No! Nobody is gonna do works that is great, huh, GREATER?? than God!!
And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Where Does God Dwell
Where does God Dwell - LIVE!
PART 1
God Dwelleth not in Temples made with Hands
You won't find God in any religious organisations constructed by men because he does not frequent those places, he does not hang around in them, he does not attend them, he has nothing to do with them.
Acts 7:48,49
Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?
Acts 17:24,25
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
A temple is any religious structure built by the work of men's hands. In addition to churches and cathedrals, religious organisations are man-made structures built by the work of men's hands. Is a religion a work of men's hands? Certainly. Is a church, or group, or denomination a work of men's hands? Unquestionably. They have all been built by men. Does God dwell in temples made with hands? Certainly not, and that includes the Roman Catholic church as much as it does the Muslim religion, the Way International, the Hindu religion, the Salvation Army, or any other denomination, ministry or religion. They have all been built by men.
Jesus Christ's biggest challenges came from the organised churches of his day, and it was the religious leaders who had him murdered by the Romans. You cannot and will not defeat the devil by constructing more churches made with hands. You will not find God in any church, organised religion, centrally controlled group, denomination or ministry, because God dwelleth not in temples made with hands.
Where does God Dwell - LIVE!
PART 2
So where does God dwell today then? If it isn't in religions, groups, ministries, churches, temples or other works of men's hands, where is it? The woman at Jacob's well asked Jesus Christ this very question. Let's go and meet this woman.
John 4:5,6
Then cometh he [Jesus Christ] to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
This is what you call living life. Jesus Christ had been travelling and he was tired, so he sat himself down for a rest. The disciples had gone into a nearby town to get some lunch, so he was on his own, enjoying the day. One interesting point here is that Jesus Christ was tired. Does God ever get tired? Nope, so Jesus Christ wasn't God then, was he? Then along came one of the women from the nearby town.
John 4:7-9
There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
(For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, [Judean] askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews [Judeans] have no dealings with the Samaritans.
The woman was surprised. She was accustomed to Judeans ignoring her because they considered Samaritans half breeds. She had grown up with this Judean attitude, and yet here was this Judean man speaking to her.
John 4:10
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
Jesus Christ obviously enjoyed talking to people, even if they were half breeds. He had no hang ups about people, no prejudices, no bigotry. He even spoke to Samaritans.
John 4:11-15
The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
The woman wanted this living water Jesus Christ was offering. Living water is mentioned in Jeremiah, and this is worth exploring.
Jeremiah 2:13
For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
The living waters in Jeremiah refer to God, who is the fountain of living waters, therefore the living waters Jesus Christ referred to was a reference to something spiritual. In Jeremiah's time, people had forsaken the fountain of living waters and hewed them out man-made cisterns. A cistern is something man makes to hold water. If our supply is God, a living fountain, there is no requirement for a cistern, as a fountain has an endless supply. Men hew out cisterns because they do not believe God will supply all their need. Consequently, they turn their backs on the fountain and hew out for themselves cisterns - they build churches, ministries, religions and organisations to contain their religion. They put their trust in the work of their own hands rather than in the living God.
Not only are cisterns limited in their supply, man-made spiritual cisterns are broken, they are not capable of holding any living water, any spiritual power. Religions, churches, denominations and organisational ministries are all cisterns, man-made cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no living water. Any flowing of living waters, any manifestations of holy spirit they once energised will eventually leak out until all that is left is dry religious ceremony. That is why God dwelleth not in temples made with hands. You will not find God in any religion, church, ministry, or religious organisation for they are all broken cisterns. If you want to find the unlimited supply of living waters, forget about cisterns, all of them, for they are broken and they leak.
Jesus Christ made another reference to living water in the gospel of John, where he was clearly referring to manifestations of holy spirit.
John 7:38,39
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
(But this spake he of the Spirit [spirit], which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost [holy spirit] was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
This fits with what Jesus Christ was teaching the woman at the well. He offered her living water, which he knew he had come to make available, and it was a reference to the future gift of holy spirit which we now know came on the day of Pentecost. Jesus Christ then changed the subject.
John 4:16-19
Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
Now that Jesus Christ had her attention, she asked him the one question that was burning in her heart.
John 4:20
Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
The woman wanted to know where she could worship God. She wanted a personal relationship with him. The Judeans taught her that you found God in their temple at Jerusalem. Her people taught her that she had to go up to the pagan temples on the tops of the mountains. Doesn't this sound just like religion today? Join this group, join that group, join this religion, join that religion, join this ministry, join that ministry, right? It's all bullshit. You don't have to join any ministry or church to find God. You can find him anywhere, yet miss him everywhere. He's right where you are now, and you will discover and learn of him in the pages of the bible. You don't have to go to any church or group or ministry or religion to find God, just learn to read your bible.
John 4:21-24
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews [Judeans].
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
This woman wanted to find God. She wondered if the temple in Jerusalem was the place to go, or up to the temples built on the hilltops. Jesus Christ told her to forget both because the Father desired people who would worship him in spirit and in truth, a reference to manifestations of holy spirit. This same truth is very relevant today. If you want to find God, forget about churches, ministries, organisations, religions and temples. God dwelleth not in temples made with hands. If you want to worship God, you can only worship him in spirit and in truth, truthfully by way of spirit, and that does not involve performing weekly ceremonies inside religious buildings or ministries. Stay away from churches and groups and religions and ministries, no matter how much truth they claim to have, for God dwelleth not in temples made with hands.
Where does God Dwell - LIVE!
PART 3
If any church, ministry, organisation, religion or group offers to teach you how to worship God in spirit and in truth only on condition you join them and give them your money, it is a bribe. Both God and Jesus Christ gave the word unconditionally, without charge. Yes, folks gave of their finances to support Jesus Christ during his ministry, but it was not on condition of getting the word in return, it was a thankful response to being taught the word free of charge.
In answer to the woman's question, Jesus Christ told her to forget about churches, all of them, because God was looking for people to worship him in spirit and in truth. What does that mean? Well obviously you cannot worship God by attending religious meetings, going to church, performing ceremonies, singing songs, going to prayer meetings, lighting candles, or reading bible verses. If you want to worship God, you must worship him in spirit and in truth, you must learn to walk by the spirit and that is not something that comes by going to church, joining ministries or groups, or leaving one religion to join another. I don't care what religion you are, or what group or ministry you are a part of, you can speak in tongues and learn to walk by the spirit right now right where you are. God dwelleth not in temples made with hands. He used to, but not anymore.
Back in the old testament, God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle, a tent in which he could live among his people. Looking back it is easy to see that the tabernacle was a temporary residence, a temporary home.
Exodus 29:44-46
And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office.
And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.
After the tabernacle was built, God moved in.
Exodus 40:34,35
Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
God has always desired with great longing to live among his people. His heart bursts to be with us, to have fellowship with us, and the tabernacle was a first step towards that reality. Later, Solomon built the temple, and with the coming of the greater, the lesser was no longer necessary. After the building of the temple, God moved home, he moved out of the tabernacle and into the temple, and that became his new home among his people.
1 Kings 8:2-11
And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.
And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.
And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.
And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.
For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.
And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.
There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,
So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.
This is the record where God moved into his new home. However, Solomon's temple was also temporary accommodation. It was not God's permanent home among his people, and later he would move house again. In this Administration of Grace, since the day of Pentecost, God no longer dwells, God no longer lives, God no longer resides in temples made with hands. On the day of Pentecost, God moved house. Neither the tabernacle nor the temple sufficed to contain him, neither afforded the home comforts, the companionship and love he so desired. They were provisional arrangements, temporary accommodation until a permanent home became available.
A basic understanding of the overall structure of the temple affords us a few clues in our search for God's dwelling place. The temple was basically divided into three separate areas. There was the court of the Gentiles, which was where Jesus Christ turned over the tables of the crooked merchants and drove out their animals. Another part consisted of the sacred courts for Judeans only, which Gentiles were not permitted to enter. The third part was the Holy of Holies, where God resided, and into which only the High Priest entered once a year. These three separate areas were divided off with walls and veils. Ephesians teaches us what Jesus Christ accomplished regarding these divisions between the Gentiles, the Judeans, and God.
Ephesians 2:13
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Those who were far off refers to the Gentiles mentioned in verses 11 and 12, who were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, and who were without hope and without God in the world. The blood of Jesus Christ brought the Gentiles nigh, close, next of kin to God.
Ephesians 2:14
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
The middle wall of partition refers to the wall separating the court of the Gentiles from the sacred courts of the Judeans in the temple. As well as figuratively, at his death there was an earthquake which literally destroyed this wall separating the Gentiles from the Judeans. Jesus Christ broke that wall down. That's why he is our peace.
Ephesians 2:15
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Jesus Christ made of two one new man, the two being the Gentiles and the Judeans. Of these two, Jesus Christ made one new man, and that's how he made peace between us. He abolished that enmity between Judeans and Gentiles in his flesh, referring to the price he paid in giving his life.
Ephesians 2:16
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
The price Jesus Christ paid by way of his death reconciled both Judeans and Gentiles to God in that one body, that new man he had made of the two. The enmity was slain, destroyed, it no longer existed.
At the same time as the wall of separation between the Gentiles and the Judeans was broken down, the veil separating all of us from God in the Holy of Holies was torn from the top to the bottom.
Mark 15:38
And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
As well as the walls of separation, the earthquake tore the veil, signifying that the way back to God was now open to all men, whether Judean or Gentile.
Where does God Dwell - LIVE!
PART 4
What man had lost in Adam back in Genesis had been regained by Jesus Christ. Man had been reconciled back to God.
Ephesians 2:17,18
And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Through Jesus Christ, both Judeans and Gentiles have access by one spirit unto the Father, our heavenly Father, God.
Ephesians 2:19-21
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
In contrast to Solomon's temple, which was made of stone, we are now all builded together as a holy temple, a permanent home for God through the spirit. It is the spirit, that gift of holy spirit we receive at the time of the new birth, that is our eternal life. God now lives in us through the gift of holy spirit. We are God's permanent home. God no longer dwells in temples made with hands, he lives within those of us who have his spirit.
There is only one building God lives in now in the 21st Century, and it is not any temple made with hands, it is not any man-made ministry, group, or religion, it is within those of us who are born again of his spirit, those of us who are his children. We make up the household of God. The household of God is not a ministry or a church building, because God dwelleth not in temples made with hands, and they are all the work of men's hands. We, his children, are the temple, the house, the home of the living God, and we are not temporary accommodation, we are his for eternity.
1 Corinthians 3:16
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1 Corinthians 6:19
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
2 Corinthians 6:16
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Ephesians 2:22
In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
It is an interesting phenomenon that most folks in religions and churches around the world think they are right, that they are in what they believe to be the true household of God. Quite how the devil instils this insipid lie into people is really brilliant. The vatican believes it is the only true church on earth, and the pope and the jesuits are committed to exterminating everyone on earth who is not one of them. All other christians regard themselves as right. Muslims believe they are the only true followers of God on earth. Buddhists believe they have found the true way to God. Jehovah's witnesses, a particularly insipid brand of religion, believe they are the only true way to God. Mormons believe they are the only true church on earth. The Way International believes it is the only true household of God and instils that lie into its followers. Folks, God dwelleth not in temples made with hands, they are all broken cisterns, they all leak. If God does not live in them, how can they be a source of living waters?
The good news is, God does not want you to leave one religion or church and join another. What he wants you to do is enjoy his endless supply of living waters. Forget ceremonies and rituals, forget going to church and making a fool of yourself. God isn't there anyway, so going to them is a waste of time. Constructing churches over the graves of once energised ministers is how the devil destroys the word they stood for.
God does not live in the vatican. God does not live in any christian church or denomination. God does not live in the Muslim religion. God does not live in the jehovah's witnesses. God does not live in the mormon church. God does not live in the Hindu religion. God does not live in the way international. These religions may teach they are the only true way on earth, but they are liars, for God in his word teaches that he does not dwell in temples made with hands. Regardless of which religion you are in or where you live in the world, you can have fellowship with God right now right where you are by worshipping him in spirit and in truth.
Acts 17:24
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
It is clear in scripture that God did at one time live in temples made with hands, but it is also abundantly clear in scripture that God moved home on the day of Pentecost when the age of Grace was ushered in. Where is his home now? Where does God live now?
