Saturday, December 29, 2012
What would followers of Christ look like that were committed to Him and one another fully on a daily basis? First there would have to be the vertical relationship of each believer with Jesus Christ, and from their that individual experience would flow over to one another to reveal who Jesus Christ is to one another and the world.
This is why throughout the New Testament the phrase one to another is used so much. It was simply a part of who the people of Jesus Christ were. It was impossible not to share life together because of the very real experience they had with Christ Himself, which is impossible to hold in. That is part of what it means when the scriptures say out of our innermost beings will flow rivers of living water. Water flows, and no matter what is in its way it finds a way around it to reach its destination.
So when Jesus Christ is birthed within individuals, and those individuals die to themselves, then His life predominates and reaches out to others with that same life within them. In other words, fellowship based upon Christ begins to emerge, which is what the people of God were created for.
In this article I'm not going to get into all the endless possibilities that can come forth from that experience, just that it is a major part of what the followers of Jesus Christ are all meant to experience. We need to first see that before anything else as far as being part of something larger than our individuality.
To truly give one's life to Christ is an act of dying to self. And if we die to ourselves, it'll truly bring forth many more brothers and sisters to be "one to another."
Having said that, Jesus isn't just bringing a people together to form a social club or only enjoy hanging out together with no purpose. After all, there is an eternal purpose, and the final aspect of that purpose of God is that we are conformed to the image of His son, Jesus Christ. It is nothing less than that, and it is what the Holy Spirit within us lives and works for and towards relentlessly.
The major means of achieving that end, besides the Spirit within those who are truly born from above, is for the overflow of that Spirit to interact with those people who are committed to one another in Christ on a daily basis.
That means we'll respond to a living situation within people who are living out a life for Christ. So if someone is in need, the people of God who have the means will helps supply that for them; if there are people that are down, those who are encouragers will reach out and comfort and lift them up; for those struggling with sin, someone in the body will challenge them, and maybe rebuke them in order to get them back on the right path. Again, I don't want to attempt to cover the potentially thousands of interactions that could happen in a day or two with those who share the life of Christ together, as it would take volumes of books and thousands of articles just to unveil small portions of those things if they could even be found out and known.
The point is that Jesus Christ living in us pushes and draws us to one another in a way that an endless amount of human action towards and with one another happens in response to living situations we encounter individually and together daily.
It is those interactions that work to build us up into the full knowledge of Christ and solidifies our lives into becoming a temple for the Lord to fill; a home He is welcome in.
This is why the warped and pathetic idea that a building, and edifice, is a "church" is such a false and anemic idea. It hinders the work of God rather than helps it, and gets in the way of that which Christ really has called us to be and do.
Anything that gets in the way of daily life together in Christ needs to be removed so Christ can have His way with us. The first step is to die to ourselves, and from there any practical element that could be hindering the purpose of Jesus Christ can be dealt with.
If we only deal with the outward, we really never get to the core of what it is that caused Christianity to become what it is today, which is nothing like we see in the Holy Scriptures.
So to meet and homes or live close together will mean nothing if there is not a deep work of the cross in our lives and a response to the life of Christ in one another.
That means if we aren't changing into the image of Christ, we are only moving the chairs on the deck of the Titanic while is sinks into the ocean.
Many people have taken steps to leave the institutional and bureaucratic "church," only to have nothing in their lives change in regard to Jesus Christ. It's impossible to be close with one another and not have an influence in one another's lives if we're committed to the end result of the eternal purpose of God to be conformed to the image of Christ.
As a matter of fact we'll quietly grown within when we see each other missing the mark of Jesus Christ, and we'll pray and seek God for the hearts of one another to open to that to happen, while also taking the steps to share with one another those things that need to be changed.
We can't make it in Christ alone; we need one another. How can we grow into the very likeness of the man Jesus Christ if we aren't receiving the various aspects of Him as found in His body? The answer is - we can't. All of us sharing life together are what makes that a possibility. Anything short of that will hinder and frustrate the purpose of God of having a people that express His very person hood (not His deity which is separate from us).
Jesus Christ is seeking a people willing to walk this walk and not just intellectually agree with it. Doing it is doing it. Talking about or agreeing with it isn't doing it.
Possibly never since the time that Christ came into the world have people been ready for a move of God that reveals to them who Christ really is. That can only come about from the people that truly believe in Jesus Christ.
Now when I say the world is ready for the real church, I'm not talking about denominations or certain types of outward manifestations of religiousness which has little inward life to it. The people of God are completely wrapped up and identified with Christ if they are real about their faith, and the two can't be separated.
So when the idea of the real church is suggested, it's not primarily referring to any type of outward way of doing things or an intellectually-based belief system. Rather it's a people that are in living union and obedience with and to Christ, and who are part of those called out of the world and themselves to serve the living and only God.
