Randy Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "gospel"
Nowhere Else To Go
Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life [John 6:67-78].
It is the norm nowadays to view church and religion as being equivalent to salvation, as being the same as eternal life. If I go to church I must be saved. If I am religious in any way I must have eternal life.
Truth be told, church is often predominantly activities and programs. Christians are so busy with these functions they have little to no time left for personal time with the Lord. Bible reading and meditation is replaced with shortcuts like puny daily devotionals and quick booklets about the Bible. But, dear people, where is Jesus in all that?
The Gospel is a Person, not programs and activities. Programs and activities never died for anyone! This doesn't mean we should have no programs and activities. It means that programs and activities are not a substitute for the Person of Jesus Christ. We can have programs and activities without Jesus and look mighty fine and religious. But we cannot live the Gospel that way. Either we have a personal relationship with Jesus, or else we haven't the Gospel.
Peter didn't say, "Lord, what other programs and activities can we employ?" He said, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. Notice the personal pronouns "whom" and "You". Peter knew that eternal life was a Person, viz., Jesus Christ. First the disciples related to Jesus the Person. Only then did they perform ministry functions because they were related to Him.
Think I need to retire to the prayer closet for a space and allow the Lord to search my heart and mind as only He can do. Am I daily spending time alone with this Person Who is eternal life? Or am I too busy socializing and running hither and yon in a hustle and bustle of activities? Hmm. I wonder...
To further research this issue, I direct you to my two books Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
It is the norm nowadays to view church and religion as being equivalent to salvation, as being the same as eternal life. If I go to church I must be saved. If I am religious in any way I must have eternal life.
Truth be told, church is often predominantly activities and programs. Christians are so busy with these functions they have little to no time left for personal time with the Lord. Bible reading and meditation is replaced with shortcuts like puny daily devotionals and quick booklets about the Bible. But, dear people, where is Jesus in all that?
The Gospel is a Person, not programs and activities. Programs and activities never died for anyone! This doesn't mean we should have no programs and activities. It means that programs and activities are not a substitute for the Person of Jesus Christ. We can have programs and activities without Jesus and look mighty fine and religious. But we cannot live the Gospel that way. Either we have a personal relationship with Jesus, or else we haven't the Gospel.
Peter didn't say, "Lord, what other programs and activities can we employ?" He said, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. Notice the personal pronouns "whom" and "You". Peter knew that eternal life was a Person, viz., Jesus Christ. First the disciples related to Jesus the Person. Only then did they perform ministry functions because they were related to Him.
Think I need to retire to the prayer closet for a space and allow the Lord to search my heart and mind as only He can do. Am I daily spending time alone with this Person Who is eternal life? Or am I too busy socializing and running hither and yon in a hustle and bustle of activities? Hmm. I wonder...
To further research this issue, I direct you to my two books Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. For more info please visit these sites to purchase my books:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Favorite Elementary School Teacher
Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus [Galatians 3:24-26].
Do you remember who your favorite grade school teacher was? If you’ve put on the years like me, that is a tall order to fill. But I remember mine! No, I cannot recall his name, but I remember him. He was my fourth grade English teacher. He had somewhat of a resemblance to my father, same general size and build. Maybe that contributed to my embracing him.
But what I really liked the most about him was what he did. During English class he would read aloud to us a chapter at a time from the Hardy Boys mystery books. I used to love those books! This teacher did this in order to interest us in reading books on our own. He led by example, and it worked! Not just me, but many other students took to reading books because of this teacher. He left a lasting legacy.
In Galatians 3 the Apostle Paul recalled his own favorite school marm. He said the Law was his favorite school marm. No, I’m not making that up! Honest. Paul said that. Just read the verses in Galatians we quoted at the start of this post. Still don’t see it, huh? Okay, then let me explain it to you.
The NASB translation I employed in the quote twice uses the word tutor to depict the function of the Law. In the Greek original the word tutor is transliterated into English as our word pedagogue. If you go to an English dictionary and look up the word pedagogue, you will discover one of its meanings is “a teacher or school teacher”. See! Told you. The Law was Paul’s favorite school marm.
There is a reason I say the Law was a school marm or a grade school teacher, rather than a high school teacher or college professor. If you read Paul’s teaching in Galatians, he tells us that the Law was given to lead us to Christ. It served a purpose only until the fullness of the times had come, viz., until the Lord Jesus fulfilled the Law for us and then died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins and rose again for our justification. Now that Jesus has accomplished that part of His ministry, we Christians are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, not through obedience to the Law as under the Old Covenant.
The pedagogue of Paul’s day was a knowledgeable and educated Greek slave, whom a wealthy Roman father put in charge of his infant son. The pedagogue had to educate the boy about the duties and responsibilities of being a Roman leader in society. This required education in a broad field of studies. Once the boy reached the age when his father felt he was ready to step out into the world and serve as a citizen, then the boy became a man and the father’s heir. At that time the boy become a man was no longer under a pedagogue.
So it is, you see, that the pedagogue was a school marm who taught boys and not men. The importance of this for us Christians can be expressed by these questions:
• Are we maturing spiritually to the point that we don’t need to be governed by do’s and don’ts?
• Are we beyond the pedagogue stage?
• Do we instead learn by sitting alone at the feet of Jesus and allowing Him to teach us directly?
If not then we are still living as if under the Law, and that is not a good thing.
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...
Do you remember who your favorite grade school teacher was? If you’ve put on the years like me, that is a tall order to fill. But I remember mine! No, I cannot recall his name, but I remember him. He was my fourth grade English teacher. He had somewhat of a resemblance to my father, same general size and build. Maybe that contributed to my embracing him.
But what I really liked the most about him was what he did. During English class he would read aloud to us a chapter at a time from the Hardy Boys mystery books. I used to love those books! This teacher did this in order to interest us in reading books on our own. He led by example, and it worked! Not just me, but many other students took to reading books because of this teacher. He left a lasting legacy.
In Galatians 3 the Apostle Paul recalled his own favorite school marm. He said the Law was his favorite school marm. No, I’m not making that up! Honest. Paul said that. Just read the verses in Galatians we quoted at the start of this post. Still don’t see it, huh? Okay, then let me explain it to you.
