Genesis37: 5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.
Genesis 37:
18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him.
19 They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer.
Genesis45: 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
Genesis 50:
18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, "Behold, we are your servants."
19 But Joseph said to them, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?
20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
The term pipe dream originates from the days of the opium den during the late 1800's. It seems that smoking the drug induced some rather incredible imaginings. Opium was used quite a bit by writers of that day among many others. Today the use of the term speaks of a plan or goal which is in essence beyond actual achievement. It is beyond the power of the "dreamer" to bring it to reality. Thus it will always remain a dream.
Praise the Lord this is not so with the plan of God.
There re many in the narrative of scripture that have had true God-given, i.e. prophetic dreams;
Jacob, Joseph the husband of Mary, even Pilate's wife was given a warning in her dream.
Probably the most well known passages re: a dream would be that of Joseph, the son of Jacob.
Genesis 37 gives us the foundation of Joseph's story.
The dream given to Joseph by the Lord was in reality, a revelation of the way God would fulfill the covenant-promise he had given to Abraham. (Gen12:6-9; 15:1-16)
The story is a very familiar one, and like Noah's ark and the Exodus, has become so familiar even to the unbelieving world, that it also loses it's significance to the church.
Joseph has two dreams which essentially mean the same thing. His brothers, and even his father will submit to him.
Now I have heard some say that had Joseph not said anything to his brothers who already had little love for him, the bad circumstances which were to come upon him need not have happened. Not so in the plan of God as Joseph and all of his actions were foreknown by the Lord. God used the "negative" circumstances to carry His plan to its' conclusion.
So Joseph endures being thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, being falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, thrown into prison, seemingly left to live his life out in obscurity and confinement.
However the scriptures also tells us that Joseph was successful even in those circumstances, as God caused him to have success in the circumstances. 9Gen 39:2-6; 39:20-23)
It is important to note that in both Potiphar's house and in the prison, Joseph was in essence second in command.
Now Joseph was no only given dreams from the Lord, h was also given the gift of interpreting the dreams of others. Because he had correctly interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh's cup-bearer and baker, both whom were briefly imprisoned with Joseph, he was to be set free 2 years later when his ability to interpret would become known to Pharaoh.
Joseph, at 30 years of age, by interpreting Pharaoh's dream revealing 7 years of plenty and 7 years of drought was given honor and authority as "second in command" in all of Egypt.(Gen 41:39-46)
The drought lead to Jacob sending his sons to Egypt for grain and there they encountered their younger brother who recognized them, but was not yet recognized by them. They entered into his presence and bowed. Then comes some of the most profound words in the scripture:
Gen 42:9 And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them.........."
From this point one Joseph began actively co-working with the Lord to bring about God's will for the establishment of a nation to be born from captivity. Joseph used his wiles to bring all of his brothers and father's household to Egypt. The rest, as they say, is history. From this incredible beginning would come
the "son of God". (Exodus 4:22-23;Hosea 11:1; Matthew 2:14-15) and the Exodus of the regenerate.
What does this mean to the saints today?
Romans 8:
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Isaiah45: 7 I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.
Everything that had happened to Joseph up to the point of his brothers coming to Egypt for grain were out of his control. All these things were done "to him" even the Lord giving him the dreams and the gift of interpretation. Nowhere does it say that Joseph wanted this, or actively participated in causing these things.
Therefore the Lord who is the source of both, light and darkness, well-being and calamity, did all these things. So Paul correctly tells the saints that ALL things work together for good to those who love God, i.e. those who are called according to His purpose.
Joseph loved God, and showed it by acting with integrity no matter where he found himself, and he was most definitely called to God's higher purpose.
After his brothers came to him in submission, Joseph remembered the dream God had given him, and began proactively participating in its' fulfillment
He got beyond himself and began to see the big picture. It wasn't about his destiny to become an important man in the government of a world power,it was about God's purposes in bringing him to such a place.
Oh that the saints of God would get hold of this vision.