It's also not talking about an institution, a building, or a organization that is based upon anything in this world. We're talking about a people that have taken on the characteristics of Christ Himself, who is not of this world or influenced by its purpose or priorities. The world after all is under the power and dominion of Satan.
Don't be discouraged by that last statement though, as the world is completely different than the earth from a Biblical point of view, as the "earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof." The world is basically Satan and his imprint living in and through unredeemed man. It's personified by government force and control, which is Satan's biggest means of attempting to control and dominate man; including those bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Having started off with the idea of the world being ready for the real church, it must be understood that first Jesus Christ must reach out and gather to Himself those you proclaim Him but are deceived as to their salvation or are perpetual babes who only have their fire insurance. Once that is completed, from there He will strategically bring those together around the world into localities where He will begin to reveal and express Himself to the world, causing great numbers to respond.
This won't have anything to do with big shows, meetings and personalities, but rather a local push where a large impact will be made, but in a way that is largely under the national radar of a specific nation. Collectively it'll be huge, but locally it'll be less noticeable.
That will eventually grow as the followers of Jesus Christ find one another on a larger basis, which will allow for more significant impact around the world. None of this will result in a new denomination or any other such sin, but will be based upon fellowship that produces even more of Christ in the participants.
Ultimately, in that fellowship based solely upon the person of Jesus Christ, we'll see an alternative world appear in this one. A world with increasing righteousness and holiness; one that impacts all areas of life, starting with individuals, moving into the family, and then into neighborhoods, cities, states, and everywhere around the world.
This unstoppable life with also have an impact on all other areas of life, including business, government, media, and all other legitimate areas that must be redeemed for the Master's glory and use.
It will require death to the self, commitment to Jesus Christ and one another, and the supernatural love of Christ Himself shaping and forming a people to reveal Him to the world and invisible principalities and powers.
The failure of governments, corruption of crony capitalism, and the growth of false leaders who proclaim to be Christians but are really wolves in sheep's clothing, has brought people to a place of despair, which has opened doors to their hearts for those willing to embrace and take on Jesus Christ and His purpose.
Already there have been rumblings of this happening around the world; all of which is completely outside of denominations and institutional churches of all types, and also is not happening within buildings falsely called churches. All of this comes from people getting a scent of Christ, and understanding that He doesn't dwell in temples made with hands. Period!
More than that though, the people of God are understanding they must be completely out of the influence of the world if they and their children will have a chance to grow in the grace and commands of God almighty.
That means finding new ways of educating their children; sharing the life of Christ together; a completely different world view; and seeing Christ as a living being that dwells within them, shaping and conforming them to His image, and then ready to express that very image into a hungry and thirsty world looking for answers. It can only be found in a people 100 percent committed to Jesus Christ. That is something He will commit to and back up.
The question now is are believers ready for what Jesus Christ has always wanted to be and do in them. Are there those out there that even care about the fact that the fields are white to harvest, and have been since Jesus declared it about 2,000 years ago. Are there believers committed completely to Christ in a way that they will be willing to do whatever He wills to accomplish what He desires? Are you one of them?
Since the world is ready for the real church, which is another way of saying it is ready for Christ to manifest Himself in a people, than we all must answer the question of if we are ready to heed that call for such a time as this.
If we are, then there is absolutely nothing that should or will be able to stand in the way of being and doing whatever it takes to bring about and meet His purpose and satisfaction.
For those wanting to answer the call of the Spirit of the Living God, it will require going outside the religious camp and bearing His shame, as He did when He was crucified.
There can be nothing unreal or false in us who are called to walk as He did. Only that type of believer can ever work with Christ to bring about all that He has looked for from before the foundation of the world.
He yearns and cries out for those who will completely lay down their lives to attain His goal; not people talking about it and getting excited, but a people that will do it. The world is ready for that. Are you?
Now when I say the world is ready for the real church, I'm not talking about denominations or certain types of outward manifestations of religiousness which has little inward life to it. The people of God are completely wrapped up and identified with Christ if they are real about their faith, and the two can't be separated.
So when the idea of the real church is suggested, it's not primarily referring to any type of outward way of doing things or an intellectually-based belief system. Rather it's a people that are in living union and obedience with and to Christ, and who are part of those called out of the world and themselves to serve the living and only God.
It's also not talking about an institution, a building, or a organization that is based upon anything in this world. We're talking about a people that have taken on the characteristics of Christ Himself, who is not of this world or influenced by its purpose or priorities. The world after all is under the power and dominion of Satan.