1 Corinthians 3:16
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
We need to take a second look at this. Here in Corinthians, these believers are referred to as the temple of God. We know that God dwelleth not in temples made with hands, so we can assuredly and categorically state that this temple referred to here is not any temple made with hands. This temple is most definitely and absolutely not any ecclesiastical structure, ministry, church, religion or organisation which has been built by men. The spirit of God no longer lives in temples made with hands, so no ministry, church, religion or organisation can claim to be the temple of God, the church of God, or the household of God.
When we are born again and receive the gift of holy spirit, God moves into us. That's right, God now lives inside you and me. God now lives in people, not in temples made with hands.
Here, a group of people are collectively called the temple of God. What group is this? Who are these people? Who is this addressed to? This is a good question, because it brings us to another extremely important key to the bible's interpretation. The bible interprets itself, yes, but we must apply keys to unlock that interpretation. We already know that we must understand the administrations in the bible so we can properly apply scripture written during each administration, as well as a few other keys, but we must also know to whom certain books of the bible are addressed. Not everything in the bible is addressed to everyone. If you read the bible thinking it is all addressed to you, major problems in understanding await to assail you. For example, take these verses in Romans.
Romans 8:38,39
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature [creation], shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 11:22
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
According to Romans 8, nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our lord, not even death, yet three chapters later Romans states that if I'm not careful I'm going to be cut off. Most waggle their fingers at this and call the bible contradictory, but in reality all they do is publicly display their ignorance.
Men have different classifications for men and divide humanity into many groups, like nationality and culture, race and religion, but God only divides men into three general categories. Let's examine them.
1 Corinthians 10:32
Give none offence, neither to the Jews [Judeans], nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
Here Corinthians succinctly places all men into just three categories. According to God, every single human being on the planet is either a Judean, a Gentile, or part of the church of God. That's it. That is God's classification of men. Either we are Judeans, Gentiles, or church of God. According to Ephesians, the church of God is made up of both Judeans and Gentiles who have received the gift of holy spirit. This definition clearly and unquestionably exposes any ministry or group or religion that claims to be the church of God as liars. The church of God, by definition, comprises men and women called out from both Judeans and Gentiles who have been born again and who have received power from on high, the gift of holy spirit. Anyone who has Christ in them is part of the church of God, the ekklēsia, the called out of God.
By definition and by scripture, ecclesiastical and religious structures built by men which claim to be the church of God are liars. God dwelleth not in temples made with hands.
Galatians 5:1-4
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace.
Being entangled in law or even in a patriarchal religious ministry made with hands is something God commands us to avoid.
1 Corinthians 3:16
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
Here, the church of God comprising those who are born again and have the gift of holy spirit is referred to as the temple of God. Elsewhere in the epistles, individuals are occasionally referred to as tabernacles.
2 Corinthians 5:4
For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
The temple of God comprises those who are born again, those who have the gift of holy spirit, those with Christ in them, called out from among both Judeans and Gentiles.
God now lives in each of us. We all have the spirit of God living within us, and together we make up the church of God, the ekklēsia of God. The church is not to construct any more temples made with hands, it is to meet in people's homes. In this administration of Grace, God wants his people meeting in home churches, well away from temples made with hands. This is made remarkably clear in Romans through Thessalonians, the scriptures addressed to the church of God.
Romans 16:5
Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.
1 Corinthians 16:19
The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.
Colossians 4:15
Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.
Philemon 1:2
And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:
Acts 9:31
Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost [pistis - holy spirit], were multiplied.
Acts 15:41
And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.
God wants to hang out with us, fellowship with us, enjoy our company with us in our homes. The centre of outreach in the 1st Century was not some centralised ministry headquarters where everyone sent all their money to support a patriarchal hierarchy, it was in folk's homes. God lives in us, we are his church making up the temple of God, and he wants us to teach and minister in our homes well away from suffocating patriarchal temples of men. Get away from them for they do not walk by the spirit, but by worldly senses wisdom they seek through councils of men. Find a home church where people speak in tongues, walk by the spirit, and operate the power of God.
Sunday, November 13, 2016
CHOOSING THE CALL!! "Predestination"
CHOOSING THE CALL:
Matthew 8:14
For many are called, but few are chosen.
Are you chosen? You are already called! Answer the call!! SIMPLE!
Romans 10:9,10
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved [sōzō].
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Confessing with our mouths and believing in our hearts are decisions we make. Without believing and confessing as stipulated in Romans 10:9, we would not receive the gift of holy spirit, we would not be clothed with power from on high. The receiving of the gift of holy spirit is entirely conditional on us carrying out the instruction given in Romans 10:9. When we confess with our mouths Jesus as Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, we are saved (Greek sōzō), made whole, referring to once again being complete, being whole, with body, soul and spirit.
Does God force us to believe? No. God never forces anyone to do anything. He gave us freedom of will and it is up to us whether we choose to believe God and his word or not. Therefore, predestination here is simply a reference to God's foreknowledge. He knew way back in the beginning that we would believe, and so we were predestined, foreordained to become sons and daughters of God.
The twisting of the meaning of the word predestination was something that even affected Jesus Christ's closest disciples.
John 9:1,2
And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
To understand this you have to ask the question, how could this man have been born blind because of his own sin? Can babies sin in the womb before they are born? No, that's ridiculous. The disciples indicated that they believed that it was possible that a person could be born blind because of his own sin. They asked this question because predestination, and how it ties in with reincarnation, had been engrained into their thinking through religion and culture. They believed this man might have sinned in a previous life and consequently been predestined to be born blind because of his previous sins. They got this nonsense from the religious teachings in their synagogues, which wasn't much different to the horseshit taught in churches today. Predestination, where everything in your life is beyond your control, which includes reincarnation, is unscriptural. Note Jesus Christ's response.
John 9:3,4
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents [there should be a full stop, a period here after the word parents]: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him [insert a comma here instead of a period].
I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
Be careful with punctuation as the original texts had none. Every full stop and comma has been added by the translators and they are entirely devoid of any authority whatsoever. No punctuation is God-breathed, therefore all punctuation has to fit within the context of the bible. The comma after the word parents is clearly wrong as the verse then depicts them as puppets whose son God made blind just so Jesus could do a miracle. This man wasn't born blind because of anyone's sins. He was not predestined by God or anyone else to be reincarnated into a blind body. Look at how prevalent and insidious this doctrine of predestination can be. People can only believe such horseshit if they believe that when you die you don't really die. Do you begin to see the power in that original lie with which the serpent seduced Eve? Jesus Christ had to deal with this even among his own disciples.
The following verse from Isaiah is a prophecy regarding the physical beatings the Lord Jesus Christ endured prior to his death.
Isaiah 52:14
As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
What this verse foretells is that the Lord Jesus Christ would be beaten so badly during the time he was tortured before his crucifixion, that his physical form, his physical body would be disfigured more than any man in human history. His physical body was pulped during the forty hours he was beaten, whipped, and tortured. Jesus Christ was so badly beaten, he was unrecognisable as a human being as the Romans dragged him to his crucifixion.
This was prophesied of hundreds of years before it actually happened. So does that mean that those who beat Jesus Christ to a pulp did not have freedom of will? Were they simply puppets and robots doing what God made them do just so God could bring his word to pass? Maybe now you can begin to smell the real stink behind this word predestination as it is widely understood today. Even though we see old testament prophesies coming to pass in the new testament, all those responsible for the brutal beatings of the Lord Jesus Christ, all of them, exercised their own freedom of will. God may have known in his foreknowledge what would happen and had it recorded centuries earlier, but that does not mean that those involved were not exercising freewill.
Predestination
God knows ahead of time who is going to believe His Word. Therefore, God calls them according to His eternal purpose (to have a family).
God knew ahead of time (foreknowledge) that you and I would believe. Consequently, God predestinated us to be conformed to the image of his Son. Predestination is a very misunderstood concept.
God does not pre-arrange what you and I are going to do!!! God pre-arranged or predestinated that which HE was going to do as a result of our believing. God decided (according to HIS purpose) that HE WOULD GIVE US holy spirit making us His children. Predestination in the Word of God is God deciding ahead of time what He is going to do - not what we are going to do.
Again, God does not pre-arrange what you and I are going to do!!!
Matthew 8:14
For many are called, but few are chosen.
Are you chosen? You are already called! Answer the call!! SIMPLE!
Romans 10:9,10
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved [sōzō].
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Confessing with our mouths and believing in our hearts are decisions we make. Without believing and confessing as stipulated in Romans 10:9, we would not receive the gift of holy spirit, we would not be clothed with power from on high. The receiving of the gift of holy spirit is entirely conditional on us carrying out the instruction given in Romans 10:9. When we confess with our mouths Jesus as Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, we are saved (Greek sōzō), made whole, referring to once again being complete, being whole, with body, soul and spirit.
Does God force us to believe? No. God never forces anyone to do anything. He gave us freedom of will and it is up to us whether we choose to believe God and his word or not. Therefore, predestination here is simply a reference to God's foreknowledge. He knew way back in the beginning that we would believe, and so we were predestined, foreordained to become sons and daughters of God.
The twisting of the meaning of the word predestination was something that even affected Jesus Christ's closest disciples.
John 9:1,2
And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
To understand this you have to ask the question, how could this man have been born blind because of his own sin? Can babies sin in the womb before they are born? No, that's ridiculous. The disciples indicated that they believed that it was possible that a person could be born blind because of his own sin. They asked this question because predestination, and how it ties in with reincarnation, had been engrained into their thinking through religion and culture. They believed this man might have sinned in a previous life and consequently been predestined to be born blind because of his previous sins. They got this nonsense from the religious teachings in their synagogues, which wasn't much different to the horseshit taught in churches today. Predestination, where everything in your life is beyond your control, which includes reincarnation, is unscriptural. Note Jesus Christ's response.
John 9:3,4
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents [there should be a full stop, a period here after the word parents]: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him [insert a comma here instead of a period].
I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
Be careful with punctuation as the original texts had none. Every full stop and comma has been added by the translators and they are entirely devoid of any authority whatsoever. No punctuation is God-breathed, therefore all punctuation has to fit within the context of the bible. The comma after the word parents is clearly wrong as the verse then depicts them as puppets whose son God made blind just so Jesus could do a miracle. This man wasn't born blind because of anyone's sins. He was not predestined by God or anyone else to be reincarnated into a blind body. Look at how prevalent and insidious this doctrine of predestination can be. People can only believe such horseshit if they believe that when you die you don't really die. Do you begin to see the power in that original lie with which the serpent seduced Eve? Jesus Christ had to deal with this even among his own disciples.
The following verse from Isaiah is a prophecy regarding the physical beatings the Lord Jesus Christ endured prior to his death.
Isaiah 52:14
As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
What this verse foretells is that the Lord Jesus Christ would be beaten so badly during the time he was tortured before his crucifixion, that his physical form, his physical body would be disfigured more than any man in human history. His physical body was pulped during the forty hours he was beaten, whipped, and tortured. Jesus Christ was so badly beaten, he was unrecognisable as a human being as the Romans dragged him to his crucifixion.
This was prophesied of hundreds of years before it actually happened. So does that mean that those who beat Jesus Christ to a pulp did not have freedom of will? Were they simply puppets and robots doing what God made them do just so God could bring his word to pass? Maybe now you can begin to smell the real stink behind this word predestination as it is widely understood today. Even though we see old testament prophesies coming to pass in the new testament, all those responsible for the brutal beatings of the Lord Jesus Christ, all of them, exercised their own freedom of will. God may have known in his foreknowledge what would happen and had it recorded centuries earlier, but that does not mean that those involved were not exercising freewill.
Predestination
God knows ahead of time who is going to believe His Word. Therefore, God calls them according to His eternal purpose (to have a family).
God knew ahead of time (foreknowledge) that you and I would believe. Consequently, God predestinated us to be conformed to the image of his Son. Predestination is a very misunderstood concept.
God does not pre-arrange what you and I are going to do!!! God pre-arranged or predestinated that which HE was going to do as a result of our believing. God decided (according to HIS purpose) that HE WOULD GIVE US holy spirit making us His children. Predestination in the Word of God is God deciding ahead of time what He is going to do - not what we are going to do.
Again, God does not pre-arrange what you and I are going to do!!!
Sunday, October 23, 2016
. God Dwelleth Not in Temples made with Hands - Acts 7:48,49; Acts 17:24,25.
Where does God Dwell - LIVE!
PART 1
God Dwelleth not in Temples made with Hands
You won't find God in any religious organisations constructed by men because he does not frequent those places, he does not hang around in them, he does not attend them, he has nothing to do with them.