The NASB translation I employed in the quote twice uses the word tutor to depict the function of the Law. In the Greek original the word tutor is transliterated into English as our word pedagogue. If you go to an English dictionary and look up the word pedagogue, you will discover one of its meanings is “a teacher or school teacher”. See! Told you. The Law was Paul’s favorite school marm.
There is a reason I say the Law was a school marm or a grade school teacher, rather than a high school teacher or college professor. If you read Paul’s teaching in Galatians, he tells us that the Law was given to lead us to Christ. It served a purpose only until the fullness of the times had come, viz., until the Lord Jesus fulfilled the Law for us and then died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins and rose again for our justification. Now that Jesus has accomplished that part of His ministry, we Christians are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, not through obedience to the Law as under the Old Covenant.
The pedagogue of Paul’s day was a knowledgeable and educated Greek slave, whom a wealthy Roman father put in charge of his infant son. The pedagogue had to educate the boy about the duties and responsibilities of being a Roman leader in society. This required education in a broad field of studies. Once the boy reached the age when his father felt he was ready to step out into the world and serve as a citizen, then the boy became a man and the father’s heir. At that time the boy become a man was no longer under a pedagogue.
So it is, you see, that the pedagogue was a school marm who taught boys and not men. The importance of this for us Christians can be expressed by these questions:
• Are we maturing spiritually to the point that we don’t need to be governed by do’s and don’ts?
• Are we beyond the pedagogue stage?
• Do we instead learn by sitting alone at the feet of Jesus and allowing Him to teach us directly?
If not then we are still living as if under the Law, and that is not a good thing.
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...
Jacob’s Ladder and a Carpenter
Jesus answered and said to (Nathanael), “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” [John 1:50-51]
Jacob was the son of Isaac. He had an older twin brother named Esau—older, that is, by a matter of jinutes, and that’s quicker than a minute. Esau was a jovial sort of gregarious guy, like a modern-day jock whom everybody likes. Trouble was, Esau couldn’t care less about the things of God. He despised God’s covenant, demonstrating himself to be a godless man.
Esau was the natural firstborn, which entitled him to the birthright (i.e., headship of the family after Isaac died) and the blessing (i.e., the double portion, or twice amount of family wealth the other son(s) received as their inheritance. Here’s the thing: the Lord made a covenant with Abraham, which was handed down to Isaac by the Lord’s sovereign choice. Then the Lord decided to continue the Abrahamic Covenant through Jacob and his lineage, rather than through Esau.
So the Lord considered Jacob to hold the position of firstborn. This family, you see, was not the normal everyday run-of-the-mill family. In the natural world the son born first was entitled to the rights of the firstborn. In the world of covenant the Lord doesn’t follow the natural order. He changes things around to show that no one belongs to Him by natural birth. We must be born again.
Anyway, Esau decided to kill Jacob because he didn’t like Jacob receiving the rights of the firstborn. So Isaac dispatched Jacob far away to Uncle Laban’s house to stay awhile. On the first night of his trip to Uncle Laban’s, Jacob stopped at Bethel to sleep along the road. Here’s what happened when he went to sleep:
He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it [Genesis 28:12].
There we have the description of Jacob’s Ladder. Let’s fast forward now to circa 27 A.D. and pick up the story about Jacob’s Ladder in the hands of a Carpenter from Nazareth. Oh, by the way, the Carpenter’s name was Jesus. We began this study with a quote from Carpenter Jesus about Jacob’s Ladder. But there was one significant difference between the Genesis account and Jesus’ telling of the story. Did you catch it?
Jacob’s Ladder was an actual ladder which connected heaven and earth. On Jacob’s Ladder the angels went back and forth between heaven and earth. But that’s not what Jesus told us, is it? No, it’s not. According to Jesus the angels did not go back and forth between heaven and earth on a ladder. They did so on the Son of Man. Carpenter Jesus is the Son of Man. He is Jacob’s Ladder.
The eternal Son of God took upon human flesh, sinless to be sure but nonetheless real humanity. He did so approximately 3 B.C. as the God-man Jesus Christ. The purpose for Him doing so was to reunite sinful man with a thrice holy God. God created man without sin and in fellowship with Him, but man sinned and lost his relationship with the Lord. In order to bring man back to God, the penalty for man’s sins first had to be paid, and then man needed to have a new nature which wanted to be in relationship with the Lord, a nature which no longer wanted to sin.
The eternal Son of God became man in order to pay the penalty for man’s sins by dying on the cross. He rose again out of death the third day in order to provide man with a new resurrection nature, God’s own nature within man. This provision is available to any person who will take the Word of God at face value and ask Him for it (Biblical faith).
Yes, the God-man Jesus Christ, Carpenter Jesus, is the antitype of Jacob’s Ladder (the type). He reunites God and man in Himself. Isn’t that glorious? The Lord be praised! Let’s go to Him now and receive the blessings of His presence, shall we? We’ll have a grand old time.
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...
Jacob was the son of Isaac. He had an older twin brother named Esau—older, that is, by a matter of jinutes, and that’s quicker than a minute. Esau was a jovial sort of gregarious guy, like a modern-day jock whom everybody likes. Trouble was, Esau couldn’t care less about the things of God. He despised God’s covenant, demonstrating himself to be a godless man.
Esau was the natural firstborn, which entitled him to the birthright (i.e., headship of the family after Isaac died) and the blessing (i.e., the double portion, or twice amount of family wealth the other son(s) received as their inheritance. Here’s the thing: the Lord made a covenant with Abraham, which was handed down to Isaac by the Lord’s sovereign choice. Then the Lord decided to continue the Abrahamic Covenant through Jacob and his lineage, rather than through Esau.
So the Lord considered Jacob to hold the position of firstborn. This family, you see, was not the normal everyday run-of-the-mill family. In the natural world the son born first was entitled to the rights of the firstborn. In the world of covenant the Lord doesn’t follow the natural order. He changes things around to show that no one belongs to Him by natural birth. We must be born again.
Anyway, Esau decided to kill Jacob because he didn’t like Jacob receiving the rights of the firstborn. So Isaac dispatched Jacob far away to Uncle Laban’s house to stay awhile. On the first night of his trip to Uncle Laban’s, Jacob stopped at Bethel to sleep along the road. Here’s what happened when he went to sleep:
He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it [Genesis 28:12].
