When there is secrecy involved

Posted on 2018/08/02 by Guestspeaker

In this world there are lots of denominations in Christendom. Lots of Christians say that the non-trinitarian christians belong to cults or sects, but clearly than they forget what the characteristics of a sect or cult are.

The many non-Trinitarians who found one or another denomination in which they go to meetings are all free people with no obligations to that meeting, congregation or church except to live according to the commandments of God. In nearly all other Christian denominations of trinitarians we can find churches which dare to say they are the only church by which people can be saved or “go to heaven”. Nearly all of them are weekly asking money to their parishioners or even ask a tithing. Whilst in most of the non-trinitarian churches the parishioners are free to give or not to give any amount of money and are not pushed to do so. Never are they threatened by a so called burning in hell for ever, because such false teaching even does not exist by them.

Anna in Shadowland is a web-blog from a certain Andrea which represents the view of a disillusioned girl who left her own church to have an experience in a Charismatic church influenced by the New Apostolic Reformation. She writes

Every so often I receive testimonies from people who have read my “Leaving the NAR Church” series. There are more than 50 of them, and I am adding another. These stories are precious to me, and serve as a painful reminder that there is hope for the dear deceived ones caught up in this insidious movement. If you don’t know what NAR is, I hope you’ll take a moment and read What is the New Apostolic Reformation Movement. {Leaving IHOP and the NAR: Sammy’s story}

She has a testimony about how the good and faithful God she loves and wanted to serve opened her eyes and removed her from the clutches of the deception, lack of discernment, and false teachings of a movement that has invaded the worldwide church on a massive scale. {An open letter to the church I left}

In Christendom and Christianity we may see many churches who claim to be adhering to ‘authentic New Testament practices’ but when we look closer at them we find all sorts of practices which are not according to the lifestyle of the first Christians (which we can come to know from the Acts of the Apostles and from civil writings of the first century CE).

Today there are several churches who love to attract people with their “Speaking in tongues” and all sorts of trance movements, even not minding to have people in hysterics, shaking on the floor to the very contemporary music of Hillsong and Bethel (not to be confused with the Bethels of the non-trinitarians), surrounded by all their technological advances, big screens, and coffee bars, and all the other comforts of modern convenience that they manage to accumulate around them.

Although it sure is a whole lot of fun and I have to admit, you had me fooled there for a while. {An open letter to the church I left}

does the blogger says after her eyes were opened. Continuing

I was really starting to climb up that ladder to sit there with you because I’m sure the view is amazing. But thankfully I could never quite manage to get there, and these days I actually find it rather insulting that anyone can claim to be living ‘authentic Christianity’ just because they belong to a certain kind of church. {An open letter to the church I left}

The blogger Andrea thinks

seeking after a truly authentic apostolic life and experience would be completely unattainable, because I currently live in 2017. {An open letter to the church I left}

but than she forgets we do have enough civic papers, next to the biblical account, to give us a fair image how life was by the first century followers of the Nazarene Jewish master teacher Jeshua (Jesus Christ).

Naturally she should also know that life 2000 years later is so different that we should take that into account too.

Today we see a growing amount of people loving the ‘New Apostolic Reformation’ (NAR), a movement which seeks to establish a fifth house within Christendom, distinct from Catholicism, Protestantism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and Eastern Orthodoxy. Some of that church, at the moment, say they are ‘Charismatic’ others say they are a ‘New Testament’ or ‘Apostolic Household’ church and do not belong to the Charismatic movement.

For sure all the modern Holly-Bolly-Woody-Booly modern entertainment forms a very attractive asset to lure people in the community. At several places in the United States certain movements took place which were noticed by C. Peter Wagner to fall under the same denominator. Unlike several sects or cults groups it is not some secret society or shadowy organization. They started to find like-minded people who had no intention to overthrow world governments or undermining the Church. For many of them the “New Apostolic Reformation” started off as a name giving for a movement that was going through the established church. Nothing more but a term used to classify a subset of people throughout denominational and non-denominational Christendom who seem to share some common characteristics.

In Christendom we may find lots of churches which not only worship a Trinity, but also believe that the Holy Spirit is with them and moving around in their church even in such a way that this spirit would choose special pastors, giving them a special role in the Church of God and/or in the Kingdom of God. They may come up with many different stories even telling that people got ‘gold dust’ on their hands.

One of them was the wife of one of your pastors/elders, and she very excitedly and animatedly told us how the ‘spirit had been moving’ in a certain meeting, because the people had seen ‘gold dust’ on their hands. {An open letter to the church I left}

Andrea remarks

it is easy to dismiss the ‘manifestations of the spirit’ thing when someone is interpreting a verse of scripture about ‘being filled with the spirit’ or ‘being drunk in the spirit’, while you are sitting under the cloud of false teaching. But when you realize that these kinds of ‘manifestations’ are actually completely absent in scripture, and had been completely absent in the church until only a couple of years ago, that is when you sit up and take notice. And then when you realize that during all that time it had actually been present in the occult and Eastern mystic religions, that is when you start opening up a whole can of worms. That is when you get up and walk out of a meeting before the end, leaving behind some dear friends who are violently convulsing on the floor, and shaking in fits of ‘holy laughter’. That is when you walk out of a large WOF centre from a Jesus Culture ‘revival’ concert, feeling like you had just walked out of the depths of hell, and all the while absolutely hating yourself for having such feelings and for questioning ‘the work that God is doing through the moving of His spirit’.
And you’re asking yourself ‘Is this really the God that I know?’, but still you are convinced that the problem lies with you because you are ‘not open to the spirit’, because that is what you’re being told over, and over, and over again. And then you get pushed, and pushed, and pushed to get baptized so that you can also ‘receive the spirit’, and you’re left scratching your head because you had thought that because you were already a believer, you had already received the Holy Spirit, but the word ‘obedience’ gets thrown at you over, and over, and over again. And this is when you start to see the indoctrination above the doctrine. {An open letter to the church I left}

People should come to see that at such point they do come in the danger zone. There it is, where we would differentiate between a through church and a cult or sect. Whilst non-trinitarians do keep to the biblical teachings and are not pushing people to come into their church, afterwards demanding all sorts of obligations, and not letting people easily go, this is typical for the cult groups we notice in the trinitarian churches. Also when people then want to leave such a church or group we notice the leaders of such community want to give a ‘guilt feeling’ to the person who wants to leave.

Andrea gives a nice example how such cults or groups work

Instead you preyed on my hurt and my weakness, and used it to set your trap, so that you could be the ones who avoided the issue. This leads me to believe that, despite the deceptive façade, you actually have no idea who you are or what you believe, and you are carried about by every wind of doctrine. If this was not so, you would have had no problem answering all the questions I had first, despite any other issues that might have been present. {An open letter to the church I left}

Backsliding term used within Christianity to describe a process by which an individual who has converted to Christianity reverts to pre-conversion habits and/or lapses or falls into sin, when a person turns from God to pursue their own desire. – The story of the Prodigal Son has become a representation of a backslider that repented. Engraving of the Prodigal Son as a swineherd by Hans Sebald Beham, 1538.

In most such dominating churches we can see that they try to put the guilt feeling by accusing that person who has objections of being a backslider. Saying that the faith is watering down because the person is going the wrong way, spiritually. They want to have the doubting person to believe all lies within him or her. Saying that he or she is regressing rather than progressing and that there is no proof any more of a commitment to Christ or that a certain standard of behaviour is not there any more.

DivideTheWord.blog, a cloud-based ministry who claim to have as purpose to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world in such a way as to be available to all of God’s children, saying it is free from denominational judgmentalism, free from race, colour or creed stipulations, brings a testimony

Having been a member of an independent Oneness Pentecostal (Apostolic) church for fifteen years, gaining a 4-year degree from a Oneness Pentecostal Bible College, and being involved in many ministries within that church, to them, I am now completely backslid. I know the doctrines. I learned the dogma. I defended it ardently.

I justified foul behavior for the purity of the doctrine and I even considered, as they do, all other Christians, lost. According to Apostolic Oneness Pentecostals (the majority, there are personal exceptions) all other Christians, be they Baptist, Lutheran, you name the group, they will not be going to heaven, because they do not follow the Pentecostal doctrines.

And when I finally had enough of the stink of judgmentalism, elitism, self-righteous pomp, the hypocrisy of their holiness standards, I backslid. I left the church. I’ll never return, nor attend another Oneness Pentecostal church again.

But something miraculous happened to me, and to hundreds, and thousands of others I’m connected to via this blog, my YouTube channel and many recovery based online groups;

I backslid, right into Jesus {I Backslid Into Jesus}

Also Andrea writes

I can assure you that I am anything but a ‘lukewarm’ Christian. {An open letter to the church I left}

The woman who likes to think of the NAR as a ‘mega cult’ or an ‘out-of-control cult’ seems to have not such nice experiences, though at first it looked even so attractive she left her ‘old’ traditional church.

For her

Praise and Worship during a Catholic Charismatic Renewal Healing Service.

It is probably important, at this point, to also note its interconnectedness with the Signs and Wonders, and Word of Faith movements. And that it is also known or characterized by a bunch of other terms, like ‘Dominionism’, ‘The Third Wave’, ‘Kingdom Now Theology’, ‘Joel’s Army’, ‘Manifest Sons of God Doctrine’, ‘Charismania’, ‘The Seven Mountain Mandate’, and ‘The Fivefold Ministry’, to name only a few. And that its precursor was ‘the New Order of the Latter Rain’, a discredited movement out of which a lot of current day NAR teachings is derived. It seems to be an ever changing, constantly evolving and expanding movement, which is what makes it so hard to pinpoint and, I believe, is part of its deceptiveness. {Eighteen Months in a Cult: Prologue}

In Pentecostalism there may be found so many subgroups that often people can not see the woods any more because of the trees. Some of those groups evolve around one ‘spiritual leader’ who can have many people under his spell. Some groups have an end to their existence when the pastor dies, others have a longer life.

In the book ‘A New Apostolic Reformation? A Biblical Response to a Worldwide Movement’, Geivett & Pivec writes:

“Whereas the Latter Rain revival lasted only a few years, NAR has been around for more than thirty years – since the 1980s, when the office of prophet began to be restored. NAR teachings have gained enough momentum for an entire generation of young people to be raised in churches that promote them. For these people, NAR teachings are at the heart of Christianity.”

Andrea was raised Reformed, and writes

– that is, the other reformation. Whereas the NAR is a falling away from the authority of Scripture towards ‘experiences’, ‘encounters’, and ‘new revelations’, the Protestant Reformation was a return to the light of Scripture. To the eternal things that God has already promised and revealed in His Word, and to recognizing it as the only truth and authority to live by. Hence one of the battle cries was Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone. And even though I do not remember the emphasis ever really being placed on the fact that we were Reformed, or being taught exactly what that even meant, this was very much the culture and mind set I had grown up with. {Eighteen Months in a Cult: Prologue}

For the Mega-churches and Pentecostal Churches youngsters are an easy prey because they are not so much interested in pure words of the Scriptures, but like more “ambience” with song and dance and special actions, like seeing people going in trance or watching unbelievable things like people nearly going mad.

Andrea also admits

when you are a young person, still searching for passion and a sense of purpose, it is very hard to disagree with those who say that the traditional church is ‘dead’. And hymns, structure and doctrine simply does not seem all that relevant and exciting anymore.
So for me, when the opportunity presented itself to become part of a young, vibrant, hip & happening church, suffice it to say that I did not hesitate for very long. Even though the circumstances of how I came to be introduced to this church was accompanied by a sense of hurt and rejection, I nevertheless grabbed the opportunity to join what seemed like a genuinely committed, and caring, community of believers. I was hoping, and expecting, to have my faith nurtured and strengthened in the process. {Eighteen Months in a Cult: Prologue}

Question is how much such attractive groups can nurture a person in the good sense. We should know it is really god’s Word that must give guidance to people. It is the Bible which can give us the most correct education and foundation for a good faith.

When not much attention is given to the text from the Bible, people shall miss out edifying material, for reproof and profitable for correction for building up a life according to the Will of God.

