Randy Green's Blog, page 416
February 5, 2014
Uncovering Secrets in the Bible – Part 2
Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him [1 Corinthians 8:6].
Yesterday we began our study of this verse by noting that it contains two parallel concepts. We expressed it as a numbered list.
1. from whom are all things and we exist for Him (i.e., the Father)
2. by whom are all things, and we exist through Him (i.e., the Son)
So that no one should miss out on the fine details, we again employed a numbered list to point them out.
1. from whom are all things parallels by whom are all things
2. we exist for Him parallels we exist through Him
We concluded yesterday’s lesson by deciphering Line #1. This line reveals how creation came about. God did the creating, and He did so in the Persons of God the Father and God the Son. All things came into being “from” the Father. All things came into being “by” the Son. Line #1 in itself teaches the truth of the Trinity, or at least of two Persons in one God. Creation was accomplished by the Father and the Son working together as one God.
Now let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work deciphering Line #2. When a person builds something, it is his. He can get a patent on it and sell it exclusively because it is his property. It was built “for” him, and he is free to use it for any purpose he so desires.
If he built a boat he could fish with it, sail around the world in it, live on it, or just plain dry dock it and use it for scenery. It is his boat. He built it and it exists “for” him. The boat represents creation, you see, and God the Father is the Person from whom the boat came into existence.
But what if the boat builder actually employed someone else to do the work, a subcontractor if you will? The subcontractor was the means by which the boat came into existence. The boat exists “through” him, while the designer and initiator of the process was the contractor.
The contractor is of course God the Father, and the subcontractor is God the Son. The boat (i.e., creation) exists “for” the Father, while it came into existence “through” the Son. Do you see how intimately connected the Father and the Son are? The same is true of the Holy Spirit, though He isn’t in the equation of 1 Corinthians 8:6. This example is quite deficient, though, because a human contractor and a human subcontractor are not “one”. But God is One.
We cannot know God because He is the One Who created us. We are finite creatures, while He is infinite. Now we see through a glass darkly, but in eternity we will see clearly, face to face, and we will know Him even as we are known by Him. The Bible contains many mysteries, many secrets for our discovery, and the Trinity is one of them. We should approach the Bible as explorers looking for the lost continent of Atlantis, or as treasure hunters digging for buried treasure. How excited and enthusiastic would we be then? We would brook no delays nor go off on any tangents.
Under our present limitations we cannot possibly get a handle on how there can be one God but three equal Persons who comprise the one God. Notwithstanding this, the Bible distinctly shows this to be true. Faith is taking the Bible at face value and obeying it, placing our trust in it as the inerrant and infallible Word of God Himself. Without faith it is impossible to please God (cf., Hebrews 11:6).
I know I can believe what the Bible teaches me about God being one while simultaneously existing as three Persons. He has proven Himself to me time after time, grace upon grace. I cannot help but trust Him. I cannot deny Him. This is why I subscribe to Rule #2 for Bible study, the Bible is our sole and final authority in all matters of faith and practice.
So what about you? Do you know God? Do you trust Him in all things without reservation? What value do you place on His Word? You can never feed on His Word too much. Just be sure to confess your sins to Him first and be cleansed and filled with the Spirit. That is how we put our money where our mouth is.
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...
Yesterday we began our study of this verse by noting that it contains two parallel concepts. We expressed it as a numbered list.
1. from whom are all things and we exist for Him (i.e., the Father)
2. by whom are all things, and we exist through Him (i.e., the Son)
So that no one should miss out on the fine details, we again employed a numbered list to point them out.
1. from whom are all things parallels by whom are all things
2. we exist for Him parallels we exist through Him
We concluded yesterday’s lesson by deciphering Line #1. This line reveals how creation came about. God did the creating, and He did so in the Persons of God the Father and God the Son. All things came into being “from” the Father. All things came into being “by” the Son. Line #1 in itself teaches the truth of the Trinity, or at least of two Persons in one God. Creation was accomplished by the Father and the Son working together as one God.
Now let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work deciphering Line #2. When a person builds something, it is his. He can get a patent on it and sell it exclusively because it is his property. It was built “for” him, and he is free to use it for any purpose he so desires.
If he built a boat he could fish with it, sail around the world in it, live on it, or just plain dry dock it and use it for scenery. It is his boat. He built it and it exists “for” him. The boat represents creation, you see, and God the Father is the Person from whom the boat came into existence.
But what if the boat builder actually employed someone else to do the work, a subcontractor if you will? The subcontractor was the means by which the boat came into existence. The boat exists “through” him, while the designer and initiator of the process was the contractor.
The contractor is of course God the Father, and the subcontractor is God the Son. The boat (i.e., creation) exists “for” the Father, while it came into existence “through” the Son. Do you see how intimately connected the Father and the Son are? The same is true of the Holy Spirit, though He isn’t in the equation of 1 Corinthians 8:6. This example is quite deficient, though, because a human contractor and a human subcontractor are not “one”. But God is One.
We cannot know God because He is the One Who created us. We are finite creatures, while He is infinite. Now we see through a glass darkly, but in eternity we will see clearly, face to face, and we will know Him even as we are known by Him. The Bible contains many mysteries, many secrets for our discovery, and the Trinity is one of them. We should approach the Bible as explorers looking for the lost continent of Atlantis, or as treasure hunters digging for buried treasure. How excited and enthusiastic would we be then? We would brook no delays nor go off on any tangents.
