Randy Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "church"
Hereditary Heaven – Part 1
Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the Lord which He had done for Israel [Joshua 24:31].
I recall a church I pastored over twenty years ago. On my first visit to become acquainted with the good folks of the church, and they in return to become acquainted with me, I enjoyed a meal with an elderly couple. This couple had been a part of that congregation for so long, they for all intents and purposes owned it! Or so it seemed in their eyes.
Actually the husband was a rather reserved fellow, sitting back and allowing his wife to bask in all the glory to be had. He was content to be left alone and to leave everyone else alone. ‘Twould’ve been a grand accomplishment for her to have done the same. Alas, but it wasn’t to be so, not by a long shot.
Anyway, as we sat at the dinner table enjoying the food, this dear woman flapped her jaws more in the pursuit of self-flattery and egocentrism than she did for the purpose of eating. I preferred to use mine to eat, and so I chewed and took it all in…regrettably. She gave me the lowdown on the entire congregation, one-by-one, and threw in the last several pastors to boot. Ah, but there was one redeeming quality in that church…her!
Well, before she was through, she gave me an example of how one of those pastors was impossible to stomach. According to her, he had the unadorned chutzpah to talk about the blood of Jesus on Christmas! Do you believe it? On Christmas! She wanted him run out of town on a rail, but not before spending a week in the pillory and then dressed in tar and feathers.
She was setting me up, you see. Before she agreed to vote for me as the next pastor, she wanted to know whether I would do her bidding or insist on feeding the good church folk with the pure, unadulterated Bible. So her next step was to look me straight in the eye—much as the Queen of Hearts did to those who soon lost their heads—and queried, “You wouldn’t do that, would you? You wouldn’t talk about the blood of Jesus too much, even on Christmas? And then she leaned back in her chair and took a nibble of food, while she waited to hear me timorously say, “No, I won’t do that.”
I took my time and permitted her to gloat over her perceived victory of painting the candidate into a corner and committing him to do her bidding. When I finished chewing my food and swallowing, I then allowed the suspense to build up further by taking a long drink of tea. At last I looked at her with a smile and calmly responded to her bait, “No, ma’am, I wouldn’t talk too much about the blood of Jesus…because you can never talk too much about the blood of Jesus!” And then I added, “The blood of Jesus is the axis around which all of Scripture revolves. We must die to self and be born again in Jesus.”
We will take a respite at this time and continue the story in our next study. You won’t want to miss it. The ending feeds us on a lot of spiritual nutriment which is good for the soul.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
I recall a church I pastored over twenty years ago. On my first visit to become acquainted with the good folks of the church, and they in return to become acquainted with me, I enjoyed a meal with an elderly couple. This couple had been a part of that congregation for so long, they for all intents and purposes owned it! Or so it seemed in their eyes.
Actually the husband was a rather reserved fellow, sitting back and allowing his wife to bask in all the glory to be had. He was content to be left alone and to leave everyone else alone. ‘Twould’ve been a grand accomplishment for her to have done the same. Alas, but it wasn’t to be so, not by a long shot.
Anyway, as we sat at the dinner table enjoying the food, this dear woman flapped her jaws more in the pursuit of self-flattery and egocentrism than she did for the purpose of eating. I preferred to use mine to eat, and so I chewed and took it all in…regrettably. She gave me the lowdown on the entire congregation, one-by-one, and threw in the last several pastors to boot. Ah, but there was one redeeming quality in that church…her!
Well, before she was through, she gave me an example of how one of those pastors was impossible to stomach. According to her, he had the unadorned chutzpah to talk about the blood of Jesus on Christmas! Do you believe it? On Christmas! She wanted him run out of town on a rail, but not before spending a week in the pillory and then dressed in tar and feathers.
She was setting me up, you see. Before she agreed to vote for me as the next pastor, she wanted to know whether I would do her bidding or insist on feeding the good church folk with the pure, unadulterated Bible. So her next step was to look me straight in the eye—much as the Queen of Hearts did to those who soon lost their heads—and queried, “You wouldn’t do that, would you? You wouldn’t talk about the blood of Jesus too much, even on Christmas? And then she leaned back in her chair and took a nibble of food, while she waited to hear me timorously say, “No, I won’t do that.”
I took my time and permitted her to gloat over her perceived victory of painting the candidate into a corner and committing him to do her bidding. When I finished chewing my food and swallowing, I then allowed the suspense to build up further by taking a long drink of tea. At last I looked at her with a smile and calmly responded to her bait, “No, ma’am, I wouldn’t talk too much about the blood of Jesus…because you can never talk too much about the blood of Jesus!” And then I added, “The blood of Jesus is the axis around which all of Scripture revolves. We must die to self and be born again in Jesus.”
We will take a respite at this time and continue the story in our next study. You won’t want to miss it. The ending feeds us on a lot of spiritual nutriment which is good for the soul.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Hereditary Heaven – Part 2
Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the Lord which He had done for Israel [Joshua 24:31].
We paused in our last study with this dear woman who didn’t much care to hear any teaching about the blood of Jesus. I, on the other hand, cannot get away from the blood of Jesus. And I politely told her so. Oh, but that got her dander up! She blurted out a revealing retort in an angry growl, “I don’t have to be born again. I was a good person all my life!”
I disagreed, “Oh, but Jesus said in John 3 that we MUST be born again, or else we cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
She retaliated, “That’s just for the wicked people, like the skid row bums and other suchlike low-lifes.”
I explained that Jesus spoke those words to Nicodemus, one of the most godly persons of his day, a sincere seeker of God and His righteousness.
To bring this story to a timely conclusion, allow me to state that this dear woman huffed and puffed and attempted to blow my door down. She vowed I’d not be the pastor of HER church, and bid me a not so fond ado.
Here is the point to the story, dear friends. There is no such critter to be found in the Bible as Hereditary Heaven. Every person born of Father Adam is born a sinner because Father Adam was a sinner. Like begets like. Sinners cannot give birth to saints. Only a sinless person can give birth to another sinless person. That is precisely why every person MUST be born again, if he or she will be a part of the family of God.
In the time of Joshua bin Nun, the Israelites followed the Word of God—of course with some failings on occasion. So long as Joshua and the elders of his day were alive, the Israelites continued to follow the Word of God and server King YHWH. This is what was recorded in Joshua 24:31, which we quoted to start this study.
