Praise You, Lord.

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More on Missing the Mark

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July 16, 2011

And you, being dead to your offenses and sins, in which once you walked, in accord with the eon of this world,… Ephesians 2:1 Concordant Version of the New Testament 

          One of our readers, Dave, has commented on Notes on Missing The Mark with several criticisms that we gratefully view as constructive.  His general observation is that hamartia is a noun (which we contend the apostle John meant as legal offenses against God’s law), and hamartano is a verb (which we contend John meant as missing the mark).  Therefore, since the noun and the verb derive from the same basic word, they should not be interpreted with such markedly divergent meanings.  We think it is fair to say that Dave’s chief objection to the post is the view that one may miss the mark without committing a legal offense against God’s law.  Here is Dave’s comment in his own words:

“Scripture does not divide sin between small failures and legal condemnations.  Even small things are deserving of unending death (Matthew 5:21-22) precisely because any sin at all is not just a failing (“missing the mark” in your nomenclature) but enmity towards God.  (Romans 5:10)”  (scripture references cited by Dave)

          We wish to clearly state at the outset that Dave’s opinion represents the mainstream; that is, it is the predominant view of most of the Church today.  Our view is NOT the mainstream; we trust God will change the Church’s collective mind when He is ready.  Because of this fact, we intend for this post to give an account for the faith we have, with gentleness and reverence, for it is based upon hearing God’s word, knowing God’s mind, and rightly dividing the word of truth. 

           Setting aside for the moment the manner of punishment, does God punish all wrongdoing the same?  The idea that He does is essentially a priori, meaning that it is not based upon experience  and observation, but instead is based upon thought.  It appears nowhere in nature or in any civilization (even where sharia law is practiced), and no one would seriously argue that any father should execute his child for disobediently sneaking a cookie.  In the same way, no one would seriously argue that the punishment for stealing a cookie should be the same as for stealing a car.  Indeed, no one in the Church can accuse Father of treating themselves or anyone else in such fashion.  Finally, such an idea does not appear in Scripture, as we shall see; rather, the witness of Scripture is that the punishment fits the crime.

          One cannot rightly divide the word of truth in the New Testament by disregarding the Old Testament, specifically God’s laws and His teachings.  Most, if not all, of the New Testament had underpinnings from the Old Testament.  Think about it:  when the Lord Jesus referred to “the Scriptures”,  to what was He referring?  (See, for example, Matthew 21:42, Matthew 22:29, Matthew 26:54, and Luke 4:21.)  The concepts of sin and punishment did not originate in the New Testament.  Instead, they were part of the careful, continuing and unfolding revelation from Father that was delivered by Moses to the Church in the wilderness which gave specific instructions to restore the lawful order depending upon each situation–that is, the Old Testament, in general and Torah, in particular.  These instructions have been abandoned today as hopelessly irrelevant with not even the slightest thought to what was in Father’s mind when He gave them to the people.

          In Leviticus 4:2-3, if a person sinned (chata, a Hebrew verb) unintentionally or in ignorance, a bull was to be offered to YHWH (chatta’ath, a Hebrew  noun), the blood sprinkled upon the altar, the blood applied to the horns of the altar, the fat and the kidneys offered up in smoke (just like the Sacred Gift of Greeting of which we wrote earlier), and the rest of the bull removed to a clean place outside the camp and burned.  See by comparison, Leviticus 6:1-7, where the guilty party not only takes an animal to the priest to be offered up, he must also “make restitution” and add one-fifth to the amount in controversy.  This is where the guilty party comes forward on his own; if he is caught before he repents, he is to pay double according to Exodus 22:3-4.  If he has no means to make restitution, he is sold into bondage to pay the debt, for all sin is a debt.  For other crimes against Father and man, the matters were presented to the local leaders, who were to judge all men fairly without partiality and bribes, regard to wealth, and status as a citizen or alien.  Exodus 23:1-9 