Under our present limitations we cannot possibly get a handle on how there can be one God but three equal Persons who comprise the one God. Notwithstanding this, the Bible distinctly shows this to be true. Faith is taking the Bible at face value and obeying it, placing our trust in it as the inerrant and infallible Word of God Himself. Without faith it is impossible to please God (cf., Hebrews 11:6).
I know I can believe what the Bible teaches me about God being one while simultaneously existing as three Persons. He has proven Himself to me time after time, grace upon grace. I cannot help but trust Him. I cannot deny Him. This is why I subscribe to Rule #2 for Bible study, the Bible is our sole and final authority in all matters of faith and practice.
So what about you? Do you know God? Do you trust Him in all things without reservation? What value do you place on His Word? You can never feed on His Word too much. Just be sure to confess your sins to Him first and be cleansed and filled with the Spirit. That is how we put our money where our mouth is.
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...
February 4, 2014
Uncovering Secrets in the Bible – Part 1
Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him [1 Corinthians 8:6].
1 Corinthians is in the New Testament, which means it was originally written in koine Greek. The word koine is Greek for “common”, meaning that it wasn’t the flowery Greek of cultured society, or the educated Greek of the Greek philosophers. It was the Greek spoken by the common man on the street of that time.
Even though we’re dealing with the Greek language in the New Testament, nonetheless we are also dealing with the Hebrew people. This means that, though they were speaking another language, they still spoke as Jews and not as Gentiles. With this in mind we shouldn’t be taken aback when we realize they often expressed themselves in terms of parallelism.
Parallelism is the style used in Biblical Hebrew poetry. We today rhyme words at the end of lines and call it poetry. The Hebrews rhymed ideas within the lines and called that poetry. The ideas might roughly coincide with each other, or they might be opposites of each other. Poetry which expresses coinciding ideas is known as synonymous parallelism. Poetry which expresses opposite ideas is known as antonymous parallelism.
Even when they presented narrative instead of poetry, it was not unusual by any means to find parallelism in the writing. When we today use alliteration in our narrative writing, we are employing a concept from poetry. And this is what we have in our Bible verse which kicked off our study today. Let’s consider it in that light now.
The parallelism is between the Father and the Son, and it is synonymous. The Father is identified as “God”, while the Son (i.e., “Jesus Christ”) is identified as “Lord”. But what follows from this is where the parallelism really comes into play. Permit me to express it as a numbered list.
1. from whom are all things and we exist for Him (i.e., the Father)
2. by whom are all things, and we exist through Him (i.e., the Son)
It should be ostensible to you, the way the two phrases run “parallel” with each other. But lest perchance anyone miss out on the fine details, I will spell them out to you. Again, a numbered list suits our purposes and shortens the explanation needed.
1. from whom are all things parallels by whom are all things
2. we exist for Him parallels we exist through Him
Now mull over the difference between the words “from” and “by”. They express the only difference in Line #1 of the preceding list. Both words are prepositions. So, then, what difference is portrayed by them in these two prepositional phrases? Answer: the phrase from whom are all things emphasizes the Father as the originator of all things. The phrase by whom are all things tells us that the Father created all things by means of His Son.
Do you see why I identified this as synonymous parallelism and not antonymous? The two ideas parallel each other in an agreeable fashion. They pull together rather than push apart. We learn that God is the Creator. He created as both the Father and the Son, and the two Persons worked together in perfect harmony, as One God.
We will decipher Line #2 in our next study. Be sure to be there. It gets even tastier.
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...
1 Corinthians is in the New Testament, which means it was originally written in koine Greek. The word koine is Greek for “common”, meaning that it wasn’t the flowery Greek of cultured society, or the educated Greek of the Greek philosophers. It was the Greek spoken by the common man on the street of that time.
Even though we’re dealing with the Greek language in the New Testament, nonetheless we are also dealing with the Hebrew people. This means that, though they were speaking another language, they still spoke as Jews and not as Gentiles. With this in mind we shouldn’t be taken aback when we realize they often expressed themselves in terms of parallelism.
Parallelism is the style used in Biblical Hebrew poetry. We today rhyme words at the end of lines and call it poetry. The Hebrews rhymed ideas within the lines and called that poetry. The ideas might roughly coincide with each other, or they might be opposites of each other. Poetry which expresses coinciding ideas is known as synonymous parallelism. Poetry which expresses opposite ideas is known as antonymous parallelism.
Even when they presented narrative instead of poetry, it was not unusual by any means to find parallelism in the writing. When we today use alliteration in our narrative writing, we are employing a concept from poetry. And this is what we have in our Bible verse which kicked off our study today. Let’s consider it in that light now.
The parallelism is between the Father and the Son, and it is synonymous. The Father is identified as “God”, while the Son (i.e., “Jesus Christ”) is identified as “Lord”. But what follows from this is where the parallelism really comes into play. Permit me to express it as a numbered list.
1. from whom are all things and we exist for Him (i.e., the Father)
2. by whom are all things, and we exist through Him (i.e., the Son)
It should be ostensible to you, the way the two phrases run “parallel” with each other. But lest perchance anyone miss out on the fine details, I will spell them out to you. Again, a numbered list suits our purposes and shortens the explanation needed.