If we are at Joshua 24 in our Bibles and turn the page to the Book of Judges, beginning with chapter 2 we learn just what transpired the moment Joshua and the elders of his day were no longer alive on earth. Their progeny began to imitate the heathen folks who lived with the Israelites in Canaan. You see, they were not born as the people of God. Each Israelite had to personally, individually, make his/her own choice to obey the Word of God and serve King YHWH only.
There is no such thing as Hereditary Heaven, my dear friends. Are you depending on your natural pedigree to be right with God? Do you look in the mirror and see a good old boy or girl? Is it your position that the Lord should be glad to have you? Do you live in Hereditary Heaven? Ah, oh. I am sorry to tell you, but there is no such critter. You must be born again.
So why not be so now? Let’s go to the Lord and spend some quiet time alone with Him. He has all we need for life, both on earth and in eternity.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
We paused in our last study with this dear woman who didn’t much care to hear any teaching about the blood of Jesus. I, on the other hand, cannot get away from the blood of Jesus. And I politely told her so. Oh, but that got her dander up! She blurted out a revealing retort in an angry growl, “I don’t have to be born again. I was a good person all my life!”
I disagreed, “Oh, but Jesus said in John 3 that we MUST be born again, or else we cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
She retaliated, “That’s just for the wicked people, like the skid row bums and other suchlike low-lifes.”
I explained that Jesus spoke those words to Nicodemus, one of the most godly persons of his day, a sincere seeker of God and His righteousness.
To bring this story to a timely conclusion, allow me to state that this dear woman huffed and puffed and attempted to blow my door down. She vowed I’d not be the pastor of HER church, and bid me a not so fond ado.
Here is the point to the story, dear friends. There is no such critter to be found in the Bible as Hereditary Heaven. Every person born of Father Adam is born a sinner because Father Adam was a sinner. Like begets like. Sinners cannot give birth to saints. Only a sinless person can give birth to another sinless person. That is precisely why every person MUST be born again, if he or she will be a part of the family of God.
In the time of Joshua bin Nun, the Israelites followed the Word of God—of course with some failings on occasion. So long as Joshua and the elders of his day were alive, the Israelites continued to follow the Word of God and server King YHWH. This is what was recorded in Joshua 24:31, which we quoted to start this study.
If we are at Joshua 24 in our Bibles and turn the page to the Book of Judges, beginning with chapter 2 we learn just what transpired the moment Joshua and the elders of his day were no longer alive on earth. Their progeny began to imitate the heathen folks who lived with the Israelites in Canaan. You see, they were not born as the people of God. Each Israelite had to personally, individually, make his/her own choice to obey the Word of God and serve King YHWH only.
There is no such thing as Hereditary Heaven, my dear friends. Are you depending on your natural pedigree to be right with God? Do you look in the mirror and see a good old boy or girl? Is it your position that the Lord should be glad to have you? Do you live in Hereditary Heaven? Ah, oh. I am sorry to tell you, but there is no such critter. You must be born again.
So why not be so now? Let’s go to the Lord and spend some quiet time alone with Him. He has all we need for life, both on earth and in eternity.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Of Covenants and Dispensations – Part 1
These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! [1 Corinthians 10:11-12]
I incessantly teach that Christians are not under the Law. We are under grace. We are not required to obey the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses was the legal code for the Israelites while they inhabited the Lord’s land, the Promised Land.
There have been occasions where folks have taken exception to this teaching. Some of them are covenantalists, as contrasted with dispensationalists. We won’t spend words on defining these two positions, dear friends. It is not the subject for today’s study.
Suffice it to say that covenantalism holds to the tenet that God is always the same throughtout time and eternity, and so He always operates the same. This means that the way God interacted with Adam and Eve was the same way He interacted with Noah, with Abraham, and with the Church.
Dispensationalism, contrariwise, embraces the tenet that, yes, God is always the same. He never changes. However, mankind does, and God varies His approach at different times in order to effectively interact with man. For example, in Genesis 2 before man sinned, God came down to the Garden of Eden to spend time fellowshiping with man.
In Genesis 3 man sinned and God booted him out of the garden. It is obvious that God no longer related to man in the same way thereafter. Man was no longer in the garden! This fact precluded God from coming down to the garden to visit with man! Genesis 2 was one dispensation, one way in which God decided to interact with man. Genesis 3 was another dispensation entirely.
Some of the folks who’ve objected to me not teaching obedience to the Law were covenantalists. They believe God rejected Israel permanently and replaced Israel with the Church. God’s method of interacting with Israel, you see, now became God’s method of interacting with Christians. Christians, rather than Israel, are now obligated to keep the Law.
Belief in covenantalism does not in and of itself equate to not being a Christian. The two are not exclusive, the belief is just a wrong understanding of the Scriptures.
Some of the folks who took exception to me teaching that Christians are not obligated to obey the Law—well, they did so for other reasons. Some cults still insist on obedience to the Law.
A cult is a religious group which professes belief in the Bible and Jesus, but denies the Father and the Son (cf., 1 John). Or the group denies that Jesus has come in the flesh (cf., 1 John). They don’t accept that Jesus is literally God the Son, eternally and fully God. They don’t believe Jesus is the only way to be brought back to the Father. In one or more ways they reject the true, Biblical Jesus.
They are therefore not really Christians but wolves in sheep’s clothing, regardless of good intentions or anything else (cf., 1 John). Christianity is not a religious system or a set of doctrines. It is the Person and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. The churches are full of folks who hold to a set of doctrines and practically never leave the church building. Alas, but they know not Jesus personally and, because of this, they are not Christians.
We must take our leave at this time. The day is far spent. The night falls fast. Let’s spend time with Jesus before we hit the pillow. He has much to teach us from our study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
I incessantly teach that Christians are not under the Law. We are under grace. We are not required to obey the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses was the legal code for the Israelites while they inhabited the Lord’s land, the Promised Land.
There have been occasions where folks have taken exception to this teaching. Some of them are covenantalists, as contrasted with dispensationalists. We won’t spend words on defining these two positions, dear friends. It is not the subject for today’s study.
Suffice it to say that covenantalism holds to the tenet that God is always the same throughtout time and eternity, and so He always operates the same. This means that the way God interacted with Adam and Eve was the same way He interacted with Noah, with Abraham, and with the Church.
Dispensationalism, contrariwise, embraces the tenet that, yes, God is always the same. He never changes. However, mankind does, and God varies His approach at different times in order to effectively interact with man. For example, in Genesis 2 before man sinned, God came down to the Garden of Eden to spend time fellowshiping with man.