Don't be discouraged by that last statement though, as the world is completely different than the earth from a Biblical point of view, as the "earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof." The world is basically Satan and his imprint living in and through unredeemed man. It's personified by government force and control, which is Satan's biggest means of attempting to control and dominate man; including those bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Having started off with the idea of the world being ready for the real church, it must be understood that first Jesus Christ must reach out and gather to Himself those you proclaim Him but are deceived as to their salvation or are perpetual babes who only have their fire insurance. Once that is completed, from there He will strategically bring those together around the world into localities where He will begin to reveal and express Himself to the world, causing great numbers to respond.
This won't have anything to do with big shows, meetings and personalities, but rather a local push where a large impact will be made, but in a way that is largely under the national radar of a specific nation. Collectively it'll be huge, but locally it'll be less noticeable.
That will eventually grow as the followers of Jesus Christ find one another on a larger basis, which will allow for more significant impact around the world. None of this will result in a new denomination or any other such sin, but will be based upon fellowship that produces even more of Christ in the participants.
Ultimately, in that fellowship based solely upon the person of Jesus Christ, we'll see an alternative world appear in this one. A world with increasing righteousness and holiness; one that impacts all areas of life, starting with individuals, moving into the family, and then into neighborhoods, cities, states, and everywhere around the world.
This unstoppable life with also have an impact on all other areas of life, including business, government, media, and all other legitimate areas that must be redeemed for the Master's glory and use.
It will require death to the self, commitment to Jesus Christ and one another, and the supernatural love of Christ Himself shaping and forming a people to reveal Him to the world and invisible principalities and powers.
The failure of governments, corruption of crony capitalism, and the growth of false leaders who proclaim to be Christians but are really wolves in sheep's clothing, has brought people to a place of despair, which has opened doors to their hearts for those willing to embrace and take on Jesus Christ and His purpose.
Already there have been rumblings of this happening around the world; all of which is completely outside of denominations and institutional churches of all types, and also is not happening within buildings falsely called churches. All of this comes from people getting a scent of Christ, and understanding that He doesn't dwell in temples made with hands. Period!
More than that though, the people of God are understanding they must be completely out of the influence of the world if they and their children will have a chance to grow in the grace and commands of God almighty.
That means finding new ways of educating their children; sharing the life of Christ together; a completely different world view; and seeing Christ as a living being that dwells within them, shaping and conforming them to His image, and then ready to express that very image into a hungry and thirsty world looking for answers. It can only be found in a people 100 percent committed to Jesus Christ. That is something He will commit to and back up.
The question now is are believers ready for what Jesus Christ has always wanted to be and do in them. Are there those out there that even care about the fact that the fields are white to harvest, and have been since Jesus declared it about 2,000 years ago. Are there believers committed completely to Christ in a way that they will be willing to do whatever He wills to accomplish what He desires? Are you one of them?
Since the world is ready for the real church, which is another way of saying it is ready for Christ to manifest Himself in a people, than we all must answer the question of if we are ready to heed that call for such a time as this.
If we are, then there is absolutely nothing that should or will be able to stand in the way of being and doing whatever it takes to bring about and meet His purpose and satisfaction.
For those wanting to answer the call of the Spirit of the Living God, it will require going outside the religious camp and bearing His shame, as He did when He was crucified.
There can be nothing unreal or false in us who are called to walk as He did. Only that type of believer can ever work with Christ to bring about all that He has looked for from before the foundation of the world.
He yearns and cries out for those who will completely lay down their lives to attain His goal; not people talking about it and getting excited, but a people that will do it. The world is ready for that. Are you?
Friday, December 28, 2012
When the true followers of Jesus Christ grasp the importance and reality that we are not a people of this world, as Jesus testified to concerning Himself and His disciples, it will not only be personally earth-shattering to us, but it will truly change the world as we know it.
It needs to be understood that unregenerate humanity on this planet are not children of God, they are the children of the enemy of God, and thus the imprint of the personality and evil of Satan is upon and within them.
This is true of the entirety of the human race, and unless and until a person is born again from above, that will always remain the same.
Even when we're born again of the Spirit of God, that imprint doesn't immediately leave, but rather has to be cleansed out of us by the working of the cross of Jesus Christ in order that what happened to us in principle is worked out within us in reality.
In other words, we may be saved, but true salvation will start to grow and bear the image of Jesus Christ in the life of a person, and that radical transformation starts to reveal another world that exists outside of this one which is the only one most people are aware of.
That means that Jesus Christ represents an entirely different humanity, a different species that has absolutely nothing to do with the humanity that has inhabited planet earth from the time that Adam and Eve sinned and brought into the world a foreign life form that was the enemy of God almighty and Jesus Christ. Consequently, Satan was invited to impress and imprint his personality and life upon and within man, which produced something that was never in the heart and mind of God when He created man. In the Holy Scriptures this is called the flesh, which is a humanity that has been judged and cast aside by God unless they call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved.