1. from whom are all things parallels by whom are all things
2. we exist for Him parallels we exist through Him
Now mull over the difference between the words “from” and “by”. They express the only difference in Line #1 of the preceding list. Both words are prepositions. So, then, what difference is portrayed by them in these two prepositional phrases? Answer: the phrase from whom are all things emphasizes the Father as the originator of all things. The phrase by whom are all things tells us that the Father created all things by means of His Son.
Do you see why I identified this as synonymous parallelism and not antonymous? The two ideas parallel each other in an agreeable fashion. They pull together rather than push apart. We learn that God is the Creator. He created as both the Father and the Son, and the two Persons worked together in perfect harmony, as One God.
We will decipher Line #2 in our next study. Be sure to be there. It gets even tastier.
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...
February 3, 2014
Gigantic Exaggerations – Part 3
David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” [1 Samuel 17:32-33]
Let’s continue right where we left off yesterday. We were talking about the word “youth”, as it was used to portray David when he fought Goliath. We need to understand it in the context of Old Testament Israel in the Promised Land under the Law of Moses, not in terms of today.
Back in Old Testament Israel the Law of Moses set the age of military service at “twenty years old and upward”. It was the age of accountability for Israelite males. Those younger were “youth” or “young men” (i.e., na‘ar). David was a na‘ar. Goliath began his military training when he was still a na‘ar. David was less than twenty years old when he killed Goliath. He was NOT a “little boy”. That is not the definition of na‘ar, dear friends.
David had seven brothers, and he was the youngest male sibling in the family. The words and depictions of David in the chapters preceding and following 1 Samuel 17, as well as in chapter 17 itself, do not lead us to envision a “boy”. We see a person who was old enough and strong enough to do manly things. Imagine a teenager, say 18 or 19 years old, who played offensive left tackle on the football team today.
David was no “giant” like Goliath, but he was a seasoned young man who fought lions and bears when those critters attacked his sheep. This was because David knew the Lord and daily spent time with Him. When he killed Goliath he was already playing the harp for King Saul. It was while playing the harp that David wrote his Psalms, many of which we have in the Bible. This demonstrates that David knew the Lord already at this time—knew the Lord not just as being saved but as demonstrating spiritual maturity to an extent. This takes a little age, a little seasoning from life’s experiences and learning, in order to learn how to depend on the Lord.
David said as much to King Saul, when he volunteered to fight Goliath. He said as much to Goliath when he charged at him with his sling and stones. “You, Goliath, have insulted the God of Israel, so He has given your life into my hands!” That’s basically what David said. Little boys don’t do that!
In terms of pure military abilities, and adding size and training to the equation, David was no match for Goliath. He knew that! He wasn’t depending on himself. He depended on the Lord to defeat the giant. David merely made himself available to the Lord and was happy to do so. That is what we need to learn from the David vs. Goliath saga, not that this kindergartner stomped on the head of the giant. For that story you should read Jack
and the Beanstalk!
Let’s not be content to be spiritually obtuse with the Bible, dear friends. Let’s take it seriously and spend time daily with the Word of God and the Lord Jesus, so that He can teach us His Word and spiritually mature us. It’s much more delightful to be spiritual adults than spiritual delinquents. Baby twaddle is indecorous in adults. Let’s make Jesus proud of us, shall we?
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/Randy-Green/e/B...
Let’s continue right where we left off yesterday. We were talking about the word “youth”, as it was used to portray David when he fought Goliath. We need to understand it in the context of Old Testament Israel in the Promised Land under the Law of Moses, not in terms of today.
Back in Old Testament Israel the Law of Moses set the age of military service at “twenty years old and upward”. It was the age of accountability for Israelite males. Those younger were “youth” or “young men” (i.e., na‘ar). David was a na‘ar. Goliath began his military training when he was still a na‘ar. David was less than twenty years old when he killed Goliath. He was NOT a “little boy”. That is not the definition of na‘ar, dear friends.
David had seven brothers, and he was the youngest male sibling in the family. The words and depictions of David in the chapters preceding and following 1 Samuel 17, as well as in chapter 17 itself, do not lead us to envision a “boy”. We see a person who was old enough and strong enough to do manly things. Imagine a teenager, say 18 or 19 years old, who played offensive left tackle on the football team today.
David was no “giant” like Goliath, but he was a seasoned young man who fought lions and bears when those critters attacked his sheep. This was because David knew the Lord and daily spent time with Him. When he killed Goliath he was already playing the harp for King Saul. It was while playing the harp that David wrote his Psalms, many of which we have in the Bible. This demonstrates that David knew the Lord already at this time—knew the Lord not just as being saved but as demonstrating spiritual maturity to an extent. This takes a little age, a little seasoning from life’s experiences and learning, in order to learn how to depend on the Lord.
David said as much to King Saul, when he volunteered to fight Goliath. He said as much to Goliath when he charged at him with his sling and stones. “You, Goliath, have insulted the God of Israel, so He has given your life into my hands!” That’s basically what David said. Little boys don’t do that!
In terms of pure military abilities, and adding size and training to the equation, David was no match for Goliath. He knew that! He wasn’t depending on himself. He depended on the Lord to defeat the giant. David merely made himself available to the Lord and was happy to do so. That is what we need to learn from the David vs. Goliath saga, not that this kindergartner stomped on the head of the giant. For that story you should read Jack
and the Beanstalk!