In Genesis 3 man sinned and God booted him out of the garden. It is obvious that God no longer related to man in the same way thereafter. Man was no longer in the garden! This fact precluded God from coming down to the garden to visit with man! Genesis 2 was one dispensation, one way in which God decided to interact with man. Genesis 3 was another dispensation entirely.
Some of the folks who’ve objected to me not teaching obedience to the Law were covenantalists. They believe God rejected Israel permanently and replaced Israel with the Church. God’s method of interacting with Israel, you see, now became God’s method of interacting with Christians. Christians, rather than Israel, are now obligated to keep the Law.
Belief in covenantalism does not in and of itself equate to not being a Christian. The two are not exclusive, the belief is just a wrong understanding of the Scriptures.
Some of the folks who took exception to me teaching that Christians are not obligated to obey the Law—well, they did so for other reasons. Some cults still insist on obedience to the Law.
A cult is a religious group which professes belief in the Bible and Jesus, but denies the Father and the Son (cf., 1 John). Or the group denies that Jesus has come in the flesh (cf., 1 John). They don’t accept that Jesus is literally God the Son, eternally and fully God. They don’t believe Jesus is the only way to be brought back to the Father. In one or more ways they reject the true, Biblical Jesus.
They are therefore not really Christians but wolves in sheep’s clothing, regardless of good intentions or anything else (cf., 1 John). Christianity is not a religious system or a set of doctrines. It is the Person and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. The churches are full of folks who hold to a set of doctrines and practically never leave the church building. Alas, but they know not Jesus personally and, because of this, they are not Christians.
We must take our leave at this time. The day is far spent. The night falls fast. Let’s spend time with Jesus before we hit the pillow. He has much to teach us from our study.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Of Covenants and Dispensations – Part 2
These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! [1 Corinthians 10:11-12]
Let’s continue with our study from yesterday. A dear woman and her husband in one of my churches fell under the spell of the Seventh Day Adventists, a cult. This group is entangled in obeying the Law in order to be a Christian. They go so far as to insist that Saturday is the only true day to hold church services and reject Sunday, the Lord’s Day. Hence their name.
Before leaving one of the churches I was pastored, this elderly lady commenced to quarreling with me during Bible study about Christians no longer being under the Law. She wanted to win converts to her brand of legalism, you see, and take them with her to the Adventist Church. She challenged, “Well, if we are no longer under the Law, why do we still bother to study it? Why not remove it from our Bibles and just study the New Testament?”
She felt pretty good about herself, and it showed all over her face. To her she was the man and I was confronted with irrefutable argumentation. In actuality her argument was mere sophistry. It had the appearance of logic and validity, but it was specious reasoning par excellence.
If she knew her Bible as well as she thought she did, she would have known that the Apostle Paul fought ferociously against the Judaizers. The Judaizers were Pharisees, Jewish legalists, who supposedly converted to Christ. However, they insisted on attaching the Law to belief in Jesus. It was necessary to believe in Jesus, yes, but it was also necessary to continue to obey the Law.
Paul rebuked them scathingly, declaring, “We are no longer under Law but under grace!” This same Paul, notwithstanding, still taught the Old Testament to his converts to Jesus. The tenth chapter of 1 Corinthians is one such example. The Bible text we quoted to commence this study is Paul’s conclusion to his Old Testament teaching.
In the first ten verses of 1 Corinthians 10, Paul reiterated multiple situations which occurred with the Israelites in the wilderness under Moses’ leadership. Then Paul penned the words quoted at the start of this lesson. Those words tell us why we still study the Old Testament, even though we are no longer under the Law.
God preserved His Word, including all of the Old Testament, to furnish us with examples. These examples serve as a good source of instruction. We are to learn from the past history of God’s people how NOT to serve the Lord, as well as HOW to serve the Lord. If we learn from Israel’s mistakes, we will be better able to avoid them ourselves.
Think about it, dear friends. I am not obligated to obey the legal code of the Roman Empire, but I still studied Roman history and in the process gleaned a good deal of learning which has relevance today.
We don’t study the Old Testament because we are under the Law. We study it because the Lord used visible physical realities to teach us invisible spiritual truths. I want to know all of these truths. I don’t want to miss any of them. That’s why I study the Old Testament.
Another reason is that I love the Lord and love to learn how He has related to man through the centuries and millennia. The Bible is the only source for learning this. And the Bible is the only book which contains no errors or lies.
So let’s not attempt to obey the Law in order to be saved or to stay saved. But let’s study the Law to know the Lord all the better. This is an excellent time for us to grab our Bibles and go be with Jesus. He loves to teach us His Word, if only we want to learn it and obey it.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Let’s continue with our study from yesterday. A dear woman and her husband in one of my churches fell under the spell of the Seventh Day Adventists, a cult. This group is entangled in obeying the Law in order to be a Christian. They go so far as to insist that Saturday is the only true day to hold church services and reject Sunday, the Lord’s Day. Hence their name.
Before leaving one of the churches I was pastored, this elderly lady commenced to quarreling with me during Bible study about Christians no longer being under the Law. She wanted to win converts to her brand of legalism, you see, and take them with her to the Adventist Church. She challenged, “Well, if we are no longer under the Law, why do we still bother to study it? Why not remove it from our Bibles and just study the New Testament?”
She felt pretty good about herself, and it showed all over her face. To her she was the man and I was confronted with irrefutable argumentation. In actuality her argument was mere sophistry. It had the appearance of logic and validity, but it was specious reasoning par excellence.
If she knew her Bible as well as she thought she did, she would have known that the Apostle Paul fought ferociously against the Judaizers. The Judaizers were Pharisees, Jewish legalists, who supposedly converted to Christ. However, they insisted on attaching the Law to belief in Jesus. It was necessary to believe in Jesus, yes, but it was also necessary to continue to obey the Law.
Paul rebuked them scathingly, declaring, “We are no longer under Law but under grace!” This same Paul, notwithstanding, still taught the Old Testament to his converts to Jesus. The tenth chapter of 1 Corinthians is one such example. The Bible text we quoted to commence this study is Paul’s conclusion to his Old Testament teaching.
In the first ten verses of 1 Corinthians 10, Paul reiterated multiple situations which occurred with the Israelites in the wilderness under Moses’ leadership. Then Paul penned the words quoted at the start of this lesson. Those words tell us why we still study the Old Testament, even though we are no longer under the Law.
God preserved His Word, including all of the Old Testament, to furnish us with examples. These examples serve as a good source of instruction. We are to learn from the past history of God’s people how NOT to serve the Lord, as well as HOW to serve the Lord. If we learn from Israel’s mistakes, we will be better able to avoid them ourselves.