The point is that those that are born from above, a phrase that is a more accurate and complete rendering of the phrase "born again," which is mostly used by believers to describe regeneration, are in fact a new humanity; a humanity envisioned by Jesus Christ when He created, a humanity that is called to bear the very image of Christ and present it to the visible creation, as well as the invisible creation.
This new humanity is nothing other than the man Jesus Christ. He comes and indwell those that place their trust or faith in Him, and that results in the Spirit of God coming down from heaven and taking up residence in the Spirit of man. From that innermost place He then begins the work of transforming that man into the image of Jesus Christ. Fellowship between people whom have went though the same process and experience is what is the new, corporate humanity.
Not only is this new or alternative humanity called to bear the image of Jesus Christ, but also to share in His authority which He as given us to take dominion over the earth, as well as spiritual wickedness in high places.
It's tempting to get into the possibilities this offers us who dwell on the earth, but it's more important to take these concepts and realities and dwell upon them for awhile. Breath in the reality that if you're a true child of God in Christ, you are no longer of this world, and your life will reflect that in all that you are and do.
All of that is vital and crucial, but there are even more fantastic possibilities that emerge from this amazing truth.
Think of some questions. What happens on this earth if a people embrace the perfect humanity and authority of Jesus Christ and start living it out on this earth? What will begin to appear on this earth as a result? What will it cost those willing to walk this path corporately? Individually? Where will this path lead to? What effect will it have on those outside the faith?
We could go on and on. The purpose of the questions is to stir up your thoughts as to how Jesus Christ can take root in our hearts and lives in such a way that it is inevitable that His love begins to spread out in the midst of ourselves as we fellowship daily together, as well as increasingly overcome the works of the devil in the lives of the community around us.
It is impossible for who Jesus Christ is to remain hidden and anemic on this earth, no matter what some Christians are taught or believe. Christ cannot but be who He is. It doesn't matter whether He's in heaven or on the earth, who He is is the same in both environments. That's why when Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father, Jesus replied by saying if he had seen Him he has in fact seen the Father. There was no difference between the invisible Father and the expression of Jesus Christ as a man on the earth. That has not changed after His resurrection and ascension, as the Holy Spirit lives to shape and form Him in the new humanity that has embraced and is taking on His nature and authority.
Whether it is Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven, or Jesus Christ taking up residence in a people on the earth for a place to dwell and be welcome, He never changes, and it's impossible to separate what He is doing in heaven from what He is doing on earth in a people, as He is always the same and never changes.
That means He must remain true to all that He is, and for us that implies unlimited possibilities when taking into consideration His life and authority being lived in and expressed out from a people who have gladly received Him as their own.
None of this is possible without the deep working of the cross in our individual and corporate lives, as only when we are broken by Him is His life able to be lived within and change us into His image, while in the same measure is then able to be displayed to the world in its beauty and authority. That is His humanity living in us.
That is not a humanity of this world, even though we may outwardly look like those in this world.
Jesus Christ came as a man, although He of course never sinned or had anything of Satan in Him, as He testified to near the end of His life on this earth as a man. You couldn't see the invisible life of the Father, but that life indwelt Jesus to the point where He could do nothing without His Father.
So while He looked the same as the rest of us, He was a totally different humanity completely other than that which dwelt and continues to dwell on the earth. So are those who are truly born from above, who are called to be the same as He is in His humanity (not in His being God).
I'll finish off this article with one thought. All of this will mean for those that are willing to believe and embrace this, that there will be a conflict, because these two humanities are enemies of one another, and the very fact that Jesus Christ is dwelling within us makes us a heavenly people; a people not living their lives from the source people of this world do.
There can be no mingling or mixture of the two separate races of man, as they are not only diametrically opposed, but live their lives from two entities that are opposites and enemies of one another. There can be no quarter given by the people of God as a result, and no acceptance of the life lived by those not born again from above.
Most importantly, we are to satisfy the heart of Jesus Christ by becoming the people He created us to be, while at the same time showing the world there is another life to live from, and another totally different way to live.
The time is almost here when this message will resonate with a growing number of believers, as we begin to understand this world operates from principles that are opposite to who Jesus is, and as we change and adapt, showing forth the man Jesus Christ corporately, it will not only bring us into a blessed fellowship and way of life that is full and satisfying, but also will satisfy the heart of Jesus Christ who created us for this very purpose.
It needs to be understood that unregenerate humanity on this planet are not children of God, they are the children of the enemy of God, and thus the imprint of the personality and evil of Satan is upon and within them.