          Where the misdemeanor warranted it, a man was to be beaten on the spot, but with the important limitation that the strokes could not exceed forty, “so that…your brother is not degraded in your eyes.”    Deuteronomy 25:1-3  When a culprit refused to submit to the judge’s decision, or in the case of a felony, the culprit was stoned and submitted to Father for correction.  See, for example, Deuteronomy 17:12 and Deuteronomy 19:11-13.  Much more could be said about the restorative and corrective nature of God’s laws and instructions.  However, the point is, not all wrongdoing is to be punished the same by Father, unless Father is guilty of instructing us to do one thing while He does another.  This is a grievous charge, and we insist that Father is innocent of it.  Romans 3:4

          Dear reader, note the verse with which we began this post:  do you think Paul, the author, was being intentionally redundant by saying “offenses and sins” or was he trying to describe two different things?  Take a look at this page and ask yourself if all the different Hebrew and Greek words for which “sin” is given as a gloss definition really mean the same thing.  (Hint:  click on the tab next to “Primary Results” that says “LexiConc.”)  You do not need to be the proud owner of The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon to see that different meanings are intended both in substance and in effect.  Open your heart to the teaching and leading of the Lord Spirit–He will lead you into the truth of it as you dig deeper.  Frankly, most of the time such fine tools will confirm His leading.  Can you see that to ascribe the punishment of “unending death” to every offense and every missing of the mark is “degrading your brother in your eyes”? Understand the reason for the rule and you will see that it doesn’t matter who administers the punishment, whether God or man.  Father wants us to judge with mercy, not degradation.

          Back to hamartia and hamartano:  we contend that you can miss the mark without committing a legal offense against God’s law, but you cannot commit a legal offense without missing the mark, also.  We also contend the apostle John wrote from a Hebrew background and understanding of Torah and the sacrifice system.  He understood that His Lord (and yours) had fulfilled the laws of that system, because He said that He had come to accomplish that very thing–not to abolish those laws.

          Approximately 250 years before the common era, also called the Christian era (“B.C.E.”) that commenced with the birth of Messiah Jesus, a translation of various books now comprising the Old Testament into Greek from the original Hebrew was undertaken in Egypt.  It is called the “Septuagint”.  Although not entirely without controversy, it does provide a basis for comparison of Greek and Hebrew words that cannot be claimed to have a pro-Christian bias, since it was accomplished about two centuries before Christ was born.  Using this tool, anyone who cares to dig deeply enough can see how the translators used hamartia and hamartano.  That is, by finding the places where the translators used those two Greek words, we can see if they agreed with Dave’s position.  In other words, did the translators ever use hamartano (the verb) in more than one way?  The answer is:  yes, they did.

          Without exception, the translators used hamartia (legal offenses) in place of the Hebrew noun chatta’ath in every instance the latter word appears in the Old Testament.  This remarkable consistency is even more noteworthy when we understand that chatta’ath itself means not only the sin, (that is, the offense), but also is used to mean the sin offering, or that which was offered to God to expiate the offense.  This bears witness to the wonderful truth that Christ became sin (chatta’ath) in order to become the sin offering (chatta’ath) for us and in our place!

          Now for the verb (chata) from which the noun (chatta’ath) derives:  In approximately 93 different verses where the original Hebrew word is chata, the translators used a word other than hamartano;  and in approximately 56 different verses, hamartano was used where the original Hebrew word was NOT chata!    All of these examples are too numerous to list here.  The point is, the ancient translators felt that hamartano had a broader range of meanings than simply the one word we now call “sin”.  Therefore, we are justified in assigning a broader meaning to the verb hamartano to allow for a range of the degree of severity.  Furthermore, we may loosely refer to this assignment of meaning as a “translation” without intending the technical usage of scholarly translation, although scholarship vindicates the meaning we have assigned.

          We are sincerely grateful to Dave, because he required us to dig in and prove that which we have believed.  No part of the body of Christ is less important than any other part, and when one part hurts, the whole body hurts.  In the same way, no man hates his own body, or says to one part “I have no need of you”, but instead nourishes and cherishes it–all  of it.  For the word of the Lord is:  He will be all in all.  Praise you, Lord!

Blessed are You, O Lord, our wonderful and giving God, who knew no sin or offenses, and who was offered up for all of our failures!  All men will rise up and call you righteous, wise and blessed!  Thank you for always leaving us a witness, lover of our souls.  Baruch ata.