We are no different than Joseph or Paul or any of the other saints They endured there own set of circumstances and so do we. We are not exempt. Even Christ endured the circumstances for the higher call. (Hebrews 12:1-3)
Ephesians 1:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
There is a purpose and plan; a higher calling beyond ourselves to which the Lord has called us to.
Whatever we go through; wherever we are, God has willed it to be so.
Well did Jeremiah encourage the exiles:
Jeremiah 29:
4 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:
5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce.
6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.
7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
8 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,
9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the LORD.
10 "For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.
11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
14 I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
The plans for welfare, a future and hope, included being sent into exile.
Greater encouragement can be found in the fact the Joseph's story didn't end with his family settling in Egypt We would have them all live happily ever after.
However:
Genesis 50:
22 So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years.
23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation. The children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were counted as Joseph's own.
24 And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."
25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here."
26 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
Exodus 13:
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here."
Joshua24: 32 As for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money. It became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.
Even in death Joseph's story reveals God's ways and thoughts, which are higher than man's.
Joseph had reached a point in his walk where he saw this. He had been given great revelation.
Matthew 16:17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
It's all about Him. He does it all, or it never gets done. He saves, or no one is saved.
He gives the dreams and visions and makes them come to pass.
Truly outside of Christ all of our dreams are pipe dreams. God's will always reaches its' fulfillment.
Isaiah 55:10 "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Jars Of Clay
Romans 9:20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?"
21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?
Isaiah 29:16 You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, "He did not make me"; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?
Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.
2Ti 2:20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.
2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
All of the above passages speak of the same thing. The fact that we are formed of the clay of the earth, i.e. Adam, and fashioned by the hand of the Lord into useful vessels. The scripture writers use the picture of the potter and clay vessel as a metaphor.
Of course we know that the master potter is the Lord almighty, the creator, the one who fashions us. We also know that this speaks not only of our physical bodies, but also of our calling into His purpose.
However there is one problem, our interpretation of the process.
A lump of clay is thrown on the wheel and formed into a vessel, put into the fire of the kiln to harden and then sometimes painted with decorative artwork, depending on the purpose it has been created for.
If there is a flaw, or something goes wrong anywhere in the process, the vessel is destroyed and work begins on a completely new one.
God as the master potter has formed vessels for many uses; some for honorable uses some for dishonorable; some for mercy, some for wrath. The point here is, they are finished vessels. They are what they are. They are perfect in their purpose. He makes no mistakes.
We interpret these passages as speaking to OUR spiritual growth and maturing. It is all about what we desire to be made into.
Isaiah and Paul answer such a notion in firm manner; who are you to tell the master you don't like how it has been done? This is not a process anymore. We are finished vessels. We are made for mercy or we are not. We have a place of honor in the work, or labor in obscurity until He honors us.
1Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
We should rejoice that we are vessels made for mercy.
Luke 10:19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
I am not saying that there is no growth, that we do not learn and mature. What I am saying is that what we will be has already been determined by Him. This is the revelation of the potter to the clay; you are what I have made you to be.
Woe to a church that is inwardly focused, for even when we admit He is the potter, all the time we are really looking to be made into what we would term to be, a more desirable vessel.
This is truly what may be termed, false humility. It is pride in beggar's rags.
He requires obedience not sacrifice, i.e. religious pretense.
This is not about our "spiritual journey", or our destiny. It is about the one whose workmanship we are.
Truly it is written:
James 4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
God gives grace to the truly humble.
A truly humble man is not one who thinks less of himself; the truly humble never think of themselves at all. God does it all, and gets all the credit.
We are all crafted and gifted according to His perfect wisdom and will, and all glory to the potter!
Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Soli Deo Gloria
21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?
Isaiah 29:16 You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, "He did not make me"; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?
Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.
2Ti 2:20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable.
2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
All of the above passages speak of the same thing. The fact that we are formed of the clay of the earth, i.e. Adam, and fashioned by the hand of the Lord into useful vessels. The scripture writers use the picture of the potter and clay vessel as a metaphor.