This is true of the entirety of the human race, and unless and until a person is born again from above, that will always remain the same.
Even when we're born again of the Spirit of God, that imprint doesn't immediately leave, but rather has to be cleansed out of us by the working of the cross of Jesus Christ in order that what happened to us in principle is worked out within us in reality.
In other words, we may be saved, but true salvation will start to grow and bear the image of Jesus Christ in the life of a person, and that radical transformation starts to reveal another world that exists outside of this one which is the only one most people are aware of.
That means that Jesus Christ represents an entirely different humanity, a different species that has absolutely nothing to do with the humanity that has inhabited planet earth from the time that Adam and Eve sinned and brought into the world a foreign life form that was the enemy of God almighty and Jesus Christ. Consequently, Satan was invited to impress and imprint his personality and life upon and within man, which produced something that was never in the heart and mind of God when He created man. In the Holy Scriptures this is called the flesh, which is a humanity that has been judged and cast aside by God unless they call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved.
The point is that those that are born from above, a phrase that is a more accurate and complete rendering of the phrase "born again," which is mostly used by believers to describe regeneration, are in fact a new humanity; a humanity envisioned by Jesus Christ when He created, a humanity that is called to bear the very image of Christ and present it to the visible creation, as well as the invisible creation.
This new humanity is nothing other than the man Jesus Christ. He comes and indwell those that place their trust or faith in Him, and that results in the Spirit of God coming down from heaven and taking up residence in the Spirit of man. From that innermost place He then begins the work of transforming that man into the image of Jesus Christ. Fellowship between people whom have went though the same process and experience is what is the new, corporate humanity.
Not only is this new or alternative humanity called to bear the image of Jesus Christ, but also to share in His authority which He as given us to take dominion over the earth, as well as spiritual wickedness in high places.
It's tempting to get into the possibilities this offers us who dwell on the earth, but it's more important to take these concepts and realities and dwell upon them for awhile. Breath in the reality that if you're a true child of God in Christ, you are no longer of this world, and your life will reflect that in all that you are and do.
All of that is vital and crucial, but there are even more fantastic possibilities that emerge from this amazing truth.
Think of some questions. What happens on this earth if a people embrace the perfect humanity and authority of Jesus Christ and start living it out on this earth? What will begin to appear on this earth as a result? What will it cost those willing to walk this path corporately? Individually? Where will this path lead to? What effect will it have on those outside the faith?
We could go on and on. The purpose of the questions is to stir up your thoughts as to how Jesus Christ can take root in our hearts and lives in such a way that it is inevitable that His love begins to spread out in the midst of ourselves as we fellowship daily together, as well as increasingly overcome the works of the devil in the lives of the community around us.
It is impossible for who Jesus Christ is to remain hidden and anemic on this earth, no matter what some Christians are taught or believe. Christ cannot but be who He is. It doesn't matter whether He's in heaven or on the earth, who He is is the same in both environments. That's why when Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father, Jesus replied by saying if he had seen Him he has in fact seen the Father. There was no difference between the invisible Father and the expression of Jesus Christ as a man on the earth. That has not changed after His resurrection and ascension, as the Holy Spirit lives to shape and form Him in the new humanity that has embraced and is taking on His nature and authority.
Whether it is Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven, or Jesus Christ taking up residence in a people on the earth for a place to dwell and be welcome, He never changes, and it's impossible to separate what He is doing in heaven from what He is doing on earth in a people, as He is always the same and never changes.
That means He must remain true to all that He is, and for us that implies unlimited possibilities when taking into consideration His life and authority being lived in and expressed out from a people who have gladly received Him as their own.
None of this is possible without the deep working of the cross in our individual and corporate lives, as only when we are broken by Him is His life able to be lived within and change us into His image, while in the same measure is then able to be displayed to the world in its beauty and authority. That is His humanity living in us.
That is not a humanity of this world, even though we may outwardly look like those in this world.
Jesus Christ came as a man, although He of course never sinned or had anything of Satan in Him, as He testified to near the end of His life on this earth as a man. You couldn't see the invisible life of the Father, but that life indwelt Jesus to the point where He could do nothing without His Father.
So while He looked the same as the rest of us, He was a totally different humanity completely other than that which dwelt and continues to dwell on the earth. So are those who are truly born from above, who are called to be the same as He is in His humanity (not in His being God).
I'll finish off this article with one thought. All of this will mean for those that are willing to believe and embrace this, that there will be a conflict, because these two humanities are enemies of one another, and the very fact that Jesus Christ is dwelling within us makes us a heavenly people; a people not living their lives from the source people of this world do.