When to much attention is giving to the pleasures of life or to the human or natural flesh the real faith can not grow. Mike sojournerphoto remembers

I (was) removed from these organisations many years ago – initially with judgement in my heart – but have since watched the ‘Toronto ‘blessing’ and such stuff thrive. I became increasingly appalled at what was happening and now am amazed that it continues, ever more subtle. I remember a dark day sitting in ‘my church’ sometime around 1986 or 7 and the band deciding to play on after the service to ‘continue to seek God’ and as looked down it was a though there was a dark pit (not visual, so much as metaphorical) and I felt compelled to leave the building. I later came to recognise so much of this as seeking after ‘the flesh’ and to equate it with James observation on the ‘earthly, natural, demonic’.

Therefore let us remember that a true Christian church should be open, have no secrecy for its members nor for the outside world, and should give most attention to the Word of God, it is to readings from the Bible.

Preceding

Lovers of God, seekers and lovers of truth

Some one or something to fear #3 Cases, folks and outing

All Souls’ Day

Additional reading

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Seven Scriptural reasons the Holy Spirit cannot be a person

Posted on 2017/06/13 by Guestspeaker

First, because many things in the Scriptures are attributed to the Holy Spirit that cannot apply to a divine person. And many of them cannot apply to any person at all. Some examples are that the Holy Spirit is given by God (Acts 5:32; 1 Jn 4:13) either according to measure or without measure (Eph 4:7) that God pours it out and it is sent forth from Him (Acts 2:17, 33) that believers drink into it and are baptized with or into it (1 Cor 12:13; Mk 1:8; Acts 1:5) that it is given in double portions and distributed in parts (Heb 2:4; 2 Kng 2:9) that there are first-fruits of it (Rom 8:23) that it may all be taken away or that a portion may be taken away (Ps 51:12; Num 11:17, 25) that it can be quenched (1 Thes 5:19) and many similar things that can be found in the Scriptures.
Holy Spirit – Foix (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Second, because it is clearly stated that the Holy Spirit is given by God, and this is even claimed in places where it’s commonly believed to mean a divine person. But a divine person cannot be given or bestowed by anyone since one who is given or bestowed must be under the authority of another. In no way can this be said of a divine person that is the supreme God Himself.
Third, because Christ said that “no one knows the Son but the Father, and no one knows the Father but the Son and those to whom the Son reveals Him.” (Mt 11:27) But if the Holy Spirit was a divine person, the Father wouldn’t be the only one to know the Son. And the Son wouldn’t be the only one to know the Father – if the Holy Spirit was God it wouldn’t need a revelation from anyone to know both.
Fourth, because in several places such as John 5:17; 8:16; 14:21; 17:3 ; 1 John 1:3, 2:23; 2 John 3 and 9; Luke 9:26; Mark 12:32; 1 Timothy.5:21; and Revelation 3:5 where the Father and Son, occasionally angels, and even humans are mentioned, no notice is taken of the Holy Spirit. If it was a divine person “he” should be named equally with God and Christ, and even more so than angels or humans.
Fifth, because in many places the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of God, but that which is “of” God cannot be God. Thus, the Holy Spirit cannot be a divine person, for to be “of” God and to “be” God are two different things. In addition, the Holy Spirit is called the power or finger of God, which cannot be said of an equal person of the Deity – that is, of the supreme God Himself (Compare Luke 1:35; 24:49; and Matthew 12:28 with Luke 11:20)
Sixth, because the Holy Spirit is said to be “of” God (1 Cor 2:12) and proceed “from” God (Jn 15:26) and unless it was of God, Paul couldn’t compare the Spirit of God with the spirit of man that is in man as he does when he says “for what man knows the things of a man but the spirit of man that is in him? Even so, no man knows the things of God but the Spirit of God.” Since the Holv Spirit is “of” (or from) God – and it has never been said the Father is “of” the Holy Spirit – it’s apparent the Holy Spirit is not a person of the Godhead. Also, it’s been clearly stated there’s only one person in the Godhead. (Deut 6:4; Mk 12:28-34; Is 43:10-11; 45:5; 1 Chr 17:20; Eph 4:6). Since this is none other than the Father, it should be evident that the Spirit, which certainly isn’t the Father, cannot be a divine person.
Seventh, if the Holy Spirit was a person it would be God Himself, for the things attributed to it only apply to the divine essence. But since it’s already been shown that God is numerically one, He cannot be a plurality of persons, nor can the one numerical essence of God apply to many persons. Therefore, it’s clear the Holv Spirit cannot be a person of the Godhead.

It can also be said that if the Holy Spirit is a person, and that Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, it necessarily follows that Christ was the son of the Spirit, not the Father.

Robert Scott Thomson

Additional reading

Application of old pagan concept of trinity

Posted on 2017/03/15 by Guestspeaker

Many who believe in the trinity are surprised to learn that the idea of divine beings existing as trinities or triads long predated Christianity. Yet the evidence is abundantly documented. So let us have a look at some of the evidence.

Marie Sinclair, Countess of Caithness, in her 1876 book Old Truths in a New Light, states,

“It is generally, although erroneously, supposed that the doctrine of the Trinity is of Christian origin. Nearly every nation of antiquity possessed a similar doctrine. [The early Catholic theologian] St. Jerome testifies unequivocally, ‘All the ancient nations believed in the Trinity’.” — (p. 382)

Notice how the following quotes document belief in a divine trinity in many regions and religions of the ancient world.

Sumeria

Ur III Sumerian cuneiform for An or Anu, the earliest attested Sky Father deity. In Sumerian religion, he was also “King of the Gods“, “Lord of the Constellations, Spirits and Demons”, and “Supreme Ruler of the Kingdom of Heaven”, where Anu himself wandered the highest Heavenly Regions.

“The universe was divided into three regions each of which became the domain of a god. Anu‘s share was the sky. The earth was given to Enlil. Ea became the ruler of the waters. Together they constituted the triad of the Great Gods.” — (The Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, 1994, pp. 54, 55)

Babylonia

“The ancient Babylonians recognised the doctrine of a trinity, or three persons in one god— as appears from a composite god with three heads forming part of their mythology, and the use of the equilateral triangle, also, as an emblem of such trinity in unity.” — (Thomas Dennis Rock, The Mystical Woman and the Cities of the Nations, 1867, pp. 22, 23)

India

Purana or “ancient, old” Manuscript

“The Puranas, one of the Hindoo Bibles of more than 3,000 years ago, contain the following passage:

‘O ye three Lords! know that I recognise only one God. Inform me, therefore, which of you is the true divinity, that I may address to him alone my adorations.’

The three gods, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva [or Shiva], becoming manifest to him, replied,

‘Learn, O devotee, that there is no real distinction between us. What to you appears such is only the semblance. The single being appears under three forms by the acts of creation, preservation, and destruction, but he is one.’

Hence the triangle was adopted by all the ancient nations as a symbol of the Deity … Three was considered among all the pagan nations as the chief of the mystical numbers, because, as Aristotle remarks, it contains within itself a beginning, a middle, and an end. Hence we find it designating some of the attributes of almost all the pagan gods.” (Sinclair, pp. 382, 383)

Greece

“In the Fourth Century B.C. Aristotle wrote:

‘All things are three, and thrice is all: and let us use this number in the worship of the gods; for, as the Pythagoreans say, everything and all things are bounded by threes, for the end, the middle and the beginning have this number in everything, and these compose the number of the Trinity’.” — (Arthur Weigall, Paganism in Our Christianity, 1928, pp. 197, 198)

Egypt

“The Hymn to Amun decreed that

Re, also spelled Ra or Pra, in ancient Egyptian religion, god of the sun and one of the creator gods, who rose from the ocean of chaos on the primeval hill, creating himself and then in turn engendering eight other gods.

‘No god came into being before him (Amun)’

and that

‘All gods are three: Amun, Re and Ptah, and there is no second to them. Hidden is his name as Amon, he is Re in face, and his body is Ptah.’

… This is a statement of trinity, the three chief gods of Egypt subsumed into one of them, Amon. Clearly, the concept of organic unity within plurality got an extraordinary boost with this formulation. Theologically, in a crude form it came strikingly close to the later Christian form of plural Trinitarian monotheism.” — (Simson Najovits, Egypt, Trunk of the Tree, Vol. 2, 2004, pp. 83, 84)

Other areas

Many other areas had their own divine trinities.

In Greece they were Zeus, Poseidon and Adonis. The Phoenicians worshipped Ulomus, Ulosuros and Eliun. Rome worshipped Jupiter, Mars and Venus. In Germanic nations they were called Wodan, Thor and Fricco. Regarding the Celts, one source states,

“The ancient heathen deities of the pagan Irish, Criosan, Biosena, and Seeva, or Sheeva, are doubtless the Creeshna [Krishna], Veeshnu [Vishnu], [or the all-inclusive] Brahma, and Seeva [Shiva], of the Hindoos.” — (Thomas Maurice, The History of Hindostan, Vol. 2, 1798, p. 171)

Arthur Edward Pearse Brome Weigall, English Egyptologist, stage designer, journalist and author, at the Temple of Edfu, before 1913

The deception is beautifully seen by the astonishing admission of Arthur Weigall who himself is a Trinitarian. Egyptologist Arthur Weigall summed up the influence of ancient beliefs on the adoption of the trinity doctrine by the Catholic Church in the following excerpt from his book:

“It must not be forgotten that Jesus Christ never mentioned such a phenomenon [the Trinity], and nowhere in the New Testament does the word ‘Trinity’ appear. The idea was only adopted by the Church three hundred years after the death of our Lord; and the origin of the conception is entirely pagan …
The ancient Egyptians, whose influence on early religious thought was profound, usually arranged their gods or goddesses in trinities: there was the trinity of Osiris, Isis, and Horus, the trinity of Amen, Mut, and Khonsu, the trinity of Khnum, Satis, and Anukis, and so forth …
The early Christians, however, did not at first think of applying the idea to their own faith. They paid their devotions to God the Father and to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and they recognised the mysterious and undefined existence of the Holy Spirit; but there was no thought of these three being an actual Trinity, co-equal and united in One …The application of this old pagan conception of a Trinity to Christian theology was made possible by the recognition of the Holy Spirit as the required third ‘Person,’ co-equal with the other ‘Persons’…The idea of the Spirit being co-equal with God was not generally recognised until the second half of the Fourth Century A.D… . In the year 381 the Council of Constantinople added to the earlier Nicene Creed a description of the Holy Spirit as

‘the Lord, and giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father, who with the Father and Son together is worshipped and glorified.’

Andrey Davidson, Kingdom of God – Arius’ non-trinitarian Christian theology

(Arian Church Facebook Group)

Christian Doctrine of the Trinity

Preceding

Roman, Aztec and other rites still influencing us today

Christianity without the Trinity

Next: A Father Who begat a son

Additional reading

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Bible, sword of the Spirit to come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man

Posted on 2015/05/11 by Marcus Ampe

“(For the choir director. A Psalm of David.) The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” (Psalms 19:1 NAS)

“1 Then God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:1-3 NAS)

“thus says the Lord GOD, “It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass.” (Isaiah 7:7 NAS)

“Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.” (Jeremiah 1:9 NAS)

“”Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.” (John 14:10 NAS)

“And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17 NAS)

“He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.” (Exodus 3:6 NAS)

“And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, in order that we might know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” (1 John 5:20 NAS)

“”Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created.”” (Revelation 4:11 NAS)

“2 God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD; 3 and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but [by] My name, LORD, I did not make Myself known to them.” (Exodus 6:2-3 NAS)

“13 “And you say, ’What does God know? Can He judge through the thick darkness? 14 ’Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see; And He walks on the vault of heaven.’” (Job 22:13-14 NAS)

“5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, [and] Pethahiah, said, “Arise, bless the LORD your God forever and ever! O may Thy glorious name be blessed And exalted above all blessing and praise! 6 “Thou alone art the LORD. Thou hast made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. Thou dost give life to all of them And the heavenly host bows down before Thee. 7 “Thou art the LORD God, Who chose Abram And brought him out from Ur of the Chaldees, And gave him the name Abraham.” (Nehemiah 9:5-7 NAS)

“7 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you; I am God, your God. 8 “I do not reprove you for your sacrifices, And your burnt offerings are continually before Me. 9 “I shall take no young bull out of your house, Nor male goats out of your folds. 10 “For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. 11 “I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. 12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all it contains. 13 “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of male goats? 14 “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High; 15 And call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.” 16 But to the wicked God says, “What right have you to tell of My statutes, And to take My covenant in your mouth? 17 “For you hate discipline, And you cast My words behind you.” (Psalms 50:7-17 NAS)