Let’s not be content to be spiritually obtuse with the Bible, dear friends. Let’s take it seriously and spend time daily with the Word of God and the Lord Jesus, so that He can teach us His Word and spiritually mature us. It’s much more delightful to be spiritual adults than spiritual delinquents. Baby twaddle is indecorous in adults. Let’s make Jesus proud of us, shall we?
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/Randy-Green/e/B...
February 2, 2014
Gigantic Exaggerations – Part 2
David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” [1 Samuel 17:32-33]
We paused our last lesson by noting that we Christians often are spiritually immature in our understanding of the Bible. Allow me to give one more example of spiritually obtuse thinking vis-à-vis the Bible. In our Bible verses quoted at the commencement of this study, the Philistine “giant” Goliath daily challenged the Israelites to send out their champion warrior to fight him. Whoever won the fight would be accredited with winning the war for his people, and the other people would be the slaves of the victor.
Well, Goliath was a bit on the large size—oh, think head and shoulders above Shaquille O’Neal. All the Israelites cowered before his blustering. Israel needed a Michael Jordan to step forward, but instead they got timorous mice who hid in their holes.
One day while Goliath was fuming his morning rant, David ben Jesse brought some food from home to his three oldest brothers who were on the battlefield with the other Israelite soldiers. When he heard the blasphemy against the God of Israel spewing from Goliath’s lips, he looked around at the Israelite troops and was astonished. Not a soul would stand up and honor the name of God by defeating this giant moron, Goliath.
So David told King Saul, “Not to worry, O King. I’ll whup him for ya’.”
King Saul pointed out to David that Goliath had been trained from his “youth” to be a mighty soldier, an expert in the art of war. On the other hand David was simply a “youth”, so he wasn’t equipped to confront such a gigantic warrior. Then Saul added, “Thanks but no thanks, son. Take yourself home and leave the fighting to us men.” Like there were any “men” to be seen on the side of Israel that day!
Let’s cut to the chase. Saul’s word to describe David, i.e., a youth or a young man, has given rise to thinking in a vacuum. It is commonly assumed that David killed Goliath when he was only ten or twelve years old, maybe even younger! After all, he was a youth. The word and its connotation is imagined in terms of today’s imagery. But that is to take the word out of context. As Rule #1 for Bible study states, A text without a context is a pretext. So let’s consider the word within the context of those days, rather than in the context of today.
The Hebrew word is na‘ar. It means “a young man” or “a youth”. The wording is used of teenagers today. Sometimes we refer to our teenagers as “young adults”, which in today’s immature society is wishful thinking. Sorry, teenagers who read this. Don’t know you personally, but I do know our society.
Wow! Time sure flies when you’re having fun. We must be having fun because we’re already out of time for today. See you tomorrow, same time, same channel.
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/Randy-Green/e/B...
We paused our last lesson by noting that we Christians often are spiritually immature in our understanding of the Bible. Allow me to give one more example of spiritually obtuse thinking vis-à-vis the Bible. In our Bible verses quoted at the commencement of this study, the Philistine “giant” Goliath daily challenged the Israelites to send out their champion warrior to fight him. Whoever won the fight would be accredited with winning the war for his people, and the other people would be the slaves of the victor.
Well, Goliath was a bit on the large size—oh, think head and shoulders above Shaquille O’Neal. All the Israelites cowered before his blustering. Israel needed a Michael Jordan to step forward, but instead they got timorous mice who hid in their holes.
One day while Goliath was fuming his morning rant, David ben Jesse brought some food from home to his three oldest brothers who were on the battlefield with the other Israelite soldiers. When he heard the blasphemy against the God of Israel spewing from Goliath’s lips, he looked around at the Israelite troops and was astonished. Not a soul would stand up and honor the name of God by defeating this giant moron, Goliath.
So David told King Saul, “Not to worry, O King. I’ll whup him for ya’.”
King Saul pointed out to David that Goliath had been trained from his “youth” to be a mighty soldier, an expert in the art of war. On the other hand David was simply a “youth”, so he wasn’t equipped to confront such a gigantic warrior. Then Saul added, “Thanks but no thanks, son. Take yourself home and leave the fighting to us men.” Like there were any “men” to be seen on the side of Israel that day!
Let’s cut to the chase. Saul’s word to describe David, i.e., a youth or a young man, has given rise to thinking in a vacuum. It is commonly assumed that David killed Goliath when he was only ten or twelve years old, maybe even younger! After all, he was a youth. The word and its connotation is imagined in terms of today’s imagery. But that is to take the word out of context. As Rule #1 for Bible study states, A text without a context is a pretext. So let’s consider the word within the context of those days, rather than in the context of today.
The Hebrew word is na‘ar. It means “a young man” or “a youth”. The wording is used of teenagers today. Sometimes we refer to our teenagers as “young adults”, which in today’s immature society is wishful thinking. Sorry, teenagers who read this. Don’t know you personally, but I do know our society.
Wow! Time sure flies when you’re having fun. We must be having fun because we’re already out of time for today. See you tomorrow, same time, same channel.
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/Randy-Green/e/B...