Acts 7:48,49
Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?
Acts 17:24,25
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
A temple is any religious structure built by the work of men's hands. In addition to churches and cathedrals, religious organisations are man-made structures built by the work of men's hands. Is a religion a work of men's hands? Certainly. Is a church, or group, or denomination a work of men's hands? Unquestionably. They have all been built by men. Does God dwell in temples made with hands? Certainly not, and that includes the Roman Catholic church as much as it does the Muslim religion, the Way International, the Hindu religion, the Salvation Army, or any other denomination, ministry or religion. They have all been built by men.
Jesus Christ's biggest challenges came from the organised churches of his day, and it was the religious leaders who had him murdered by the Romans. You cannot and will not defeat the devil by constructing more churches made with hands. You will not find God in any church, organised religion, centrally controlled group, denomination or ministry, because God dwelleth not in temples made with hands.
Where does God Dwell - LIVE!
PART 2
So where does God dwell today then? If it isn't in religions, groups, ministries, churches, temples or other works of men's hands, where is it? The woman at Jacob's well asked Jesus Christ this very question. Let's go and meet this woman.
John 4:5,6
Then cometh he [Jesus Christ] to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
This is what you call living life. Jesus Christ had been travelling and he was tired, so he sat himself down for a rest. The disciples had gone into a nearby town to get some lunch, so he was on his own, enjoying the day. One interesting point here is that Jesus Christ was tired. Does God ever get tired? Nope, so Jesus Christ wasn't God then, was he? Then along came one of the women from the nearby town.
John 4:7-9
There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
(For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, [Judean] askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews [Judeans] have no dealings with the Samaritans.
The woman was surprised. She was accustomed to Judeans ignoring her because they considered Samaritans half breeds. She had grown up with this Judean attitude, and yet here was this Judean man speaking to her.
John 4:10
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
Jesus Christ obviously enjoyed talking to people, even if they were half breeds. He had no hang ups about people, no prejudices, no bigotry. He even spoke to Samaritans.
John 4:11-15
The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
The woman wanted this living water Jesus Christ was offering. Living water is mentioned in Jeremiah, and this is worth exploring.
Jeremiah 2:13
For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
The living waters in Jeremiah refer to God, who is the fountain of living waters, therefore the living waters Jesus Christ referred to was a reference to something spiritual. In Jeremiah's time, people had forsaken the fountain of living waters and hewed them out man-made cisterns. A cistern is something man makes to hold water. If our supply is God, a living fountain, there is no requirement for a cistern, as a fountain has an endless supply. Men hew out cisterns because they do not believe God will supply all their need. Consequently, they turn their backs on the fountain and hew out for themselves cisterns - they build churches, ministries, religions and organisations to contain their religion. They put their trust in the work of their own hands rather than in the living God.
Not only are cisterns limited in their supply, man-made spiritual cisterns are broken, they are not capable of holding any living water, any spiritual power. Religions, churches, denominations and organisational ministries are all cisterns, man-made cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no living water. Any flowing of living waters, any manifestations of holy spirit they once energised will eventually leak out until all that is left is dry religious ceremony. That is why God dwelleth not in temples made with hands. You will not find God in any religion, church, ministry, or religious organisation for they are all broken cisterns. If you want to find the unlimited supply of living waters, forget about cisterns, all of them, for they are broken and they leak.
Jesus Christ made another reference to living water in the gospel of John, where he was clearly referring to manifestations of holy spirit.
John 7:38,39
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
(But this spake he of the Spirit [spirit], which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost [holy spirit] was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
This fits with what Jesus Christ was teaching the woman at the well. He offered her living water, which he knew he had come to make available, and it was a reference to the future gift of holy spirit which we now know came on the day of Pentecost. Jesus Christ then changed the subject.
John 4:16-19
Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
Now that Jesus Christ had her attention, she asked him the one question that was burning in her heart.
John 4:20
Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
The woman wanted to know where she could worship God. She wanted a personal relationship with him. The Judeans taught her that you found God in their temple at Jerusalem. Her people taught her that she had to go up to the pagan temples on the tops of the mountains. Doesn't this sound just like religion today? Join this group, join that group, join this religion, join that religion, join this ministry, join that ministry, right? It's all bullshit. You don't have to join any ministry or church to find God. You can find him anywhere, yet miss him everywhere. He's right where you are now, and you will discover and learn of him in the pages of the bible. You don't have to go to any church or group or ministry or religion to find God, just learn to read your bible.
John 4:21-24
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews [Judeans].
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
This woman wanted to find God. She wondered if the temple in Jerusalem was the place to go, or up to the temples built on the hilltops. Jesus Christ told her to forget both because the Father desired people who would worship him in spirit and in truth, a reference to manifestations of holy spirit. This same truth is very relevant today. If you want to find God, forget about churches, ministries, organisations, religions and temples. God dwelleth not in temples made with hands. If you want to worship God, you can only worship him in spirit and in truth, truthfully by way of spirit, and that does not involve performing weekly ceremonies inside religious buildings or ministries. Stay away from churches and groups and religions and ministries, no matter how much truth they claim to have, for God dwelleth not in temples made with hands.
Where does God Dwell - LIVE!
PART 3
If any church, ministry, organisation, religion or group offers to teach you how to worship God in spirit and in truth only on condition you join them and give them your money, it is a bribe. Both God and Jesus Christ gave the word unconditionally, without charge. Yes, folks gave of their finances to support Jesus Christ during his ministry, but it was not on condition of getting the word in return, it was a thankful response to being taught the word free of charge.
In answer to the woman's question, Jesus Christ told her to forget about churches, all of them, because God was looking for people to worship him in spirit and in truth. What does that mean? Well obviously you cannot worship God by attending religious meetings, going to church, performing ceremonies, singing songs, going to prayer meetings, lighting candles, or reading bible verses. If you want to worship God, you must worship him in spirit and in truth, you must learn to walk by the spirit and that is not something that comes by going to church, joining ministries or groups, or leaving one religion to join another. I don't care what religion you are, or what group or ministry you are a part of, you can speak in tongues and learn to walk by the spirit right now right where you are. God dwelleth not in temples made with hands. He used to, but not anymore.
Back in the old testament, God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle, a tent in which he could live among his people. Looking back it is easy to see that the tabernacle was a temporary residence, a temporary home.
Exodus 29:44-46
And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office.
And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.
After the tabernacle was built, God moved in.
Exodus 40:34,35
Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
God has always desired with great longing to live among his people. His heart bursts to be with us, to have fellowship with us, and the tabernacle was a first step towards that reality. Later, Solomon built the temple, and with the coming of the greater, the lesser was no longer necessary. After the building of the temple, God moved home, he moved out of the tabernacle and into the temple, and that became his new home among his people.
1 Kings 8:2-11
And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.
And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.
And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.
And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.
For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.
And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.
There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,
So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.
This is the record where God moved into his new home. However, Solomon's temple was also temporary accommodation. It was not God's permanent home among his people, and later he would move house again. In this Administration of Grace, since the day of Pentecost, God no longer dwells, God no longer lives, God no longer resides in temples made with hands. On the day of Pentecost, God moved house. Neither the tabernacle nor the temple sufficed to contain him, neither afforded the home comforts, the companionship and love he so desired. They were provisional arrangements, temporary accommodation until a permanent home became available.
A basic understanding of the overall structure of the temple affords us a few clues in our search for God's dwelling place. The temple was basically divided into three separate areas. There was the court of the Gentiles, which was where Jesus Christ turned over the tables of the crooked merchants and drove out their animals. Another part consisted of the sacred courts for Judeans only, which Gentiles were not permitted to enter. The third part was the Holy of Holies, where God resided, and into which only the High Priest entered once a year. These three separate areas were divided off with walls and veils. Ephesians teaches us what Jesus Christ accomplished regarding these divisions between the Gentiles, the Judeans, and God.
Ephesians 2:13
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Those who were far off refers to the Gentiles mentioned in verses 11 and 12, who were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, and who were without hope and without God in the world. The blood of Jesus Christ brought the Gentiles nigh, close, next of kin to God.
Ephesians 2:14
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
The middle wall of partition refers to the wall separating the court of the Gentiles from the sacred courts of the Judeans in the temple. As well as figuratively, at his death there was an earthquake which literally destroyed this wall separating the Gentiles from the Judeans. Jesus Christ broke that wall down. That's why he is our peace.
Ephesians 2:15
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Jesus Christ made of two one new man, the two being the Gentiles and the Judeans. Of these two, Jesus Christ made one new man, and that's how he made peace between us. He abolished that enmity between Judeans and Gentiles in his flesh, referring to the price he paid in giving his life.
Ephesians 2:16
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
The price Jesus Christ paid by way of his death reconciled both Judeans and Gentiles to God in that one body, that new man he had made of the two. The enmity was slain, destroyed, it no longer existed.
At the same time as the wall of separation between the Gentiles and the Judeans was broken down, the veil separating all of us from God in the Holy of Holies was torn from the top to the bottom.
Mark 15:38
And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
As well as the walls of separation, the earthquake tore the veil, signifying that the way back to God was now open to all men, whether Judean or Gentile.
Where does God Dwell - LIVE!
PART 4
What man had lost in Adam back in Genesis had been regained by Jesus Christ. Man had been reconciled back to God.
Ephesians 2:17,18
And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Through Jesus Christ, both Judeans and Gentiles have access by one spirit unto the Father, our heavenly Father, God.
Ephesians 2:19-21
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
In contrast to Solomon's temple, which was made of stone, we are now all builded together as a holy temple, a permanent home for God through the spirit. It is the spirit, that gift of holy spirit we receive at the time of the new birth, that is our eternal life. God now lives in us through the gift of holy spirit. We are God's permanent home. God no longer dwells in temples made with hands, he lives within those of us who have his spirit.
There is only one building God lives in now in the 21st Century, and it is not any temple made with hands, it is not any man-made ministry, group, or religion, it is within those of us who are born again of his spirit, those of us who are his children. We make up the household of God. The household of God is not a ministry or a church building, because God dwelleth not in temples made with hands, and they are all the work of men's hands. We, his children, are the temple, the house, the home of the living God, and we are not temporary accommodation, we are his for eternity.
1 Corinthians 3:16
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1 Corinthians 6:19
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
2 Corinthians 6:16
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Ephesians 2:22
In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
It is an interesting phenomenon that most folks in religions and churches around the world think they are right, that they are in what they believe to be the true household of God. Quite how the devil instils this insipid lie into people is really brilliant. The vatican believes it is the only true church on earth, and the pope and the jesuits are committed to exterminating everyone on earth who is not one of them. All other christians regard themselves as right. Muslims believe they are the only true followers of God on earth. Buddhists believe they have found the true way to God. Jehovah's witnesses, a particularly insipid brand of religion, believe they are the only true way to God. Mormons believe they are the only true church on earth. The Way International believes it is the only true household of God and instils that lie into its followers. Folks, God dwelleth not in temples made with hands, they are all broken cisterns, they all leak. If God does not live in them, how can they be a source of living waters?
The good news is, God does not want you to leave one religion or church and join another. What he wants you to do is enjoy his endless supply of living waters. Forget ceremonies and rituals, forget going to church and making a fool of yourself. God isn't there anyway, so going to them is a waste of time. Constructing churches over the graves of once energised ministers is how the devil destroys the word they stood for.
God does not live in the vatican. God does not live in any christian church or denomination. God does not live in the Muslim religion. God does not live in the jehovah's witnesses. God does not live in the mormon church. God does not live in the Hindu religion. God does not live in the way international. These religions may teach they are the only true way on earth, but they are liars, for God in his word teaches that he does not dwell in temples made with hands. Regardless of which religion you are in or where you live in the world, you can have fellowship with God right now right where you are by worshipping him in spirit and in truth.
Acts 17:24
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
It is clear in scripture that God did at one time live in temples made with hands, but it is also abundantly clear in scripture that God moved home on the day of Pentecost when the age of Grace was ushered in. Where is his home now? Where does God live now?
1 Corinthians 3:16
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
We need to take a second look at this. Here in Corinthians, these believers are referred to as the temple of God. We know that God dwelleth not in temples made with hands, so we can assuredly and categorically state that this temple referred to here is not any temple made with hands. This temple is most definitely and absolutely not any ecclesiastical structure, ministry, church, religion or organisation which has been built by men. The spirit of God no longer lives in temples made with hands, so no ministry, church, religion or organisation can claim to be the temple of God, the church of God, or the household of God.