“11 And He gave some [as] apostles, and some [as] prophets, and some [as] evangelists, and some [as] pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;” (Ephesians 4:11-14 NAS)

“And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:1 NAS)

“9 but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND [which] HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.” 10 For to us God revealed [them] through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NAS)

“14 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. 15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man. 16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE SHOULD INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:14-16 NAS)

“Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has informed Him?” (Isaiah 40:13 NAS)

“5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6 [to be specific], that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,” (Ephesians 3:5-6 NAS)

“that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and [attaining] to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, [resulting] in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, [that is,] Christ [Himself],” (Colossians 2:2 NAS)

“Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words.” (Proverbs 23:9 NAS)

“1 Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse declares, And the man who was raised on high declares, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel, 2 “The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue.” (2 Samuel 23:1-2 NAS)

“”Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.” (Acts 1:16 NAS)

“And when they did not agree with one another, they [began] leaving after Paul had spoken one [parting] word, “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers,” (Acts 28:25 NAS)

“seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.” (1 Peter 1:11 NAS)

“20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is [a matter] of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20-21 NAS)

“”But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” (John 14:26 NAS)

“16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NAS)

“And for this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received from us the word of God’s message, you accepted [it] not [as] the word of men, but [for] what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13 NAS)

“For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4 NAS)

“Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” (1 Corinthians 10:11 NAS)

“49 Remember the word to Thy servant, In which Thou hast made me hope. 50 This is my comfort in my affliction, That Thy word has revived me.” (Psalms 119:49-50 NAS)

“7 “The beginning of wisdom [is:] Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding. 8 “Prize her, and she will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace her. 9 “She will place on your head a garland of grace; She will present you with a crown of beauty.”” (Proverbs 4:7-9 NAS)

“The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on folly.” (Proverbs 15:14 NAS)

“”And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”” (Matthew 13:23 NAS)

“But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” (Hebrews 5:14 NAS)

“And as for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every [branch of] literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all [kinds of] visions and dreams.” (Daniel 1:17 NAS)

“There is no wisdom and no understanding And no counsel against the LORD.” (Proverbs 21:30 NAS)

“Listen to counsel and accept discipline, That you may be wise the rest of your days.” (Proverbs 19:20 NAS)

“7 Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. 8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel, 9 for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. 10 For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus [and] with [it] eternal glory.” (2 Timothy 2:7-10 NAS)

“even as Thou gavest Him authority over all mankind, that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give eternal life.” (John 17:2 NAS)

“2 for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:2-4 NAS)

Comparative Study Bible NIV_KJV_NASB_AMP

Preceding articles:

Coming to understanding from sayings written long ago

Bibel, Schwert des Geistes, in die Einheit des Glaubens und der Erkenntnis des Sohnes Gottes

Bijbel, zwaard van de Geest in de eenheid van het geloof en van de kennis van de Zoon van God om tot een volkomen mens te komen

Bible, épée de l’Esprit à venir dans l’unité de la foi et de la connaissance du Fils de Dieu

Additional literature:

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“I will Guide Thee with Mine Eye” (Psalm 32:8) (theeyesoffaith.wordpress.com)
He is Risen! (fbcpolson.wordpress.com)
The Sixth Sunday of Easter – Coming in the back door to triune faith (The Epistle Passage) (asimpledesire.wordpress.com)
New Wine And New Wineskins (Mark 2) (answersfromthebook.org)
Scripture of the Day, 4/28 (sowegalive.com)
The Battle Prayer (gracesyllables.com)
Trusting the Guidance of God
I’ve been praying about this…
Master Teacher
Search for Truth: Brighter Days Ahead
The Bible Says
What the preacher should do when the sermon sucks — three tips for before heading to the pulpit
In order to hold fast to truth, one must understand the truth
The Bible: A Holy Resolution
God’s Word: A Sword for the Battle
God’s Word: The security of forever
God’s Word: The place to go to learn how to live
Verse of the Day
Not Just Words
Ratzinger on the Bible as the Word of God
Papyri, Catalysts, and The Book of Abraham
The Blessing of Scripture
Reasons to read the Old Testament #2
Why Should We Study The Word
The Power of Meditation On God’s Word

What Is Sanctification?

Posted on 2014/12/10 by Guestspeaker

Sanctification is an immediate work of the Spirit of God on the souls of believers,
purifying and cleansing of their natures from the pollution and uncleanness of sin,
renewing in them the image of God,
and thereby enabling them, from a spiritual and habitual principle of grace,
to yield obedience unto God,
according unto the tenor and terms of the new covenant,
by virtue of the life and death of Jesus Christ.

Or more briefly:

— It is the universal renovation of our natures by the Holy Spirit into the image of God, through Jesus Christ.

The Works of John Owen, ed. William H. Goold, vol. 3: Pneumatologia: A Discourse Concerning the Holy Spirit (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, n.d.), 386.

Get Your Wonderful Disease-proof Human Body

Posted on 2014/09/18 by Guestspeaker

Get Your Wonderful Disease-proof Human Body from Elohim!!

Chris Bapuohyele

Today, mankind is fighting a losing battle against an ever-growing menace to life. This menace is disease. Mankind’s body is constantly besieged by disease-causing bacteria, germs, viruses, etc.

Histopathogic image of senile plaques seen in the cerebral cortex in a patient with Alzheimer disease of presenile onset. Silver impregnation. The same case as shown in a file “Alzheimer_dementia_(1)_presenile_onset.jpg”. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Man’s body, composed of earth, has become the habitat of all types of parasites and killer micro organisms commonly available in soil—their natural habitat!

Elohim foresaw lifestyles of mankind rendering His disease control mechanisms placed in man ineffective to all manner of diseases—epilepsy, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, AIDS, . . .—and, therefore, about two millennia ago, put in place a miracle healthcare plan that would give mankind a disease-proof body!

Before this disease-proof body became available to mankind, Elohim, over the entire period that the Old Covenant was running, constantly announced its coming and demonstrated its veracity and glory in, and by, His dealings with Israel.

Hear what Elohim says to Israel under the Old Covenant—

“. . . for I am the Lord that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26); “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases” (Psalm 103:3);

and

“He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions” (Psalm 107:20).

When Yeshua began his earthly ministry, he announced that he came bringing Eternal Life — the Life of the Creator — to indwell individual bodies of mankind (John 3:14-16) by recreating the bodies of all who would believe in him, to make them disease-proof, and to co-join all of such bodies to his own disease-proof body in a tree-and-branch relationship (John 15:5).

When fulfilment of John 3:14-16 was due for mankind to access the blessing of such a disease-proof human body, Yeshua’s own disease-proof body was bruised with whip lashes (Isaiah 53:4-5, First Peter 2:24), and hung on a pole outside the Holy City, in similar manner that the bronze serpent in Israel’s wilderness journey was hung on a pole outside the camp, to heal people from snake bites (Numbers 21:5-9).

Today, anybody who is led in the Wisdom of Elohim to Mt. Calvary to behold the disfigured body of the Saviour on a pole, with an understanding of that horrible spectacle, and who sorrows in his heart for his sins being the cause of what happened to the Saviour, gains instant healing for his disease-riddled body!

Elohim’s wish is for the repentant sinner to keep this healed body, forever! Elohim, therefore, takes him one step further in this regard — He instructs this healed person to go through the ordinance of baptism into Yeshua.

When one enters the waters of baptism, the wisdom and power of Elohim act to immediately dissolve the whole vile body of the one, and then reassembles it after whatever contaminants were in this body, arising from the sin of the first Adam, have been dropped in the water!

This mystery of baptism brings to mind how salt is separated from salt-sand mixtures; that is, dissolving the salt-sand mixture in a container with water to have the insoluble sand settled at the bottom of the container, and then, evaporating to dryness the obtained brine to recover sand-free salt.

All suitable waters for baptism are, in effect, two liquids in one mix — the blood of Yeshua and a salt solution. Bodies of those baptized into Yeshua, therefore, are become reconstituted as mixes of water, salt, and the blood of Yeshua (Ezekiel 16:4, Matthew 5:13, Ephesians 5:30, First John 5:6).

The salt within them makes it impossible for disease-causing micro organisms to enter this body or live in it. Also, miraculously, the blood of Yeshua in this body ensures no sin stays within it, for this blood constantly cleanses this wonder body from sin (First John 1:7)

To forever render this wonder body, made of water, salt, and the blood of Yeshua, impervious to all unwanted substances, it must be thoroughly baked. Baked? Yes; baked in the fires of the Holy Spirit as The Potter must do to His molded clay vessels in order to eternally preserve them!!

So then, as the born again person walks out of the waters of baptism, the Holy Spirit of Elohim rushes into him to take full possession of his newly created body, in completion of the born of water and of the Spirit process of John 3:5.

In as much as all sicknesses result from the committing of sin, this sin-proof human body, indeed, becomes a bank of inexhaustible vibrant life—the very Life of the Creator—that may even be dispensed in faith in “laying of hands” by the human vessel holding it to heal any people suffering from diseases!!

For those genuinely born again into the salvation of Elohim, their disease-proof bodies become His dwelling places, unable to suffer disease while He is actively resident in them! This is what it means for a man to have Eternal Life dwelling in him while living here on earth!!

Shalom.

The writer is a Bible expositor and an author. Website: http://sbpra.com/ChrisBapuohyele

Additional reading:

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The Perfect Spiritual Solution to EBOLA Revealed-2 (spyghana.com)
Upon eating the forbidden fruit, three horrible things happened to Adam that were meant to also affect all his yet to be born seed then in his loins! First, Adam lost his fellowship, peace, and protection he had with and from his Maker. This loss was also to affect his seed even before birth and was to be their bane throughout their life on Earth.
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EBOLA is in a hide and seek with mankind according to the determinate will of Lucifer and sending mankind running helter-skelter without finding the solutions to EBOLA!! I dare say this will continue to be so for all inhabitants of Earth until they find and make use of Elohim’s antidote to Lucifer’s callousness of causing man to sin unto death by EBOLA and other viruses.Elohim’s antidote to EBOLA and all other diseases is simply marvelous! It is revealed in His Word to mankind in the Hebrew Holy Scriptures. Elohim instructs for everyone to be born again or recreated, by obeying His instructions to make a teshuva (repentance) for the sin committed against Him by Adam and Eve and self, followed by tevilah (baptism) in a mikveh mayim (place of naturally gathered waters, as in a river) in the name of His Son, Yeshua HaMashiach, the only name with power in it to save man from the committing of sin!!
The Cost-free and Drugs-free Healthcare of Elohim for Mankind Part 2 of 2 (spyghana.com)
the Almighty’s wish is for the repentant sinner to keep this healing, forever; and so He takes him one step further in this regard. The Almighty further instructs this repentant and healed sinner to go through the simple ritual of baptism into the name of Yeshua in natural living water. This baptism is the initiation rite required for entry into the life-giving body of Yeshua.When, therefore, one is fully immersed in the waters of baptism, the wisdom and power of the Almighty dissolves the vile body of the one, and then reassembles it after whatever contaminants that were in this body arising from the sin of the first Adam, had been dropped in the water; all this, within nanoseconds!
Learning To Become The One New Man, Not Two Separate Men! (paradoxparables.justparadox.com)
Unity of the Spirit, one body, one spirit, on hope, one adonai, one faith, one baptism, one elohim and one father of all
Chronicles of YHWH 18: Deadbeat Dad (maasaiboys.wordpress.com)
With his hands securely stapled to the cross, Yeshua looked up into the skies, and cried: “Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani!”, which loosely translates to “Father, father, you are a Deadbeat Dad!”. YHWH disagreed with this assessment, and so the two held the following conversation.
Incense, Prayer, & the Golden Altar (kumi07.wordpress.com)
After you have offered yourself a living sacrifice of praise & thanksgiving and washed the world off, sought forgiveness and repentance, and renewed your mind in the Word [Yeshua], you burn incense at the altar of incense, sweet prayers arising as smoke before the very throne, the Seat of Mercy and Righteousness Himself.
The Anointing & The Oil (kumi07.wordpress.com)
Now Ya’akov leaves the foundational stones of his faith, his mother Rivqah [Rebbeca, the beauty] and Yitzchak [laughter], his father, and ventures out in the desert which is void of worship of the Elohim [God] of his fathers. He goes to a “certain place”, stays all night, laying his head [~the mind, thoughts] on those ‘stones of faith’, the Rock of Ages.
The Best Quote – Ever. Eternal. (hisimagenme.wordpress.com)
Yeshua exampled exactly what He asked us to do by asking us to ‘Follow Him’. All the way. .. without one falter. So that in every falter in every follower after; the only thing the Father hears is. ..”It is finished. ” the only thing the Father sees is Him. That is why those Words are the best quote even before the second one posted here. Without the former. .. the latter would never have been true. Those Words fulfilled every Word before and all that would come after. .. forever. I believe in Hebrew He did actually say. ..”It is fulfilled.” “It” – being the Father’s will. ..a heart, a Being of pure Love… that never intended to let His creation go.