Of course we know that the master potter is the Lord almighty, the creator, the one who fashions us. We also know that this speaks not only of our physical bodies, but also of our calling into His purpose.
However there is one problem, our interpretation of the process.
A lump of clay is thrown on the wheel and formed into a vessel, put into the fire of the kiln to harden and then sometimes painted with decorative artwork, depending on the purpose it has been created for.
If there is a flaw, or something goes wrong anywhere in the process, the vessel is destroyed and work begins on a completely new one.
God as the master potter has formed vessels for many uses; some for honorable uses some for dishonorable; some for mercy, some for wrath. The point here is, they are finished vessels. They are what they are. They are perfect in their purpose. He makes no mistakes.
We interpret these passages as speaking to OUR spiritual growth and maturing. It is all about what we desire to be made into.
Isaiah and Paul answer such a notion in firm manner; who are you to tell the master you don't like how it has been done? This is not a process anymore. We are finished vessels. We are made for mercy or we are not. We have a place of honor in the work, or labor in obscurity until He honors us.
1Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
We should rejoice that we are vessels made for mercy.
Luke 10:19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
I am not saying that there is no growth, that we do not learn and mature. What I am saying is that what we will be has already been determined by Him. This is the revelation of the potter to the clay; you are what I have made you to be.
Woe to a church that is inwardly focused, for even when we admit He is the potter, all the time we are really looking to be made into what we would term to be, a more desirable vessel.
This is truly what may be termed, false humility. It is pride in beggar's rags.
He requires obedience not sacrifice, i.e. religious pretense.
This is not about our "spiritual journey", or our destiny. It is about the one whose workmanship we are.
Truly it is written:
James 4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
God gives grace to the truly humble.
A truly humble man is not one who thinks less of himself; the truly humble never think of themselves at all. God does it all, and gets all the credit.
We are all crafted and gifted according to His perfect wisdom and will, and all glory to the potter!
Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Soli Deo Gloria
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Jonah The Epilogue: Repentance
This will be a final post re: the 3 part series I published awhile back on the Book of Jonah
I will start with a quote from a blog post written by Brad Nelson, who is on staff at Rob Bell’s Mars Hill Church. I will not provide a link to Mars Hill. You can Google it if you wish.
You may read Nelson’s post in its entirety here.
Here is the quote:
“God’s compassion in the story of Jonah is not random. It’s aroused by the repentance of the sailors and the Ninevites. It triggers something in God that he can’t resist. “Repentance has an explosive impact upon God; God is highly sensitive to repentance. He responds vigorously to repentance even at the slightest hint of it, even if a person has committed terrible sins” (Meet the Rabbis by Brad Young, Hendrickson Publishers, 2007). There is a Jewish tale about the power of repentance in which King Manasseh, one of the most wicked kings in Judah’s history, repented and sought God’s favor. According to the tale, the ministering angels in heaven were so outraged at Manasseh’s sin that they blocked his prayer from entering God’s heavenly court. But God ripped a hole in his own throne to make a way for Manasseh’s prayer to reach him (Meet the Rabbis by Brad Young, Hendrickson Publishers, 2007). God is just waiting for us to return to him.”
I will say that his “exegesis” leaves much to be desired. He uses the midrash and mythology of Judaism to interpret scripture.
The fact of the matter is that God neither men nor angels can hinder or help God. God is not manipulated. God is not waiting on anyone.
To understand the meaning of true repentance we must go to the Word, i.e .the Bible.
שׁוּב shûb (shoob)
A primitive root; to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively
Μετανοέω
metanoeō
To think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider ; repent
What is evident is that repentance is not merely saying “I’m sorry” or feeling sorrow. In fact grief and sorrow over one’s action can be seen as a predecessor to repentance, while apology is part of the fruit or action which repentance produces.
2Cor 7:
9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.