Think about it, dear friends. I am not obligated to obey the legal code of the Roman Empire, but I still studied Roman history and in the process gleaned a good deal of learning which has relevance today.
We don’t study the Old Testament because we are under the Law. We study it because the Lord used visible physical realities to teach us invisible spiritual truths. I want to know all of these truths. I don’t want to miss any of them. That’s why I study the Old Testament.
Another reason is that I love the Lord and love to learn how He has related to man through the centuries and millennia. The Bible is the only source for learning this. And the Bible is the only book which contains no errors or lies.
So let’s not attempt to obey the Law in order to be saved or to stay saved. But let’s study the Law to know the Lord all the better. This is an excellent time for us to grab our Bibles and go be with Jesus. He loves to teach us His Word, if only we want to learn it and obey it.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Stand Still and Walk! – Part 1
But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” [Exodus 14:13-14]
It is a commonplace in today’s churches to hie off to the nearest Christian bookstore in search of spiritual secrets. The latest fad book on “How to Make Your Church Grow from Seven Souls to Seven Thousand Overnight” is one of the best sellers. When we follow such an approach, we turn the church into a worldly organization. Truth be told, the Church is a spiritual organism, the Body of Christ on earth today.
There are no shortcuts in natural life, dear friends. To create a mature adult several steps need to take place, each of which takes years to blossom. Let’s itemize some of them:
1. consummation of a marriage
2. carrying to term
3. giving birth
4. baby years
5. toddler years
6. preschool years
7. elementary school years
8. high school years
9. college/trade school/apprenticeship years
10. young working adult years
11. middle age years
12. golden oldies years
The list is not all-inclusive to be sure, but it suffices to express the stages of natural life.
The same is true in spiritual life. Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God [John 3:3]. So in the spiritual life we also need points 1-3: consummation of a marriage, carrying to term, and giving birth.
A simple cursory glance at both Old and New Testaments reveals the Lord’s will for His people to become educated in the Word of God. Strict directions are given for parents to rear their children in the things of God, both by teaching them the Bible and by setting a Biblical example of Christian living for them. So in the spiritual life we also need points 4-9.
In 1 John 2:12-14 the Apostle John identifies three ages of spiritual maturity. He addresses the “little children” and the “young men” and the “fathers”. When we understand that John is writing spiritual truth to these folks, then we know to interpret these terms spiritually, i.e., as pertaining to spiritual life. So in the spiritual life we also need points 10-12.
Here’s the moral to this story, dear people. In the natural life things are not the same for each person. Your course in life and your natural gifts and abilities are not mine or your neighbors or your sisters. And what is applicable to you today might not be so in twenty years or twenty days or twenty minutes.
The same is true in the spiritual life too. How one person came to know the Lord is not the way everybody must come to know the Lord. What books and teachings attract one Christian is not what will appeal to another. What ministry I have is not the ministry you are supposed to have. There is no one-size-fits-all in spiritual life.
For that matter what is apposite for me today in ministry might very well not be tomorrow. I used to have a pulpit ministry: now I have a writing ministry. The Lord wants to rear us to walk by faith, which requires constant dependence on Him, not a predetermined plan on our part of what will be.
Until we get a handle on this spiritual truth that the Church is a spiritual organism and not a worldly organization, we will never accomplish for Christ anything to write home about. We need to study 1 Corinthians 12-14 until we thoroughly understand this.
Do you see how this affects Christian fad books about how to grow the church? What worked in one case is not a blueprint for every church—or perhaps even for any other church. Programs, fads, gadgets and gimmicks—suchlike gewgaws are not the work of a spiritual organism. They are the baubles of a worldly organization. They only serve to attract folks on the natural level, not the spiritual.
We will pursue this issue further in our next lesson. Spend some time alone with our blessed Lord now, why don’cha.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
It is a commonplace in today’s churches to hie off to the nearest Christian bookstore in search of spiritual secrets. The latest fad book on “How to Make Your Church Grow from Seven Souls to Seven Thousand Overnight” is one of the best sellers. When we follow such an approach, we turn the church into a worldly organization. Truth be told, the Church is a spiritual organism, the Body of Christ on earth today.
There are no shortcuts in natural life, dear friends. To create a mature adult several steps need to take place, each of which takes years to blossom. Let’s itemize some of them:
1. consummation of a marriage
2. carrying to term
3. giving birth
4. baby years
5. toddler years
6. preschool years
7. elementary school years
8. high school years
9. college/trade school/apprenticeship years
10. young working adult years
11. middle age years
12. golden oldies years
The list is not all-inclusive to be sure, but it suffices to express the stages of natural life.
The same is true in spiritual life. Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God [John 3:3]. So in the spiritual life we also need points 1-3: consummation of a marriage, carrying to term, and giving birth.
A simple cursory glance at both Old and New Testaments reveals the Lord’s will for His people to become educated in the Word of God. Strict directions are given for parents to rear their children in the things of God, both by teaching them the Bible and by setting a Biblical example of Christian living for them. So in the spiritual life we also need points 4-9.
In 1 John 2:12-14 the Apostle John identifies three ages of spiritual maturity. He addresses the “little children” and the “young men” and the “fathers”. When we understand that John is writing spiritual truth to these folks, then we know to interpret these terms spiritually, i.e., as pertaining to spiritual life. So in the spiritual life we also need points 10-12.
Here’s the moral to this story, dear people. In the natural life things are not the same for each person. Your course in life and your natural gifts and abilities are not mine or your neighbors or your sisters. And what is applicable to you today might not be so in twenty years or twenty days or twenty minutes.
The same is true in the spiritual life too. How one person came to know the Lord is not the way everybody must come to know the Lord. What books and teachings attract one Christian is not what will appeal to another. What ministry I have is not the ministry you are supposed to have. There is no one-size-fits-all in spiritual life.
For that matter what is apposite for me today in ministry might very well not be tomorrow. I used to have a pulpit ministry: now I have a writing ministry. The Lord wants to rear us to walk by faith, which requires constant dependence on Him, not a predetermined plan on our part of what will be.
Until we get a handle on this spiritual truth that the Church is a spiritual organism and not a worldly organization, we will never accomplish for Christ anything to write home about. We need to study 1 Corinthians 12-14 until we thoroughly understand this.