There we have the description of Jacob’s Ladder. Let’s fast forward now to circa 27 A.D. and pick up the story about Jacob’s Ladder in the hands of a Carpenter from Nazareth. Oh, by the way, the Carpenter’s name was Jesus. We began this study with a quote from Carpenter Jesus about Jacob’s Ladder. But there was one significant difference between the Genesis account and Jesus’ telling of the story. Did you catch it?
Jacob’s Ladder was an actual ladder which connected heaven and earth. On Jacob’s Ladder the angels went back and forth between heaven and earth. But that’s not what Jesus told us, is it? No, it’s not. According to Jesus the angels did not go back and forth between heaven and earth on a ladder. They did so on the Son of Man. Carpenter Jesus is the Son of Man. He is Jacob’s Ladder.
The eternal Son of God took upon human flesh, sinless to be sure but nonetheless real humanity. He did so approximately 3 B.C. as the God-man Jesus Christ. The purpose for Him doing so was to reunite sinful man with a thrice holy God. God created man without sin and in fellowship with Him, but man sinned and lost his relationship with the Lord. In order to bring man back to God, the penalty for man’s sins first had to be paid, and then man needed to have a new nature which wanted to be in relationship with the Lord, a nature which no longer wanted to sin.
The eternal Son of God became man in order to pay the penalty for man’s sins by dying on the cross. He rose again out of death the third day in order to provide man with a new resurrection nature, God’s own nature within man. This provision is available to any person who will take the Word of God at face value and ask Him for it (Biblical faith).
Yes, the God-man Jesus Christ, Carpenter Jesus, is the antitype of Jacob’s Ladder (the type). He reunites God and man in Himself. Isn’t that glorious? The Lord be praised! Let’s go to Him now and receive the blessings of His presence, shall we? We’ll have a grand old time.
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...
When Perfect Is Not A Good Thing – Part 1
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God [John 3:16-18].
John 3:16 is one of the most recognized Bible verses ever. It can be seen displayed on signs and placards at fooball games and other sports. Even the simple chapter/verse identification is well known, being akin to a slogan. The phrase “John 3:16” by itself is equivalent to the words of the verse.
But those words are not our topic of discussion for today. They are included because it is awkward to separate v.16 from verses 17-18. We need the context of vv.16-17 to understand where v.18 is coming from, you see. Verse 18 is our topic for discussion.
Let’s read v.18 together, shall we?
He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Notice in those words two classifications of people. On one side is the only begotten Son of God, on the other is mankind. Notice the two categories of humans. Some of us believe in Him, while others do not believe.
The Son of God, Jesus Christ, brings separation to the ranks of mankind. He causes division within families, within churches, within marriages, between friends and neighbors. Jesus Christ first separates the wheat from the chaff, the dross from the molten metal, before He brings peace with God to man. This perforce must occur on an individual basis. Each person is required to make his own choice of his own free will.
How does this transpire? Well, first Jesus proclaims the Gospel, which includes the truth that all men and women have sinned and are separated from God. It also includes the truth that Jesus is the only way for man to return to God. Jesus makes this possible in Himself because He died on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins of all mankind.
Any person who accepts this Word of God (i.e., has faith or belief), and receives Jesus’ death as the substitute offering for his own sins, has the penalty for his sins paid. Ergo, he no longer stands guilty before God’s tribunal. He is not judged.
Any person who does not receive Jesus’ death as the substitute offering for his own sins—i.e., has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God—does not have the penalty for his sins paid. He does stand guilty before God’s tribunal. But here is the detail we must understand: such a one has been judged already. He won’t stand before God’s tribunal to be judged because God already declared him guilty. He will stand before God’s tribunal for sentencing.
Contrast the two categories of mankind created by the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
• believes in Him
• does not believe
Add to this the contrast in the result of believing or not believing:
• is not judged
• has been judged already
I of necessity must talk a tad about Greek tenses here. But not to worry. I will keep it short and simple. The first result leads to a present tense verb. This means it is a continuous occurrence, a continuous present existence. In other words the believer is currently and continuously NOT JUDGED. He doesn’t have to wait until he stands before God’s tribunal to hear His verdict. The verdict is already given as an established fact, with the result being that the person who believes in the Lord Jesus as His substitute sin offering is not ever called before God’s tribunal to stand trial. He is NOT JUDGED! Rather, he is already justified (i.e., declared “not guilty!”).
The second result is not such a pleasant thing to discuss, but it is utterly real and needs our full attention. The second result stems from the past, not the present or the future. Still, it is not a past tense verb, which in the Greek is known as the aorist tense. No! It is a perfect tense verb.
But time to take a breather and sip on some spiritual Gatorade. I will explain the distinction in the next study. You won’t want to miss it because it is deeply revealing.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 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...
John 3:16 is one of the most recognized Bible verses ever. It can be seen displayed on signs and placards at fooball games and other sports. Even the simple chapter/verse identification is well known, being akin to a slogan. The phrase “John 3:16” by itself is equivalent to the words of the verse.
But those words are not our topic of discussion for today. They are included because it is awkward to separate v.16 from verses 17-18. We need the context of vv.16-17 to understand where v.18 is coming from, you see. Verse 18 is our topic for discussion.
Let’s read v.18 together, shall we?
He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Notice in those words two classifications of people. On one side is the only begotten Son of God, on the other is mankind. Notice the two categories of humans. Some of us believe in Him, while others do not believe.
The Son of God, Jesus Christ, brings separation to the ranks of mankind. He causes division within families, within churches, within marriages, between friends and neighbors. Jesus Christ first separates the wheat from the chaff, the dross from the molten metal, before He brings peace with God to man. This perforce must occur on an individual basis. Each person is required to make his own choice of his own free will.
How does this transpire? Well, first Jesus proclaims the Gospel, which includes the truth that all men and women have sinned and are separated from God. It also includes the truth that Jesus is the only way for man to return to God. Jesus makes this possible in Himself because He died on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins of all mankind.
Any person who accepts this Word of God (i.e., has faith or belief), and receives Jesus’ death as the substitute offering for his own sins, has the penalty for his sins paid. Ergo, he no longer stands guilty before God’s tribunal. He is not judged.