February 1, 2014
Gigantic Exaggerations – Part 1
David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” [1 Samuel 17:32-33]
I recall this silly story about a children’s Sunday School class. The teacher, Ms. Joy, habitually asked her kids a question and waited to see who would volunteer an answer. One time she asked them, “Okay, children. Who can tell me what has a long, bushy tail, jumps through trees, and eats nuts?”
Then she paused and awaited a response. Unlike normally, however, her kids remained totally silent. So she prodded them a bit, “Now don’t be bashful. I know you know the answer, so someone spit it out!”
Well, her students persisted with their vow of silence to the point it was becoming embarrassing. So Ms. Joy pleaded, “Please, someone answer the question!”
From the back of the room little Johnnie B. Goode raised his hand, and was Ms. Joy relieved. “Okay, Johnnie. What is the answer?”
To which Johnnie responded, “Well, it sounds like a squirrel to me. But since we’re in Sunday School class, I guess it’s got to be Jesus.”
Yes, I know…silly billy stuff. Nonetheless, there is a goodly amount of reality to it. We Christians today don’t value the Bible like our ancestors did in days of old. We’re distracted with TV and movies and computer games, with running from store to store and restaurant to restaurant, with hanging out and having a grand old time. Affluence does not foster spiritual maturity, you see: it stifles it!
We are so busy with ourselves, that we prefer to save time by reading a digest of the Bible in other people’s booklets about the Bible. What we should be doing is spending daily time alone with the Lord Jesus and allowing Him to teach us His Word.
Alas, but you get what you pay for. Little Bible in, little Bible out. Oodles of sawdust and ashes in, oodles of sawdust and ashes out. When it comes to knowing God and eternity, man’s words about the Bible are just that, sawdust and ashes. God gives us spiritual teachers to aid us in learning how to read the Bible and hear God’s voice for ourselves, not to replace our quiet time alone with our blessed Savior.
Sometimes we can be a pigheaded bunch! No matter how many times in the Bible the Lord demonstrates the perils of drifting away from His Word, the tendency is to think this applies only to other people. Consequently there is the danger of becoming spiritual simpletons. We know the answer to Ms. Joy’s question is a squirrel, you see; but we assume it’s wrong because in church everything has to be Jesus. Fact of the matter is, in real life everything is about Jesus, but everything is not Jesus…like a squirrel, for instance.
Oh, dear. We are out of time for today. Let’s ponder what we’ve learned today and return tomorrow to continue our study.
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/Randy-Green/e/B...
I recall this silly story about a children’s Sunday School class. The teacher, Ms. Joy, habitually asked her kids a question and waited to see who would volunteer an answer. One time she asked them, “Okay, children. Who can tell me what has a long, bushy tail, jumps through trees, and eats nuts?”
Then she paused and awaited a response. Unlike normally, however, her kids remained totally silent. So she prodded them a bit, “Now don’t be bashful. I know you know the answer, so someone spit it out!”
Well, her students persisted with their vow of silence to the point it was becoming embarrassing. So Ms. Joy pleaded, “Please, someone answer the question!”
From the back of the room little Johnnie B. Goode raised his hand, and was Ms. Joy relieved. “Okay, Johnnie. What is the answer?”
To which Johnnie responded, “Well, it sounds like a squirrel to me. But since we’re in Sunday School class, I guess it’s got to be Jesus.”
Yes, I know…silly billy stuff. Nonetheless, there is a goodly amount of reality to it. We Christians today don’t value the Bible like our ancestors did in days of old. We’re distracted with TV and movies and computer games, with running from store to store and restaurant to restaurant, with hanging out and having a grand old time. Affluence does not foster spiritual maturity, you see: it stifles it!
We are so busy with ourselves, that we prefer to save time by reading a digest of the Bible in other people’s booklets about the Bible. What we should be doing is spending daily time alone with the Lord Jesus and allowing Him to teach us His Word.
Alas, but you get what you pay for. Little Bible in, little Bible out. Oodles of sawdust and ashes in, oodles of sawdust and ashes out. When it comes to knowing God and eternity, man’s words about the Bible are just that, sawdust and ashes. God gives us spiritual teachers to aid us in learning how to read the Bible and hear God’s voice for ourselves, not to replace our quiet time alone with our blessed Savior.
Sometimes we can be a pigheaded bunch! No matter how many times in the Bible the Lord demonstrates the perils of drifting away from His Word, the tendency is to think this applies only to other people. Consequently there is the danger of becoming spiritual simpletons. We know the answer to Ms. Joy’s question is a squirrel, you see; but we assume it’s wrong because in church everything has to be Jesus. Fact of the matter is, in real life everything is about Jesus, but everything is not Jesus…like a squirrel, for instance.
Oh, dear. We are out of time for today. Let’s ponder what we’ve learned today and return tomorrow to continue our study.
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/Randy-Green/e/B...
The Lord of the Beings
He must increase, but I must decrease [John 3:30].
When I was a young tyke in Christ circa 1978, a Christian lady who made it a practice to encourage me gave me a gift. It was a small metal placard which sat on the desk or bookshelf. Inscribed on it were the words of John 3:30, He must increase, but I must decrease. I’ve spent over thirty years struggling with this issue, wrestling with the Lord in prayer to make it so. I suspect I’ll be doing the same until I am promoted to eternity.