10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
Philippians 2:
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Repentance scripturally defined, is a change of mind and heart, a complete turn around in the way one thinks, which leads to a rejection of one’s previous intentions and actions, and coming around to a new line of thought and deed. In the case of the believer it is defined this way:
Isaiah 55:
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
When a man repents, he is turning to God’s ways and thoughts and away from his own. It is acknowledgement that the minds and means of mankind are non-productive and futile in terms of a relationship with the Father. When we reject our idea of how salvation is worked out, we then demonstrate the transformation which is the evidence of a renewed mind. This is then demonstrated in our obedient working out of what God has worked in.
Many love to quote verses 8-9 of Isaiah 55 outside of the context of verses 6 and 7. God wants us to know how He thinks and acts. In this post-modern and liberal theological climate, mystery and mysticism, i.e. confusion, rule the day.
Deut 29:29 "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
God has given us His revelation in scripture, therefore He wants us to hear/read it, understand it, and do it. He wants us to submit our minds to Christ in His service. This is the warfare of 2 Cor 10:4-5. This is the essence of the great Shema of Deut 6:4-25,”hear Oh Israel”. The word hear, i.e. shema, literally means to not merely hear with the ear, but to comprehend and do.
We diminish repentance to a mere mea culpa when we sin, when it entails so much more. Repentance is the daily walk of the regenerate saints of God. No one can repent without first being regenerate. Repentance does not save us. It is a work that those already foreknown by the Father, do. Romans 8:29-30
So then the people of Nineveh did not “move God”. They did not surprise Him by turning to Him. They were moved by God, who is Lord over all circumstances, to repent, and acted in accordance to what God already had foreknown.
Jonah understood this:
Jonah 4:2 And he prayed to the LORD and said, "O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.
Repentance is like prayer. When one knows, speaks and obeys God’s sovereign will, God acts according to that will and plan, which He purposed from before creation.
He is not making it up as He goes along and we are never allowed to make it up. Matthew 6:9-10; 1 John 5:14-15
The Ninevites were doing what God wanted them to do. If God wills that Nineveh should repent, then they will and He will relent. This is why Jonah was upset He knew that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, and if the Assyrians had ears to hear, they would believe to repentance, and God would stay His hand. Just as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness.
So we have sorrow for our transgressions, that is for our disobedience, and we not only feel grief over those transgressions, we also alter our thinking and direction. Regenerate men, the church, His body, of which he is the head, have the mind of Christ.
1Cor 2:16 "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
Now we come to the issue of God who seems to change His mind based on the actions and pleadings of His people.
Numbers 23:19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
When men repent they turn to God’s way of thinking. If God repents, whose way of thinking does He turn to? There is no one greater than He. Hebrews 6:13
Therefore “God’s repentance” can be defined as doing what he already intended to do.
No one can influence him and change His mind. Such teaching is rooted in open theism which is outright heresy.
Nelson’s interpretations, and the rabbinical teachings that he alludes to, which assert that God just “can’t resist” anyone who repents is dead wrong. It puts man in the driver’s seat, and God as the unwitting passenger. On day it will be seen that “free will” as it is taught in today’s evangelical world, is the loftiest of thoughts which exalts itself against God.The only thing that Nelson and the neo-rabbis are correct in is the statement that “God’s compassion is not random.”
Let us repent, for His kingdom is at hand.
Sola scriptura
Soli Deo Gloria
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
His Presence; His Name
Matthew 18:
19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."
The Lord, in the passage that precedes the above scripture, was speaking about being reconciled to your brother, should he offend you, and how such reconciliation was to be accomplished. On the other side of this, He addressed what must be done if your brother would not be reconciled and admit to the offense. The context of all of this the "church" and how it functions “governmentally.”
In this, the conclusion of His teaching, Jesus is saying several things in these two sentences
1. Two must do the asking. This isn't a solo work.
2. They must be in agreement as to what they are asking for.
3. God must be in agreement as to what is being asked, which gives primary emphasis on the name of Jesus, and the will of the Father which that name contains.