Any person who does not receive Jesus’ death as the substitute offering for his own sins—i.e., has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God—does not have the penalty for his sins paid. He does stand guilty before God’s tribunal. But here is the detail we must understand: such a one has been judged already. He won’t stand before God’s tribunal to be judged because God already declared him guilty. He will stand before God’s tribunal for sentencing.
Contrast the two categories of mankind created by the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
• believes in Him
• does not believe
Add to this the contrast in the result of believing or not believing:
• is not judged
• has been judged already
I of necessity must talk a tad about Greek tenses here. But not to worry. I will keep it short and simple. The first result leads to a present tense verb. This means it is a continuous occurrence, a continuous present existence. In other words the believer is currently and continuously NOT JUDGED. He doesn’t have to wait until he stands before God’s tribunal to hear His verdict. The verdict is already given as an established fact, with the result being that the person who believes in the Lord Jesus as His substitute sin offering is not ever called before God’s tribunal to stand trial. He is NOT JUDGED! Rather, he is already justified (i.e., declared “not guilty!”).
The second result is not such a pleasant thing to discuss, but it is utterly real and needs our full attention. The second result stems from the past, not the present or the future. Still, it is not a past tense verb, which in the Greek is known as the aorist tense. No! It is a perfect tense verb.
But time to take a breather and sip on some spiritual Gatorade. I will explain the distinction in the next study. You won’t want to miss it because it is deeply revealing.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 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...
When Perfect Is Not A Good Thing – Part 2
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God [John 3:16-18].
Let me explain the difference between the aorist tense and the perfect tense of Greek verbs. I believe you will agree with me that sometimes being perfect is not a good thing. You needn’t remember the names of the verb tenses, dear friends, only the difference between them. The Holy Spirit purposely chose the verb tenses to teach us a lot of deep spiritual truth.
The aorist tense means that something happened in the past one time only, and that is the extent of the action. The perfect tense means that something occurred in the past one time only, but the emphasis is on its continuing effect. Whatever occurred continues to remain true up to the present day. “Once upon a time something happened” = aorist tense. “Once upon a time something happened, and now look at the mess we’re in!” = perfect tense.
Here is a for instance to help understand what I just stated. Aorist Tense: “He killed a man two years ago.” Perfect Tense: “He has contracted AIDS and now is incurable.” See! In the first example the person isn’t continuously killing a man. Nor does the sentence refer to anything going on today. Once upon a time two years ago this person killed a man. Period. That’s all the past tense verb states.
In the second example the person isn’t continuously contracting AIDS. Nor does the sentence simply note that at one point in the past he contracted AIDS. The verb being perfect tense, the emphasis is upon the man’s AIDS having the continuing effect of rendering him incurable to the present day. I hope this helps you to understand the distinction because vital spiritual understanding grows out of this field. Let’s harvest it now, shall we?
In John 3:18 anyone who believes the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not judged. The verb is present tense. We explained five paragraphs prior what this means. In contrast, though, anyone who does not believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been judge already. The verb is perfect tense. This means that sometime in the past the person was already judged guilty, and the effect of this judgment is that he continues to remain guilty. The emphasis is upon his present condition, which was caused sometime in the past.
A weighty Biblical mystery is revealed by this usage of verb tenses. God created each species to produce after its own kind. It matters not whether it be vegetable, animal, or human. Apple seeds do not grow pears, not thistles produce corn. Monkeys do not evolve into humans either! Apple seeds grow apple trees which produce more apples. Monkeys give birth to monkeys. Humans give birth to humans. It matters not how many surreal ages of evolution we add to the mix of our hypothesis, no one has ever seen anything in real life which shows one species changing into another.
The Bible has a penchant for employing visible physical realities to teach us invisible spiritual truths. The fact that each species ALWAYS reproduces after its own kind is one example of this. How so? Just this, that sinners cannot produce saints. Sinners produce sinners. When Father Adam sinned, he became a sinner. Whereas every human being has a genealogy which traces back to Father Adam, every human being is a sinner. Why? Because Father Adam was a sinner, and sinners can only reproduce sinners.
This is the reason why any person who does not believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been judged already, and I might add that he has been found wanting and condemned already. Don’t miss the implications of this. The perfect tense verb usage in John 3:18 proclaims the doctrine of the total depravity of man. We are born sinners. We are born with a sin nature. We are born with a predilection to disobey the Word of God, to reject Him and do our own thing.
• the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23)
• all have sinned (Romans 3:23)
• ergo, all must die.
We have already been judged and condemned, you see, because we are sinners. UNTIL we believe the Gospel and accept Jesus Christ as the payment for our sins, we remain in that condition (perfect tense). Anytime a person does accept Jesus’ death as the payment for his sins, he is not judged because he is no longer a sinner. The penalty for his sins has already been paid by the Lord Jesus on the cross, and IT IS FINISHED!
Hallelujah! Such a profound and wonderful mystery to be revealed by the simple usage of verb tenses. Each person is born dead in his sins and separated from God. Each person remains this way until he hears the Gospel of Jesus Christ and accepts Jesus as His Savior. Fine revelation, that.
So this is your chance. If you have yet to believe the Gospel, what are you waiting for? Behold, now is the acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 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 me explain the difference between the aorist tense and the perfect tense of Greek verbs. I believe you will agree with me that sometimes being perfect is not a good thing. You needn’t remember the names of the verb tenses, dear friends, only the difference between them. The Holy Spirit purposely chose the verb tenses to teach us a lot of deep spiritual truth.
The aorist tense means that something happened in the past one time only, and that is the extent of the action. The perfect tense means that something occurred in the past one time only, but the emphasis is on its continuing effect. Whatever occurred continues to remain true up to the present day. “Once upon a time something happened” = aorist tense. “Once upon a time something happened, and now look at the mess we’re in!” = perfect tense.
Here is a for instance to help understand what I just stated. Aorist Tense: “He killed a man two years ago.” Perfect Tense: “He has contracted AIDS and now is incurable.” See! In the first example the person isn’t continuously killing a man. Nor does the sentence refer to anything going on today. Once upon a time two years ago this person killed a man. Period. That’s all the past tense verb states.