There can be no mingling or mixture of the two separate races of man, as they are not only diametrically opposed, but live their lives from two entities that are opposites and enemies of one another. There can be no quarter given by the people of God as a result, and no acceptance of the life lived by those not born again from above.
Most importantly, we are to satisfy the heart of Jesus Christ by becoming the people He created us to be, while at the same time showing the world there is another life to live from, and another totally different way to live.
The time is almost here when this message will resonate with a growing number of believers, as we begin to understand this world operates from principles that are opposite to who Jesus is, and as we change and adapt, showing forth the man Jesus Christ corporately, it will not only bring us into a blessed fellowship and way of life that is full and satisfying, but also will satisfy the heart of Jesus Christ who created us for this very purpose.
There is no answer in this world and the time we spend in it as to our problems and challenges than that of being obsessed and captivated by Jesus Christ.
Most of the readers here are those seeking something outside of what is called "institutional" Christianity, and so may feel they have a leg up on other believers who focus on the outward forms and many unbiblical practices included with all of that.
But whether or not you see what it is God wants for His people, there can be no spiritual benefit whatsoever if we're not infatuated and obsessed with the person of Jesus Christ. None at all.
After all, if all that is happening is people are switching locations of where they meet from a building to a living room, and yet have little or no change of heart towards the person of Jesus Christ, there is little reason for going through that unpleasant experience, even if it results in a more biblical practice of church life.
In other words, you can be just as dead in a living room, or even living day-to-day life together if the purpose hasn't come from the love of Christ within our hearts.
On the other hand, when Jesus Christ is our sole purpose and focus for being a people and friends, it is unlimited as to what can and will occur as together we walk in Him and are conformed to His glorious image.
Many times we search the scriptures, especially the New Testament writings, for the secrets that made the early church what it was, and in the end, there is no other answer than the fact that they were enamored and in love with Jesus Christ. That's it! Nothing else. That answers everything as to the practical outworking that came forth as a result.
We can obsess with techniques and other such things, but those only came forth in response to challenges the people of God faced and as they sought Jesus Christ and how to handle them as they appeared. But it was that love of Christ and consequently, of one another, that allowed for those answers to be found. If there was no love, most wouldn't have cared one way or the other how a particular situation worked out.
Those believers that have had a real work of the cross of Jesus Christ in their lives can testify to the reality that even though they have suffered greatly by following Christ, that weight is in fact very light when compared with the privilege and honor of being offered the opportunity of knowing Him. I'm not talking about knowing things about Him, but literally and actually getting to know Him on a moment by moment basis; both individually and corporately.
Before we go on, don't think because you intellectually agree with these thoughts and statements that you have all these things. Either you're in deep love with Christ or you're not. Either you can't stop thinking about Him all the time or you don't think about Him much.
Even when working a job or interacting with others throughout the day in other situations, you can remain in unhindered and non-stop fellowship with Jesus Christ. That's because that is to happen in our innermost being, not in the head primarily. So even though we are many times able to dwell upon Him with our thoughts, outward circumstances may not allow us to remain in that practice. Yet we can still be in real, inner fellowship with Christ that doesn't demand thought processes, but the awareness of His life dwelling intimately deep within us.
If you want the answer as to how the early believers were able to handle the enormous opposition they faced from the world, and the persecution and martyrdom of some of the apostles and believers, this is totally and completely the answer: they got hold of a real relationship with Jesus Christ and everything else didn't matter. That's why they could gladly have everything taken away from them and not miss a step in their closeness and obedience to Jesus Christ.
All of that means the world was truly dim to them in the light of the face of Jesus Christ, who made this world look lame in comparison. The result was that they held things in this world very lightly, and so when they were attacked or had their property and goods confiscated, it had no effect whatsoever upon them other than they went on their way homeless and without any goods in this world. This can only come about from a revelation of, and participation in, the person of Jesus Christ. It must go beyond revelation alone into becoming a living and practical reality. But we still need to see Christ in order to respond accordingly. They work together hand-in-hand.
Having said that, the most simple person or people in the world can love and obey Jesus Christ without being able to explain Him or expound upon doctrine concerning Him. It's the deep love and being caught up into His amazing person hood that is important and eternally valuable, not how much light and revelation that we have of Him.
Most of our problems in life and our response to them come from the fact that we are influenced by personal interests. Those undermine our relationship with the Lord and cause us to be distracted.
If only we could grasp and embrace this wonderful Jesus Christ. If we open ourselves up to Him and want only Him, we'll find that what many consider difficult in abandoning sin and many of the other distractions of the world isn't even that hard. As a matter of fact great joy accompanies true fellowship with Christ, but not the joy of the world that is largely dependent upon things working out easily and the way we want them. Rather it's the joy of simply knowing Him for no other reason than enjoying and wanting to be with Him.