Do you see how this affects Christian fad books about how to grow the church? What worked in one case is not a blueprint for every church—or perhaps even for any other church. Programs, fads, gadgets and gimmicks—suchlike gewgaws are not the work of a spiritual organism. They are the baubles of a worldly organization. They only serve to attract folks on the natural level, not the spiritual.
We will pursue this issue further in our next lesson. Spend some time alone with our blessed Lord now, why don’cha.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Stand Still and Walk! – Part 2
But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” [Exodus 14:13-14]
In the text we quoted to start this study, the Israelites were standing on the shore of the Red Sea. The sea was in front of them to bar their advancement, and Pharaoh and his army were behind them to bar their retreat. The Israelites were in a state of discombobulation, fearing for their lives and panic-stricken.
Moses alone stood resolute because his eyes were on the Lord, while the other Israelites focused on the sea and the enemy soldiers. By faith Moses exhorted his compatriots, Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today.
Following today’s approach, Aaron should’ve run off to seclusion and written a fad book titled, “How To Escape All Your Troubles!” He could write down the account of how the Lord delivered the Israelites at the Red Sea. All of Egypt’s enemies would be sure to make a mad dash for the bookstores and get their copy. Then they could lure Pharaoh to the Red Sea and win the war the way the Israelites did!
Dear friends, on this occasion the Lord instructed the Israelites to stand still and watch Him deliver them from Pharaoh’s clutches. While they watched the Lord parted the waters of the Red Sea and sent the Israelites across it on dry ground. Of course the Israelites had to do their part, viz., to stand still and trust Him while the waters were parted, and then to get a-marching across the dry seabed.
But the Lord didn’t repeat this approach any other time, except forty years later when He also stopped the waters of the flooding Jordan River to allow Israel to cross on dry ground. The repetition of this approach was for reasons of typology.
On many occasions the Lord instructed the Israelites to take up arms and do the fighting themselves. He did defeat the enemy for them, to be sure, but they had to participate by actually fighting. So at the Red Sea the Lord forbade the Israelites to do the fighting, while against the Amalekites (as one example, cf., Exodus 17) He insisted they do the fighting.
Isn’t it clear that fad books about how to grow the church are only worldly ways? We have many a missions program which apes this approach. Such programs think bigger is better, rather than Biblical is spiritual. They wind up sending out family units on their own to do the work of the ministry, like isolated participants in guerrilla warfare.
What they should be doing is involving the entire Body of Christ in spiritual warfare. After all, every Christian is a prayer warrior in the Christian military. But Christians cannot effectively conduct spiritual warfare without personal involvement in the ministry. We need to know the missionaries and be kept up-to-date on their needs and goals, so we can offer up very specific prayers to the Lord.
In ministry the Lord has His part to do and we have ours. Those parts vary from ministry to ministry and sometimes from moment to moment. We need to maintain our relationship with the Lord daily and be in prayer about what He wants from us each day. That is how to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. Isn’t this what you want for yourself? I know I do.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In the text we quoted to start this study, the Israelites were standing on the shore of the Red Sea. The sea was in front of them to bar their advancement, and Pharaoh and his army were behind them to bar their retreat. The Israelites were in a state of discombobulation, fearing for their lives and panic-stricken.
Moses alone stood resolute because his eyes were on the Lord, while the other Israelites focused on the sea and the enemy soldiers. By faith Moses exhorted his compatriots, Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today.
Following today’s approach, Aaron should’ve run off to seclusion and written a fad book titled, “How To Escape All Your Troubles!” He could write down the account of how the Lord delivered the Israelites at the Red Sea. All of Egypt’s enemies would be sure to make a mad dash for the bookstores and get their copy. Then they could lure Pharaoh to the Red Sea and win the war the way the Israelites did!
Dear friends, on this occasion the Lord instructed the Israelites to stand still and watch Him deliver them from Pharaoh’s clutches. While they watched the Lord parted the waters of the Red Sea and sent the Israelites across it on dry ground. Of course the Israelites had to do their part, viz., to stand still and trust Him while the waters were parted, and then to get a-marching across the dry seabed.
But the Lord didn’t repeat this approach any other time, except forty years later when He also stopped the waters of the flooding Jordan River to allow Israel to cross on dry ground. The repetition of this approach was for reasons of typology.
On many occasions the Lord instructed the Israelites to take up arms and do the fighting themselves. He did defeat the enemy for them, to be sure, but they had to participate by actually fighting. So at the Red Sea the Lord forbade the Israelites to do the fighting, while against the Amalekites (as one example, cf., Exodus 17) He insisted they do the fighting.
Isn’t it clear that fad books about how to grow the church are only worldly ways? We have many a missions program which apes this approach. Such programs think bigger is better, rather than Biblical is spiritual. They wind up sending out family units on their own to do the work of the ministry, like isolated participants in guerrilla warfare.
What they should be doing is involving the entire Body of Christ in spiritual warfare. After all, every Christian is a prayer warrior in the Christian military. But Christians cannot effectively conduct spiritual warfare without personal involvement in the ministry. We need to know the missionaries and be kept up-to-date on their needs and goals, so we can offer up very specific prayers to the Lord.
In ministry the Lord has His part to do and we have ours. Those parts vary from ministry to ministry and sometimes from moment to moment. We need to maintain our relationship with the Lord daily and be in prayer about what He wants from us each day. That is how to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. Isn’t this what you want for yourself? I know I do.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Familial Ties – Part 1
For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation [Galatians 6:15].
At the beginning of time God created man and woman. We know them as Adam and Eve. They once upon a time lived in this garden somewhere in the east.
Anyway, they were the original two humans. Every other human being is descended from Mr. & Mrs. Adam. In this sense all humans are the same. We have the same flesh and blood because we are related.
In the idyllic garden all mankind—all two of them!—comprised one family, the family of God. The Lord came to the garden to visit with them. Their relationship was great. Ah, all mankind as the one family of God. Talk about sharing irenic relationships with everyone.
One not so sunny afternoon a sinister snake in the grass slithered into Mr. & Mrs. Adam’s garden, and everything changed. Suddenly there were two families of mankind. There was the seed of the serpent and there was the seed of the woman.
From that day until circa 30 A.D.—a few millennia of time—those two families comprised all mankind. The seed of the serpent consisted of everyone who listened to the serpent’s idea, while the seed of the woman was composed of those who thought rather to heed the words of the Lord.
In time the Lord chose this fellow named Abram and made a covenant with him. The Lord later renamed him to Abraham. Anyway, from the time of Abe’s call until circa 30 A.D., the seed of the woman passed through Abe’s lineage. As the sign of His covenant with Abe, the Lord required that every male in His family be circumcised at 8 days of age. This is known as the Abrahamic Covenant.