In the second example the person isn’t continuously contracting AIDS. Nor does the sentence simply note that at one point in the past he contracted AIDS. The verb being perfect tense, the emphasis is upon the man’s AIDS having the continuing effect of rendering him incurable to the present day. I hope this helps you to understand the distinction because vital spiritual understanding grows out of this field. Let’s harvest it now, shall we?
In John 3:18 anyone who believes the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not judged. The verb is present tense. We explained five paragraphs prior what this means. In contrast, though, anyone who does not believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been judge already. The verb is perfect tense. This means that sometime in the past the person was already judged guilty, and the effect of this judgment is that he continues to remain guilty. The emphasis is upon his present condition, which was caused sometime in the past.
A weighty Biblical mystery is revealed by this usage of verb tenses. God created each species to produce after its own kind. It matters not whether it be vegetable, animal, or human. Apple seeds do not grow pears, not thistles produce corn. Monkeys do not evolve into humans either! Apple seeds grow apple trees which produce more apples. Monkeys give birth to monkeys. Humans give birth to humans. It matters not how many surreal ages of evolution we add to the mix of our hypothesis, no one has ever seen anything in real life which shows one species changing into another.
The Bible has a penchant for employing visible physical realities to teach us invisible spiritual truths. The fact that each species ALWAYS reproduces after its own kind is one example of this. How so? Just this, that sinners cannot produce saints. Sinners produce sinners. When Father Adam sinned, he became a sinner. Whereas every human being has a genealogy which traces back to Father Adam, every human being is a sinner. Why? Because Father Adam was a sinner, and sinners can only reproduce sinners.
This is the reason why any person who does not believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been judged already, and I might add that he has been found wanting and condemned already. Don’t miss the implications of this. The perfect tense verb usage in John 3:18 proclaims the doctrine of the total depravity of man. We are born sinners. We are born with a sin nature. We are born with a predilection to disobey the Word of God, to reject Him and do our own thing.
• the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23)
• all have sinned (Romans 3:23)
• ergo, all must die.
We have already been judged and condemned, you see, because we are sinners. UNTIL we believe the Gospel and accept Jesus Christ as the payment for our sins, we remain in that condition (perfect tense). Anytime a person does accept Jesus’ death as the payment for his sins, he is not judged because he is no longer a sinner. The penalty for his sins has already been paid by the Lord Jesus on the cross, and IT IS FINISHED!
Hallelujah! Such a profound and wonderful mystery to be revealed by the simple usage of verb tenses. Each person is born dead in his sins and separated from God. Each person remains this way until he hears the Gospel of Jesus Christ and accepts Jesus as His Savior. Fine revelation, that.
So this is your chance. If you have yet to believe the Gospel, what are you waiting for? Behold, now is the acceptable time! Now is the day of salvation!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 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...
Kettle & the Pot – Part 1
But he answered and said to his father, “Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.” [Luke 15:29-30]
There’s this old saying from back in the day, “You ever hear of the kettle calling the pot black?” It is a retort to someone who launches criticism at another, for something he himself is prone to do. Or perhaps the gainsayer doesn’t do the same thing he is criticizing, but he is known for doing much worse.
There are a good many kettles going around nowadays, and it was no different in Jesus’ day. Luke 15 is an excellent example of this. The chapter contains three parables by Jesus, each one teaching the selfsame lesson. Let’s list the three:
1. the lost sheep
2. the lost coin
3. the prodigal son
There is one additional point to be made before proceeding. The third and final parable, the prodigal son, adds a twist to the lesson being taught. It will be the emphasis of our study in Luke 15.
First we need the context in which the three parables occurred. The context is to be garnered from verses 1-2.
Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
Why did Jesus teach the lesson intimated in the three parables? Answer: there were two classes of people around Him at that time. On the one side were “the tax collectors and the sinners”, and they were flocking to Jesus to hear the Word of God and receive blessings from Him. On the other hand were “the Pharisees and the scribes”.
Today we might equate those two classes of people with low-lifes on the one hand and proper religious folks on the other. The low-lifes live for themselves and do whatever gives them pleasure. Their moral tank is on empty. The proper religious folks go to church and consider themselves moral, upstanding pillars of the community. Their moral tank overflows, or so they would say anyway.
The religious folks didn’t like the fact that this upstart carpenter Jesus was getting all the attention. He never went to their seminary, you see. How dare He think Himself a teacher of the Bible! They viewed Jesus as competition. They were the religious experts. Who did Jesus think He was?
To make matters even worse, those who flocked to Jesus and made Him look impressive by the number of followers He had, why, they were the religiously uneducated and Biblically illiterate common folk. If Jesus really knew God and understood His Word aright, He would know better than to associate with such riffraff. In the eyes of the religious leaders, that in itself proved Jesus wasn’t from God.
So Jesus told these three parables to explain how God actually did view the tax collectors and sinners. But we are out of time again, so we must wait until the morrow to continue this tale. See you then.
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...
There’s this old saying from back in the day, “You ever hear of the kettle calling the pot black?” It is a retort to someone who launches criticism at another, for something he himself is prone to do. Or perhaps the gainsayer doesn’t do the same thing he is criticizing, but he is known for doing much worse.
There are a good many kettles going around nowadays, and it was no different in Jesus’ day. Luke 15 is an excellent example of this. The chapter contains three parables by Jesus, each one teaching the selfsame lesson. Let’s list the three:
1. the lost sheep
2. the lost coin
3. the prodigal son
There is one additional point to be made before proceeding. The third and final parable, the prodigal son, adds a twist to the lesson being taught. It will be the emphasis of our study in Luke 15.
First we need the context in which the three parables occurred. The context is to be garnered from verses 1-2.
Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
Why did Jesus teach the lesson intimated in the three parables? Answer: there were two classes of people around Him at that time. On the one side were “the tax collectors and the sinners”, and they were flocking to Jesus to hear the Word of God and receive blessings from Him. On the other hand were “the Pharisees and the scribes”.
Today we might equate those two classes of people with low-lifes on the one hand and proper religious folks on the other. The low-lifes live for themselves and do whatever gives them pleasure. Their moral tank is on empty. The proper religious folks go to church and consider themselves moral, upstanding pillars of the community. Their moral tank overflows, or so they would say anyway.
The religious folks didn’t like the fact that this upstart carpenter Jesus was getting all the attention. He never went to their seminary, you see. How dare He think Himself a teacher of the Bible! They viewed Jesus as competition. They were the religious experts. Who did Jesus think He was?