This is not to say the Lord hasn’t changed me one iota. Indeed, when I think back to the days before I was born again and then compare that person with me now, there is no comparison. The old man most assuredly is dead on the cross with Christ, and the new man now lives. I am in Christ the righteousness of God (cf., 2 Corinthians 5:21).
This is my standing before the throne of God (i.e., justification), but it is not my actual state (i.e., sanctification). The same truth applies to every son of Adam the First, so long as his address is this side of eternity. What varies with each of us is the extent of our actual state, and even that is in a constant state of flux. Some of us were born again, and then we left it at that. Our state, then, is that of a spiritual newborn. It is sad to remain in the crib our entire lives, sipping from the nipple, being burped, and having our diapers changed. What a drain on the church and an affront to the name of Christ!
Others of us have fed on the Word of God every day from the beginning of our new life in Christ; sat as His feet alone with Him as He taught us His Word; learned to hear His voice instead of depending on man’s words about Him; and made our way through the entire Bible on a regular basis. After all, the Bible is the Christian’s spiritual food, in contrast to books about the Bible. We learned to personally relate to the Lord Jesus on a daily basis, allowing Him to transform us into His image.
Those are the two extremes for Christians. On the one hand we have the newborn babies, on the other the mature men and women of God. I don’t fit at either extreme, but I cannot state exactly where I do fit because that knowledge belongs to the purview of Christ alone. Only Christ can know my heart. You can’t, and for that matter neither can I. We can know to an extent, but not specifically.
At times I see more Christ in me and am humbled by it. I see Him doing His work in me and through me to others and am excited by this. During such times I would place myself much closer to the extreme of the mature man of God.
Alas, but there are those other times, those pesky rascals who embarrass anyone who has an ounce of spiritual maturity. Such times would be equivalent in natural life to the crying baby in the crib who needs his diaper changed, or the refractory teenage urchin at his best. During those times I would place myself much closer to the extreme of the newborn baby.
What to do? Hmm. That’s a toughie. Not! The Apostle Paul afforded us the answer when he taught the Philippian saints,
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude [Philippians 3:13-15].
Yes, He must increase, but I must decrease. The word must is intensive and demanding. It allows for no exception and brooks no indolence. It requires a regimen of spiritual exercise and discipline on a consistent basis, much like that of an athlete.
So what say ye? Will it be increase or decrease? Better yet, who will increase and who will decrease? This applies to every Christian throughout his or her entire lifetime. After all, it is the act of growing up in real spiritual life. It never stops until we are dead to the world and alive in eternity.
I personally don’t like to see me in the mirror. I much prefer to see the Lord Jesus in the mirror. Sometimes I get my preference. What I try to do is get it more frequently with more regularity.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
When I was a young tyke in Christ circa 1978, a Christian lady who made it a practice to encourage me gave me a gift. It was a small metal placard which sat on the desk or bookshelf. Inscribed on it were the words of John 3:30, He must increase, but I must decrease. I’ve spent over thirty years struggling with this issue, wrestling with the Lord in prayer to make it so. I suspect I’ll be doing the same until I am promoted to eternity.
This is not to say the Lord hasn’t changed me one iota. Indeed, when I think back to the days before I was born again and then compare that person with me now, there is no comparison. The old man most assuredly is dead on the cross with Christ, and the new man now lives. I am in Christ the righteousness of God (cf., 2 Corinthians 5:21).
This is my standing before the throne of God (i.e., justification), but it is not my actual state (i.e., sanctification). The same truth applies to every son of Adam the First, so long as his address is this side of eternity. What varies with each of us is the extent of our actual state, and even that is in a constant state of flux. Some of us were born again, and then we left it at that. Our state, then, is that of a spiritual newborn. It is sad to remain in the crib our entire lives, sipping from the nipple, being burped, and having our diapers changed. What a drain on the church and an affront to the name of Christ!
Others of us have fed on the Word of God every day from the beginning of our new life in Christ; sat as His feet alone with Him as He taught us His Word; learned to hear His voice instead of depending on man’s words about Him; and made our way through the entire Bible on a regular basis. After all, the Bible is the Christian’s spiritual food, in contrast to books about the Bible. We learned to personally relate to the Lord Jesus on a daily basis, allowing Him to transform us into His image.
Those are the two extremes for Christians. On the one hand we have the newborn babies, on the other the mature men and women of God. I don’t fit at either extreme, but I cannot state exactly where I do fit because that knowledge belongs to the purview of Christ alone. Only Christ can know my heart. You can’t, and for that matter neither can I. We can know to an extent, but not specifically.
At times I see more Christ in me and am humbled by it. I see Him doing His work in me and through me to others and am excited by this. During such times I would place myself much closer to the extreme of the mature man of God.
Alas, but there are those other times, those pesky rascals who embarrass anyone who has an ounce of spiritual maturity. Such times would be equivalent in natural life to the crying baby in the crib who needs his diaper changed, or the refractory teenage urchin at his best. During those times I would place myself much closer to the extreme of the newborn baby.
What to do? Hmm. That’s a toughie. Not! The Apostle Paul afforded us the answer when he taught the Philippian saints,
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude [Philippians 3:13-15].
Yes, He must increase, but I must decrease. The word must is intensive and demanding. It allows for no exception and brooks no indolence. It requires a regimen of spiritual exercise and discipline on a consistent basis, much like that of an athlete.