The distinction between the two families of mankind came to be expressed by the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant. In our text for today which is quoted at the start of this study, the Apostle Paul identifies three families of mankind. They are,
1. circumcision
2. uncircumcision
3. new creation
From the time of the garden of Eden until the Abrahamic Covenant, the two families of mankind were known as “seed of the woman” and “seed of the serpent”. From the time of the Abrahamic Covenant until circa 30 A.D. the two families of mankind were known as “circumcision” and “uncircumcision”. This explains points #1 and #2 in our numbered list.
But looky there at point #3. What is a “new creation”? What happened circa 30 A.D. to give birth to a new family of human beings? And lastly, if “circumcision” refers to the seed of the woman and “uncircumcision” refers to the seed of the serpent, to which seed does “new creation” belong?
Those are excellent questions. The answers are easy enough to come by, so we needn’t fret. We will tackle the questions in our next study. Meditate on today’s study while sitting at the feet of Jesus. You will be glad you did. See you tomorrow!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
At the beginning of time God created man and woman. We know them as Adam and Eve. They once upon a time lived in this garden somewhere in the east.
Anyway, they were the original two humans. Every other human being is descended from Mr. & Mrs. Adam. In this sense all humans are the same. We have the same flesh and blood because we are related.
In the idyllic garden all mankind—all two of them!—comprised one family, the family of God. The Lord came to the garden to visit with them. Their relationship was great. Ah, all mankind as the one family of God. Talk about sharing irenic relationships with everyone.
One not so sunny afternoon a sinister snake in the grass slithered into Mr. & Mrs. Adam’s garden, and everything changed. Suddenly there were two families of mankind. There was the seed of the serpent and there was the seed of the woman.
From that day until circa 30 A.D.—a few millennia of time—those two families comprised all mankind. The seed of the serpent consisted of everyone who listened to the serpent’s idea, while the seed of the woman was composed of those who thought rather to heed the words of the Lord.
In time the Lord chose this fellow named Abram and made a covenant with him. The Lord later renamed him to Abraham. Anyway, from the time of Abe’s call until circa 30 A.D., the seed of the woman passed through Abe’s lineage. As the sign of His covenant with Abe, the Lord required that every male in His family be circumcised at 8 days of age. This is known as the Abrahamic Covenant.
The distinction between the two families of mankind came to be expressed by the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant. In our text for today which is quoted at the start of this study, the Apostle Paul identifies three families of mankind. They are,
1. circumcision
2. uncircumcision
3. new creation
From the time of the garden of Eden until the Abrahamic Covenant, the two families of mankind were known as “seed of the woman” and “seed of the serpent”. From the time of the Abrahamic Covenant until circa 30 A.D. the two families of mankind were known as “circumcision” and “uncircumcision”. This explains points #1 and #2 in our numbered list.
But looky there at point #3. What is a “new creation”? What happened circa 30 A.D. to give birth to a new family of human beings? And lastly, if “circumcision” refers to the seed of the woman and “uncircumcision” refers to the seed of the serpent, to which seed does “new creation” belong?
Those are excellent questions. The answers are easy enough to come by, so we needn’t fret. We will tackle the questions in our next study. Meditate on today’s study while sitting at the feet of Jesus. You will be glad you did. See you tomorrow!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Familial Ties – Part 2
For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation [Galatians 6:15].
We paused our last study with three questions:
1. What is a “new creation”?
2. What happened circa 30 A.D. to give birth to a “new creation”?
3. Does a “new creation” belong to God’s family or Satan’s?
Let’s tackle those questions now, shall we? In doing so we will begin with the third question, “Does a new creation belong to God’s family or Satan’s?”
In answer to the question, the new creation belongs to God’s family. There. I said it. The suspense is over! Now you can relax. The new creation belongs to God’s family, not Satan’s by any stretch of the imagination.
“Whoa, Nellie!” I just heard a flustered fellow fret. “I thought the ‘seed of the woman’ and then the ‘circumcision’ was God’s family. How then is the ‘new creation’ God’s family? I don’t get it.”
Chill, brother. You’ll have a stroke if you keep up the agitation. Take it down a notch and I’ll explain it to you. The answer to your question is to be found in the answers to the first and second questions about the “new creation”. So let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work answering those two questions. Bet you’ll have the answer to your question then.
The devil’s family was known as the ‘seed of the serpent’, and then as the ‘uncircumcision’ after the Abrahamic Covenant came into play. God’s family, in distinction, was known as the ‘seed of the woman’, and then as the ‘circumcision’.
Trouble was, the circumcision (i.e., the Israelites) didn’t do their job—or more correctly, they didn’t do the Lord’s job. The job (aka ministry) which the Lord called the Israelites (aka the circumcision) to do was to be His witness to the rest of the world (aka the Gentiles). To do the job effectively, the Israelites needed to learn and obey the Law of Moses. In that way they would reflect the truth of the one true God to the Gentiles, who were seduced by idolatry.
Alas, but the Israelites lost interest in the Lord and His Word, and they went to shacking up with the false gods of the Gentiles. This was anything but being the Lord’s witness to the Gentiles. Rather, they were being the Gentiles’ witness to the Lord!
What to do? The Lord wanted to call mankind back into relationship with Himself, but they were steeped in idolatry and living for the devil. And even His own people, the Israelites, His supposed witness to the Gentiles, were reflecting lies about God instead of the truth.
Circa 30 A.D. God decided it was time to temporarily set aside His chosen people, the Israelites, as His witness to the world. Instead of one solitary nation, one ethnic people with their own laws and their own country, to serve as His witness—instead of this approach, the Lord decided to create a new people comprised of individuals from every tribe and nation and people and tongue throughout the world.
We will finish our analysis of the “new creation” on the morrow. For today let’s relish the opportunity to spend time alone with the Lord Jesus, and allow Him to minister to our hearts and minds.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
We paused our last study with three questions:
1. What is a “new creation”?
2. What happened circa 30 A.D. to give birth to a “new creation”?
3. Does a “new creation” belong to God’s family or Satan’s?
Let’s tackle those questions now, shall we? In doing so we will begin with the third question, “Does a new creation belong to God’s family or Satan’s?”
In answer to the question, the new creation belongs to God’s family. There. I said it. The suspense is over! Now you can relax. The new creation belongs to God’s family, not Satan’s by any stretch of the imagination.