To make matters even worse, those who flocked to Jesus and made Him look impressive by the number of followers He had, why, they were the religiously uneducated and Biblically illiterate common folk. If Jesus really knew God and understood His Word aright, He would know better than to associate with such riffraff. In the eyes of the religious leaders, that in itself proved Jesus wasn’t from God.
So Jesus told these three parables to explain how God actually did view the tax collectors and sinners. But we are out of time again, so we must wait until the morrow to continue this tale. See you then.
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...
Kettle & the Pot – Part 2
But he answered and said to his father, “Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.” [Luke 15:29-30]
Jesus told three parables to teach an important spiritual truth to those listening to Him. In the parable of the lost sheep Jesus made the point that there were 100 sheep and one was lost. In response the shepherd left the 99 in the sheepfold and went searching for the one lost sheep until he found it.
In the parable of the lost coin there were 10 coins and one was lost. The owner of the coins lit the lamps in the house and swept through the entire dwelling, not giving up until she found it. In both cases the shepherd and the woman rejoiced ecstatically over recovering the one lost piece of property.
In the parable of the prodigal son the same lesson was taught. This father had two sons. The younger insisted his father give him his inheritance now. After receiving it, the younger son went off to a far country because he wanted to live contrary to the way his father raised him. So he went far away where his father wouldn’t witness it.
To make a long story short, he squandered all his inheritance and needed a job. The only job offer he received was to feed some pigs. This son was so impoverished and destitute, that he actually wanted to eat the pig food!
Suddenly he remembered good old dad and life as it once was. Living for the devil lost its appeal. Living for dad jumped to the forefront of his desire. So he headed back home, intent on begging his father just to let him be one of the servants. He wasn’t fit to be dad’s son anymore, he reasoned.
That, by the way, is the definition of true Biblical repentance. More often than I care to remember, I’ve heard apologies that went like this, “If I’ve ever done anything to hurt you, I’m sorry.” That’s fine and good, dear friends, but that’s not real repentance! What is being repented of? The person speaking in such a fashion isn’t even aware of what he/she did wrong, so how can the person ask forgiveness for doing it?
Anyway, the father saw the son coming way off yonder because he was watching expectantly for his son’s return. He wanted him back and wanted to forgive him, you see. So he ran down the road and, before his son could even repent, he threw his arms around the lad and gave him a bear hug. Then he had the servants put a ring on his finger and a robe around his torso. He followed this up with an order to kill the fatted calf and prepare a feast for his once-lost son.
The message is the same as that of the first two parables. Something was lost and the owner wouldn’t give up until he retrieved it. Of course the owner is God, and the lost items are sinful men and women. The tax collectors and sinners flocked to Jesus and He gladly received them. They had been lost, but now they were found.
This is where the twist occurs in the parable of the prodigal son. Oh, but it is time to stop once more. We will finish the saga 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...
Jesus told three parables to teach an important spiritual truth to those listening to Him. In the parable of the lost sheep Jesus made the point that there were 100 sheep and one was lost. In response the shepherd left the 99 in the sheepfold and went searching for the one lost sheep until he found it.
In the parable of the lost coin there were 10 coins and one was lost. The owner of the coins lit the lamps in the house and swept through the entire dwelling, not giving up until she found it. In both cases the shepherd and the woman rejoiced ecstatically over recovering the one lost piece of property.
In the parable of the prodigal son the same lesson was taught. This father had two sons. The younger insisted his father give him his inheritance now. After receiving it, the younger son went off to a far country because he wanted to live contrary to the way his father raised him. So he went far away where his father wouldn’t witness it.
To make a long story short, he squandered all his inheritance and needed a job. The only job offer he received was to feed some pigs. This son was so impoverished and destitute, that he actually wanted to eat the pig food!
Suddenly he remembered good old dad and life as it once was. Living for the devil lost its appeal. Living for dad jumped to the forefront of his desire. So he headed back home, intent on begging his father just to let him be one of the servants. He wasn’t fit to be dad’s son anymore, he reasoned.
That, by the way, is the definition of true Biblical repentance. More often than I care to remember, I’ve heard apologies that went like this, “If I’ve ever done anything to hurt you, I’m sorry.” That’s fine and good, dear friends, but that’s not real repentance! What is being repented of? The person speaking in such a fashion isn’t even aware of what he/she did wrong, so how can the person ask forgiveness for doing it?
Anyway, the father saw the son coming way off yonder because he was watching expectantly for his son’s return. He wanted him back and wanted to forgive him, you see. So he ran down the road and, before his son could even repent, he threw his arms around the lad and gave him a bear hug. Then he had the servants put a ring on his finger and a robe around his torso. He followed this up with an order to kill the fatted calf and prepare a feast for his once-lost son.
The message is the same as that of the first two parables. Something was lost and the owner wouldn’t give up until he retrieved it. Of course the owner is God, and the lost items are sinful men and women. The tax collectors and sinners flocked to Jesus and He gladly received them. They had been lost, but now they were found.
This is where the twist occurs in the parable of the prodigal son. Oh, but it is time to stop once more. We will finish the saga 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...
Kettle & the Pot – Part 3
But he answered and said to his father, “Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.” [Luke 15:29-30]
The lesson of the prodigal son was the same as the lesson of the first two parables. However, it didn’t stop with that one lesson. The most important lesson occurred only in this parable. Let’s assay the parable and learn the lesson, shall we?
The father had two sons, not just one, though only one was lost, i.e., gone away from the home front. The other son never left home. He stayed and did what his father told him to do. When he heard the joyous celebration taking place inside the house, he asked a servant what it was about.
The servant reported to him how his brother had returned, and the family was celebrating. Big bro was irate! Dad had to go outside and attempt to coax him into joining the feast. Big bro resented dad and let him know it in no uncertain terms.
“I never ever left you. I stayed right here and did everything you told me to do. Still, you never threw a banquet for me and invited all my friends to celebrate with me. But this ragamuffin, this urchin, this tatterdemalion, he goes off to the brothels and wastes all his money, then comes crawling back for more—and you throw him a party! How dare you, dad!”