Marriage of Jesus 8 Wife of Yahweh

Posted on 2014/05/28 by Marcus Ampe

In the previous postings I talked about the torn, business card-size fragment which found instant fame when Harvard historian Karen King announced its discovery in September 2012, because it bears the startling line: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife …'”

The manuscript written in Coptic, the language of early Christians living in Egypt, has the beginning and end of each line of the manuscript missing. It could be interpreted as a record of a conversation between Jesus and his disciples, in which the disciples tell Jesus: “Mary [Magdalene] is not worthy of it,” and Jesus responds that his wife — presumably Mary Magdalene — “will be able to be his disciple.”

Example Jesus

“Christ gave the example
Now you have been called to this, really, because Christ also suffered in our behalf, leaving you17 an example that you should follow in His footsteps: (22) who did not commit sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth; (23) who being reviled did not revile in return, suffering did not threaten but committed it to Him who judges righteously; (24) who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, so that we, having died to those sins,18 might live for the19 righteousness; by whose wound20 you were healed.” (1Pe 2:21-24 WPNT)

For many Christians Christ Jesus should give the good example. This means that a male of that age should have been married, so Jesus should have had a wife and normal sexual relationship. Most Christians take Jesus also to be god, forgetting he is the son of God and not god the son, he like the Father in heaven ‘Yahweh” would have a wife.

Essence of life belongs to only One

It is very well know that between the 10th century BCE and the beginning of their exile in 586 BCE, polytheism was normal throughout Israel. According to many scholars it was only after the exile that worship of Yahweh alone became established, and possibly only as late as the time of the Maccabees (2nd century BCE) that monotheism became universal among Jews. As a believer I do believe the Holy Scriptures and accept that there have always through history have been people honouring and worshipping the Only One True God, who later gave His Name to be known all over the world as “The I Am Who Is the Being, the Essence of Life”, the Elohim God of gods Hashem Jehovah.

Threat of false teachings

The false teachings of those who liked the plural gods soon entered the world of the followers of the Nazarene Jeshua (Jesus Christ). The apostles described already in the Acts of the apostles that their community was already under threat for this danger. The acts of Peter show more of those false teachings having been entered in the Christian faith.

Mother goddess

Asherah אֲשֵׁרָה Goddess of motherhood and fertility, Lady of the Sea

One of those teachings was that the god of heaven and earth had a counterpart or Dione, which like ‘Elat means “Goddess”. Before Christ Jesus the prophets, like Jeremiah, also warned people not to fall for such “Queen of Heaven” or a “Mother god”. In the Book of Jeremiah, written circa 628 BCE, where the people pray to ha asherah or Asherah ( ‘ṯrt; אֲשֵׁרָה‎, ʼAṯirat, Ashratum/Ashratu) the mother goddess or the Queen of Heaven Jehovah is provoked to anger. (Jeremiah 7:18 and 44:17–19, 25).

“Yahweh of Samaria and his Asherah” and “Yahweh of Teman and his Asherah.” are inscription been found. We should know that several polytheist also adhered Yahweh and even Romans kept a shrine for the God, Whose name they were not quite sure He had. (The unknown God of heaven and earth.)

Relation between Yahweh and other gods

Yahweh having had a temple in Samaria raises a question over the relationship between Yahweh and Kaus (Qaush, Kaush, Qaus, Kos, and Qaws), the national god of Edom. {Keel, Othmar; Uehlinger, Christoph (1998). Gods, Goddesses, And Images of God. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 228. ISBN 9780567085917. Retrieved 10 March 2014.}

It has been suggested that the Israelites might consider Asherah as a consort of Baal due to the anti-Asherah ideology which was influenced by the Deuteronomistic History at the later period of Monarchy. {Sung Jin Park, “The Cultic Identity of Asherah in Deuteronomistic Ideology of Israel,” Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 123/4 (2011): 553–564.}

Male or female god

For certain Christians The Hebrew God Yahweh or Elohim is conceived of biblically as a male deity, which is is of course not surprising in a patriarchal or male-ruled society. Lots of Christians seem to overlook that in the Bible is written that God the Elohim is not comparable to a human being and is an eternal Spirit and as such does not have a male or female site, no bones, no flesh with blood running through.

Susan Ackerman notes also that there are some feminizations of Yahweh in Isaiah (e.g., “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you” [66:13]; see also 42:14 and 49:15). But then Isaiah also refers to kings as “nursing fathers” (49:23) and to daughters who “shalt suck the breasts of kings” (60:16), words that cannot be taken literally. In any case, Yahweh outside of some Isaianic imagery is masculine in the Hebrew Bible. In the New Testament, “God” translates the Greek Theos, with God remaining a male deity. Thus Jesus regularly uses the word Father (Greek Pater, in Jesus’ Aramaic Abba) for God (e.g., Matthew 6:8-9; Mark 14:36; Luke 10:21; John 17:1; see also Paul’s use in Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6).

Masculine and feminine terms

God-Bearer, Lady of the Sign, temper on board, 19th c., Russia – Supraśl – Museum of Icons

In the previous chapters I spoke about those Gnostic gospels where we can find the thought of the divine in both masculine and feminine terms, with Jesus referring to the Holy Spirit as his Mother in the Gospel of Thomas and in the Gospel to the Hebrews, and with the Apocryphon of John describing the Trinity as Father, Mother, and Son. It is in that trinitarian thinking that most people adhere to the mother of god-idea, taking Miriam/Miryam or Saint Mary or Virgin Mary as “Blessed Virgin Mary” being the mother of Jesus Christ, the mother of God or even the Theotokos, literally “Bearer of God”.

Gerunds no personal figures

Man Satan and Lady Wisdom

Several Christians do like to give nouns, substantives or gerunds a personal figure, and as such make the word ‘satan’ which means the adversary a literal figure with the name Satan. Wisdom they make into God and as such find proof that God is also a Woman. This is than affirmed for them in the Apocrypha where ‘Lady Wisdom‘ is identified with the Torah or biblical law (Sirach 24:23; Baruch 4:1). Many Christians like in the same way to use the Greek word Logos as the person Jesus, where in the New Testament the preexistent Word (Greek: Logos) at the beginning of the Gospel of John is reminiscent of Wisdom and of being God and being Christ Jesus, as such them having to be one and the same person. When the apostle Paul later calls Christ “the wisdom of God” (Greek Theou Sophia) then the cat’s away the mice will play. (1 Corinthians 1:24)

Husband and wife metaphor

The metaphor of Yahweh and the Hebrew people as husband and wife is found first in the book of Hosea, and continues in the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. When there is spoken of a troubled marriage, for despite Yahweh’s “love toward the children of Israel,” they “look to other gods” it is not about a literal marriage.

“And Yahweh said to me, Go again, love a woman loved by a companion, but [is] an adulteress, even as Yahweh loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods, and love cakes of raisins.” (Hosea 3:1 UPD)

Children of Israel

The Israelites, god’s chosen people more than once forgot what their Protector and Redeemer had done, and committed ‘adultery’ in the eyes of God.

Yahweh or Jehovah loving the sons is not love like many would like to imagine they having to love some one. The love of Yahweh/Jehovah has nothing to do with a sexual relationship. His love for the sons of Israel which will return (Hosea 3:5) has all to do with the People God made for himself. The wife and/or the bride of which the Bible speaks God has is a figurative ‘wife‘ or ‘spouse‘. The ones that seek Yahweh or Jehovah their God, and David their king, and will come with fear to the Only One True God and to His goodness in the latter days, He is willing to take unto Him like a man would take a wife unto him.

“For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: (5) Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek YHWH their Elohim, and David their king; and shall fear YHWH and his goodness in the latter days.” (Hosea 3:4-5 RNKJV)

Bride Israel

In several places in the Holy Scriptures we can find “The Wife” or “the bride” as a metaphor for the Israelite people, the “Chosen Ones” or the Jews, and later for the Jews and gentiles or converted heathen who wanted to follow the son of God.

Marriage strict bond between God and Israel

As marriage is a matter of a strict bond, Jehovah wants also to have a strict bond or covenant between the two parties, Him (the Creator) and the ones who want to be connected with Him, God His people, or “Israel“. The bed or couch God wants His people to take is with Him, who is the Maker of all. In the past Jehovah had to see more than ones that His people Israel choose to have their beds down with others. For that reason He also provided a new bond or a new marriage, with His son and those who wanted to recognise him as the son of God and as the Messiah, as presenter of the New Covenant.

“For thy Maker is thine husband; YHWH of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The Elohim of the whole earth shall he be called.” (Isaiah 54:5 RNKJV)

” Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice. (8) Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it.” (Isaiah 57:7-8 RNKJV)

“For as a youth marries a virgin, thus your sons marry you: and as the bridegroom joys over the bride, thus your Elohim rejoices over you. ” (Isaiah 62:5 ECB)

Israel showing no fidelity to marriage vows

The backsliding children (the Israelites) had neglected many times the pleas of the Most High, though He let them know that He was totally connected to them like man and wife are connected with their marriage vows. he always wanted to offer the honourable and honest the safest place where they could find rest in His bed. The Elohim, God of gods is the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, and His name is Holy, and everybody should come to know His Name: Jehovah; the One Who dwells in the high and holy place, even with the contrite and humble of spirit; to make live the spirit of the humble and to make live the heart of the contrite ones.

“(1.5) For thus said the High and Lofty One that inhabit eternity, whose Name is Holy; I dwell in the high and Holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (16) For I will not contend forever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit would fail before Me, and the souls which I have made. (17) For the iniquity of his covetousness I was wroth, and smote him: I hid Me, and was wroth, and he went on forwardly in the way of his heart. ” (Isaiah 57:15-17 RHB)

“Jehovah also said to me in the days of Josiah the king, Have you seen what the apostate Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree, and has fornicated there. (7) And after she had done all these, I said, She will return to Me; but she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. (8) And I watched. When for all the causes for which the apostate Israel committed adultery, I sent her away and I gave the writ of her divorce to her. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she also went and fornicated. (9) And it happened, from the wantonness of her harlotry she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with pieces of wood. (10) And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but with falsehood, says Jehovah. (11) And Jehovah said to me, The apostate Israel has justified herself more than treacherous Judah. (12) Go and cry these words toward the north, and say, Return, O apostate Israel, says Jehovah. I will not cause My face to fall on you, for I am merciful, says Jehovah; I will not keep anger forever. (13) Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have rebelled against Jehovah your God and have scattered your ways to the strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed My voice, says Jehovah. (14) Return, O apostate sons, declares Jehovah; for I am Lord over you. And I will take you, one from a city, and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. (15) And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. (16) And it will be, when you multiply and increase in the land in those days, says Jehovah, they will no longer say, The ark of the covenant of Jehovah! Nor shall it come to the heart, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they miss it, nor shall it be made any more. (17) At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah. And all nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem. And they shall not walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart.” (Jeremiah 3:6-17 LITV)

The Bed of Jehovah

The bed of Jehovah and the throne of Jehovah, are the places where those who love God should come to. We like the children of Israel should remember:

” Turn O backsliding children, declares YHWH; because I am married to you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family and I will bring you to Zion:” (Jeremiah 3:14 UTV)

Broken bond

The marriage bond was broken by those people of Israel, because they committed ‘adultery‘. Ezekiel 23 allegorizes Samaria and Jerusalem, the Israelite and Judahite capitals, as two sisters with a host of foreign lovers while both are married to Yahweh and should have known the Will of this Most High Jehovah. It are such passages which deem to be very disturbing to feminist commentators when they look at what they call the brutal punishment of the women by God. Those women symbolize Israel’s unfaithfulness. As noted by Kathleen M. O’Connor, the portrayal of physical abuse by the divine in such passages implicitly condones such behaviour in humans.