So what say ye? Will it be increase or decrease? Better yet, who will increase and who will decrease? This applies to every Christian throughout his or her entire lifetime. After all, it is the act of growing up in real spiritual life. It never stops until we are dead to the world and alive in eternity.
I personally don’t like to see me in the mirror. I much prefer to see the Lord Jesus in the mirror. Sometimes I get my preference. What I try to do is get it more frequently with more regularity.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
January 30, 2014
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 in 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, nor 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/Randy-Green/e/B...
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 in 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, nor 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/Randy-Green/e/B...
January 29, 2014
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 football 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/Randy-Green/e/B...
John 3:16 is one of the most recognized Bible verses ever. It can be seen displayed on signs and placards at football 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/Randy-Green/e/B...
January 28, 2014
Female, Food, or Other? – Part 2
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all [2 Corinthians 13:14].
In terms of God, the word Trinity means there are three Persons who exist as God, but there is only one God. In our Bible verse Paul identifies these three Persons as,
• God
• the Lord Jesus Christ
• the Holy Spirit
In many places the New Testament demonstrates the simultaneous existence of all three Persons of the Godhead. They eternally exist together as one God, though they are three distinct Persons.
There are those who react to this by huffing and puffing incredulously about how they cannot understand such a concept. We respond to them, “Join the club, friends! God is far above our pay grade. Of course we cannot understand Him! We understand only a small part of time, space, and matter. How can we expect to understand the most intricate and unfathomable teachings of eternity? Preposterous to think we can, sir and madam. God understands us. We do NOT understand Him, nor can we. We can only know Him to the extent He explains Himself to us.”
I point to the evidence of the Trinity in 2 Corinthians 13:14 only because it is there. We need to recognize that God’s Word reveals this teaching to us, so we may understand Him more fully. But the study today is about grace, if you recall. So let’s touch upon the three items which accompany the three Persons of the Trinity.
The love of God. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Herein is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins. That spells g-r-a-c-e, GRACE! Jesus offers us eternal life because He died on the cross as payment for the penalty of our sins. The grace of God comes to us via the Person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus is grace.
The fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Jesus returned to heaven forty days after His resurrection. He sent the Holy Spirit ten days later to indwell those who believed in Him. The Holy Spirit came in power and gave birth to the Church, which is the Body of Christ on earth during this Church Age.
The Holy Spirit’s presence means that man has fellowship with God now. We are no longer at war with God. Instead we have peace WITH God, which makes it possible for us to live in the peace OF God in this world. Jesus didn’t leave us as orphans when He ascended to heaven. He sent the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter and our peace and our fellowship with the Lord.
So what say ye? Is it yea or nay to the call of God on your life? Will you receive the love of God via the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and enjoy the fellowship of the Holy Spirit? In America we can play the race card, which the politicians certainly profit from. Or we can embrace 2 Corinthians 13:14 and embrace The Grace Card instead. The Spirit calls. What is your response?
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/Randy-Green/e/B...
In terms of God, the word Trinity means there are three Persons who exist as God, but there is only one God. In our Bible verse Paul identifies these three Persons as,
• God
• the Lord Jesus Christ
• the Holy Spirit
In many places the New Testament demonstrates the simultaneous existence of all three Persons of the Godhead. They eternally exist together as one God, though they are three distinct Persons.
There are those who react to this by huffing and puffing incredulously about how they cannot understand such a concept. We respond to them, “Join the club, friends! God is far above our pay grade. Of course we cannot understand Him! We understand only a small part of time, space, and matter. How can we expect to understand the most intricate and unfathomable teachings of eternity? Preposterous to think we can, sir and madam. God understands us. We do NOT understand Him, nor can we. We can only know Him to the extent He explains Himself to us.”
I point to the evidence of the Trinity in 2 Corinthians 13:14 only because it is there. We need to recognize that God’s Word reveals this teaching to us, so we may understand Him more fully. But the study today is about grace, if you recall. So let’s touch upon the three items which accompany the three Persons of the Trinity.
The love of God. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Herein is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins. That spells g-r-a-c-e, GRACE! Jesus offers us eternal life because He died on the cross as payment for the penalty of our sins. The grace of God comes to us via the Person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus is grace.
The fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Jesus returned to heaven forty days after His resurrection. He sent the Holy Spirit ten days later to indwell those who believed in Him. The Holy Spirit came in power and gave birth to the Church, which is the Body of Christ on earth during this Church Age.
The Holy Spirit’s presence means that man has fellowship with God now. We are no longer at war with God. Instead we have peace WITH God, which makes it possible for us to live in the peace OF God in this world. Jesus didn’t leave us as orphans when He ascended to heaven. He sent the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter and our peace and our fellowship with the Lord.
So what say ye? Is it yea or nay to the call of God on your life? Will you receive the love of God via the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and enjoy the fellowship of the Holy Spirit? In America we can play the race card, which the politicians certainly profit from. Or we can embrace 2 Corinthians 13:14 and embrace The Grace Card instead. The Spirit calls. What is your response?
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/Randy-Green/e/B...
Female, Food, or Other? – Part 1
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all [2 Corinthians 13:14].
G-R-A-C-E, grace. That’s a pretty word, don’t you think? I mean, consider what it conjures in the mind. I see this pretty lady. Her name is Grace. Oh, and I envision a table full of scrumptious edibles, but I cannot have any until I “say grace”. But what does the word grace really mean?