Remember the context now. There were two classes of people around Jesus. The tax collectors and sinners were represented by the prodigal son. They didn’t stick around the church building with Father God and “did everything He told them to do”. The other class of people consisted of the Pharisees and the scribes. They did hang around in the church building and consider themselves the prim and proper moral examples of society. They did everything Father God expected of them. This class was represented by big bro.
What did the father (aka Father God) have to say in response to big bro’s attitude toward his younger brother? “Son, you are always here and everything I have is yours.”
In terms of the Pharisees and scribes, this means they could have enjoyed Father God and celebrated with Him, but they were to stiff and formalistic to enjoy Him. They were too busy believing themselves to obey all His rules, when in fact they failed miserably. They did what he said only perfunctorily. They didn’t understand the need for their obedience to come from the heart, which would have made it a joyful thing, not an onerous burden they failed to enjoy.
Then the father (aka Father God) added, “This brother of yours was lost but now he is found, he was dead but now he lives.” In terms of the Pharisees and scribes, this was Jesus’ rebuke of them for wanting to keep the tax collectors and sinners separated from Father God by their sins. The tax collectors and sinners came to Jesus to be forgiven, and the religious leaders and teachers wanted Jesus to send them away, leaving them in their sins and destined for hell!
Can you believe that? Isn’t that about as outrageous an attitude as ever darkened the doors of the church building? Fie fie on those scribes and Pharisees! Right? But can we look in the mirror and feign innocence to the same charge, dear friends?
Let’s hie off to the Lord Jesus now and pour our hearts out to Him. He wants ALL men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. Are we wholeheartedly on board with this? Let’s not get off our knees before Jesus until we are.
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 lesson of the prodigal son was the same as the lesson of the first two parables. However, it didn’t stop with that one lesson. The most important lesson occurred only in this parable. Let’s assay the parable and learn the lesson, shall we?
The father had two sons, not just one, though only one was lost, i.e., gone away from the home front. The other son never left home. He stayed and did what his father told him to do. When he heard the joyous celebration taking place inside the house, he asked a servant what it was about.
The servant reported to him how his brother had returned, and the family was celebrating. Big bro was irate! Dad had to go outside and attempt to coax him into joining the feast. Big bro resented dad and let him know it in no uncertain terms.
“I never ever left you. I stayed right here and did everything you told me to do. Still, you never threw a banquet for me and invited all my friends to celebrate with me. But this ragamuffin, this urchin, this tatterdemalion, he goes off to the brothels and wastes all his money, then comes crawling back for more—and you throw him a party! How dare you, dad!”
Remember the context now. There were two classes of people around Jesus. The tax collectors and sinners were represented by the prodigal son. They didn’t stick around the church building with Father God and “did everything He told them to do”. The other class of people consisted of the Pharisees and the scribes. They did hang around in the church building and consider themselves the prim and proper moral examples of society. They did everything Father God expected of them. This class was represented by big bro.
What did the father (aka Father God) have to say in response to big bro’s attitude toward his younger brother? “Son, you are always here and everything I have is yours.”
In terms of the Pharisees and scribes, this means they could have enjoyed Father God and celebrated with Him, but they were to stiff and formalistic to enjoy Him. They were too busy believing themselves to obey all His rules, when in fact they failed miserably. They did what he said only perfunctorily. They didn’t understand the need for their obedience to come from the heart, which would have made it a joyful thing, not an onerous burden they failed to enjoy.
Then the father (aka Father God) added, “This brother of yours was lost but now he is found, he was dead but now he lives.” In terms of the Pharisees and scribes, this was Jesus’ rebuke of them for wanting to keep the tax collectors and sinners separated from Father God by their sins. The tax collectors and sinners came to Jesus to be forgiven, and the religious leaders and teachers wanted Jesus to send them away, leaving them in their sins and destined for hell!
Can you believe that? Isn’t that about as outrageous an attitude as ever darkened the doors of the church building? Fie fie on those scribes and Pharisees! Right? But can we look in the mirror and feign innocence to the same charge, dear friends?
Let’s hie off to the Lord Jesus now and pour our hearts out to Him. He wants ALL men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. Are we wholeheartedly on board with this? Let’s not get off our knees before Jesus until we are.
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...
Unique Wedding Invitation – Part 1
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost [Revelation 22:17].
I remember my wedding. The invitations went out, inviting the guests to the gala event. The invitation read something like this: “The people of God cordially request your attendance to witness the union of Randy & Jossie”. Of course it was a little more formal than that. It did include our full legal names!
This memory got me to thinking. At a wedding it is traditional for the bride to be given to the groom by the bride’s father. Am I not right? In that context consider the phrase in the Bible verse quoted above: The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Sounds like a wedding invitation to me.
Even more, it smacks of the father of the bride and his daughter. This Scripture has to do with inviting folks to come to the Lord Jesus and live. Anyone doing so is born again, which is to be baptized in the Spirit as a part of the Church. The Church is the Bride of Christ Jesus.
Let’s list the apposite Biblical truths:
• the Groom is the Lord Jesus
• the Bride is the Church
• the Spirit indwells the Bride and fits her for her Groom
Now let’s roll this concept over our tongue a bit and get the full flavor. When I was born, my parents were the source of my life. Of course God gives life, but His normal way of doing so is through procreation. This is to be done within the context of one man/one woman marriage.
In this vein when I was born again, I received the new life of the Spirit. The Spirit is the source of my new life, indwelling me and conforming me into the image of Jesus. Do you see the correlation between parents in the natural realm and the Spirit in the spiritual realm?
Now consider the phrase The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” It is the wedding invitation. The Bride is the Church, the Groom is the Lord Jesus, and the Bride’s parent is the Spirit. The Bride and her Father are inviting everyone who will to the wedding ceremony.
This is a most unusual ceremony, however. Those who do come don’t function as the attendees. They come to the Lord Jesus, the Groom, and are born again. In doing so they too become a part of the Bride, the Church. By accepting the invitation, the guests are transformed into the Bride who sends the invitations.
Wow! This is deep theology. We must continue this analysis and see what else we can learn. But it will have to wait until the morrow. Let’s visit with the Groom now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 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 remember my wedding. The invitations went out, inviting the guests to the gala event. The invitation read something like this: “The people of God cordially request your attendance to witness the union of Randy & Jossie”. Of course it was a little more formal than that. It did include our full legal names!