When we are born again and receive the gift of holy spirit, God moves into us. That's right, God now lives inside you and me. God now lives in people, not in temples made with hands.
Here, a group of people are collectively called the temple of God. What group is this? Who are these people? Who is this addressed to? This is a good question, because it brings us to another extremely important key to the bible's interpretation. The bible interprets itself, yes, but we must apply keys to unlock that interpretation. We already know that we must understand the administrations in the bible so we can properly apply scripture written during each administration, as well as a few other keys, but we must also know to whom certain books of the bible are addressed. Not everything in the bible is addressed to everyone. If you read the bible thinking it is all addressed to you, major problems in understanding await to assail you. For example, take these verses in Romans.
Romans 8:38,39
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature [creation], shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 11:22
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
According to Romans 8, nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our lord, not even death, yet three chapters later Romans states that if I'm not careful I'm going to be cut off. Most waggle their fingers at this and call the bible contradictory, but in reality all they do is publicly display their ignorance.
Men have different classifications for men and divide humanity into many groups, like nationality and culture, race and religion, but God only divides men into three general categories. Let's examine them.
1 Corinthians 10:32
Give none offence, neither to the Jews [Judeans], nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
Here Corinthians succinctly places all men into just three categories. According to God, every single human being on the planet is either a Judean, a Gentile, or part of the church of God. That's it. That is God's classification of men. Either we are Judeans, Gentiles, or church of God. According to Ephesians, the church of God is made up of both Judeans and Gentiles who have received the gift of holy spirit. This definition clearly and unquestionably exposes any ministry or group or religion that claims to be the church of God as liars. The church of God, by definition, comprises men and women called out from both Judeans and Gentiles who have been born again and who have received power from on high, the gift of holy spirit. Anyone who has Christ in them is part of the church of God, the ekklēsia, the called out of God.
By definition and by scripture, ecclesiastical and religious structures built by men which claim to be the church of God are liars. God dwelleth not in temples made with hands.
Galatians 5:1-4
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace.
Being entangled in law or even in a patriarchal religious ministry made with hands is something God commands us to avoid.
1 Corinthians 3:16
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
Here, the church of God comprising those who are born again and have the gift of holy spirit is referred to as the temple of God. Elsewhere in the epistles, individuals are occasionally referred to as tabernacles.
2 Corinthians 5:4
For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
The temple of God comprises those who are born again, those who have the gift of holy spirit, those with Christ in them, called out from among both Judeans and Gentiles.
God now lives in each of us. We all have the spirit of God living within us, and together we make up the church of God, the ekklēsia of God. The church is not to construct any more temples made with hands, it is to meet in people's homes. In this administration of Grace, God wants his people meeting in home churches, well away from temples made with hands. This is made remarkably clear in Romans through Thessalonians, the scriptures addressed to the church of God.
Romans 16:5
Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.
1 Corinthians 16:19
The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.
Colossians 4:15
Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.
Philemon 1:2
And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:
Acts 9:31
Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost [pistis - holy spirit], were multiplied.
Acts 15:41
And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.
God wants to hang out with us, fellowship with us, enjoy our company with us in our homes. The centre of outreach in the 1st Century was not some centralised ministry headquarters where everyone sent all their money to support a patriarchal hierarchy, it was in folk's homes. God lives in us, we are his church making up the temple of God, and he wants us to teach and minister in our homes well away from suffocating patriarchal temples of men. Get away from them for they do not walk by the spirit, but by worldly senses wisdom they seek through councils of men. Find a home church where people speak in tongues, walk by the spirit, and operate the power of God.
PART 1
God Dwelleth not in Temples made with Hands
You won't find God in any religious organisations constructed by men because he does not frequent those places, he does not hang around in them, he does not attend them, he has nothing to do with them.
Acts 7:48,49
Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?
Acts 17:24,25
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
A temple is any religious structure built by the work of men's hands. In addition to churches and cathedrals, religious organisations are man-made structures built by the work of men's hands. Is a religion a work of men's hands? Certainly. Is a church, or group, or denomination a work of men's hands? Unquestionably. They have all been built by men. Does God dwell in temples made with hands? Certainly not, and that includes the Roman Catholic church as much as it does the Muslim religion, the Way International, the Hindu religion, the Salvation Army, or any other denomination, ministry or religion. They have all been built by men.
Jesus Christ's biggest challenges came from the organised churches of his day, and it was the religious leaders who had him murdered by the Romans. You cannot and will not defeat the devil by constructing more churches made with hands. You will not find God in any church, organised religion, centrally controlled group, denomination or ministry, because God dwelleth not in temples made with hands.
Where does God Dwell - LIVE!
PART 2
So where does God dwell today then? If it isn't in religions, groups, ministries, churches, temples or other works of men's hands, where is it? The woman at Jacob's well asked Jesus Christ this very question. Let's go and meet this woman.
John 4:5,6
Then cometh he [Jesus Christ] to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
This is what you call living life. Jesus Christ had been travelling and he was tired, so he sat himself down for a rest. The disciples had gone into a nearby town to get some lunch, so he was on his own, enjoying the day. One interesting point here is that Jesus Christ was tired. Does God ever get tired? Nope, so Jesus Christ wasn't God then, was he? Then along came one of the women from the nearby town.
John 4:7-9
There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
(For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, [Judean] askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews [Judeans] have no dealings with the Samaritans.
The woman was surprised. She was accustomed to Judeans ignoring her because they considered Samaritans half breeds. She had grown up with this Judean attitude, and yet here was this Judean man speaking to her.
John 4:10
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
Jesus Christ obviously enjoyed talking to people, even if they were half breeds. He had no hang ups about people, no prejudices, no bigotry. He even spoke to Samaritans.
John 4:11-15
The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
The woman wanted this living water Jesus Christ was offering. Living water is mentioned in Jeremiah, and this is worth exploring.
Jeremiah 2:13
For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
The living waters in Jeremiah refer to God, who is the fountain of living waters, therefore the living waters Jesus Christ referred to was a reference to something spiritual. In Jeremiah's time, people had forsaken the fountain of living waters and hewed them out man-made cisterns. A cistern is something man makes to hold water. If our supply is God, a living fountain, there is no requirement for a cistern, as a fountain has an endless supply. Men hew out cisterns because they do not believe God will supply all their need. Consequently, they turn their backs on the fountain and hew out for themselves cisterns - they build churches, ministries, religions and organisations to contain their religion. They put their trust in the work of their own hands rather than in the living God.
Not only are cisterns limited in their supply, man-made spiritual cisterns are broken, they are not capable of holding any living water, any spiritual power. Religions, churches, denominations and organisational ministries are all cisterns, man-made cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no living water. Any flowing of living waters, any manifestations of holy spirit they once energised will eventually leak out until all that is left is dry religious ceremony. That is why God dwelleth not in temples made with hands. You will not find God in any religion, church, ministry, or religious organisation for they are all broken cisterns. If you want to find the unlimited supply of living waters, forget about cisterns, all of them, for they are broken and they leak.
Jesus Christ made another reference to living water in the gospel of John, where he was clearly referring to manifestations of holy spirit.
John 7:38,39
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
(But this spake he of the Spirit [spirit], which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost [holy spirit] was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
This fits with what Jesus Christ was teaching the woman at the well. He offered her living water, which he knew he had come to make available, and it was a reference to the future gift of holy spirit which we now know came on the day of Pentecost. Jesus Christ then changed the subject.
John 4:16-19
Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
Now that Jesus Christ had her attention, she asked him the one question that was burning in her heart.
John 4:20
Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
The woman wanted to know where she could worship God. She wanted a personal relationship with him. The Judeans taught her that you found God in their temple at Jerusalem. Her people taught her that she had to go up to the pagan temples on the tops of the mountains. Doesn't this sound just like religion today? Join this group, join that group, join this religion, join that religion, join this ministry, join that ministry, right? It's all bullshit. You don't have to join any ministry or church to find God. You can find him anywhere, yet miss him everywhere. He's right where you are now, and you will discover and learn of him in the pages of the bible. You don't have to go to any church or group or ministry or religion to find God, just learn to read your bible.
John 4:21-24
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews [Judeans].
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
This woman wanted to find God. She wondered if the temple in Jerusalem was the place to go, or up to the temples built on the hilltops. Jesus Christ told her to forget both because the Father desired people who would worship him in spirit and in truth, a reference to manifestations of holy spirit. This same truth is very relevant today. If you want to find God, forget about churches, ministries, organisations, religions and temples. God dwelleth not in temples made with hands. If you want to worship God, you can only worship him in spirit and in truth, truthfully by way of spirit, and that does not involve performing weekly ceremonies inside religious buildings or ministries. Stay away from churches and groups and religions and ministries, no matter how much truth they claim to have, for God dwelleth not in temples made with hands.
Where does God Dwell - LIVE!
PART 3
If any church, ministry, organisation, religion or group offers to teach you how to worship God in spirit and in truth only on condition you join them and give them your money, it is a bribe. Both God and Jesus Christ gave the word unconditionally, without charge. Yes, folks gave of their finances to support Jesus Christ during his ministry, but it was not on condition of getting the word in return, it was a thankful response to being taught the word free of charge.
In answer to the woman's question, Jesus Christ told her to forget about churches, all of them, because God was looking for people to worship him in spirit and in truth. What does that mean? Well obviously you cannot worship God by attending religious meetings, going to church, performing ceremonies, singing songs, going to prayer meetings, lighting candles, or reading bible verses. If you want to worship God, you must worship him in spirit and in truth, you must learn to walk by the spirit and that is not something that comes by going to church, joining ministries or groups, or leaving one religion to join another. I don't care what religion you are, or what group or ministry you are a part of, you can speak in tongues and learn to walk by the spirit right now right where you are. God dwelleth not in temples made with hands. He used to, but not anymore.
Back in the old testament, God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle, a tent in which he could live among his people. Looking back it is easy to see that the tabernacle was a temporary residence, a temporary home.
Exodus 29:44-46
And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office.
And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.
After the tabernacle was built, God moved in.
Exodus 40:34,35
Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
God has always desired with great longing to live among his people. His heart bursts to be with us, to have fellowship with us, and the tabernacle was a first step towards that reality. Later, Solomon built the temple, and with the coming of the greater, the lesser was no longer necessary. After the building of the temple, God moved home, he moved out of the tabernacle and into the temple, and that became his new home among his people.
1 Kings 8:2-11
And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark.
And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.
And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude.
And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.
For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.
And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day.
There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,
So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.
This is the record where God moved into his new home. However, Solomon's temple was also temporary accommodation. It was not God's permanent home among his people, and later he would move house again. In this Administration of Grace, since the day of Pentecost, God no longer dwells, God no longer lives, God no longer resides in temples made with hands. On the day of Pentecost, God moved house. Neither the tabernacle nor the temple sufficed to contain him, neither afforded the home comforts, the companionship and love he so desired. They were provisional arrangements, temporary accommodation until a permanent home became available.
A basic understanding of the overall structure of the temple affords us a few clues in our search for God's dwelling place. The temple was basically divided into three separate areas. There was the court of the Gentiles, which was where Jesus Christ turned over the tables of the crooked merchants and drove out their animals. Another part consisted of the sacred courts for Judeans only, which Gentiles were not permitted to enter. The third part was the Holy of Holies, where God resided, and into which only the High Priest entered once a year. These three separate areas were divided off with walls and veils. Ephesians teaches us what Jesus Christ accomplished regarding these divisions between the Gentiles, the Judeans, and God.
Ephesians 2:13
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Those who were far off refers to the Gentiles mentioned in verses 11 and 12, who were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, and who were without hope and without God in the world. The blood of Jesus Christ brought the Gentiles nigh, close, next of kin to God.
Ephesians 2:14
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
The middle wall of partition refers to the wall separating the court of the Gentiles from the sacred courts of the Judeans in the temple. As well as figuratively, at his death there was an earthquake which literally destroyed this wall separating the Gentiles from the Judeans. Jesus Christ broke that wall down. That's why he is our peace.
Ephesians 2:15
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Jesus Christ made of two one new man, the two being the Gentiles and the Judeans. Of these two, Jesus Christ made one new man, and that's how he made peace between us. He abolished that enmity between Judeans and Gentiles in his flesh, referring to the price he paid in giving his life.
Ephesians 2:16
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
The price Jesus Christ paid by way of his death reconciled both Judeans and Gentiles to God in that one body, that new man he had made of the two. The enmity was slain, destroyed, it no longer existed.