One way of knowing whether or not you're close to reaching that place is when you find you have no regrets in pursuing Christ and finding Him, or rather being found by Him.
Whether we have lost our reputation because of Christ; our goods; friends; family; or any other thing or person that is important to us, it's our infatuation with Jesus Christ that continues to dominate our being and life that is important to us, no matter what life in this world brings. Jesus Christ said He has overcome this world, so we can be of good cheer as a result. Those that are walking in Him will find that they participate in that conquering, so can overcome all that come their way without the feeling of loss in any way. That's the same with the flesh and the devil as well, which Christ has also overcome. The secret is sitting at the feet of Christ like Mary did. After all, Jesus Himself said that that is all that really matters in this life, to be gathered around Him as we sit at His feet together.
Again, this isn't something that comes about from mental assent, but rather from being literally, actually and in reality, living with Jesus Christ being the entirety of our lives.
Don't be flippant about this. It'll cost us everything, or at least if we pursue and desire Christ in this manner, it has the potential to cost us everything. The key is that it shouldn't and won't matter to us once we are in the reality of walking with Christ in this way. The cost can and will be real, but the fallout of that cost won't matter to us as we hold onto and keep our eyes on this amazing Christ who created and died for us so that we could participate in friendship and fellowship with Him. That, after all, is what eternal life is.
All of us need to get desperate with Jesus Christ in this. Ask, plead, beg if you have to, that Jesus Christ will help you to lay aside all the weights, sins and personal interests so you can walk with Him unhindered while living on this earth. This isn't primarily a call to do this individually, although that's important, but it's a call for us to walk this corporately in a living way.
Most of the readers here are those seeking something outside of what is called "institutional" Christianity, and so may feel they have a leg up on other believers who focus on the outward forms and many unbiblical practices included with all of that.
But whether or not you see what it is God wants for His people, there can be no spiritual benefit whatsoever if we're not infatuated and obsessed with the person of Jesus Christ. None at all.
After all, if all that is happening is people are switching locations of where they meet from a building to a living room, and yet have little or no change of heart towards the person of Jesus Christ, there is little reason for going through that unpleasant experience, even if it results in a more biblical practice of church life.
In other words, you can be just as dead in a living room, or even living day-to-day life together if the purpose hasn't come from the love of Christ within our hearts.
On the other hand, when Jesus Christ is our sole purpose and focus for being a people and friends, it is unlimited as to what can and will occur as together we walk in Him and are conformed to His glorious image.
Many times we search the scriptures, especially the New Testament writings, for the secrets that made the early church what it was, and in the end, there is no other answer than the fact that they were enamored and in love with Jesus Christ. That's it! Nothing else. That answers everything as to the practical outworking that came forth as a result.
We can obsess with techniques and other such things, but those only came forth in response to challenges the people of God faced and as they sought Jesus Christ and how to handle them as they appeared. But it was that love of Christ and consequently, of one another, that allowed for those answers to be found. If there was no love, most wouldn't have cared one way or the other how a particular situation worked out.
Those believers that have had a real work of the cross of Jesus Christ in their lives can testify to the reality that even though they have suffered greatly by following Christ, that weight is in fact very light when compared with the privilege and honor of being offered the opportunity of knowing Him. I'm not talking about knowing things about Him, but literally and actually getting to know Him on a moment by moment basis; both individually and corporately.
Before we go on, don't think because you intellectually agree with these thoughts and statements that you have all these things. Either you're in deep love with Christ or you're not. Either you can't stop thinking about Him all the time or you don't think about Him much.
Even when working a job or interacting with others throughout the day in other situations, you can remain in unhindered and non-stop fellowship with Jesus Christ. That's because that is to happen in our innermost being, not in the head primarily. So even though we are many times able to dwell upon Him with our thoughts, outward circumstances may not allow us to remain in that practice. Yet we can still be in real, inner fellowship with Christ that doesn't demand thought processes, but the awareness of His life dwelling intimately deep within us.
If you want the answer as to how the early believers were able to handle the enormous opposition they faced from the world, and the persecution and martyrdom of some of the apostles and believers, this is totally and completely the answer: they got hold of a real relationship with Jesus Christ and everything else didn't matter. That's why they could gladly have everything taken away from them and not miss a step in their closeness and obedience to Jesus Christ.
All of that means the world was truly dim to them in the light of the face of Jesus Christ, who made this world look lame in comparison. The result was that they held things in this world very lightly, and so when they were attacked or had their property and goods confiscated, it had no effect whatsoever upon them other than they went on their way homeless and without any goods in this world. This can only come about from a revelation of, and participation in, the person of Jesus Christ. It must go beyond revelation alone into becoming a living and practical reality. But we still need to see Christ in order to respond accordingly. They work together hand-in-hand.