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Notes on The Judgments of the Church and the Impact in the World

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June 12, 2011

I will give you [all] the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.  Matthew 16:19 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

          Most people read the Lord’s words above, and the companion passage in Matthew 18:18, as an intellectual curiosity, as a take-it-or-leave-it proposition, or as if He were saying, “If you care to receive it…”  Like a great deal of what the Lord says, this too is a statement of fact.  In other words, He has given to His body, the Church, the keys of the kingdom of heaven–have the keys been used by the Church, and if so, how?  Yes, they have, but not very well.  Plainly stated, many of the conditions that exist in the world today are the direct result of the judgments of the Church.  In this post, we shall look at a few of the Church’s judgments, and consider the result in the earth.

          The word “judgment” may be defined as the ability to judge, make a decision or form an opinion objectively, authoritatively, and wisely.  Therefore, if a significant portion of the Church, across all denominations, practices, and affiliations, forms a common doctrinal opinion, God receives this as a judgment of the Church and allows it to out-work in the earth.

          Church Judgment:  God will judge the “goats” of Matthew 25 with everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, which will neither go out nor will be quenched by the worm.  In other words, those who fail to meet the doctrinal qualifications of each particular denomination’s creed, such as “trust Jesus”, or be “born again” or be baptized for the remission of sins, or be baptized with the Holy Spirit, or whatever, will be tortured in hell with torment and anguish forever.

          Result in the Earth:  Torture is utilized by all governments of the world, including the United States of America.  The government’s apparent justification is:  the enemy is going to hell anyway, so in order to “save lives”, we will give them a preview by torture.

          Church Judgment:  The Church is unable or unwilling to birth the manchild; i.e., Christ in you, to fulfill the law of the deceased brother; instead we have only passed gas, or as Isaiah says, given birth to wind.

          Result in the Earth:  Abortion has been legalized in America and everywhere else in the world.  Some even view it as desirable as a method of population control.  That it is not in the interest of the political movement who endorses it (abortion) may be seen in the fact that after one generation its proponents are outnumbered by pro-family forces whose children are now of voting age.  Those new voters who would be pro-abortion are dead, having been aborted.  Regrettably however, abortion shall continue until the Church’s judgment is overruled or replaced.

          Church Judgment: When Jesus returns, he will hack and hew His enemies to death with the sword coming from His mouth–in just judgment for the enemies’ disobedience, or for merely being His enemies.  The blood will run as deep as a horse’s bridle.

          Result in the Earth:  All armies of the world, including the United States, have soldiers who hack, hew, dismember and otherwise deliberately commit atrocities against their “enemies” (meaning, anyone unfortunate enough to be in the way).  Anyone who protests these actions is accused of “not supporting the troops” in an Orwellian display of false patriotism.  Moreover, because the atrocities are not widespread enough and are even covered up in secret (to further mirror the hypocrisy of the Church), most people refuse to see the connection.  There were hundreds of reporters in Viet Nam–only one reported the My Lai massacre. 

          The problem with this particular judgment is that it stems from a failure to understand what the Lord Jesus was saying, and the mindset with which He was saying it.  Instead, by projecting man’s fallen nature upon Him, the end result is a false accusation against the Lord Jesus of the worst sort.  Isaiah and Hosea both made it clear that the “sword coming from His mouth” refers to the words of His mouth, with which He will bring conviction and repentance upon His “enemies”, so-called.  His purpose:  to draw all men to Himself.

  He has made My mouth like a sharp sword, In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me; And He has also made Me a select arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver.  Isaiah 49:2  NASB

Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth;
And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth.  Hosea 6:5 NASB

          Church Judgment:  “Israel” has returned to the land (God’s house) apart from the bonds of marriage to YHWH/Jesus Christ.  The Jewish nation has been given/taken the name “Israel” and since 1948 has occupied the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

          Result in the Earth:  Since 1948, it has become legally acceptable for men and women to live together without being married; i.e., since the Church is shacking up with Israel, it is permissible for everyone else to do likewise.  Zionist Christians fail to understand that the rotten figs of Judah have taken the name that belongs exclusively to the sons of Joseph.

          Church Judgment:  God is not omnipotent and only exercises limited sovereignty, because He will not override man’s free will.  Therefore, God doesn’t really SEND people to hell–they CHOOSE it themselves, because they chose not to trust Jesus to save them.