At the same time as the wall of separation between the Gentiles and the Judeans was broken down, the veil separating all of us from God in the Holy of Holies was torn from the top to the bottom.
Mark 15:38
And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
As well as the walls of separation, the earthquake tore the veil, signifying that the way back to God was now open to all men, whether Judean or Gentile.
Where does God Dwell - LIVE!
PART 4
What man had lost in Adam back in Genesis had been regained by Jesus Christ. Man had been reconciled back to God.
Ephesians 2:17,18
And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Through Jesus Christ, both Judeans and Gentiles have access by one spirit unto the Father, our heavenly Father, God.
Ephesians 2:19-21
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
In contrast to Solomon's temple, which was made of stone, we are now all builded together as a holy temple, a permanent home for God through the spirit. It is the spirit, that gift of holy spirit we receive at the time of the new birth, that is our eternal life. God now lives in us through the gift of holy spirit. We are God's permanent home. God no longer dwells in temples made with hands, he lives within those of us who have his spirit.
There is only one building God lives in now in the 21st Century, and it is not any temple made with hands, it is not any man-made ministry, group, or religion, it is within those of us who are born again of his spirit, those of us who are his children. We make up the household of God. The household of God is not a ministry or a church building, because God dwelleth not in temples made with hands, and they are all the work of men's hands. We, his children, are the temple, the house, the home of the living God, and we are not temporary accommodation, we are his for eternity.
1 Corinthians 3:16
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1 Corinthians 6:19
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
2 Corinthians 6:16
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Ephesians 2:22
In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
It is an interesting phenomenon that most folks in religions and churches around the world think they are right, that they are in what they believe to be the true household of God. Quite how the devil instils this insipid lie into people is really brilliant. The vatican believes it is the only true church on earth, and the pope and the jesuits are committed to exterminating everyone on earth who is not one of them. All other christians regard themselves as right. Muslims believe they are the only true followers of God on earth. Buddhists believe they have found the true way to God. Jehovah's witnesses, a particularly insipid brand of religion, believe they are the only true way to God. Mormons believe they are the only true church on earth. The Way International believes it is the only true household of God and instils that lie into its followers. Folks, God dwelleth not in temples made with hands, they are all broken cisterns, they all leak. If God does not live in them, how can they be a source of living waters?
The good news is, God does not want you to leave one religion or church and join another. What he wants you to do is enjoy his endless supply of living waters. Forget ceremonies and rituals, forget going to church and making a fool of yourself. God isn't there anyway, so going to them is a waste of time. Constructing churches over the graves of once energised ministers is how the devil destroys the word they stood for.
God does not live in the vatican. God does not live in any christian church or denomination. God does not live in the Muslim religion. God does not live in the jehovah's witnesses. God does not live in the mormon church. God does not live in the Hindu religion. God does not live in the way international. These religions may teach they are the only true way on earth, but they are liars, for God in his word teaches that he does not dwell in temples made with hands. Regardless of which religion you are in or where you live in the world, you can have fellowship with God right now right where you are by worshipping him in spirit and in truth.
Acts 17:24
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
It is clear in scripture that God did at one time live in temples made with hands, but it is also abundantly clear in scripture that God moved home on the day of Pentecost when the age of Grace was ushered in. Where is his home now? Where does God live now?
1 Corinthians 3:16
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
We need to take a second look at this. Here in Corinthians, these believers are referred to as the temple of God. We know that God dwelleth not in temples made with hands, so we can assuredly and categorically state that this temple referred to here is not any temple made with hands. This temple is most definitely and absolutely not any ecclesiastical structure, ministry, church, religion or organisation which has been built by men. The spirit of God no longer lives in temples made with hands, so no ministry, church, religion or organisation can claim to be the temple of God, the church of God, or the household of God.
When we are born again and receive the gift of holy spirit, God moves into us. That's right, God now lives inside you and me. God now lives in people, not in temples made with hands.
Here, a group of people are collectively called the temple of God. What group is this? Who are these people? Who is this addressed to? This is a good question, because it brings us to another extremely important key to the bible's interpretation. The bible interprets itself, yes, but we must apply keys to unlock that interpretation. We already know that we must understand the administrations in the bible so we can properly apply scripture written during each administration, as well as a few other keys, but we must also know to whom certain books of the bible are addressed. Not everything in the bible is addressed to everyone. If you read the bible thinking it is all addressed to you, major problems in understanding await to assail you. For example, take these verses in Romans.
Romans 8:38,39
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature [creation], shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 11:22
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
According to Romans 8, nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our lord, not even death, yet three chapters later Romans states that if I'm not careful I'm going to be cut off. Most waggle their fingers at this and call the bible contradictory, but in reality all they do is publicly display their ignorance.
Men have different classifications for men and divide humanity into many groups, like nationality and culture, race and religion, but God only divides men into three general categories. Let's examine them.
1 Corinthians 10:32
Give none offence, neither to the Jews [Judeans], nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
Here Corinthians succinctly places all men into just three categories. According to God, every single human being on the planet is either a Judean, a Gentile, or part of the church of God. That's it. That is God's classification of men. Either we are Judeans, Gentiles, or church of God. According to Ephesians, the church of God is made up of both Judeans and Gentiles who have received the gift of holy spirit. This definition clearly and unquestionably exposes any ministry or group or religion that claims to be the church of God as liars. The church of God, by definition, comprises men and women called out from both Judeans and Gentiles who have been born again and who have received power from on high, the gift of holy spirit. Anyone who has Christ in them is part of the church of God, the ekklēsia, the called out of God.
By definition and by scripture, ecclesiastical and religious structures built by men which claim to be the church of God are liars. God dwelleth not in temples made with hands.
Galatians 5:1-4
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace.
Being entangled in law or even in a patriarchal religious ministry made with hands is something God commands us to avoid.
1 Corinthians 3:16
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
Here, the church of God comprising those who are born again and have the gift of holy spirit is referred to as the temple of God. Elsewhere in the epistles, individuals are occasionally referred to as tabernacles.
2 Corinthians 5:4
For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
The temple of God comprises those who are born again, those who have the gift of holy spirit, those with Christ in them, called out from among both Judeans and Gentiles.
God now lives in each of us. We all have the spirit of God living within us, and together we make up the church of God, the ekklēsia of God. The church is not to construct any more temples made with hands, it is to meet in people's homes. In this administration of Grace, God wants his people meeting in home churches, well away from temples made with hands. This is made remarkably clear in Romans through Thessalonians, the scriptures addressed to the church of God.
Romans 16:5
Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.
1 Corinthians 16:19
The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.
Colossians 4:15
Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.
Philemon 1:2
And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:
Acts 9:31
Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost [pistis - holy spirit], were multiplied.
Acts 15:41
And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.
God wants to hang out with us, fellowship with us, enjoy our company with us in our homes. The centre of outreach in the 1st Century was not some centralised ministry headquarters where everyone sent all their money to support a patriarchal hierarchy, it was in folk's homes. God lives in us, we are his church making up the temple of God, and he wants us to teach and minister in our homes well away from suffocating patriarchal temples of men. Get away from them for they do not walk by the spirit, but by worldly senses wisdom they seek through councils of men. Find a home church where people speak in tongues, walk by the spirit, and operate the power of God.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Who's Your Daddy? Mark 14:36- And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee...
The trinity is NOT logical. Scripture tells us that God is “immortal,”
which means “not subject to death,” but Jesus died. - 1 Timothy 1:17.
Professing that God is Jesus! For religiously poisoned folk that care to be cured; NOT for the lame folk that sucks up to dogma of religious bullshit!!
You are believing the lie. How many others is the question from this point forth!
You will not believe sound doctrine if it just fell on ya!! This is idolatry, spiritualism, blasphemous, and furthermore "YOU all have chosen a false God!"
The trinity is NOT logical(and what to F is this insipid ball of wax of "ONENESS, as you ignorants pull up for ego sake!?. Scripture tells us that God is “immortal,” which means “not subject to death,” but Jesus died. - 1 Timothy 1:17
Jesus Christ was the offspring of Mary and God. Thus he was born with no sinful nature in him (as the life of the flesh which was corrupted by sin is passed from father to son by the seed of the father), yet he was totally a man. He had to grow and mature and learn to walk with God just as any other man. He had to learn of his mission to redeem man and he had to fulfill all the genetic requirements of the promised seed of the woman.
Genesis 3:15
15 and I(Jehovah God) will put enmity between thee(the Devil) and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed(the promised Messiah; the Christ, our Lord); it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
He had to be a descendent of Adam, Abraham, and David. He was and is God's plan for the redemption of man. He is the only begotten son of God.
Matthew 1:18
Now the birth [gennēsis] of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
The word birth is the Greek word gennēsis, from which we get our English word genesis. Genesis means beginning. There can be no doubt as to the meaning of the word genesis. Its meaning is not open to debate. Jesus Christ had a beginning and it was right here in Matthew when he was born. Jesus Christ was not around before this point in time. His birth was his beginning, his genesis.
Prove that you can think, please!?
For Jesus to be the Messiah he could not be born dead in trespass and sin. Man’s sinful nature is passed down from Adam through the blood. For Jesus not to be born dead in trespass and sin he had to be born with innocent blood. What does that mean and why would it be legally important?? To understand the legal significance of Jesus’ innocent blood we first have to understand Jesus’ miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit.
The following are excerpts from the book “Jesus Christ Our Promised Seed” by Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille.
Dr. Wierwille states “…As the Messiah, Jesus Christ had to fulfill certain genealogical requirements promised in the Old Testament among them, (1) he had to be a descendent of Adam; (2) he had to be a descendent of Abraham; and (3) he had to be a descendent of King David. The Old Testament further stipulated that the Messiah’s royal lineage would trace its way through King David and Solomon. Finally besides being the son of Adam, Abraham, and David, the Messiah would also have to be the Son of God. That Jesus Christ had all of these qualifications will become indisputably clear in studying his conception and genealogy.
Jesus Christ’s genealogy, as with all people, was determined by his mother and her predecessors and his father. So in researching God’s Word for the great truths of Jesus Christ’s genealogy we need to begin by noting certain details regarding his conception…”
Mat 1:18
(18) Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost [Holy Spirit].
“…Before they came together” means that before Joseph and Mary had sexual intercourse Mary was already pregnant, and the child she was carrying was conceived in her by God, who is the Holy Spirit…”
Luk 1:35
(35) And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
“…Therefore, from a physical, genetic point of view, Jesus Christ’s Father was God and his mother was Mary. Joseph, Mary’s husband, became Jesus’ human father by the circumstances in which he found himself, but not by his genetic contribution. Joseph by God’s direction accepted the responsibility of rearing Jesus as a son in his household.
There is no question that the Bible teaches divine conception, that God was literally Jesus Christ’s Father. In any conception there are two necessary elements: the egg and the sperm. The egg is supplied by the mother, who in this case was Mary. The sperm is supplied by the father, who in this case was God, who is the Holy Spirit. Being Spirit, God did not, of course, have sexual intercourse with Mary, for spirit cannot cohabit with flesh. Rather, by divine creation, God put seed inside Mary [I would add that if Mary had sex with God she would no longer be a virgin who gave birth.] That is how Mary, who had never had sexual relations, had Jesus conceived within her. This is the miracle of Jesus’ conception…[And…only Mary fulfilled all the prerequisites necessary in order to carry the promised seed. God said He would have an only begotten Son, and He chose Mary in whom to create the seed that would give birth to that one Son.
There are several genetic and physical considerations involved with Jesus Christ’s conception. The Bible teaches that all men since Adam are born “dead in sins” (Eph 2:5). Man is conceived and born with a sinful nature. Psalms 51:5 states, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Romana 5:12 states, “Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all have sinned.”
Not only is man born spiritually separated from God, he is born physically with sin, corruption, and impurities in his blood and in his soul life. This soul life which is the natural life of man, and attested to by a person’s breathing, is found in the blood.
Lev 17:11
(11) For the life of the flesh is in the blood…
While the mother and father both make genetic contributions to the flesh and blood of a child, the soul life in the blood is contributed by the sperm, the seed. It comes from the male side. In the conception of Jesus Christ, this truth is pointedly stated in Hebrews.