Open Invitation to non-Israelites

Kinsmen Redeemer

In the Holy Scriptures we can find the invitation of the Divine Creator God to human beings to become His People and to come and sit down. For the daughter of Babylon (the unbelievers but also the spurious church) may sit on the ground; though they might say to be on the throne of Peter, there is no throne, because they will have lured many people in their base, but would find that at a certain time they would no more be called tender and delicate. We may even see that at such a time those in high position may become undressed. They shall be bare and many (not all) shall come to see their nakedness uncovered. In such way there might still be hope, because then her shame (of those institutions or the church) will be seen. But no way out, Jehovah will take vengeance and He says in the Book of Jeremiah that He will not meet them as a man. As for our kinsmen- redeemer, YHWH יהוה {Jehovah} of Hosts is his Name, the Holy One of Israel or better: the Set-apart One of Yisra’ĕl.

“Come down and sit upon the dust, thou virgin daughter of Babel, sit upon the earth: no throne, thou daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt not be added for them to call thee tender and delicate. (2) Take the two mill-stones and grind flour, and uncover thy veil; strip off the train, uncover the leg, pass through the rivers. (3) Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, also thy reproach shall be seen: I will take vengeance, I will not make peace with man. (4) Jehovah of armies redeemed us, his name the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 47:1-4 Julia)

Whore of Babylon (woman of Babylon) – Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472–1553)

Virgin daughter of Babylon

We may find it cruel that Jehovah strips “the virgin daughter of Babylon” in Isaiah 47:1-4, and helps the Babylonians rape Jerusalem in Jeremiah 13:26 and that He trods “the virgin” Jerusalem “as in a winepress” (Lamentations 1:15), and that He raises up their lovers against them as a jealous husband, stripping them out of their clothes.

“For this, O Aholibah, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Behold me raising up those loving thee, against thee, whom thy soul was rent away from them, and I brought them against thee from round about (23) The sons of Babel and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, all the sons of Amur with them: young men of desire, prefects and governors, all of them third men, and celebrated, riding horses all of them. (24) And they came against thee firm with chariot and wheel, and with a convocation of peoples, shield and buckler and helmet, they will set against thee round about: and I gave judgment before them, and they judged thee with their judgments. (25) And I gave my jealousy against thee, and they did with thee in wrath: thy nose and thine ears they shall take away; and thy posterity shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters, and thy posterity shall be consumed in fire. (26) And they stripped thee of thy garments, and they took the instrument of thy glory. (27) And I caused thy wickedness to cease from thee, and thy fornication from the land of Egypt: and thou shalt not lift up thine eyes to them, and thou shalt remember Egypt no more.” (Ezekiel 23:22-27 Julia)

Mutilated wife

The Adonay Yah Veh, Jehovah looks at His people like a man looks at his wife. But this does not have to mean that He was really married to a wife and certainly not to Asherah, the consort of El (“god”), the supreme god of Canaan and father of the popular Baal. Several Catholic theologians have written many books on Asherah as the wife of Yahweh. Some, not all, have overlooked these metaphors of Jehovah. For many of them the husband physically abusing his wife presents a challenge to modern biblical interpreters. Through such imagery “the Bible,” writes Sharon H. Ringe in The Women’s Bible Commentary,

“seems to bless the harm and abuse with which women live and sometimes die.”

The brutality seems hardly ameliorated by Yahweh’s assurances to his mutilated wife of a brighter tomorrow, for they make God sound like the stereotypical wife beater who minimizes what he has done and promises not to do it again:

“In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee… Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel,… and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry” (Isaiah 54:8; Jeremiah 31:4).

The French epigrapher Andre Lemaire looking at some graffiti, inscriptions dating from the eighth century BCE, found on walls and storage jars at two sites, Khirbet el-Kom and Kuntillet Ajrud, in Israel, declaring:

“I bless you by Yahweh of Samaria and by his asherah,” and “I bless you by Yahweh of Teiman and by his asherah.”

brings him wrongly to the conclusion that Jehovah should have a wife or woman goddess.

“Whatever an asherah is, Yahweh had one!”

he says.

Preceding articles:

Marriage of Jesus 1 Mary, John, Judas, Thomas and Brown

Marriage of Jesus 2 Standard writings about Jesus

Marriage of Jesus 3 Listening women

Marriage of Jesus 4 Place of the woman

Marriage of Jesus 5 Papyrus fragment in Egyptian Coptic

Marriage of Jesus 6 Jesus said to them “My wife”

Marriage of Jesus 7 Impaled

To be followed by:

Marriage of Jesus 9 Reason for a new marriage

Marriage of Jesus 10 Old and New Covenant

Seeing or not seeing and willingness to find God

Posted on 2014/01/21 by Christadelphians

Nearly 2 000 years ago

Nearly two thousand years ago a man preaching in the desert saw his cousin coming near. John the Baptist, perhaps not knowing so much about his cousin, understood how he came unto earth and what his position was.

English: John the Baptist baptizing Christ

John the Baptist baptizing Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

John seeing Jesus coming toward him yelled out

“Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is the man I’ve been talking about, ‘the one who comes after me but is really ahead of me.’

(Jesus was born or came into existence after John the Baptist, but had his function already planned by God long before John the Baptist, Isaiah, Isaac and Abraham.) John the Baptist knew that his task was been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer.

” (29) On the next day Yoḥanan saw יהושע {Jehsua} coming toward him, and said, “See, the Lamb of Elohim who takes away the sin of the world!{1} {Footnote: 1Mt. 1:21, Titus 2:14, 1 John 3:5 & 8.} (30) “This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has become before me, for He was before me.’ {1 Footnote: 1See v. 15.} (31) “And I did not know Him, but that He might be revealed to Yisra’ĕl, therefore I came immersing in water.” ” (John 1:29-31 The Scriptures 1998+)

Jesus was placed by God in the womb of Miriam (Mary/Maria) to come on earth as the fulfilment of the Word of God spoken in the garden of Eden, providing Adam and Eve a solution for what they had done.

Baptism with water and spirit

At that time in the river Jordan God Himself led His Voice be heard to all who stood around John the Baptist baptising Jesus. And the Voice made known that it was the son of God who stood there in the water. Still two thousand years later many do not want to accept that it was the “son of God” who stood there to start his official adult life of witnessing for God.

Jan Brueghel the Elder, John the Baptist preaching (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

John had come to baptise with water, giving the people a good bath and scrubbing sins from their life so they could get a fresh start with God. John clinched his witness that he watched the Spirit, like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him, and that The One who authorized him to baptise with water told him, ‘The One on whom you see the Spirit come down and stay, this One will baptise with the Holy Spirit.’ As many prophets before him, Jesus was a man who was willing to give himself in the hands of the Creator God, who had told mankind that he was His son.

” (16) And having been immersed, יהושע {Jehsua} went up immediately from the water, and see, the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of Elohim descending like a dove and coming upon Him, (17) and see, a voice out of the heavens, saying, “This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I did delight.”” (Matthew 3:16-17 The Scriptures 1998+)

God’s Passover Lamb to be seen

The people could see the one who John the Baptist called “God’s Passover Lamb.” There were two disciples of John who heard him and went after Jesus. Jesus looked over his shoulder and said to them, “What are you after?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher“), “where are you staying?” He replied, “Come along and see for yourself.” They came, saw where he was living, and ended up staying with him for the day but also got to see what Jesus could mean for them. They believed they had found the “Messiah” (that is, “Christ“). (John 1:29-42) From that day onwards they kept their eyes on Jesus, and got to know more on the relation of Jesus and his Father the Only One True. they also came to understand that this rabbi could be the send one of God by whom they, and we, can come closer to God, the author and finisher of our faith. In Jesus they could find and can we find peace, forgiveness, rest, grace. They where willing to see what had happened and were going to see more incomprehensible thing the three years afterwards.

Second Adam also of flesh and blood

There may be many gods in the world, but there is only One True God Divine Creator, and That God is not comparable to any human being except to His son. God is Spirit (John 4:24) but His sons are human beings. His first son and daughter where the first Adam and Eve. But those first creations turned against their Creator. At that time, in the beginning of Creation, the Creator took care that a solution for their sin was given to the world. God was prepared to make a second Adam, who would bring salvation and as such would be called the “Christ” or “Messiah“. In him people could once again see that all people are created in the image of God. Though all children which came after the first Adam received the deficiencies from their forefathers. Being created straight ahead from the Source of Life, Jehovah God, the second Adam, would receive the opportunity to prove human kind that a human being could follow the Will of the Most High, and could stay pure and un-blamed.

Not able to be seen

God can not be seen by man or he would die, but Jesus could be seen by many. Jesus like any other man could be tempted, though God can not be tempted nor sin. Jesus could sin but did not.

” (20) But He said, “You are unable to see My face, for no man does see Me and live.”” (Exodus 33:20 The Scriptures 1998+)

” (18) No one has ever seen Elohim.1 The only brought-forth Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He did declare.2 Footnotes: 1See 5:37, 6:46, 1 John 4:12. 2The pre-existent Son declared, and was the One who appeared to men.” (John 1:18 The Scriptures 1998+)

” (24) “Elohim is Spirit, and those who worship Him need to worship in spirit and truth.”” (John 4:24 The Scriptures 1998+)

Revelation to be seen

What we can see is what God reveals to the world and let us to be seen. Jesus declared his Father and made Him clear for all to understand what He want from us and How He thinks and works. Jesus was prepared to listen to the Voice of his Father, his God and the God of Abraham, making this voice know all over the world.

” (24) and said, ‘See, יהוה {Jehovah} our Elohim has shown us His esteem and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. Today we have seen that Elohim speaks with man – and he lives!” (Deuteronomy 5:24 The Scriptures 1998+)

Flesh blood and bones, human and ghost or spirit

At the river Jordan people could see that God was in their midst and declared Jesus to be His son. Ghost has no flesh, blood nor bones, but Jesus had this all. That Jesus was no spirit, even not after he had died he proved to his disciples when he came under their midst and showed his wounds.

” (30) And it came to be, when He sat at the table with them, having taken the bread, He blessed, and having broken, He was giving it to them. (31) And their eyes were opened and they recognised Him. And He disappeared from their sight. (32) And they said to each other, “Was not our heart burning within us as He was speaking to us on the way, and as He was opening the Scriptures to us?” (33) And rising up that same hour they returned to Yerushalayim, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, (34) saying, “The Master was truly raised, and has appeared to Shim?on!” (35) And they related what took place on the way, and how He was recognised by them in the breaking of the bread. (36) And as they were saying this, יהושע {Jehsua} Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” (37) And being startled and frightened, they thought they had seen a spirit. (38) And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? (39) “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” (40) And saying this, He showed them His hands and His feet. (41) And while they were still not believing for joy, and marvelling, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” (42) And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. (43) And taking it He ate in their presence. (44) And He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all have to be filled that were written in the Torah of Mosheh and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” (45) Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, (46) and said to them, “Thus it has been written, and so it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to rise again from the dead the third day, (47) and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His Name to all nations, beginning at Yerushalayim. (48) “And you are witnesses of these matters. (49) “And see, I am sending the Promise of My Father upon you, but you are to remain in the city of Yerushalayim until you are clothed with power from on high.” (50) And He led them out as far as Bĕyth Anyah, and lifting up His hands He blessed them. (51) And it came to be, while He was blessing them, that He was parted from them and was taken up into the heaven. (52) And they, having bowed down to Him, returned to Yerushalayim with great joy, (53) and were continually in the Set-apart Place praising and blessing Elohim. Amĕn.” (Luke 24:30-53 The Scriptures 1998+)

Those who have not seen the son of the Non-seen

After Jesus had died the apostles had seen him again. We never have seen him but we should believe those who have seen him and those who like us can not see God but did see the son of God, יהושע {Jehsua} Jesus, the one who is the Immanuel and Messiah. We also can get the Ghost God being part of us like it was being part of Christ. By letting Him enter ourselves we shall become transformed, but we shall never become God, like Jesus also was not God. We do have to become like Christ like Jesus was like God united one in spirit. Putting on the armour of Christ and the armour of God did not make the people in the old times God nor shall it make us to become Christ nor God.