          Result in the Earth:  God answers according to the false idol:  a distorted image of God.  Among the Christian community, lives are in chaos, suicides are increasing, the divorce rate is climbing, and backsliding is increasing, and the love of many is waxing cold.  See David Wilkerson’s article from 1985:  God’s Grief Over His People.   We do not doubt that Father is grieving.  But the answer is found in Ezekiel 14:4–God will answer according to the multitude of the Church’s idols, in order to lay hold of the hearts thus estranged from Him.  If the Church wants Father to override man’s free will, it must change its attitude about God.  In the meantime, the Church is receiving what it decreed for mankind; i.e., it is being judged by its own words.

          Church Judgment:  In the name of religious freedom, it is permissible to have different denominations, teaching different doctrines and even opposing doctrines–in effect, to divide Christ.

          Result in the Earth:  America, like a double-minded man, has been unstable in all its ways since its beginning–divided, tossed to and fro like the surf of the sea tossed by the wind.  When the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, they sought religious freedom, wanting to worship according to their understanding of the Bible–a reasonable desire.  However, when the colonists landed at Jamestown, their motto was (in a manner of speaking):  It’s the economy, stupid.  (The campaign slogan that swept President Clinton into office.)  Since the very beginning, our country has been divided between the religious and the secular.  And so the power swings back and forth, to and fro, with each election, one side or the other obtaining the ascendancy.  We say again, the judgment will continue until it is overruled by Father or changed by the Church.

Blessed are You, O Lord our wonderful God, for You have entrusted to the body of Christ the keys of the kingdom of Heaven.  Teach us Lord Your ways, and teach us how to judge rightly and by so doing, to turn the world upside right.

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The Coming Exodus

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June 4, 2011

However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.  1 Corinthians 15:46 New American Standard Bible

          Long, long ago, Father led our people out of the bondage and slavery of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.  We were young–we didn’t even know how to walk.  But Father lovingly bent down and fed us and also taught us how to walk.  Oh, how He loved us–a people with no name and with no homeland to call our own.  He  called us out, and we were set free…our young and our old, our sons and our daughters, our flocks and our herds, our cattle and our sheep, our camels and our donkeys…all set free to experience something we had not known all of our lives:  freedom. 

          We had no use for gold, silver and precious stones, for we were in the mud pits, making bricks one-at-a-time.  But Father had in mind the building of His temple, so He arranged for us to come out with the wealth of Egypt.  It had been given to our people by the people of Egypt, and when Pharoah realized what they had done, he hardened his heart; that is, Father caused  Pharoah to harden his heart, so that Father’s Name might be proclaimed in all the earth.  You see, dear reader, for Pharoah it was about the money.  It’s always about the money.  

          As a testimony to the mercy and compassion of Father, all who were of the Egyptians (or elsewhere) were welcome to come, and still today, whosoever will may come.  So as to prove His power, Father cornered our people at Pi-hahiroth.  There was no way out, from a human perspective and from Pharoah’s perspective.  But then, as He always does, He made a way where there is no way–He parted the sea and the people crossed over on dry land.  Pharoah, all his horses and all his riders, Father cast into the sea!  The people were saved.

          Unfortunately, the people had no heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.  Some thought the gold, the silver, the precious stones and all the wealth of Egypt was for them to possess and enjoy, and so it quickly became an idol in their eyes in the shape of a golden calf.  But before then, it had become an idol in their hearts!  Finally, when the disciplining was for the moment completed, the people were ready to use it to construct the temple. 

          That temple was always intended by Father to be a place for all men of every tongue, every tribe, every nation, and every people to worship the living God.  That is why YHWH spoke at Mount Sinai so that each man could hear Him in their own language.  It is also why He provoked Moses to intercede for the rebellious ones; that is, so He could announce that all the earth (not just Israel) would be filled with His glory. 

          That is the story of the natural temple.  First the natural, then the spiritual.