4. For where two or three (or more, can be assumed from that) are gathered in the name of Jesus, He is literally there, that is the body of Christ is present. Two or more would then be defined as not only the church, but also as His Body which is the manifest presence of God. John 10:30; John 14:9-10
Col 1:
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Eph 1:
22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,
23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Eph 2:
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Jesus seated at the right hand of the Father, is the express image of the Father in creation. They are one and the same. The church is placed in Christ and seated with Him at the right hand. The church is His literal body. The church is made of the living stones, and is the living temple, i.e. the spiritual house of a living God. Ephesians 2:18-22
The work of the church takes place within that living temple.
1Peter 2:
4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,
5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Peter is not talking about Sunday morning church service. Wherever the church dwells, Christ dwells, and whatever the church is doing Christ is doing, and so is the Father doing. Thus the presence of the Father is manifest. John 5:19-20; John 14:12
The often misunderstood and overlooked revelation to all of this is contained in this phrase; "in my name"
If we are gathered in His name, then He is there in our midst, meaning that God's presence is not only manifest without, it is manifest within.
The name of Jesus the Christ the Son of the living God is vital to every area of what we do as the church.
In prayer:
John 14:
12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
John 16:
23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.
24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
25 "I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.
26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf;
27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God
1John 5:
14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
God loves us because we love His Son. He answers our prayers only if they are offered in the Name of His Son, i.e. according to the will of the Father. He does this because he loves His obedient Son. It is all about Jesus. The Son shows His love in through obedience to the will of the Father, and the father shows His love through the honoring of all that is asked for and accomplished in the name of Jesus
James speaks a harshly to the church which seeks its’ own ends:
James 4:
1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?
2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"?
The church that seeks it's own desires "in the name of Jesus" displays friendship with the world, i.e. the world's systems and methods, and enmity toward God.It also dishonors His name. The Father does not acknowledge such prayer
God yearns jealously over the Spirit which dwells in us for good reason:
John 14:
26 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 have said to you
Even the Holy Spirit is sent in the name of His Son.
John 15:
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Jesus chooses and appoints. Those whom He has chosen, will produce eternal fruit. This fruit is the evidence in our lives that we are His chosen and are abiding in Him. Thus whatever we ask in His name the Father does, as He loves His Son, who has chosen us, the abiding ones.
Just as the Levitical priests carried the Ark, the presence of God, as they traveled through the wilderness and that very presence was seen in fire and cloud, so we today carry the presence of God but in a much better way. We are a kingdom of priests under the great high priest of the new order. Hebrews 7:11
We are in Christ and Christ is in us. He and the Father are one. All who gather, ask, and bear fruit, in His name, carry the manifest presence of God wherever we go. The manifest presence of God, His will, love and favor is contained in the name of Jesus.
John 6:
29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."
30 So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?
Recently I came across an internet forum that was recruiting folks to seek God's manifest presence for their churches.Dear saints we carry the manifest presence of God wherever we go. We must not be seekers of signs and wonders. The church is made up of believers. Signs and wonders come after us.
Seeking for what has already been given is a serious issue.
The church neglects the real work, as we are busy creating our own "busy-work".
Philippians 2:
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."
The Lord, in the passage that precedes the above scripture, was speaking about being reconciled to your brother, should he offend you, and how such reconciliation was to be accomplished. On the other side of this, He addressed what must be done if your brother would not be reconciled and admit to the offense. The context of all of this the "church" and how it functions “governmentally.”
In this, the conclusion of His teaching, Jesus is saying several things in these two sentences
1. Two must do the asking. This isn't a solo work.
2. They must be in agreement as to what they are asking for.
3. God must be in agreement as to what is being asked, which gives primary emphasis on the name of Jesus, and the will of the Father which that name contains.
4. For where two or three (or more, can be assumed from that) are gathered in the name of Jesus, He is literally there, that is the body of Christ is present. Two or more would then be defined as not only the church, but also as His Body which is the manifest presence of God. John 10:30; John 14:9-10
Col 1:
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Eph 1:
22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,
23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Eph 2:
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Jesus seated at the right hand of the Father, is the express image of the Father in creation. They are one and the same. The church is placed in Christ and seated with Him at the right hand. The church is His literal body. The church is made of the living stones, and is the living temple, i.e. the spiritual house of a living God. Ephesians 2:18-22
The work of the church takes place within that living temple.