“Whoa, Nellie!” I just heard a flustered fellow fret. “I thought the ‘seed of the woman’ and then the ‘circumcision’ was God’s family. How then is the ‘new creation’ God’s family? I don’t get it.”
Chill, brother. You’ll have a stroke if you keep up the agitation. Take it down a notch and I’ll explain it to you. The answer to your question is to be found in the answers to the first and second questions about the “new creation”. So let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work answering those two questions. Bet you’ll have the answer to your question then.
The devil’s family was known as the ‘seed of the serpent’, and then as the ‘uncircumcision’ after the Abrahamic Covenant came into play. God’s family, in distinction, was known as the ‘seed of the woman’, and then as the ‘circumcision’.
Trouble was, the circumcision (i.e., the Israelites) didn’t do their job—or more correctly, they didn’t do the Lord’s job. The job (aka ministry) which the Lord called the Israelites (aka the circumcision) to do was to be His witness to the rest of the world (aka the Gentiles). To do the job effectively, the Israelites needed to learn and obey the Law of Moses. In that way they would reflect the truth of the one true God to the Gentiles, who were seduced by idolatry.
Alas, but the Israelites lost interest in the Lord and His Word, and they went to shacking up with the false gods of the Gentiles. This was anything but being the Lord’s witness to the Gentiles. Rather, they were being the Gentiles’ witness to the Lord!
What to do? The Lord wanted to call mankind back into relationship with Himself, but they were steeped in idolatry and living for the devil. And even His own people, the Israelites, His supposed witness to the Gentiles, were reflecting lies about God instead of the truth.
Circa 30 A.D. God decided it was time to temporarily set aside His chosen people, the Israelites, as His witness to the world. Instead of one solitary nation, one ethnic people with their own laws and their own country, to serve as His witness—instead of this approach, the Lord decided to create a new people comprised of individuals from every tribe and nation and people and tongue throughout the world.
We will finish our analysis of the “new creation” on the morrow. For today let’s relish the opportunity to spend time alone with the Lord Jesus, and allow Him to minister to our hearts and minds.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Familial Ties – Part 3
For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation [Galatians 6:15].
The circumcision had the job of representing the one true God to the uncircumcision. Alas, but the circumcision wound up mimicking the uncircumcision, leaving the one true God without His witness in the world . The devil was the only god anyone recognized!
So circa 30 A.D. the Lord decided to temporarily set aside His chosen people, the Israelites (aka the circumcision), and create a whole new people of His own to fulfill the ministry the Israelites failed to accomplish. The Messiah Jesus died on the cross for mankind’s sins and rose out of death for mankind’s justification. This was circa 30 A.D. He ascended into heaven forty days later.
Ten days after ascending into heaven—which was fifty days after He rose out of death—Messiah Jesus (aka Christ Jesus) sent the Holy Spirit to fill His disciples and indwell them eternally. This took place in Jerusalem during the Jewish holiday Shavuot (aka Pentecost). The event marked the birth of the Church.
The Church is the Body of Christ Jesus on earth. The Church is the “new creation” we have referenced several times already. Jesus no longer walks the earth in His physical body as God in a human body. Jesus created a new people, the Church, to indwell on the earth. The Church has the ministry to represent the Lord Jesus to all of mankind, including both Jews and Gentiles (aka circumcision and uncircumcision).
The time from the birth of the Church on Pentecost circa 30 A.D., until the Lord Jesus returns to the earth (aka the Second Coming), is known as the Church Age. During this time the circumcision is temporarily set aside as a nation, not serving the Lord as His witness to the Gentiles.
But this is only a temporary situation. At a time of the Lord choosing, the Church Age will come to a close. The Lord Jesus will descend from heaven in the clouds, sound the trumpet call to His new creation (aka the Church), and the Christians (both Jews and Gentiles) will rise to meet Him in the clouds. We will return to heaven with our blessed Lord to celebrate the marriage supper of the Lamb.
The next seven years on earth will be the time of Jacob’s trouble (aka the Tribulation Period). The Lord will allow the antichrist to persecute His chosen people Israel, sifting them and purifying them in preparation for His return to earth. At the end of the seven-year Tribulation Period, the Lord will descend from heaven.
When Messiah Jesus returns in the clouds, the Jews will look upon Him and recognize their Messiah whom they rejected circa 30 A.D. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son. The nation of Israel (aka the circumcision) as a nation will then receive their Messiah. The Lord will take the nation up again as His chosen people to be His witness to the Gentiles on the earth. This ministry will last for a thousand years (aka the Millennium).
Thus during the Church Age the circumcision is not God’s family. The new creation (aka Christians/the Church) is. The circumcision was, and the circumcision will be once again be, God’s family. But for now the Church represents God on the earth. The Church includes both Jewish individuals and Gentile individuals—but neither the nation of Israel nor any other nation or ethnic group comprises God’s family during the Church Age.
I trust this dissipates the fog and brings in the bright morning sunlight, as it relates to Paul’s three classifications of human beings during the Church Age. Allow me to list them one more time in closing:
1. circumcision
2. uncircumcision
3. new creation
Oh, I am sorry for being so careless. I almost forgot to ask, “To which classification do you belong?”
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The circumcision had the job of representing the one true God to the uncircumcision. Alas, but the circumcision wound up mimicking the uncircumcision, leaving the one true God without His witness in the world . The devil was the only god anyone recognized!
So circa 30 A.D. the Lord decided to temporarily set aside His chosen people, the Israelites (aka the circumcision), and create a whole new people of His own to fulfill the ministry the Israelites failed to accomplish. The Messiah Jesus died on the cross for mankind’s sins and rose out of death for mankind’s justification. This was circa 30 A.D. He ascended into heaven forty days later.
Ten days after ascending into heaven—which was fifty days after He rose out of death—Messiah Jesus (aka Christ Jesus) sent the Holy Spirit to fill His disciples and indwell them eternally. This took place in Jerusalem during the Jewish holiday Shavuot (aka Pentecost). The event marked the birth of the Church.
The Church is the Body of Christ Jesus on earth. The Church is the “new creation” we have referenced several times already. Jesus no longer walks the earth in His physical body as God in a human body. Jesus created a new people, the Church, to indwell on the earth. The Church has the ministry to represent the Lord Jesus to all of mankind, including both Jews and Gentiles (aka circumcision and uncircumcision).
The time from the birth of the Church on Pentecost circa 30 A.D., until the Lord Jesus returns to the earth (aka the Second Coming), is known as the Church Age. During this time the circumcision is temporarily set aside as a nation, not serving the Lord as His witness to the Gentiles.