          The judgment has been rendered, and the jubilee declared.  (The fact that you, dear reader, did not know of it and have not heard of it, does not mean that it happened in a corner.  It has been divinely supervised and directed, and witnessed among men.  All that remains is its out-working in the world.)  Father is again setting our people, and ultimately the whole world, free from the bondage and slavery of Mystery Babylon.  He is calling Israel out–our young and our old, our sons and our daughters, our flocks and our herds, our cattle and our sheep, our camels and our donkeys.  And once again, He has arranged for us to come out with the wealth of Babylon, that is, the Iraqi dinar.

          Just as in old days, we have really not had any use for gold, silver and precious stones, because once again, we have been in the pits making bricks, one-at-a-time.  But this time, Father has it in His mind to build a spiritual temple.  He intends for this wealth to be used to build a spiritual house, this time using living stones, instead of dead bricks.  And no more of this one-at-a-time stuff.  And like before, it will be for all men, everywhere, of every corner of the earth!

          In other words, the wealth thus gained is to be used to free others from Mystery Babylon, which controls the current financial system and which has subjugated and enslaved nearly everyone (and perhaps everyone without exception).   It must not be used to create idols of the heart and idols for the eyes.  All who belong to Him will ultimately use the wealth to purchase the freedom of living stones.  It is time for the grape harvest–pray that the Lord of the harvest will send workers into the harvest.

          We have remembered and spoken of the first exodus for just about 4,000 years.  This coming deliverance will be remembered and sung about for tens of thousands of years! This is the real significance of the revaluation of the Iraqi dinar:  our people will never be in bondage again!  Not our young nor our old, not our sons nor our daughters,  not our “flocks” nor our “herds”.  When Mystery Babylon falls, the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ will arise.  It will be the stone kingdom that smashes all the other kingdoms to dust, and then grows into a “mountain” that will fill the entire earth!  When He comes to take up His throne, we will experience something we have never known before–freedom, not just spiritual freedom, but bodily freedom, as well.   And if Messiah sets you free, you will be free indeed.  We will walk in His footsteps and He will teach us His ways.

          Here is something else we have not known or understood: the economy of the Kingdom of God.   Others have made this suggestion:  Pray and ask Father what the Kingdom economy looks like.  We agree with this suggestion.   

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

          Postscript:  We wish to point out that we believe that “Pharoah” will again pursue the slaves when the realization hits that the wealth of Babylon is now in the hands of those slaves for whom it was not intended.  Father will again arrange no way out from a human perspective.  We respectfully advise:  pay the taxes and bless your government, resist the urge to “shelter” the money by any of a variety of tax avoidance devices such as corporations sole, offshore trusts and bank accounts, and other such ideas.  There is only safety in Him.  Consider this prayerfully.

Blessed are You, O Lord our deliverer!  The horse and its rider You have cast into the sea.  Praise you, Lord!  Father, show us what the Kingdom economy is supposed to look like and show us how use the wealth of Babylon to build Your temple, in Jesus name.    

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Preaching the Gospel

Filed Under: Uncategorized by Jamie — 1 Comment
May 27, 2011

“Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  2 Cor. 5:18-21

For many Christians, “the gospel” they have been taught, and thus teach others, is not the complete gospel that Paul defines for us in the above passage.  Most think that the gospel, or good news, is that Jesus came to save us from our sins and allow us to be right with God.  This is the latter part of this text-that Jesus became ‘sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him,’ and thus is definitely a key component of the gospel message.

But there is more to the gospel-“the good news”-than this.  Paul tells us in verses 18 and 19 that God has done a marvelous thing: He has reconciled THE WORLD to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them.  Here we see God doing two things that we can hardly believe: He has reconciled, or restored, the entire world-all people– to Himself.  It’s a done deal in the heavenly realm, where time does not exist.  God, who is the Alpha and Omega, can declare things as done because the beginning and the end are the same for Him.  And this restoration has been accomplished for ALL MANKIND.  In order to accomplish this restoration, He had to first take care of our trespasses (wrongs/debts/sins) against Him.  So what did He do? God did not count them against us, but put all the sin of the entire world on Christ instead.  He took it FROM us and put it ON Jesus, so that we might be righteous (blameless-the condition of fully restored)  in His sight.