After and of the flesh and dwelling within

In the world we can see many people who are after the flesh, do mind the things of the flesh. We who believe in Christ Jesus, to be the Saviour should be after the Spirit, do mind the things of the Spirit. Jesus did also things of the Spirit like we should do. He also told us to become worthy children of God, having God enter our hearts and to put away our carnally mind because that is death. We are assured that to be spiritually minded is life and peace; because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, because it cannot be. Jesus learned his followers that they who are in the flesh cannot please God. He also told many parables so people could easily understand what it mean to be in Christ or to be in God, to be with God, to be for God and to do the Will of God. Those who want to do like Christ, not his or their own will, but the Will of God, can receive the Holy Spirit and as such be not in the flesh, but in the spirit if the Spirit of God truly dwells within you. Jesus had the Spirit of God dwelling in him. We should have the Spirit of God dwelling in us likewise. This dwelling of the Spirit though shall not make us, like it did not with Christ, make us the God eternal. We shall stay man of flesh and blood like Jesus was a man of flesh and blood. We also shall not escape the penalty of the garden of Eden. Jesus also did not escape that death spoken out by His Father. Jesus really died whilst God can not die. It is only by accepting that Jesus was really a man of flesh and blood who really died,that we can give respectful notice to what Jesus really did; he gave his life for the sins of many, as a ransom. Those who take Jesus to God, who can not die, make a farce of his suffering and his death.

Having spirit of Christ

Now if any man does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. And if Christ is within you, the body is dead because of sin: but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead dwells within you, so He Who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will also quicken our mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells within us. But therefore we do have to accept Jesus his anointment and offer as Lamb of God. We clearly have to see and understand the relationship between the Father and son, who now sits at the right hand of his Father to be a mediator between God and man.

Living in spirit

Those who have faith in the actions Jesus undertook and believe he was a messenger of the Most High are not indebted to the flesh to live after the flesh. For if we live after the flesh, we will die in flesh and totality: but if we, through the Spirit, subdue the deeds of the body, we shall live this life in spirit. It does not mean we shall not feel any pain, or we shall not have to face difficulties and temptations. Like Jesus encountered many difficulties and temptations, we also shall have to face them and the natural death. But allowing the Spirit to enter in our hearts we may count on it that He shall enable us to endure whatever we need to endure. Those who are led by the Spirit of God, are the sons of God, for they have not received the spirit of bondage, to be in fear again; but they have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby they can cry onto God like Christ called on his Father: “Abba“, “Avon”, “Father“, “our Father“. And this Spirit bears witness to our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ; so that if we suffer with him, we shall also be glorified with him.

” (5) For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the matters of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the matters of the Spirit. (6) For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace. (7) Because the mind of the flesh is enmity towards Elohim, for it does not subject itself1 to the Torah of Elohim2, neither indeed is it able, Footnotes: 1Or does not obey. 2John 15:5, 1 John 4:4, 1 John 3:9, 1 John 5:18. (8) and those who are in the flesh are unable to please Elohim. (9) But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Messiah, this one is not His. (10) And if Messiah is in you, the body is truly dead on account of sin, but the Spirit is life on account of righteousness. (11) And if the Spirit of Him who raised יהושע {Jehsua} from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Messiah from the dead shall also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit dwelling in you. (12) So then, brothers, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. (13) For if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you shall live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of Elohim, these are sons of Elohim. (15) For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” (16) The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of Elohim, (17) and if children, also heirs – truly heirs of Elohim, and co-heirs with Messiah, if indeed we suffer with Him, in order that we also be exalted together.” (Romans 8:5-17 The Scriptures 1998+)

Presenting our body to allow God to enter in us, doing His Will

By the mercies of God we should present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, by means of reasonable service. Though we can not see Christ nor God, we should put faith in him who gave his soul (=his full being) to his Father who is also our Father to Whom we should pray. Jesus lived in this world but was not of this world, so we also should not imitate the way of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds, becoming as brothers and sisters in Christ, that you may discern what is that good and acceptable, and perfect will of God. As Christ also did not want to do his will, we also should only want to do God His Will.

” (10) let Your reign come, let Your desire be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10 The Scriptures 1998+)

” (41) And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and falling on His knees He was praying, (42) saying, “Father, if it be Your counsel, remove this cup from Me. Yet not My desire, but let Yours be done.”” (Luke 22:41-42 The Scriptures 1998+)

” (34) יהושע {Jehsua} said to them, “My food is to do the desire of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work.” (John 4:34 The Scriptures 1998+)

” (30) “Of Myself I am unable to do any matter. As I hear, I judge, and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own desire, but the desire of the Father who sent Me.” (John 5:30 The Scriptures 1998+)

” (38) “Because I have come down out of the heaven, not to do My own desire, but the desire of Him who sent Me.” (John 6:38 The Scriptures 1998+)

” (7) “Then I said, ‘See, I come – in the roll of the book it has been written concerning Me – to do Your desire, O Elohim.’ ” (8) Saying above, “Slaughter and meal offering, and burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor delighted in,” which are offered according to the Torah, (9) then He said, “See, I come to do Your desire, O Elohim.” He takes away the first to establish the second. (10) By that desire we have been set apart through the offering of the body of יהושע {Jehsua} Messiah once for all.” (Heb 10:7-10 The Scriptures 1998+)

To see and understand the sending of the son of God

We should see and understand the sending of the son of God, Jesus Christ, because we can see what is written about him in the Book of books. We should see the desire this man had and we should see the desires of his Father the Divine Creator God Who does not like to have pleasure in, sacrifices, offerings, burnt offerings, and sacrifices for sin’ (offerings regularly made under the Law). That God, whom Jesus considered to be his Father and our Father was willing to take the offering of this Nazarene Jew as the token of reconciliation. Because Jesus wanted and succeeded into doing the will of his Father the former sacrifices were set aside to be replaced by the latter, the offer of the son Jeshua, Jesus the Christ or Messiah. And it is in the fulfilment of the will of God that we have been purified by the sacrifice, once and for all, of the body of Jesus Christ.

See things and scrutinize everything

We should see all things and search them. We should come to see what is given to the apostles and followers of Jesus Christ, to all of us who are willing to follow the teachings of the rabbi Jesus, not to think of ourselves beyond what we ought to think; but to think soberly, every man according to the measure of faith which God has distributed to him. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same function, So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Being in the body of Christ shall not make us Christ nor god or God. but being in the body of Christ we will be entrusted with many special gifts, differing according to the grace that is given to us; some have the gift of prophecy, according to the measure of faith, some have the gift of ministration, in his ministry; and some of teaching, in his teaching.

” (1) I call upon you, therefore, brothers, through the compassion of Elohim, to present your bodies a living offering – set-apart, well-pleasing to Elohim – your reasonable worship. (2) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you prove what is that good and well-pleasing and perfect desire of Elohim. (3) For I say, through the favour which has been given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he should think, but to think soberly, as Elohim has given to each a measure of belief. (4) For as we have many members in one body, but all members do not have the same function, (5) so we, the many, are one body in Messiah, and members each one of one another. (6) Now having different gifts, according to the favour which was given to us, let us use them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of belief; (7) if serving, in the serving; or he who is teaching, in the teaching; (8) or he who encourages, in the encouragement; or he who is sharing, in sincerity; he who is leading, in diligence; he who shows compassion, joyously.” (Romans 12:1-8 The Scriptures 1998+)

A body with blood and a spirit without blood

We should come to learn to see that Body of Christ so that we can see the preparedness of others also willing to see the gift of God, His Grace and acceptance of the offer of His son Jesus Christ.

” (16) to be a servant of יהושע {Jehsua} Messiah to the gentiles, with the priestly duty of bringing the Good News of Elohim, so that the offering of the gentiles becomes acceptable, set apart by the Set-apart Spirit.” (Romans 15:16 The Scriptures 1998+)

The world should get to see those who are willing to see the Most High in their minds, according to the Spirit or Force of God. By willing to open our mind to God’s Force, the Holy Spirit shall be willing to enter in our soul (=our being) and will strengthen us in our faith in Christ, the son of God, making us partakers of his offering, being cleansed by his blood (the Blood of Christ).

Knowing that a Spirit has no blood, we are aware that it was really a man of blood and flesh and bones, who did not have his bones broken, but had his blood flown out of his body.

” (28) After this, יהושע {Jehsua}, knowing that all had been accomplished, in order that the Scripture might be accomplished, said, “I thirst!” (29) A bowl of sour wine stood there, and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and held it to His mouth. (30) So when יהושע {Jehsua} took the sour wine He said, “It has been accomplished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. (31) Therefore, since it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the stake on the Sabbath – for that Sabbath was a high one – the Yehuḏim asked Pilate to have their legs broken, and that they be taken away. (32) Therefore the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was impaled with Him, (33) but when they came to יהושע {Jehsua} and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. (34) But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and instantly blood and water came out. (35) And he who has seen has witnessed, and his witness is true. And he knows that he is speaking the truth, in order that you might believe. (36) For this took place in order for the Scripture to be filled: “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” (37) And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”” (John 19:28-37 The Scriptures 1998+)

Acceptance step in the good direction

Let us look on him whom they pierced and believe who he was and what he did. By accepting Christ we are one step in the good direction to find God. Once we want to accept Jesus as the son of God who offered himself for our sins, we can continue on that path he prepared for us. Listening to the parables he told we can come to understand the way his Father thinks and handles.

God had poured out on the house of David the fulfilment of His Word that His Word could become reality and could come into the flesh (figuratively and in the person of His son Jesus Christ), and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication so that those who are willing to see and believe will look at him whom other humans have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and will grieve bitterly for him, as one grieves for his firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10, John 1:1)

To be able to find God we first have to open our mind and to be prepared to allow God His Spirit to enter in us. It is God Who calls, but we should allow Him to call us and be prepared to hear His Voice.

Preceding article: Finding God amid all the religious externals

Next: People Seeking for God

Please also do find to read:

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Additional reading:

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Preparing the Way (graceofourlord.com)
God, he tells them, can raise up children of Abraham from the stones present around them. In other words, it is not enough – God is not so impressed with their pedigree.
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Although baptism in some form did exist before John the Baptist received his calling from God, it was not a baptism of repentance, nor was it for the forgiveness of sins. There was no real forgiveness of sins under the Law of Moses because, as Paul said, “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:1-4). There was washing for purification, as first implemented with Aaron and his sons (Exodus 29:4, Leviticus 16:23-24), and for remedy of defilement (Numbers 19). And at some point (though not Biblically required), baptism (immersion in water) was added to circumcision as a requirement for Gentile proselytes to be converted to Judaism.
He may be made known to Israel (twocatholicfriends.wordpress.com)
Each of the prophets who came before Christ came to fulfill a particular mission, they pointed to the coming of the messiah. Isaiah’s prophecy of the restoration of israel and salvation reaching the end of the earth links his time and that of John the baptist’s by its fulfillment because it was John the baptist who showed this light of God which would reach the end of the earth to the world. First, with his disciples, whom he fashioned their waiting for the messiah. He did not know who the messiah was, but God revealed it to him by the outpouring of the Holy spirit by the baptism of our Lord which we celebrated last sunday; this he used to testify to the crowd of the sonship of Jesus.
Jesus and John the Baptist (larrycourson.wordpress.com)
In Matthew 13 and 14 Jesus is rejected by the people of Nazareth where he grew up as no one special. They said he was just one of them.
John 1:29-42 – 19th January 2014 (rogerfarnworth.wordpress.com)
John the Baptist expected his listeners to recall pictures from the Old Testament; the lamb provided by God for Abraham to slaughter, the lamb of Isaiah 53, led to the slaughter for the sins of God’s people; the Passover Lamb from Exodus. The word “lamb,” for John’s listeners connected strongly with words like “sin” or “atonement” – the way in which we can be reconciled with God despite our wrongdoing.
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Lamb of God, Baptiser with the Spirit, Son of God, Messiah – John, the Gospel writer’s names for Jesus. John wants us to carry these names with us as we read his Gospel. It is as though he says to us, “You will only understand my message fully if you realise that this is what I want to show you. Here is the one who by his life and death fulfils these roles and in doing so brings hope.” As we read the Gospels let’s use these names to inform our reading and to help us understand for ourselves just who Jesus is: Lamb of God, Baptiser with the Spirit, Son of God, Messiah.
Engaging the Gospel – John 1:29-34 (ubiquelucet.wordpress.com)
By proclaiming Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” St. John the Baptist identifies him as the fulfillment of Scripture.