Heb 2:14
(14) Forasmuch then as the children are partakers [Greek: “koinoneo,” to share fully] of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part [Greek: “metecho,” to take a part or portion] of the same [flesh and blood]…
All children share fully of both the flesh and blood, genetically passed on to them since Adam and Eve the first man and woman, but Jesus Christ took only part. He did not share “fully.” Here in Hebrew 2:14, the figure of speech “metonymy” of the adjunct is found, in which the word “blood” is used to represent the soul life in the blood. This usage of “blood” is common in the Bible, especially when it is used with the term “flesh,” which here is used for the physical part of man as opposed to the soul part. In partaking of the flesh and blood, all people have inherited their bodies and their soul life from Adam and his descendants. This soul life in the blood is corrupt with a sinful nature inherent within it.
This is why it is necessary to understand from Hebrews 2:14 that Jesus Christ “took part of the same.” What part did he take? He did not “share” fully in both the flesh and blood of man. Physically, according to the flesh, part of Jesus’ genetic makeup came from Mary. However, the soul life in his blood was not inherited from Mary, Adam, or any other human being. The life of the flesh is in the blood, according to Leviticus 17:11, and the life within the flesh of man, within his blood, is corrupt. But Jesus Christ’s came from God. That is why Jesus Christ’s soul life was conceived without sin or corruption.
As we have seen, natural life, which is called “soul life,” is in the blood. Sin is transmitted through this soul life, in other words, through the blood, and not through the flesh. That is why Hebrews 2:14 is such a tremendous statement. How marvelously God arranged for a child to be conceived that would be completely a man, having complete freedom of will, but also having a sinless nature.
With masterful foresight God prepared for the sinless birth of His Son, Jesus Christ, from the very beginning. In order to produce a sinless man descended from Adam, God provided a way whereby Jesus would have a human body derived from Adam’s line, yet uncontaminated by Adam’s sinful soul life. To accomplish this, God created the sperm containing a perfect soul life which impregnated the egg in Mary’s fallopian tube. Therefore, the dominate characteristics of the genes determining the makeup of Jesus Christ came from his Father, God.
The miracle of the birth of Jesus Christ was his divine conception in Mary. His birth [itself] was not miraculous, for like any infant he developed within Mary’s womb and was born according to natural processes. But, the miracle of his divine conception enabled man’s redeemer to come into the world as a sinless, perfect human being, yet having the freedom of will to sin or not to sin; to believe or not to believe God. God did not go beyond any of His previously instituted laws to bring His son into the world.
Understanding all of this, many scriptures concerning Jesus’ descent from the linage of David become much more meaningful. That is why the following scriptures are so accurate.
Act 2:30
(30) …that of the fruit of his [David’s] loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ…
Rom 1:3
(3) Concerning his [God’s] Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which [who] was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.
These verses do not say Jesus Christ was of the seed of David “according to the flesh and blood.” That would be totally inaccurate. These verses all say “according to the flesh,” for Christ’s soul life in his blood came from God. It did not come from David or David’s descendant, Mary. But physically, according to the flesh, Jesus Christ can properly be said to be of the seed of David. That is the great accuracy of these key verses of scripture…”
In his book Dr. Wierwille then goes through the details of the genealogy of Jesus Christ showing by the scripture that both Joseph and Mary were descendants of King David. It’s way too long to add here but after covering Jesus’ genealogy Dr. Wierwille continues with the following paragraphs.
“…A person’s standing in a family was normally recognized by the lineage of the father. From a human point of view Jesus needed patrilineal credentials in order to function in a society built upon paternal genealogy. He would not be accepted in the Judean society without a pedigree traceable through both parents. Since few would believe that on his Father’s side he needed no pedigree, his Father being God, he had to have socially acceptable credentials through the human being whom society considered to be his father, Joseph. Since Joseph assumed the responsibility for Jesus as his son, it was Joseph’s line that gave Jesus full legal standing in the house of David. Whereas Joseph’s genealogy listed in Luke 3 gave Jesus his standing in the House of David by the assumed responsibility of Joseph, it was in truth the genealogy listed in Mathew 1 which gave Jesus Christ true standing in the House of David with the right to inherit his throne by the family line and genetic contribution of Mary.
The genealogy given in Luke 3 is not Jesus Christ’s royal lineage. Mathew 1 indicates his royal lineage from Solomon and others who sat on David’s throne...
…Both lineages, - that of Mary, in the Gospel of Matthew, and that of Joseph, in the Gospel of Luke – have Abraham and David common to their ancestry. Since Joseph assumed the responsibility as Jesus’ father, this gave Jesus during his earthly walk a legal standing in the house of David. But as Mary’s son by birth, Jesus had more than legal standing in the House of David; because of Mary’s genealogy, Jesus Christ was descended from the royal line of the House of David, so that he could genetically and legally inherit the throne of David. Being conceived by the Holy Spirit (who is God) Jesus was the true and only begotten Son of God, the “ssemah” or offspring of God.
Jesus was the offspring of Mary and God. Thus he was born with no sinful nature in him, yet he was totally a man, a male child who would have to mature and learn in order to complete his God ordained mission. As the offspring of both God and Mary, the Christ came into the world fulfilling all the genealogical requirements of the promised seed: he would be a descendant of Adam, of Abraham, and of David. He would also be the only begotten Son of God, the promised seed, God’s perfect plan for man’s redemption.”
And that is the last of the excerpts from Dr. Wierwille”s book, “Jesus Christ Our Promised Seed.”
And so now we know the legal significance of Jesus’ “innocent” blood. It should be noted the first Adam, though he was never born, started life with innocent blood, and the last Adam, Jesus Christ, also started life with innocent blood. And all of these things confirm God does things on a legal basis.
We have seen who and what Jesus legally had to be for him to be eligible to be the promised seed. If Jesus is anything other than 100% a man who is the Son of God, and nothing else, it would legally eliminate his being eligible to be the promised seed. If Jesus is God/man then he is more than man which means he is not the second Adam which means he cannot possibly be the promised seed and no one who believes in Jesus Christ is saved. God made a way for Jesus to be His only begotten Son and yet be 100% percent a man by creating a human sperm to fertilize Mary’s ovum. Jesus was born totally a man with innocent blood and yet at the same time he was the Son of God, nothing more, nothing less.
Jesus is the Son of God because God created the sperm with perfect genes that with Mary’s ovum became Jesus. I suppose you might even say Jesus was the ultimate designer baby designed by God and yet with free will to obey God or not. Even though God was Jesus’ Father Jesus did not inherit any genes from God because God is spirit and spirit does not have chromosomes because chromosomes are part of the physical system God instituted for man to have seed to be fruitful and multiply. God being spirit is not a physical being. The seed that produced Jesus was 100% physical seed, 100% human seed, and human seed cannot multiply to become God.
As the last Adam, Jesus had to be equally a man like the first Adam, who was not God. If Jesus Christ is God/man then he is more than man and thus cannot be the last Adam. But he can be 100% a man and still be the Son of God because God created the human sperm that impregnated Mary.
If Jesus is a man, which God says he is, then Jesus is also less than God. Man is finite. God is infinite. Infinite can never be less than infinite. God can never be less than God. Therefore Jesus cannot be God.
Heb 2:16-18
(16) For verily he took not on him the nature of angels (spirit beings); but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
(17) Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
(18) For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
Heb 4:15
(15) For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Jas 1:13
(13) …for God cannot be tempted with evil…
All of the following 10 verses are reproof pointing out the wrong belief that Jesus is God.
Mat 12:32
(32) And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
If both Jesus and the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) are God then this verse is saying whoever speaks against God it will be forgiven but whoever speaks against God it will not be forgiven. That would be nonsense. And what if someone speaks against the Father?? But notice how this verse makes perfect sense if Jesus Christ is the man who is the son of God and the Holy Spirit is God, the Father. The Holy Spirit and the Father are one supernatural being who is God and not two supernatural beings who are parts of one God. When read with accurate understanding this verse is totally logical.
Mar 13:32
(32) But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
God knows everything and if Jesus is God then he knows everything. This verse says Jesus didn’t know everything.
Joh 7:16
(16) Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
If Jesus Christ is God how could his doctrine not be his?
Joh 14:28
(28) Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
No one is greater than God. If Jesus was God then the Father cannot be greater than Jesus. God cannot be greater than God.
Rom 8:3
(3) For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
1Co 8:6
(6) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
1Co 11:3
(3) But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
1Ti 2:5
(5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Jn 5:5
(5) Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
1Jn 4:15
(15) Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
2Jn 1:3
(3) Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
Trinitarians have three gods with one nature, while they say that Jesus has two natures(let them do the math here; and believe me, they sure will try). And we thought "common core" is bad! This theological heresy "takes the cake"; hands down at that(emphasized).
This is a monumental obstacle of the faith, and demonstrates great disrespect to the integrity of Christ's accomplishments, as well as stripping God of his rightful magnitude.
Now look at John 14:12 and tell me that you can relate to this truth!
John 14:12
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
God is unchangeable, God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.
. God is eternal and immortal; God can not die; God can not be born; God is Spirit; God has no form or comliness.
BONUS!
Revelation 1:13-15 And in the middle of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across his breast with a golden girdle. And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and his eyes were like a flame of fire; and His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been caused to glow in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. 1.Many theologians have noticed the similarities between this description of Christ in Revelation, and the description of the “ancient of Days” (i.e., God) in Daniel 7:9 and Ezekiel 43:2. Thus, based on the similarities between the two descriptions, these verses are used to support the Trinity. One of the reasons that more Trinitarians do not advance these verses in Revelation as a “proof” of the Trinity is that most Christians are unprepared to really understand the argument.That God appeared in the form of a human being is very new information for most people, and quite a few are unwilling to accept it. Nevertheless, the Trinitarian argument goes like this: God appeared in the Old Testament with a certain physical description.Christ has much the same description; therefore Christ must be God. Most Christians have not been shown from Scripture that God appeared in a form resembling a person.They have always heard that “no one has seen God at any time” and that God is invisible. 2.When God became visible to Daniel, He had hair “white like wool” (7:9), and from Ezekiel we learn that His voice “was like the sound of many waters” (43:2). This description is the same for Jesus Christ in Revelation 1:13-15, and thus the two are compared. Although we realize that these descriptions are similar, we would note that many things that are similar are not identical.Police are very aware of this. If you went to the police with the description of a man and said, “He has white hair and a deep voice,” that would be helpful, but more would be needed to establish identity, since that description can fit more than one person. To see if Christ is the same as, or identical with, God, we must study the records, and indeed, the entire scope of Scripture. Daniel, Chapter 7 is about the succession of empires through time. By the time we get to verse 9, Daniel described a vision he had of something that is still future to us.He described God preparing for the Judgment. Daniel also foresaw Jesus Christ taking the kingdom from his God, the Ancient of Days. Daniel 7:13,14 I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man was coming, and he came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve him.His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.” It is clear from Revelation 1:13-15 that both Christ and God are present, although only God is described. In the book of Revelation, God and Christ are both present. Chapter 4 and the opening of Chapter 5 describe God on a throne with a scroll in His right hand.Then Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, “came and he took it out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne” [i.e., God] (5:7). Again, there are clearly two present: God and Christ. Nothing in the context indicates in any way that these two are somehow “one.” There is no reason to assume that. Two is two. Furthermore, why is it so amazing that the risen Christ has an appearance similar to the one that God chooses to take on when He appears to us? Since God can take on any form He wants, why would He not take on a form that he knew would be similar to His Son? This similarity does not prove identity in any way, but it does show the functional equality of Jesus Christ and God. Revelation 3:14 To the angel of the church in Laodicea, write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. (NIV) 1. As it is translated above, there is no Trinitarian inference in the verse. It agrees perfectly with what we know from the whole of Scripture: that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ. 2. In the KJV, the word “ruler” (Greek = arche) is translated “beginning.” The word arche can mean “beginning,” “first” or “ruler.” When most people read the KJV, they say that Jesus Christ is the “beginning” of God’s original creation, and this has caused some people to say that the verse is Trinitarian, because Jesus would thus have been before everything else.If that interpretation is correct, then this verse would be a strong argument against the Trinity because then Christ would be a created being. “Arianism” is the doctrine that Christ was the first of all of God’s created things and that God then created everything else through Christ, and the way the KJV translates the verse can be understood as Arian. 3. It is possible (and some scholars do handle the verse this way) to understand the word “beginning” as applying to the beginning of the new ages that Christ will establish. If that were so, the verse would be similar to Hebrews 1:10 (see above). Christ, being the “firstborn from the dead,” would be the beginning of God’s new creation. Although it is certainly possible from a textual standpoint to handle the verse that way, the context of the verse is Christ ruling over his people. He is reproving and disciplining them (v. 19) and granting places beside him with the Father (v. 21). Thus, the translation of arche as “ruler” is a good translation and best fits the context. No one can argue with the fact that Christ is the ruler over all of God’s creation.