That question makes for a profitable conversation. Let’s have a multiple choice question on this test. Does the word grace refer to a female, or to food, or to something other? What say we roll up our sleeves and get to work on answering it. The fruits of our labor will be sweet, so sweet.
Allow me to direct you to a simple understanding of the word grace, one not buried in deep and heavy theological jargon. I just finished watching a movie. It is possible, though not a frequent occurrence, that we can learn a good deal from a movie. What makes it even more enjoyable is that we don’t have to study hard and exercise the old noggin in doing so. This is a method of learning which all of us can appreciate. Am I not right?
Anyway, this movie is a Christian film about—you guessed it—grace, God’s grace, the real McCoy. Even more, it stays true to its task, viz., to teach the meaning of grace. To achieve its goal, the movie presents a story reminiscent of real life and demonstrates grace in action, grace with marching boots on.
The story flows around the life of two families, both with police husbands and fathers, but only one man has the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ working in his life. Catastrophe strikes the family of the police officer who hasn’t the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ working in him. What’s more, one family is black, the other white.
You don’t have to concern yourself with religious clichés and Hollywood hype, I promise. The show has none of that. What it has is real life and real death and real Christ. How those three intertwine and the results which follow—that is the storyline. The punch line to the conclusion of the story is, “Don’t play the race card. Play the grace card.”
And that is the name of the movie, viz., The Grace Card. You have to see it. You will love it—that is, if the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ holds any interest in your heart and mind. I won’t tell you anything more about the movie than that. I don’t want to spoil it for you. It is deeply moving and practical, life in action with no flighty Hollywood glimmer attached.
Which brings us to the Bible verse with which we began this study today. There are three concepts in the verse:
• the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
• the love of God
• the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
In those three concepts the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, proclaimed the truth of the Trinity. The word Trinity is a compound word derived from “tri” and “unity”. The prefix “tri” occurs in the word triangle, which is defined as a shape having three sides and three angles. The prefix “tri” refers to “three” of something. The word unity emphasizes “one” of something, an indivisible union of two or more somethings.
Hence the word Trinity speaks of three somethings which are indivisible and exist as one. In terms of God, the word Trinity means there are three Persons who exist as God, but there is only one God. The word Trinity means “three in one”, a Tri-unity (aka Trinity).
Let’s pause and reflect on these concepts now. Betake ourselves to the prayer closet and sit a spell at the feet of Jesus. There is only one thing needful, and Mary chose it. Let’s do so as well.
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/Randy-Green/e/B...
G-R-A-C-E, grace. That’s a pretty word, don’t you think? I mean, consider what it conjures in the mind. I see this pretty lady. Her name is Grace. Oh, and I envision a table full of scrumptious edibles, but I cannot have any until I “say grace”. But what does the word grace really mean?
That question makes for a profitable conversation. Let’s have a multiple choice question on this test. Does the word grace refer to a female, or to food, or to something other? What say we roll up our sleeves and get to work on answering it. The fruits of our labor will be sweet, so sweet.
Allow me to direct you to a simple understanding of the word grace, one not buried in deep and heavy theological jargon. I just finished watching a movie. It is possible, though not a frequent occurrence, that we can learn a good deal from a movie. What makes it even more enjoyable is that we don’t have to study hard and exercise the old noggin in doing so. This is a method of learning which all of us can appreciate. Am I not right?
Anyway, this movie is a Christian film about—you guessed it—grace, God’s grace, the real McCoy. Even more, it stays true to its task, viz., to teach the meaning of grace. To achieve its goal, the movie presents a story reminiscent of real life and demonstrates grace in action, grace with marching boots on.
The story flows around the life of two families, both with police husbands and fathers, but only one man has the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ working in his life. Catastrophe strikes the family of the police officer who hasn’t the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ working in him. What’s more, one family is black, the other white.
You don’t have to concern yourself with religious clichés and Hollywood hype, I promise. The show has none of that. What it has is real life and real death and real Christ. How those three intertwine and the results which follow—that is the storyline. The punch line to the conclusion of the story is, “Don’t play the race card. Play the grace card.”
And that is the name of the movie, viz., The Grace Card. You have to see it. You will love it—that is, if the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ holds any interest in your heart and mind. I won’t tell you anything more about the movie than that. I don’t want to spoil it for you. It is deeply moving and practical, life in action with no flighty Hollywood glimmer attached.
Which brings us to the Bible verse with which we began this study today. There are three concepts in the verse:
• the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
• the love of God
• the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
In those three concepts the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, proclaimed the truth of the Trinity. The word Trinity is a compound word derived from “tri” and “unity”. The prefix “tri” occurs in the word triangle, which is defined as a shape having three sides and three angles. The prefix “tri” refers to “three” of something. The word unity emphasizes “one” of something, an indivisible union of two or more somethings.
Hence the word Trinity speaks of three somethings which are indivisible and exist as one. In terms of God, the word Trinity means there are three Persons who exist as God, but there is only one God. The word Trinity means “three in one”, a Tri-unity (aka Trinity).
Let’s pause and reflect on these concepts now. Betake ourselves to the prayer closet and sit a spell at the feet of Jesus. There is only one thing needful, and Mary chose it. Let’s do so as well.
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/Randy-Green/e/B...