He “reveals that Jesus is at the same time the suffering Servant [prophesied by Isaiah] who silently allows himself to be led to the slaughter and who bears the sin of the multitudes, and also the Paschal Lamb, the symbol of Israel’s redemption at the first Passover” (Catechism paragraph 608).

Moreover, the Spirit’s coming upon Jesus is an explicit mark of the Messiah.
God Demands a Response to Jesus (barrierbreakingenterprises.com)
The fact of the matter is some of us are just too cautious about changing when clearly the time for change has come. We procrastinate just because procrastination is what we do. But when you meet Jesus, Jesus calls for action, immediate, swift, decisive action. Either you love him or you don’t but you can’t just sit around and think about it. This morning Jesus is looking for radical disciples, those who will throw caution to the wind and follow him with their whole hearts.
The Passover Lamb (james1948.wordpress.com)
When it was time for God to deliver the Israelites from bondage in Egypt, He established a way for the people to always memorialize their deliverance by instituting the Lord’s Passover. Each household was to shed the blood of a lamb that was without blemish and paint the blood on the doorposts of the home. Then, the lamb was to be roasted and eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs by everyone in the home, as they stood, ready to evacuate Egypt. That night, God preserved the firstborn of every home who had observed the Passover and delivered the Israelites from bondage.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Passover. He became what the Passover represented, God’s salvation through the shed blood of an innocent Lamb.
The Truth Through John Part 2 (soulfulcuriosity.wordpress.com)
God is very detailed…everything has a purpose…more than we will ever know this side of heaven.

Does studying God’s word bring you Joy? I sure hope it does.
Sunday Devotional: John 1:6-8 (journeythereandbackagain.wordpress.com)
Here we see John (the disciple) talk about John the Baptist. John the Baptist was a forerunner to Jesus. He was one who was sent by God to prepare the way for Jesus’ earthly ministry. That was his calling. He was to be a witness. He was to point others to the light (Jesus).
Pastor Karl’s Challenge (brentwoodbiblechurch.wordpress.com)
We must not think of Jesus, however, as the offspring of God the Father. Because according to Galatians 4:4, when the Father sent Jesus into the world, He already was the Son of God. The Father sent forth His Son! If He already was the Son of God, then He did not become the Son of God through conception and birth. Rather, the Son of God became a true human being in the conception.

Philosophy hand in hand with spirituality

Posted on 2014/01/03 by Marcus Ampe

Experiences and Interest in philosophy and spirituality

I think it is wrong to think philosophy can not go together with spirituality. I also think it is wrong to assume that when a person is interested in philosophy, he would not be interested in the spiritual or the religious.

Expérience (Photo credit: Saturne)

The world itself presents itself in a succession of pure experiences which we should see. We can either ignore what is going on in the world or look at it question the what and why’s and how’s. Often the human beings can not qualify these experiences in a way by which all would agree with.

Should we not recognise that those things which come along our way are always felt and undergone by our own self, which was constructed by previous experiences and learnings. In a way this may give us always the way of the subjective choice and subjective sense or experience. Each is simply a pure impression that is made upon us at some point in our life, where we do have a certain education or development which shall obey the laws of our state at the moment.

Experiences and Impressions

Reality appears to us first as an unqualified multitude of original impressions that cannot be compared or ordered in anyway without our previous learnings. Is our experience not mere juxtaposition in space and succession in time; an aggregate of utterly disconnected particulars?
Living in this world we can not do without seeing what is happening around us. We can not merely observe the things, and not bring them into thought-relationships.

The things which happen in our lives shall give us our experiences. Those experiences will create senses and shall be our best teacher, experience being the mother of wisdom. To take on any qualities or relationships whatsoever thought or reason must act upon them. It is the process of thought that attributes qualities to pure experiences and relates some experiences to others to build an understanding of the world.

Conscious or unconscious direction with second nature

Our way of thinking or the process of thought should proceed through certain ways be it our conscious or unconscious direction. Our brain should go on working, considering what happened and analysing everything. Probably it shall order everything, classify it. This using some organic laws of interconnection. These laws are part of the world of thought itself and not completely within our control. Pure experience presents itself in a spontaneously emerging stream and thoughts grow out of that experience making it distinguishable to us and situating it in relationship to the rest of experience.

Some do consider the process of thinking not a human activity. We may say that thoughts emerge out of pure earlier experiences and are dependent on our upbringing or rearing and the language we learned, both becoming a second nature.

Out of body experience (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Our religious thinking and being should also become such a second nature. From the Bible we can learn that the ‘soul‘ is not an external element in our being. Many Christians and Muslims imagine there are a good and a bad angel sitting on our shoulders and talking to a soul which can go out of our body when we die. For them this human soul is to be a phantom-like inner being that contains our conscience and moral fibre. It is the element which can let us do good or let us do bad, under influence of other spirits called either angels, for the good ones, and devils, like Satan and Lucifer, for the bad ones.

Breath given by Creator

Those people forget that it was God Who blew his breath in the nostrils of the first man and woman, to bring them to life. The Pneuma or spirit in those first human beings was not something separate from them. It was their breathing, their being itself.

The soul is not a specific element as such but the transcription of the inner being and the thinking which happens by ‘electronic actions’ in our brain and by breathing. Without breathing we shall not be able to give oxygen to our brains by which they will not be able to work, and with a non-working brain we are as good as dead.

You could say that the soul is our “background of our being”. This ‘being’ has to be fed to stay alive. And because it is not a material element it has to find its food in the immaterial. therefore we as human beings should also give food to the immaterial elements of our being, our “body and soul”.

God gave breath to all creation, but the difference between man and the other living organisms is that god has given more power to man. He has received the power to think, to make choices, to make decisions, to give names and to handle like he wishes to do. But all his actions will create experiences, be it nice or bad ones. He shall have the choice to learn from them or to continue his life without learning more from those things that overcame him.

Material and immaterial being and understanding

Like the soul in an immaterial thing, our thinking its coming to understand something is an abstract element. Understanding is “an abstraction which the human mind forms by reflecting on its own thoughts and forms of thinking.” This knowing is a natural product of the process of mind and it is bound up in, and limited by, language. {Coleridge}

Coleridge asserted that it is a process that requires no “self” to enact. It is a natural process of the lawful interaction of mental elements, a simple unfolding of the characteristics of the mind in nature. But I do think we do have a responsibility and we do have the choice and power to have the self to come to understanding.

I believe when we do open our mind to different thoughts we can enable ourselves to learn more. I also believe this is one of the tasks God has given His creation in the Garden of Eden. We can only give the plants and animals name and classify them in groups when we do have the knowledge and skill to do so. This would not require that we all have the same certificate of proficiency or that we may excuse ourselves when it is not in our domain.

Given brains and reason

An illustration of the Cartesian theater, where a homonculus sits in a person’s head seeing and hearing everything that he experiences. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Because God has given us brains to use, we should use them. So we should think about matters and question things. This questioning things may fall under philosophy. Today many may say “Reason is a direct product of the reasoning faculty.”, but that is not taking the Creator in mind. He had a reason to place human beings on this earth having a brain to reason. Reason is a direct product of the power of creation, Who Himself is Spirit. God is not a man of flesh and blood, but a Spirit without a beginning and without an end. His breath gave us spirit, making us capable to reason, to become reasonable figures in that Created World.

It is not an “accident” that reason comes to us. Reason is breathed into us by the Creator. Though many may think it is just something what happens accidentally, it is something which is in-breath in our human constitution. It may appear spontaneously without warning or precursor, but it is grounded or part of a growing seed, which can only come into existence when the person is willing to use his brain. It is from all the previous experiences, the teachings a person got, that he or she shall be able to think. Though this would not be possible without the Power of the Most High, the Spirit God. Without Him we are nothing. It is the Holy Spirit Who can give us ‘spirit’ to think about matters and to come to reason. God has implanted ethic thoughts in us. He has created us all in His image, so we all do have certain elements of the Supreme High Being. We do not all have the same elements, but somehow we all received enough elements to become full human being who can think properly and who should be able to find God. The Reason as such becomes Spontaneous Knowing. We all have received the power to get to Knowing. Some may think it is not an understanding that is constructed through any thought process, but they should remember the Creator who build in His creations the possibility to think and to come to conclusions. In our inner being we do have the key to come to understanding. It is the direct and self-authenticating recognition of truth.

Different ways to go giving different opinions

From the beginning of the world mankind questioned the Spirit God and for that reason Jehovah God gave man the possibility to work it out himself. Woman would bear children in pain and would find they all could be different, going their own way or helping each other. All had to make their own decisions and could think their own way. God allowed it to be so.

Because we all went different ways on the paths which lay in front of man, different opinions came into the world, and people could choose between many theses or postulates.

The direct knowing of truth is build in by the Creator and could happen spontaneously and also compulsively. The reasoning faculty is ‘knowing’ itself. It is not a process that leads to knowing. This implies that there is some part of us that simply knows the truth and cannot help but know it. But we are stubborn beings, though we do not want to admit it. We have direct sense impressions – smells, tastes, sensations, sounds and sights – which simply appear in awareness. We don’t call them into being and we cannot alter or avoid the way they present themselves. Ideas and intuitions also – upon their initial appearance – share the same unalterable immediacy of presence.

With this awareness of things, matters and background knowledge, we can hear others and see what others do or create. Seeing what happens in the world we can not ignore the inner language of thought. We can only deny our interpretation of experience, not the fact of having it.

Trying to perceive more knowledge

So we may experience a lot of things in our life, encounter lots of publications and thoughts. By tackling our taste to get more knowledge,we are not going against God His wishes. The opposite I would say. We should learn and we should try to get more knowledge.

With philosophy we may come into the domain of the seekers who search to get more wisdom, knowledge and understanding about reality. Did or do not many philosophers try to get to answers about life and about why and how things are? They do like to offer an explanation of the way things are where spirituality is a description of a position that we as a human being should take in relationship to the way things are.

Trying to become one with self and environment

Experience (Photo credit: Kaptain Kobold)

In the action of Spirituality a person tries to become One. Bring mind, soul, thinking in unison with his being, material body. By the spiritual action we do want to go to the source from which everything else originates, whilst by the philosophy we want to come to an understanding why and how human being went away from its source and how it can come back to this source again.

While Philosophy is generally in the mental state of consciousness, the mind taking efforts to know, the spiritual would love to come to that Source of knowledge, believing that there exist something more than the material being its consciousness that exist above the mental ranges.

Trying to transcend domain of rationale and intellect

Moral philosophy

Both the philosopher and the spiritualist may be willing to come to knowledge which transcends domain of rationale and intellect. The philosopher not so much concerned by the own individu or individual, person, character, his identity, but preferring to give objective pictures of reality without telling us explicitly (although often they do implicitly) how we should be in relationship to that picture. Even in moral philosophy generally what we get is an explanation of why certain things are right and others wrong. What we don’t get is someone telling us that we should do the right thing. What we do with morality is left in our own hands.

Spirituality resides in higher regions and has much more to do with the own subjective personality. From the subjective point of view the spiritualist tries to go deeper into himself, looking for the realm of truth there and not as such by others. He knows that the soul is in each of us and is inseparable joined together with flesh and blood. In that casing of human flesh there is our way of breathing and thinking, spirit and moral judgment.

Trying to Relate things

We may be interested to see how we can relate to things, and therefore we can look what philosophers do have to say about that. Spirituality wants to go a step further than just knowing how things are related with each other. It tells us how we should be in relationship to the way things are. It can show us how we should react and by knowing what actions we do have to take we also shall be able to choose if we are willing to use such a knowledge to take on an attitude and to build up a religious field. Spiritualities always include philosophical explanations of the world, but those philosophical aspects are the backdrop for the main event which is direct instruction about how to live.

Door to transcendence

Understanding, intellect and the mind is one door to transcendence. From philosophers we can learn a lot, and we should take the opportunity to learn from their writings. But they will never be able to give the full answer. They mostly do not look for The Divine Source. In our normal consciousness people are so caught up with their emotions, sensations and thoughts and their own mind, they get full of themselves in the emptiness of the world. They become so active that there is no room for the Divine. There the spiritual person wants to go against. He wants to have his wondering not taking him to put Him in the chains of life.