1Peter 2:
4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,
5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Peter is not talking about Sunday morning church service. Wherever the church dwells, Christ dwells, and whatever the church is doing Christ is doing, and so is the Father doing. Thus the presence of the Father is manifest. John 5:19-20; John 14:12
The often misunderstood and overlooked revelation to all of this is contained in this phrase; "in my name"
If we are gathered in His name, then He is there in our midst, meaning that God's presence is not only manifest without, it is manifest within.
The name of Jesus the Christ the Son of the living God is vital to every area of what we do as the church.
In prayer:
John 14:
12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
John 16:
23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.
24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
25 "I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.
26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf;
27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God
1John 5:
14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
God loves us because we love His Son. He answers our prayers only if they are offered in the Name of His Son, i.e. according to the will of the Father. He does this because he loves His obedient Son. It is all about Jesus. The Son shows His love in through obedience to the will of the Father, and the father shows His love through the honoring of all that is asked for and accomplished in the name of Jesus
James speaks a harshly to the church which seeks its’ own ends:
James 4:
1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?
2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.
3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"?
The church that seeks it's own desires "in the name of Jesus" displays friendship with the world, i.e. the world's systems and methods, and enmity toward God.It also dishonors His name. The Father does not acknowledge such prayer
God yearns jealously over the Spirit which dwells in us for good reason:
John 14:
26 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 have said to you
Even the Holy Spirit is sent in the name of His Son.
John 15:
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Jesus chooses and appoints. Those whom He has chosen, will produce eternal fruit. This fruit is the evidence in our lives that we are His chosen and are abiding in Him. Thus whatever we ask in His name the Father does, as He loves His Son, who has chosen us, the abiding ones.
Just as the Levitical priests carried the Ark, the presence of God, as they traveled through the wilderness and that very presence was seen in fire and cloud, so we today carry the presence of God but in a much better way. We are a kingdom of priests under the great high priest of the new order. Hebrews 7:11
We are in Christ and Christ is in us. He and the Father are one. All who gather, ask, and bear fruit, in His name, carry the manifest presence of God wherever we go. The manifest presence of God, His will, love and favor is contained in the name of Jesus.
John 6:
29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."
30 So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?
Recently I came across an internet forum that was recruiting folks to seek God's manifest presence for their churches.Dear saints we carry the manifest presence of God wherever we go. We must not be seekers of signs and wonders. The church is made up of believers. Signs and wonders come after us.
Seeking for what has already been given is a serious issue.
The church neglects the real work, as we are busy creating our own "busy-work".
Philippians 2:
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Free Will
Genesis 3:
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"
2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,
3 but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"
4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.
5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Did Eve eat of the tree of her own "free" will, or dd the "devil make her do it"
If the serpent made her do it, then her will was controlled by the serpent. This mindset is the foundation of virtually all deliverance ministry. Unfortunately these ministries also teach that man freely chooses God, and His salvation, of his own will. So we have at best a partially free will. Man freely chooses or declines God's offer of salvation out of his own will power, but is controlled by the devil.
Following that line of argument, we can conclude that man's will which can be overridden by Satan, is still able to override the will of God. This then makes God's will submissive not only to man, but also to the devil.
The same ones who promote this teaching also support the interpretation, according to a flawed interpretation of 2 Peter 3:9, that is is God's will that everyone should be saved.
This is the "catch 22" of all free will philosophy.
Paul wrote in Romans 9:
6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,
7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named."
8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.
9 For this is what the promise said: "About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son."
10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,
11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad--in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls--
12 she was told, "The older will serve the younger."
13 As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means!
15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."
18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
19 You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?"
20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?"
21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?
22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory--
24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?
This passage first of all, proves that Israel is jew and gentile, and always has been so. Israel is not separate from the church, Israel is the church.