So Paul establishes what God has done already for all mankind, apart from anything a man may (or may not) do in his relationship with God.  However, after Paul has explained that God has done the work of saving all, he then pleads with the Corinthians to be reconciled to God.  He is saying “God has done all that is necessary for you to be with Him and know Him. So turn away from your wicked ways and turn TO Him.”  That is what repent means- to change your thinking around.  This is where the emphasis of today’s gospel message is: Our turning to God.  And that is indeed what God wants.  But contrary to what many preach, God doesn’t rescind his reconciling act when someone doesn’t turn to Him in this life. No, He is able to wait, and discipline that person in the ages to come, until they repent and reconcile themselves to Him. Paul, however, realizes how much better it is to repent now rather than later, and says so emphatically.  And further says with Paulean passion that this is the message we are to go and give to others: God has already done what is needed to save you. It’s a done deal. Turn and know Him now.”

How much more willing I would be to turn to a God that I know has already saved me! He is not threatening me with eternal hell if I do not turn to Him.  Just like the prodigal son, who went away from his father and lived a life of sin, only to return expecting rejection, but was instead welcomed home with open arms of love, we too have a Father who cares about restoring us to Himself, not casting us off for our sin against Him. 

So what is the REAL gospel we are called to preach? Just this: that God has cast all the curse of sin upon His Son Jesus.  His death on the cross forever removed the guilt of sin of all mankind.  As Jesus Himself said, “It is finished.”  Now, we can know God and be rightly related to Him. There is no fear in His rejection, no doubt about His love. We can lift up our heads and look into His face, full of love and compassion for us.  God has no intention of forever separating Himself from those He paid so high a price to reconcile to Himself.  As we have said, He may discipline, and it may take time (ages) for some to turn to Him, but He can wait patiently, and will work dilligently to correct those who are stubbornly against Him, until they too will bow in sincerity and say “Jesus is Lord”, to the glory of God the Father. And once again, at the time the Father has decided, all that has come from God will return to God so that He will be All in all.

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For This We Strive

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May 21, 2011

This is a long-overdue Part 2 to What Is God’s Will?…

Our text is 1 Tim. 4: 10-11– “For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. Prescribe and teach these things.”

As we discussed earlier, Paul clearly states in chapter 2 that God’s will is that all be saved…He now goes on reiterate that, calling Jesus the Savior of ALL men, ESPECIALLY those who believe.  And this is the full gospel message that he (Paul) is exhorting Timothy to preach. 

I see many beautiful things in this passage: God is the Savior of all. This is the message we are to give to the world. And Paul says this is what he labors and strives for.  What else could be more satisfying to labor and strive for, than to give the message of God’s redemptive love for all men to all the world?

Once again, the question inevitably arises as to how all men are saved, since obviously not all believe in this life.  In the NASB, the word “especially” gives us a hint that some are saved for something more than others.  I believe Paul is referencing the overcomers, who are saved in this life and will rule and reign with Christ in His kingdom on earth.  These are “especially” saved. But that does not mean that God is excluding the rest of humanity from His salvation.  “Just as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive.”  The first Adam brought death to all. The second Adam brought life to all, but it will come each in his own time: “But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power….and when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, THAT GOD MAY BE ALL IN ALL.” (1 Cor. 15:23, 24, 28)

God has always had a plan of salvation in mind. He has an order in which He will accomplish it.  He will save some in this life, and some in the ages to come.  And He has a right to do as He pleases in this, because He will be completely fair in the process.  Jesus shows us the Father’s mind in this with the parable of the landowner (Father), in Matthew 20.  The man hires workers (men) at all hours of the day, but each receive the same pay (salvation).   Those who were hired last (not saved in this life) missed out on the benefit of being in the landowner’s field (God’s kingdom/family), but did he neglect them? No, He brought them in throughout the day (ages to come) and gave them the same wages as those hired first….God is completely just in his dealings with men, as the entire plan of salvation is His.

So, back to our original text… Paul clearly states that there is a “special” salvation for believers in this life. But part of that privilege is to labor and strive to tell about who our Father really is, not the god that the world has made Him out to be, one of anger and condemnation for most of His creation.  No, His love is the essence of His character, and all He is and does comes out of His love for humanity.  THESE are the things we are to prescribe and teach.  As soon as we do, the world will turn in masses to the Living God, who is indeed the Savior of all mankind.

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