No reason to be afraid of philosophy

To see clear

Man thinking on a train journey. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Christians should not be afraid that the philosophy would carry people away from the Divine. When this would happen it is because the person is not prepared to sincerely look for the Divine. Often the person going away from religion is because he does not see clear the difference between philosophy, religion, religiousness and spirituality.

The philosopher may have the love and intellectual search for wisdom. The spiritual minded person knows or believes there is something extra in our life than just the knowledge of the material world. The spiritual person does want to find knowledge to come to wisdom, but understands that wisdom is more that putting all facts together. To come to spirituality there must be more than the willingness to come to understand the own being. Besides the willingness to come to get to know the inner-self there is the love and opening of their hearts for the wisdom and the willingness to have it taking part in the relationship with others.

Sister and brother

We should understand that the religious person may like to look into philosophy and at the same time may look into spirituality. The two approaches can marvelously be like sister (heart) and brother (brain) in the process of coming to the point of Being part of the One on one side and then Becoming part of the big thing on the other side – in being active in life.

Relationship of unity and Oneness

So, I would say, do not mind letting philosophy going hand in hand with spirituality and making a person to become religious in the good sense of the word, finding and loving the Only One Who is One and wants us to be one and worshiping the Right One in a relationship of unity and Oneness.

The only thing a Christian should be careful for is that he does not get carried away with human thinking, but keeps himself concentrated on the sacral and spiritual matters, looking for the Most Important Being making our self being possible to be a being, the Only One God, the Adonai Elohim Hashem Jehovah.

Preceding articles:

Looking for True Spirituality 1 Intro

Looking for True Spirituality 2 Not restricted to an elite

Looking for True Spirituality 3 Mind of Christ

Looking for True Spirituality 4 Getting to Know the Mind of Christ

Looking for True Spirituality 5 Fruitage of the Spirit

Looking for True Spirituality 6 Spirituality and Prayer

Looking for True Spirituality 7 Preaching of the Good News

Looking for True Spirituality 8 Measuring Up

Fruits of the spirit will prevent you from being either inactive or unfruitful

How long to wait before bringing religiousness and spirituality in practice

Additional reading:

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Looking for True Spirituality 6 Spirituality and Prayer

Posted on 2013/12/28 by Belgian Biblestudents - Belgische Bijbelstudenten

Spirituality and Prayer

A an etching by Jan Luyken from the Phillip Medhurst Collection of Bible illustrations housed at Belgrave Hall, Leicester, England (The Kevin Victor Freestone Bequest). Photo by Philip De Vere.

The Gospel accounts show that Jesus often turned to God in prayer.

35 Early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up and went outside and left for an isolated place, and there he began praying.+ (Mark 1:35)

23 After sending the crowds away, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.+ When evening came, he was there alone. (Matthew 14:23)

16 However, he often went into the desolate areas to pray. (Luke 5:16)

7 During his life on earth,* Christ offered up supplications and also petitions, with strong outcries and tears,+ to the One who was able to save him out of death, and he was favorably heard for his godly fear. (Hebrews 5:7)

32 So they came to a spot named Geth·sem′a·ne, and he said to his disciples: “Sit down here while I pray.”+ (Mark 14:32)

41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw away, and he bent his knees and began to pray, 42 saying: “Father, if you want to, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, let, not my will, but yours take place.”+(Luke 22:41-42)

Jesus did not want his will to become accomplished, but wanted that his Father His Wish would become true. Jesus was afraid and suffered but he put himself at the site. He knew that he could not do a single thing without his Father in heaven, who is the Only One God. It was more important that the Will of the Only One God Who is One, would become accomplished, even when it would cost Jesus his life. Without God Jesus was nothing like we are nothing without our heavenly Father.

30 I cannot do a single thing of my own initiative. Just as I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous+ because I seek, not my own will, but the will of him who sent me.+ (John 5:30)

34 Jesus said to them: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me+ and to finish his work.+ (John 4:34)

38 for I have come down from heaven+ to do, not my own will, but the will of him who sent me.+ (John 6:38)

39 And going a little way forward, he fell facedown, praying:+ “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup+ pass away from me. Yet, not as I will, but as you will.”+ (Matthew 26:39)

36 And he said: “Abba,* Father,+ all things are possible for you; remove this cup from me. Yet, not what I want, but what you want.”+ (Mark 14:36)

Jesus was placed by his Father in the womb of his mother, and as such came from the Father above, from heaven. But he was not created to do his own will but to do the will of his Father.

38 for I have come down from heaven+ to do, not my own will, but the will of him who sent me.+ (John 6:38)

During his ministry on earth, Jesus deliberately set aside time to pray. The disciple Matthew wrote:

“Having sent the crowds away, [Jesus] went up into the mountain by himself to pray.” (Matthew 14:23)

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane – 1684, Ilyas Basim Khuri Bazzi Rahib

From such moments spent in quiet communication with his heavenly Father, Jesus gained strength.

36 Then Jesus came with them to the spot called Geth·sem′a·ne,+ and he said to the disciples: “Sit down here while I go over there and pray.”+ 37 And taking along Peter and the two sons of Zeb′e·dee, he began to feel grieved and to be greatly troubled.+ 38 Then he said to them: “I am* deeply grieved, even to death. Stay here and keep on the watch with me.”+ 39 And going a little way forward, he fell facedown, praying:+ “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup+ pass away from me. Yet, not as I will, but as you will.”+

40 He returned to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter: “Could you not so much as keep on the watch for one hour with me?+41 Keep on the watch+ and pray continually,+ so that you may not enter into temptation.+ The spirit, of course, is eager,* but the flesh is weak.”+42 Again, a second time, he went off and prayed: “My Father, if it is not possible for this to pass away unless I drink it, let your will take place.”+43 And he came again and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So leaving them, he again went off and prayed for a third time, saying once more the same thing. (Matthew 26:36-44)

Today, spiritually-minded people likewise look for opportunities to communicate with God, knowing that this will strengthen their relationship with the Creator and help them to become more Christlike in their thinking.

Jesus often spent extended periods of time in prayer. (John 17:1-26) For instance, before he chose the 12 men who would become his apostles, Jesus “went out into the mountain to pray, and he continued the whole night in prayer to God.” (Luke 6:12) Although not necessarily spending the whole night in prayer, those who are spiritually-minded follow Jesus’ example. Before making major decisions in life, they take ample time to pray to God, seeking the direction of the holy spirit in making choices that will deepen their spirituality.

In his prayers, Jesus also showed the depth of feeling that we ought to imitate in our prayers. Note what Luke recorded about the way Jesus prayed on the evening before he died.

“Getting into an agony he continued praying more earnestly; and his sweat became as drops of blood falling to the ground.” (Luke 22:44)

Jesus had prayed earnestly before, but on this occasion, faced with the most severe test of his earthly life, he prayed “more earnestly”—and his prayer was answered.

7 During his life on earth,* Christ offered up supplications and also petitions, with strong outcries and tears,+ to the One who was able to save him out of death, and he was favorably heard for his godly fear. (Hebrews 5:7)

Spiritually-minded people follow Jesus’ example. When faced with trials that are particularly severe, they pray “more earnestly” to God for holy spirit, guidance, and support.

Since Jesus was clearly a man of prayer, it is not surprising that his disciples wanted to imitate him in this regard. Therefore, they asked him:

“Lord, teach us how to pray.” (Luke 11:1)

Similarly today, those who value spiritual matters and want to be guided by God’s holy spirit follow Jesus’ example in how they pray to God. True spirituality and prayer go hand in hand.

Preceding articles:

Looking for True Spirituality 1 Intro

Looking for True Spirituality 2 Not restricted to an elite

Looking for True Spirituality 3 Mind of Christ

Looking for True Spirituality 4 Getting to Know the Mind of Christ

Looking for True Spirituality 5 Fruitage of the Spirit

Fruits of the spirit will prevent you from being either inactive or unfruitful

Next: Looking for True Spirituality 7 Preaching of the Good News

Dutch version of this article / De Nederlandse versie van dit artikel:

Op zoek naar spiritualiteit 6 Spiritualiteit en gebed

Additional reading:

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Honesty in prayer (Pinocchio had an advantage) (lifeonthefrontporch.wordpress.com)
I can tell lies and get away with it or not even know it. In the same way I can pray with great sincerity but not be honest with God.
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Other times in prayer, I limit God because I only believe half the truth. It’s time to become fully honest, and become more effective in my prayer
Morning Prayer 12.28.13: The Holy Innocents (dailyoffice.org)
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
June 17 – My God Still Answers Prayers (phidevotion.wordpress.com)
Every event that happens in the scripture was because of intensive prayer. Prayer is one of the most important avenues to experience spirituality. When you pray carnality dies. Our answers are tied to bearing fruits. God cares for every fruitful believer. Love God and prove the sincerity of your love by doing what He commands. Through Him we both have access by one Spirit the Father (Eph. 2:18), those who come to God encounter no “KEEP OUT” signs.
Bible Study on Importunate Prayer (christianresourceministry.com)
Jesus says that if an unjust judge gives in because of persistence how much more so will God bring about justice for us, especially for those who persist day and night.
+
Christ is praying in the garden so fervently that His sweat was like drops of blood. This is a wrestle of strength to believe by faith. This is not a prayer life that only half believes, but one that consumes the will and emotions.
Day 2 – The Unimaginable (believe2day.com)
God has already deposited the necessary power within you for God-sized dreams, it simply needs to be released.
+
But, in order for the unimaginable to manifest, we need to let God erase the negative affects of our past in order to release brand new realities into our future. The past must be forgiven and left behind in order to make room for tomorrow’s dreams.
Luke 22 (zachscripturestudy.com)
Jesus finishes praying and finds His Apostles sleeping, when they were supposed to keep lookout. Jesus tells them that they will need to pray,
“555 Days of Prayer to Save America” Planners Say “We Seek a God-Fearing Nation and World” (prweb.com)
“We have a society that is ruled by a shadow power. It pits rich against poor, women against men, young against old, races against each other, different sexual preferences against each other. Wow, we sure are against each other, and we haven’t been united, truly, since the terror attacks of 911,” said Berry.

“I believe that the power keeps us undereducated and misinformed, for the sake of control. That power has set itself up against God, Almighty, for the sake of unrestrained power itself.
No More Time to Pray (phenum01.com)
We must study all the teachings and examples of the Lord. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus was facing the most difficult experience of His walk on planet Earth. He prayed passionately, entreating the heavenly Father three times to change the circumstances that were before Him. Not six. Not twelve. Three (Matthew 26:36-46).
Prayer – Wisdom protects the promise (afruitinseason.wordpress.com)
God is generous and loving, wanting to shower you with intelligent blessings. Once the wisdom is in place we are safe to receive the measure of “Shalom” appropriate for our growth and personal situation. Wisdom adds, like sonship, the necessary component of discipleship. The promise says “Yes.”
On the Rosary and the Queen of Heaven as the spirit over Catholicism (examiner.com)
The Rosary is repetitive and so causes a “trance-like state” but one whereby a person is not better suited for prayer or Biblical “meditation” (which is contemplating YHVH and His word) but New Age, mystical meditation which is emptying one’s mind, one’s self so that someone or, rather, something else can take over.

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Example Jesus

Essence of life belongs to only One

Threat of false teachings

Mother goddess

Relation between Yahweh and other gods

Male or female god

Masculine and feminine terms

Gerunds no personal figures

Man Satan and Lady Wisdom

Husband and wife metaphor

Children of Israel

Bride Israel

Marriage strict bond between God and Israel

Israel showing no fidelity to marriage vows

The Bed of Jehovah

Broken bond

Open Invitation to non-Israelites

Kinsmen Redeemer

Virgin daughter of Babylon

Mutilated wife

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Nearly 2 000 years ago

Baptism with water and spirit

God’s Passover Lamb to be seen

Second Adam also of flesh and blood

Not able to be seen

Revelation to be seen

Flesh blood and bones, human and ghost or spirit

Those who have not seen the son of the Non-seen

After and of the flesh and dwelling within

Having spirit of Christ

Living in spirit

Presenting our body to allow God to enter in us, doing His Will

To see and understand the sending of the son of God

See things and scrutinize everything

A body with blood and a spirit without blood

Acceptance step in the good direction

Please also do find to read:

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Experiences and Interest in philosophy and spirituality

Experiences and Impressions

Conscious or unconscious direction with second nature

Breath given by Creator