But this is only a temporary situation. At a time of the Lord choosing, the Church Age will come to a close. The Lord Jesus will descend from heaven in the clouds, sound the trumpet call to His new creation (aka the Church), and the Christians (both Jews and Gentiles) will rise to meet Him in the clouds. We will return to heaven with our blessed Lord to celebrate the marriage supper of the Lamb.
The next seven years on earth will be the time of Jacob’s trouble (aka the Tribulation Period). The Lord will allow the antichrist to persecute His chosen people Israel, sifting them and purifying them in preparation for His return to earth. At the end of the seven-year Tribulation Period, the Lord will descend from heaven.
When Messiah Jesus returns in the clouds, the Jews will look upon Him and recognize their Messiah whom they rejected circa 30 A.D. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son. The nation of Israel (aka the circumcision) as a nation will then receive their Messiah. The Lord will take the nation up again as His chosen people to be His witness to the Gentiles on the earth. This ministry will last for a thousand years (aka the Millennium).
Thus during the Church Age the circumcision is not God’s family. The new creation (aka Christians/the Church) is. The circumcision was, and the circumcision will be once again be, God’s family. But for now the Church represents God on the earth. The Church includes both Jewish individuals and Gentile individuals—but neither the nation of Israel nor any other nation or ethnic group comprises God’s family during the Church Age.
I trust this dissipates the fog and brings in the bright morning sunlight, as it relates to Paul’s three classifications of human beings during the Church Age. Allow me to list them one more time in closing:
1. circumcision
2. uncircumcision
3. new creation
Oh, I am sorry for being so careless. I almost forgot to ask, “To which classification do you belong?”
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Hereditary Heaven – Part 1
Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the Lord which He had done for Israel [Joshua 24:31].
I recall a church I pastored over twenty years ago. On my first visit to become acquainted with the good folks of the church, and they in return to become acquainted with me, I enjoyed a meal with an elderly couple. This couple had been a part of that congregation for so long, they for all intents and purposes owned it! Or so it seemed in their eyes.
Actually the husband was a rather reserved fellow, sitting back and allowing his wife to bask in all the glory to be had. He was content to be left alone and to leave everyone else alone. ‘Twould’ve been a grand accomplishment for her to have done the same. Alas, but it wasn’t to be so, not by a long shot.
Anyway, as we sat at the dinner table enjoying the food, this dear woman flapped her jaws more in the pursuit of self-flattery and egocentrism than she did for the purpose of eating. I preferred to use mine to eat, and so I chewed and took it all in…regrettably. She gave me the lowdown on the entire congregation, one-by-one, and threw in the last several pastors to boot. Ah, but there was one redeeming quality in that church…her!
Well, before she was through, she gave me an example of how one of those pastors was impossible to stomach. According to her, he had the unadorned chutzpah to talk about the blood of Jesus on Christmas! Do you believe it? On Christmas! She wanted him run out of town on a rail, but not before spending a week in the pillory and then dressed in tar and feathers.
She was setting me up, you see. Before she agreed to vote for me as the next pastor, she wanted to know whether I would do her bidding or insist on feeding the good church folk with the pure, unadulterated Bible. So her next step was to look me straight in the eye—much as the Queen of Hearts did to those who soon lost their heads—and queried, “You wouldn’t do that, would you? You wouldn’t talk about the blood of Jesus too much, even on Christmas? And then she leaned back in her chair and took a nibble of food, while she waited to hear me timorously say, “No, I won’t do that.”
I took my time and permitted her to gloat over her perceived victory of painting the candidate into a corner and committing him to do her bidding. When I finished chewing my food and swallowing, I then allowed the suspense to build up further by taking a long drink of tea. At last I looked at her with a smile and calmly responded to her bait, “No, ma’am, I wouldn’t talk too much about the blood of Jesus…because you can never talk too much about the blood of Jesus!” And then I added, “The blood of Jesus is the axis around which all of Scripture revolves. We must die to self and be born again in Jesus.”
We will take a respite at this time and continue the story in our next study. You won’t want to miss it. The ending feeds us on a lot of spiritual nutriment which is good for the soul.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
I recall a church I pastored over twenty years ago. On my first visit to become acquainted with the good folks of the church, and they in return to become acquainted with me, I enjoyed a meal with an elderly couple. This couple had been a part of that congregation for so long, they for all intents and purposes owned it! Or so it seemed in their eyes.
Actually the husband was a rather reserved fellow, sitting back and allowing his wife to bask in all the glory to be had. He was content to be left alone and to leave everyone else alone. ‘Twould’ve been a grand accomplishment for her to have done the same. Alas, but it wasn’t to be so, not by a long shot.
Anyway, as we sat at the dinner table enjoying the food, this dear woman flapped her jaws more in the pursuit of self-flattery and egocentrism than she did for the purpose of eating. I preferred to use mine to eat, and so I chewed and took it all in…regrettably. She gave me the lowdown on the entire congregation, one-by-one, and threw in the last several pastors to boot. Ah, but there was one redeeming quality in that church…her!
Well, before she was through, she gave me an example of how one of those pastors was impossible to stomach. According to her, he had the unadorned chutzpah to talk about the blood of Jesus on Christmas! Do you believe it? On Christmas! She wanted him run out of town on a rail, but not before spending a week in the pillory and then dressed in tar and feathers.
She was setting me up, you see. Before she agreed to vote for me as the next pastor, she wanted to know whether I would do her bidding or insist on feeding the good church folk with the pure, unadulterated Bible. So her next step was to look me straight in the eye—much as the Queen of Hearts did to those who soon lost their heads—and queried, “You wouldn’t do that, would you? You wouldn’t talk about the blood of Jesus too much, even on Christmas? And then she leaned back in her chair and took a nibble of food, while she waited to hear me timorously say, “No, I won’t do that.”
I took my time and permitted her to gloat over her perceived victory of painting the candidate into a corner and committing him to do her bidding. When I finished chewing my food and swallowing, I then allowed the suspense to build up further by taking a long drink of tea. At last I looked at her with a smile and calmly responded to her bait, “No, ma’am, I wouldn’t talk too much about the blood of Jesus…because you can never talk too much about the blood of Jesus!” And then I added, “The blood of Jesus is the axis around which all of Scripture revolves. We must die to self and be born again in Jesus.”
We will take a respite at this time and continue the story in our next study. You won’t want to miss it. The ending feeds us on a lot of spiritual nutriment which is good for the soul.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
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