Professing that God is Jesus! For religiously poisoned folk that care to be cured; NOT for the lame folk that sucks up to dogma of religious bullshit!!
You are believing the lie. How many others is the question from this point forth!
You will not believe sound doctrine if it just fell on ya!! This is idolatry, spiritualism, blasphemous, and furthermore "YOU all have chosen a false God!"
The trinity is NOT logical(and what to F is this insipid ball of wax of "ONENESS, as you ignorants pull up for ego sake!?. Scripture tells us that God is “immortal,” which means “not subject to death,” but Jesus died. - 1 Timothy 1:17
Jesus Christ was the offspring of Mary and God. Thus he was born with no sinful nature in him (as the life of the flesh which was corrupted by sin is passed from father to son by the seed of the father), yet he was totally a man. He had to grow and mature and learn to walk with God just as any other man. He had to learn of his mission to redeem man and he had to fulfill all the genetic requirements of the promised seed of the woman.
Genesis 3:15
15 and I(Jehovah God) will put enmity between thee(the Devil) and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed(the promised Messiah; the Christ, our Lord); it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
He had to be a descendent of Adam, Abraham, and David. He was and is God's plan for the redemption of man. He is the only begotten son of God.
Matthew 1:18
Now the birth [gennēsis] of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
The word birth is the Greek word gennēsis, from which we get our English word genesis. Genesis means beginning. There can be no doubt as to the meaning of the word genesis. Its meaning is not open to debate. Jesus Christ had a beginning and it was right here in Matthew when he was born. Jesus Christ was not around before this point in time. His birth was his beginning, his genesis.
Prove that you can think, please!?
For Jesus to be the Messiah he could not be born dead in trespass and sin. Man’s sinful nature is passed down from Adam through the blood. For Jesus not to be born dead in trespass and sin he had to be born with innocent blood. What does that mean and why would it be legally important?? To understand the legal significance of Jesus’ innocent blood we first have to understand Jesus’ miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit.
The following are excerpts from the book “Jesus Christ Our Promised Seed” by Dr. Victor Paul Wierwille.
Dr. Wierwille states “…As the Messiah, Jesus Christ had to fulfill certain genealogical requirements promised in the Old Testament among them, (1) he had to be a descendent of Adam; (2) he had to be a descendent of Abraham; and (3) he had to be a descendent of King David. The Old Testament further stipulated that the Messiah’s royal lineage would trace its way through King David and Solomon. Finally besides being the son of Adam, Abraham, and David, the Messiah would also have to be the Son of God. That Jesus Christ had all of these qualifications will become indisputably clear in studying his conception and genealogy.
Jesus Christ’s genealogy, as with all people, was determined by his mother and her predecessors and his father. So in researching God’s Word for the great truths of Jesus Christ’s genealogy we need to begin by noting certain details regarding his conception…”
Mat 1:18
(18) Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost [Holy Spirit].
“…Before they came together” means that before Joseph and Mary had sexual intercourse Mary was already pregnant, and the child she was carrying was conceived in her by God, who is the Holy Spirit…”
Luk 1:35
(35) And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
“…Therefore, from a physical, genetic point of view, Jesus Christ’s Father was God and his mother was Mary. Joseph, Mary’s husband, became Jesus’ human father by the circumstances in which he found himself, but not by his genetic contribution. Joseph by God’s direction accepted the responsibility of rearing Jesus as a son in his household.
There is no question that the Bible teaches divine conception, that God was literally Jesus Christ’s Father. In any conception there are two necessary elements: the egg and the sperm. The egg is supplied by the mother, who in this case was Mary. The sperm is supplied by the father, who in this case was God, who is the Holy Spirit. Being Spirit, God did not, of course, have sexual intercourse with Mary, for spirit cannot cohabit with flesh. Rather, by divine creation, God put seed inside Mary [I would add that if Mary had sex with God she would no longer be a virgin who gave birth.] That is how Mary, who had never had sexual relations, had Jesus conceived within her. This is the miracle of Jesus’ conception…[And…only Mary fulfilled all the prerequisites necessary in order to carry the promised seed. God said He would have an only begotten Son, and He chose Mary in whom to create the seed that would give birth to that one Son.
There are several genetic and physical considerations involved with Jesus Christ’s conception. The Bible teaches that all men since Adam are born “dead in sins” (Eph 2:5). Man is conceived and born with a sinful nature. Psalms 51:5 states, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Romana 5:12 states, “Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all have sinned.”
Not only is man born spiritually separated from God, he is born physically with sin, corruption, and impurities in his blood and in his soul life. This soul life which is the natural life of man, and attested to by a person’s breathing, is found in the blood.
Lev 17:11
(11) For the life of the flesh is in the blood…
While the mother and father both make genetic contributions to the flesh and blood of a child, the soul life in the blood is contributed by the sperm, the seed. It comes from the male side. In the conception of Jesus Christ, this truth is pointedly stated in Hebrews.
Heb 2:14
(14) Forasmuch then as the children are partakers [Greek: “koinoneo,” to share fully] of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part [Greek: “metecho,” to take a part or portion] of the same [flesh and blood]…
All children share fully of both the flesh and blood, genetically passed on to them since Adam and Eve the first man and woman, but Jesus Christ took only part. He did not share “fully.” Here in Hebrew 2:14, the figure of speech “metonymy” of the adjunct is found, in which the word “blood” is used to represent the soul life in the blood. This usage of “blood” is common in the Bible, especially when it is used with the term “flesh,” which here is used for the physical part of man as opposed to the soul part. In partaking of the flesh and blood, all people have inherited their bodies and their soul life from Adam and his descendants. This soul life in the blood is corrupt with a sinful nature inherent within it.
This is why it is necessary to understand from Hebrews 2:14 that Jesus Christ “took part of the same.” What part did he take? He did not “share” fully in both the flesh and blood of man. Physically, according to the flesh, part of Jesus’ genetic makeup came from Mary. However, the soul life in his blood was not inherited from Mary, Adam, or any other human being. The life of the flesh is in the blood, according to Leviticus 17:11, and the life within the flesh of man, within his blood, is corrupt. But Jesus Christ’s came from God. That is why Jesus Christ’s soul life was conceived without sin or corruption.
As we have seen, natural life, which is called “soul life,” is in the blood. Sin is transmitted through this soul life, in other words, through the blood, and not through the flesh. That is why Hebrews 2:14 is such a tremendous statement. How marvelously God arranged for a child to be conceived that would be completely a man, having complete freedom of will, but also having a sinless nature.
With masterful foresight God prepared for the sinless birth of His Son, Jesus Christ, from the very beginning. In order to produce a sinless man descended from Adam, God provided a way whereby Jesus would have a human body derived from Adam’s line, yet uncontaminated by Adam’s sinful soul life. To accomplish this, God created the sperm containing a perfect soul life which impregnated the egg in Mary’s fallopian tube. Therefore, the dominate characteristics of the genes determining the makeup of Jesus Christ came from his Father, God.
The miracle of the birth of Jesus Christ was his divine conception in Mary. His birth [itself] was not miraculous, for like any infant he developed within Mary’s womb and was born according to natural processes. But, the miracle of his divine conception enabled man’s redeemer to come into the world as a sinless, perfect human being, yet having the freedom of will to sin or not to sin; to believe or not to believe God. God did not go beyond any of His previously instituted laws to bring His son into the world.
Understanding all of this, many scriptures concerning Jesus’ descent from the linage of David become much more meaningful. That is why the following scriptures are so accurate.
Act 2:30
(30) …that of the fruit of his [David’s] loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ…
Rom 1:3
(3) Concerning his [God’s] Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which [who] was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.
These verses do not say Jesus Christ was of the seed of David “according to the flesh and blood.” That would be totally inaccurate. These verses all say “according to the flesh,” for Christ’s soul life in his blood came from God. It did not come from David or David’s descendant, Mary. But physically, according to the flesh, Jesus Christ can properly be said to be of the seed of David. That is the great accuracy of these key verses of scripture…”
In his book Dr. Wierwille then goes through the details of the genealogy of Jesus Christ showing by the scripture that both Joseph and Mary were descendants of King David. It’s way too long to add here but after covering Jesus’ genealogy Dr. Wierwille continues with the following paragraphs.
“…A person’s standing in a family was normally recognized by the lineage of the father. From a human point of view Jesus needed patrilineal credentials in order to function in a society built upon paternal genealogy. He would not be accepted in the Judean society without a pedigree traceable through both parents. Since few would believe that on his Father’s side he needed no pedigree, his Father being God, he had to have socially acceptable credentials through the human being whom society considered to be his father, Joseph. Since Joseph assumed the responsibility for Jesus as his son, it was Joseph’s line that gave Jesus full legal standing in the house of David. Whereas Joseph’s genealogy listed in Luke 3 gave Jesus his standing in the House of David by the assumed responsibility of Joseph, it was in truth the genealogy listed in Mathew 1 which gave Jesus Christ true standing in the House of David with the right to inherit his throne by the family line and genetic contribution of Mary.
The genealogy given in Luke 3 is not Jesus Christ’s royal lineage. Mathew 1 indicates his royal lineage from Solomon and others who sat on David’s throne...
…Both lineages, - that of Mary, in the Gospel of Matthew, and that of Joseph, in the Gospel of Luke – have Abraham and David common to their ancestry. Since Joseph assumed the responsibility as Jesus’ father, this gave Jesus during his earthly walk a legal standing in the house of David. But as Mary’s son by birth, Jesus had more than legal standing in the House of David; because of Mary’s genealogy, Jesus Christ was descended from the royal line of the House of David, so that he could genetically and legally inherit the throne of David. Being conceived by the Holy Spirit (who is God) Jesus was the true and only begotten Son of God, the “ssemah” or offspring of God.
Jesus was the offspring of Mary and God. Thus he was born with no sinful nature in him, yet he was totally a man, a male child who would have to mature and learn in order to complete his God ordained mission. As the offspring of both God and Mary, the Christ came into the world fulfilling all the genealogical requirements of the promised seed: he would be a descendant of Adam, of Abraham, and of David. He would also be the only begotten Son of God, the promised seed, God’s perfect plan for man’s redemption.”
And that is the last of the excerpts from Dr. Wierwille”s book, “Jesus Christ Our Promised Seed.”
And so now we know the legal significance of Jesus’ “innocent” blood. It should be noted the first Adam, though he was never born, started life with innocent blood, and the last Adam, Jesus Christ, also started life with innocent blood. And all of these things confirm God does things on a legal basis.
We have seen who and what Jesus legally had to be for him to be eligible to be the promised seed. If Jesus is anything other than 100% a man who is the Son of God, and nothing else, it would legally eliminate his being eligible to be the promised seed. If Jesus is God/man then he is more than man which means he is not the second Adam which means he cannot possibly be the promised seed and no one who believes in Jesus Christ is saved. God made a way for Jesus to be His only begotten Son and yet be 100% percent a man by creating a human sperm to fertilize Mary’s ovum. Jesus was born totally a man with innocent blood and yet at the same time he was the Son of God, nothing more, nothing less.
Jesus is the Son of God because God created the sperm with perfect genes that with Mary’s ovum became Jesus. I suppose you might even say Jesus was the ultimate designer baby designed by God and yet with free will to obey God or not. Even though God was Jesus’ Father Jesus did not inherit any genes from God because God is spirit and spirit does not have chromosomes because chromosomes are part of the physical system God instituted for man to have seed to be fruitful and multiply. God being spirit is not a physical being. The seed that produced Jesus was 100% physical seed, 100% human seed, and human seed cannot multiply to become God.
As the last Adam, Jesus had to be equally a man like the first Adam, who was not God. If Jesus Christ is God/man then he is more than man and thus cannot be the last Adam. But he can be 100% a man and still be the Son of God because God created the human sperm that impregnated Mary.
If Jesus is a man, which God says he is, then Jesus is also less than God. Man is finite. God is infinite. Infinite can never be less than infinite. God can never be less than God. Therefore Jesus cannot be God.
Heb 2:16-18
(16) For verily he took not on him the nature of angels (spirit beings); but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
(17) Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
(18) For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
Heb 4:15
(15) For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Jas 1:13
(13) …for God cannot be tempted with evil…
All of the following 10 verses are reproof pointing out the wrong belief that Jesus is God.