Just as important, verse 11 reveals the fact that God's sovereign process of election,which is not based on the criteria of our actions good or bad, but based on His sovereign will and foreknowledge, has also been so from before creation. Jacob was chosen over Esau, in an act of His sovereign will, so that God's purpose of election MIGHT CONTINUE. In other words, this was not the first demonstration of God's willful election on this earth. (take Abel, Enoch or Noah, as examples)
Paul then presents the heart of this revelation; All vessels are God's; some appointed to mercy and some appointed to wrath, and we have nothing to say in the matter..Since Paul is writing to the post- ascension church in Rome, we can safely conclude that this truth applies to all of mankind, past present and future. Remember that this is a letter, and all of this is based on the foundation which was laid out in the beginning of the letter in chapters 1,2, and 3.
The rhetorical question is presented: 19 You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?"
The answer (which is implicit in the question) is; NO ONE.
Now if 2 Peter 3:9 says that it is God's will that all men be saved ,then based on Paul's point here, all men would come to saving faith and salvation would be universal. As Paul said no one can resist the will of God. The issue is the translation from the Greek. Both the word "boulēma" used by Paul, and the word "boulomai" used by Peter, are obviously related. In Peter's usage the word is better translated as wishing or desiring, (that all come to repentance). In Paul's context he is talking about the will of God that is set in stone. (see Job 42:1-2)
Peter is also addressing this specifically to the readers of his letter, and it is about them not all of mankind.
2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
God's will is that all the elect come to repentance. It must be recognized that repentance is not an action by which a man obtains salvation, it is the action of one who is saved already.
Peter is giving encouragement to those who are being beset by mockers who attack the saints for their belief in the Lord's imminent return, (verse 4)
The Lord is sanctifying his elect.(Hebrews 10:14)
Needless to say, not all will come to belief, as not all are elect.
Looking back at Adam and Eve and their choice to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree, the letter to the church in Rome needs to be studied one more time:
Romans 3:
10 as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one......"
Romans 1:
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.............
Both of these passages continue on in their point.(in Romans 3 Paul is actually quoting from Isaiah and the Psalms)
The gist is however that man in the flesh can only serve the flesh.
Romans 7 is the great revelation of the believer's battle to overcome the flesh and find freedom for his will which is trapped in a body of death. The victory, which is revealed in chapter 8, is to be found only in Christ. At His return we will have incorruptible bodies and will be completely free able to do the good that we will to do. (1 Cor 15:49-50) This makes Peter's point in the passage cited from his second letter, even more salient.
Eve chose to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because it was ......
"good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate,"
The fruit appealed to the flesh. It not only satisfied physical hunger and taste, it satisfied the desire to advance oneself in life. In this case to be godlike.
Eve was not able to overcome the flesh by strength of her will. She knew what God commanded re: what could, and could not be eaten, and quoted it to the serpent verbatim. However she was unable to do the good which she knew to do. This reinforces Paul's point in Romans 7.
It does not stop with Eve as we well know.
"and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate."
Paul writes in Romans 1:
32 Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
Eve encouraged Adam to eat, He ate for the same reasons which she did, but more so he could not refuse his wife's offer.
Neither Adam nor Eve possessed a free will. They both succumbed to the flesh and its desires. God created the serpent, and Adam named it. (Genesis 2:19-20) The whole scenario was predestined by God. They were destined to fall. They made the only choice the natural, unregenerate man could make Satan did not make them do it. He could only entice through the lie. Their "choice" was birthed from fleshly bondage.
Glory to God that the undoing of all that had been wrought was also foreknown.
Acts 4:
24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, "Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,
25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, "'Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed'--
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
John 1:
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
13 who WERE born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 3:3 Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
We receive Him and the right to be called His children only if we are born again by His will.
Thank the Lord for all who are born again by that sovereign will and power of His Spirit. He did not leave the choice up to you and me. Had he done so, we would have never chosen Him.
Romans 7:
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.
22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,
23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
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