This memory got me to thinking. At a wedding it is traditional for the bride to be given to the groom by the bride’s father. Am I not right? In that context consider the phrase in the Bible verse quoted above: The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Sounds like a wedding invitation to me.
Even more, it smacks of the father of the bride and his daughter. This Scripture has to do with inviting folks to come to the Lord Jesus and live. Anyone doing so is born again, which is to be baptized in the Spirit as a part of the Church. The Church is the Bride of Christ Jesus.
Let’s list the apposite Biblical truths:
• the Groom is the Lord Jesus
• the Bride is the Church
• the Spirit indwells the Bride and fits her for her Groom
Now let’s roll this concept over our tongue a bit and get the full flavor. When I was born, my parents were the source of my life. Of course God gives life, but His normal way of doing so is through procreation. This is to be done within the context of one man/one woman marriage.
In this vein when I was born again, I received the new life of the Spirit. The Spirit is the source of my new life, indwelling me and conforming me into the image of Jesus. Do you see the correlation between parents in the natural realm and the Spirit in the spiritual realm?
Now consider the phrase The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” It is the wedding invitation. The Bride is the Church, the Groom is the Lord Jesus, and the Bride’s parent is the Spirit. The Bride and her Father are inviting everyone who will to the wedding ceremony.
This is a most unusual ceremony, however. Those who do come don’t function as the attendees. They come to the Lord Jesus, the Groom, and are born again. In doing so they too become a part of the Bride, the Church. By accepting the invitation, the guests are transformed into the Bride who sends the invitations.
Wow! This is deep theology. We must continue this analysis and see what else we can learn. But it will have to wait until the morrow. Let’s visit with the Groom now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 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...
Unique Wedding Invitation – Part 2
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost [Revelation 22:17].
Imagine folks, as they go to their mailbox and pick up their mail. As they sort through the various correspondence, they find a most attractive envelope sporting a seal and vignette. It is a wedding invitation from the world’s most famous person. Wow! They are floored.
Of course they accept the invitation. RSVPs are dispatched forthwith by overnight delivery and plans are made for their trip to the ceremony. Who in their right mind wouldn’t attend? It is an honor to be invited, one never anticipated or expected. It is a most humbling experience.
The world’s most famous person, the Groom, is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He is marrying His Church, the Bride. This will occur at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The father of the Bride is the Holy Spirit. He has teemed up with His daughter to invite all mankind to the ceremony.
Though it seems incongruous, nay, unconceivable, that anyone in their right mind would decline the invite, alas, a not inconsiderable number of folks do just that. Those who do not accept demonstrate thereby that they are not in their right mind. Sin makes us crazy, dear people. When we submit to sin we become certified loonies. We are not in our right mind.
Those who do accept the gracious offer, however, form a sizable contingent of mankind. Even more, they are transformed from being attendees into being the Bride. Whoever heard of a wedding invitation having such powers? Wow!
Now that they are the Bride too, they join in sending out the invitations. The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” They, you see, fit the criteria “the one who hears”, so they also say, “Come.” They join in by inviting others to the ceremony.
This pretty much exhausts the list of folks from the quoted Bible verse which began this study. Oh, I almost forgot! We did leave off some folks who are essential to the story. They would be,
• the one who is thirsty
• the one who wishes
The one who is thirsty should “Come!” because there will be plenty of invigorating drink at the ceremony. He will have no difficulty quenching his thirst. After all, the Groom is able to change water into wine.
The one who wishes should “Come!” He will sate his thirst with an abundance of the water of life. Yea, even better, he won’t have to pay a penny for it! It is totally free of charge. It doesn’t get any better than this.
I guess all that’s left to ponder is where I fit in the story. Am I a part of the Bride of Christ? Perhaps I am not but I am one who is thirsty. Maybe I am one who wishes to drink of the water of life without cost.
Whoever I may be, one thing is certain: I am invited! It’s up to me how I will respond to the invitation. Will I come? Will I drink of the water of life freely, i.e., by grace?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 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...
Imagine folks, as they go to their mailbox and pick up their mail. As they sort through the various correspondence, they find a most attractive envelope sporting a seal and vignette. It is a wedding invitation from the world’s most famous person. Wow! They are floored.
Of course they accept the invitation. RSVPs are dispatched forthwith by overnight delivery and plans are made for their trip to the ceremony. Who in their right mind wouldn’t attend? It is an honor to be invited, one never anticipated or expected. It is a most humbling experience.
The world’s most famous person, the Groom, is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He is marrying His Church, the Bride. This will occur at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The father of the Bride is the Holy Spirit. He has teemed up with His daughter to invite all mankind to the ceremony.
Though it seems incongruous, nay, unconceivable, that anyone in their right mind would decline the invite, alas, a not inconsiderable number of folks do just that. Those who do not accept demonstrate thereby that they are not in their right mind. Sin makes us crazy, dear people. When we submit to sin we become certified loonies. We are not in our right mind.
Those who do accept the gracious offer, however, form a sizable contingent of mankind. Even more, they are transformed from being attendees into being the Bride. Whoever heard of a wedding invitation having such powers? Wow!
Now that they are the Bride too, they join in sending out the invitations. The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” They, you see, fit the criteria “the one who hears”, so they also say, “Come.” They join in by inviting others to the ceremony.
This pretty much exhausts the list of folks from the quoted Bible verse which began this study. Oh, I almost forgot! We did leave off some folks who are essential to the story. They would be,
• the one who is thirsty
• the one who wishes
The one who is thirsty should “Come!” because there will be plenty of invigorating drink at the ceremony. He will have no difficulty quenching his thirst. After all, the Groom is able to change water into wine.
The one who wishes should “Come!” He will sate his thirst with an abundance of the water of life. Yea, even better, he won’t have to pay a penny for it! It is totally free of charge. It doesn’t get any better than this.
I guess all that’s left to ponder is where I fit in the story. Am I a part of the Bride of Christ? Perhaps I am not but I am one who is thirsty. Maybe I am one who wishes to drink of the water of life without cost.
Whoever I may be, one thing is certain: I am invited! It’s up to me how I will respond to the invitation. Will I come? Will I drink of the water of life freely, i.e., by grace?
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Numbers: Volume 4 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...