Mat 12:32
(32) And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
If both Jesus and the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) are God then this verse is saying whoever speaks against God it will be forgiven but whoever speaks against God it will not be forgiven. That would be nonsense. And what if someone speaks against the Father?? But notice how this verse makes perfect sense if Jesus Christ is the man who is the son of God and the Holy Spirit is God, the Father. The Holy Spirit and the Father are one supernatural being who is God and not two supernatural beings who are parts of one God. When read with accurate understanding this verse is totally logical.
Mar 13:32
(32) But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
God knows everything and if Jesus is God then he knows everything. This verse says Jesus didn’t know everything.
Joh 7:16
(16) Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
If Jesus Christ is God how could his doctrine not be his?
Joh 14:28
(28) Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
No one is greater than God. If Jesus was God then the Father cannot be greater than Jesus. God cannot be greater than God.
Rom 8:3
(3) For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
1Co 8:6
(6) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
1Co 11:3
(3) But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
1Ti 2:5
(5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Jn 5:5
(5) Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
1Jn 4:15
(15) Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
2Jn 1:3
(3) Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
God is eternal and immortal; God can not die; God can not be born; God
is Spirit; God has no form or comeliness. Jesus Christ is simply the
offspring of God, the only-begotten, the same yesterday(refers back to
his beginning, his birth) today and forever( for he has eternal life);
even as we. His soul life is seperate from ours, not after Adam.God is
unchangeable, God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. God would
not have needed to grow and learn, but Jesus Christ did.
Matthew 24:4,5
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
What they say is that he is Jesus Christ, yet then they deceive MANY!
They say that he is God(idolatry); they say that the dead are alive(spiritualism); they say that you should let the spirit have it's way in your life(possession); tongues has ceased(steal your power and authority in Christ); salvation is to be achieved by your works of obedience(fear tactics); that we need to work out our own eternal life( fear that cripples for a lifetime).NO sonship rights(not able to identify with Christ, for he is God, we mere sinners).
1 Corinthians 11:3
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
1 Corinthians 15:27,28
For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
The WHAT? The WHAT? MAN! MAN!
This should have settled it for us 2000 years ago!!
NO one; NO ONE! Has the right to change GOD"S WORD!!
He is the literal son, the offspring of God. He was born, as we were born, made of a women according to the flesh. The seed was supplied from God, for Mary had not known a man, by sexual relation, up to the point of conception.
Remember, conceived by the Holy Spirit, a term for God, his Father.
Concerning Jesus Christ: You believe that he was both God and man? This is a biological impossibility! He was made(born) of a woman as all of us. His genetics were superior, because his soul life(sperm) was by God's creation in Mary. God is eternal and immortal; God can not die; God can not be born; God is Spirit; God has no form or comeliness. Jesus Christ is simply the offspring of God, the only-begotten, the same yesterday(refers back to his beginning, his birth) today and forever( for he has eternal life); even as we. His soul life is seperate from ours, not after Adam. Hebrews 2:14 tells us that he "took part" only, of flesh and blood; the part that he took was the flesh, after man(Adam), for his blood(soul life) was of divine conception. Leviticus 17:11 tells us that, the life(soul) of the flesh is in the blood. This allowed for his blood to be uncontaminated by the sin nature from the first man, Adam, as ours is: Hebrews 2:14, again; "we are all partaker's of flesh and blood", after Adam. Jesus as a Youth -- Jesus Christ grew up like any other child. Genetically he had many advantages, but he was still a person, a human individual, who had to develop and utilize his learning processes like any other human being. He was not God. God is unchangeable, God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. God would not have needed to grow and learn, but Jesus Christ did. Luke 2:40: "And the child grew, and waxed strong, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him." Luke 2:46: "... they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions." Yes, Jesus grew strong & was being filled with wisdom. God in the Bible is said to be immortal! He cannot die, therefore, but His uniquely begotten Son (Luke 1:35) died, and he is therefore not God, but the sinless Man mediator between God (the Father) and mankind. I Tim 2:5 says it perfectly. It is an abuse of the precious gift of language to say "the immortal God died." Just impossible nonsense!
THE GIVER and HIS GIFT -- The Holy Spirit is God(Jehovah) our Creator(Elohim). The God and the Father of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the offspring of God, only begotten, physically, by Divine conception of God, the Giver; Holy Spirit! God's gift is holy spirit, which is power from on high. We are baptized by this gift from God, the Giver.
"And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." Luke 24:49.
"And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." Acts 1:4-5.
"endued with power from on high" Luke 24:49.
EQUALS
"the promise of the Father" Acts 1:4.
EQUALS
"ye shall be baptized with the holy spirit" Acts 1:5.
"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
Acts 1:8.
"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
"And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
"And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
"And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."
Acts 2:1-4.
"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
"For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call."
Acts 2:38-39.
Who do you say that i am!?
Matthew 16:15-17 KJV
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 24:4,5
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
What they say is that he is Jesus Christ, yet then they deceive MANY!
They say that he is God(idolatry); they say that the dead are alive(spiritualism); they say that you should let the spirit have it's way in your life(possession); tongues has ceased(steal your power and authority in Christ); salvation is to be achieved by your works of obedience(fear tactics); that we need to work out our own eternal life( fear that cripples for a lifetime).NO sonship rights(not able to identify with Christ, for he is God, we mere sinners).
1 Corinthians 11:3
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
1 Corinthians 15:27,28
For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
The WHAT? The WHAT? MAN! MAN!
This should have settled it for us 2000 years ago!!
NO one; NO ONE! Has the right to change GOD"S WORD!!
He is the literal son, the offspring of God. He was born, as we were born, made of a women according to the flesh. The seed was supplied from God, for Mary had not known a man, by sexual relation, up to the point of conception.
Remember, conceived by the Holy Spirit, a term for God, his Father.
Concerning Jesus Christ: You believe that he was both God and man? This is a biological impossibility! He was made(born) of a woman as all of us. His genetics were superior, because his soul life(sperm) was by God's creation in Mary. God is eternal and immortal; God can not die; God can not be born; God is Spirit; God has no form or comeliness. Jesus Christ is simply the offspring of God, the only-begotten, the same yesterday(refers back to his beginning, his birth) today and forever( for he has eternal life); even as we. His soul life is seperate from ours, not after Adam. Hebrews 2:14 tells us that he "took part" only, of flesh and blood; the part that he took was the flesh, after man(Adam), for his blood(soul life) was of divine conception. Leviticus 17:11 tells us that, the life(soul) of the flesh is in the blood. This allowed for his blood to be uncontaminated by the sin nature from the first man, Adam, as ours is: Hebrews 2:14, again; "we are all partaker's of flesh and blood", after Adam. Jesus as a Youth -- Jesus Christ grew up like any other child. Genetically he had many advantages, but he was still a person, a human individual, who had to develop and utilize his learning processes like any other human being. He was not God. God is unchangeable, God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. God would not have needed to grow and learn, but Jesus Christ did. Luke 2:40: "And the child grew, and waxed strong, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him." Luke 2:46: "... they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions." Yes, Jesus grew strong & was being filled with wisdom. God in the Bible is said to be immortal! He cannot die, therefore, but His uniquely begotten Son (Luke 1:35) died, and he is therefore not God, but the sinless Man mediator between God (the Father) and mankind. I Tim 2:5 says it perfectly. It is an abuse of the precious gift of language to say "the immortal God died." Just impossible nonsense!
THE GIVER and HIS GIFT -- The Holy Spirit is God(Jehovah) our Creator(Elohim). The God and the Father of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the offspring of God, only begotten, physically, by Divine conception of God, the Giver; Holy Spirit! God's gift is holy spirit, which is power from on high. We are baptized by this gift from God, the Giver.
"And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." Luke 24:49.
"And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." Acts 1:4-5.
"endued with power from on high" Luke 24:49.
EQUALS
"the promise of the Father" Acts 1:4.
EQUALS
"ye shall be baptized with the holy spirit" Acts 1:5.
"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
Acts 1:8.
"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
"And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
"And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
"And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."
Acts 2:1-4.
"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
"For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call."
Acts 2:38-39.
Who do you say that i am!?
Matthew 16:15-17 KJV
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Trinitarians have three gods with one nature, while they say that Jesus has two natures(let them do the math here; and believe me, they sure will try). And we thought "common core" is bad! This theological heresy "takes the cake"; hands down at that(emphasized).
This is a monumental obstacle of the faith, and demonstrates great disrespect to the integrity of Christ's accomplishments, as well as stripping God of his rightful magnitude.
Now look at John 14:12 and tell me that you can relate to this truth!
John 14:12
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
God is unchangeable, God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.
. God is eternal and immortal; God can not die; God can not be born; God is Spirit; God has no form or comliness.
BONUS!
Revelation 1:13-15 And in the middle of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across his breast with a golden girdle. And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and his eyes were like a flame of fire; and His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been caused to glow in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. 1.Many theologians have noticed the similarities between this description of Christ in Revelation, and the description of the “ancient of Days” (i.e., God) in Daniel 7:9 and Ezekiel 43:2. Thus, based on the similarities between the two descriptions, these verses are used to support the Trinity. One of the reasons that more Trinitarians do not advance these verses in Revelation as a “proof” of the Trinity is that most Christians are unprepared to really understand the argument.That God appeared in the form of a human being is very new information for most people, and quite a few are unwilling to accept it. Nevertheless, the Trinitarian argument goes like this: God appeared in the Old Testament with a certain physical description.Christ has much the same description; therefore Christ must be God. Most Christians have not been shown from Scripture that God appeared in a form resembling a person.They have always heard that “no one has seen God at any time” and that God is invisible. 2.When God became visible to Daniel, He had hair “white like wool” (7:9), and from Ezekiel we learn that His voice “was like the sound of many waters” (43:2). This description is the same for Jesus Christ in Revelation 1:13-15, and thus the two are compared. Although we realize that these descriptions are similar, we would note that many things that are similar are not identical.Police are very aware of this. If you went to the police with the description of a man and said, “He has white hair and a deep voice,” that would be helpful, but more would be needed to establish identity, since that description can fit more than one person. To see if Christ is the same as, or identical with, God, we must study the records, and indeed, the entire scope of Scripture. Daniel, Chapter 7 is about the succession of empires through time. By the time we get to verse 9, Daniel described a vision he had of something that is still future to us.He described God preparing for the Judgment. Daniel also foresaw Jesus Christ taking the kingdom from his God, the Ancient of Days. Daniel 7:13,14 I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man was coming, and he came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve him.His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.” It is clear from Revelation 1:13-15 that both Christ and God are present, although only God is described. In the book of Revelation, God and Christ are both present. Chapter 4 and the opening of Chapter 5 describe God on a throne with a scroll in His right hand.Then Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, “came and he took it out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne” [i.e., God] (5:7). Again, there are clearly two present: God and Christ. Nothing in the context indicates in any way that these two are somehow “one.” There is no reason to assume that. Two is two. Furthermore, why is it so amazing that the risen Christ has an appearance similar to the one that God chooses to take on when He appears to us? Since God can take on any form He wants, why would He not take on a form that he knew would be similar to His Son? This similarity does not prove identity in any way, but it does show the functional equality of Jesus Christ and God. Revelation 3:14 To the angel of the church in Laodicea, write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. (NIV) 1. As it is translated above, there is no Trinitarian inference in the verse. It agrees perfectly with what we know from the whole of Scripture: that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ. 2. In the KJV, the word “ruler” (Greek = arche) is translated “beginning.” The word arche can mean “beginning,” “first” or “ruler.” When most people read the KJV, they say that Jesus Christ is the “beginning” of God’s original creation, and this has caused some people to say that the verse is Trinitarian, because Jesus would thus have been before everything else.If that interpretation is correct, then this verse would be a strong argument against the Trinity because then Christ would be a created being. “Arianism” is the doctrine that Christ was the first of all of God’s created things and that God then created everything else through Christ, and the way the KJV translates the verse can be understood as Arian. 3. It is possible (and some scholars do handle the verse this way) to understand the word “beginning” as applying to the beginning of the new ages that Christ will establish. If that were so, the verse would be similar to Hebrews 1:10 (see above). Christ, being the “firstborn from the dead,” would be the beginning of God’s new creation. Although it is certainly possible from a textual standpoint to handle the verse that way, the context of the verse is Christ ruling over his people. He is reproving and disciplining them (v. 19) and granting places beside him with the Father (v. 21). Thus, the translation of arche as “ruler” is a good translation and best fits the context. No one can argue with the fact that Christ is the ruler over all of God’s creation.
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