Having said that, the most simple person or people in the world can love and obey Jesus Christ without being able to explain Him or expound upon doctrine concerning Him. It's the deep love and being caught up into His amazing person hood that is important and eternally valuable, not how much light and revelation that we have of Him.
Most of our problems in life and our response to them come from the fact that we are influenced by personal interests. Those undermine our relationship with the Lord and cause us to be distracted.
If only we could grasp and embrace this wonderful Jesus Christ. If we open ourselves up to Him and want only Him, we'll find that what many consider difficult in abandoning sin and many of the other distractions of the world isn't even that hard. As a matter of fact great joy accompanies true fellowship with Christ, but not the joy of the world that is largely dependent upon things working out easily and the way we want them. Rather it's the joy of simply knowing Him for no other reason than enjoying and wanting to be with Him.
One way of knowing whether or not you're close to reaching that place is when you find you have no regrets in pursuing Christ and finding Him, or rather being found by Him.
Whether we have lost our reputation because of Christ; our goods; friends; family; or any other thing or person that is important to us, it's our infatuation with Jesus Christ that continues to dominate our being and life that is important to us, no matter what life in this world brings. Jesus Christ said He has overcome this world, so we can be of good cheer as a result. Those that are walking in Him will find that they participate in that conquering, so can overcome all that come their way without the feeling of loss in any way. That's the same with the flesh and the devil as well, which Christ has also overcome. The secret is sitting at the feet of Christ like Mary did. After all, Jesus Himself said that that is all that really matters in this life, to be gathered around Him as we sit at His feet together.
Again, this isn't something that comes about from mental assent, but rather from being literally, actually and in reality, living with Jesus Christ being the entirety of our lives.
Don't be flippant about this. It'll cost us everything, or at least if we pursue and desire Christ in this manner, it has the potential to cost us everything. The key is that it shouldn't and won't matter to us once we are in the reality of walking with Christ in this way. The cost can and will be real, but the fallout of that cost won't matter to us as we hold onto and keep our eyes on this amazing Christ who created and died for us so that we could participate in friendship and fellowship with Him. That, after all, is what eternal life is.
All of us need to get desperate with Jesus Christ in this. Ask, plead, beg if you have to, that Jesus Christ will help you to lay aside all the weights, sins and personal interests so you can walk with Him unhindered while living on this earth. This isn't primarily a call to do this individually, although that's important, but it's a call for us to walk this corporately in a living way.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
The phrase or term "organic church" has become prevalent over the last decade or so, and because it has become somewhat popular, it signals the need to examine it more closely because popularity almost always points to the reality that it has migrated to something outside of the heart of Jesus Christ.
Most people today think of organic church as a place where everyone is allowed to talk and there is no clergy guiding and directing the process. While that isn't a terrible thing, it falls far short from what is in the heart of God.
Secondly, it also has become something that allows for almost anything to allow to be communicated, much of which isn't representative of Christ at all, and doesn't flow out of daily relationships amongst God's people.
In other words, much of organic church points to the idea of the entire church meeting together. The problem is when the church of Jesus Christ meets together, the result should be that it emerges out of living lives daily together with the interaction flowing from what has been happening with the "one another" of the body.
Look up one another some time in your concordance and see how it fits so predominantly in the hearts and minds of the apostles. In essence, that's what organic church really is. If there isn't a daily one another based upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, it doesn't matter what term may be used, it isn't organic.
Organic is nothing more or less than the sharing of Christ together daily. That can be worked out in a myriad of ways, but if that's not there, it falls far from what it is the Holy Spirit is trying to accomplish in God's people.
That is as simple as I can explain it. Organic is the life of Christ Himself. It can be or mean nothing else. The Holy Spirit lives to reveal and form His life within His people, and the means to achieve that is in the one to another mentioned throughout the letters of the apostles. If there is no one to another, there is no way the work of God as it is meant to be can be accomplished. In fact, that is the work of God to interact with one another on a daily basis in order to watch over and encourage one another to be conformed to His image; to reach the fullness of Christ.
We need to be careful of using the term organic church carelessly and flippantly, as already there are thousands of believers who have done so, bringing it into a mystical, ephemeral meaning, rather than the very practical outworking it was meant to be by the Lord Jesus Christ.
I don't mean by that that there isn't to be a deep, personal walk with the Lord, as if there isn't, the one to another would be meaningless and unfruitful. It would just be a bunch of people having good relationships outside of the life of Christ and the purpose of God.
But that personal, deep walk with Christ is never meant to be done alone. Not only is it extremely difficult to accomplish, but it was never meant to be hoarded, but rather to be shared with others. That's what it means when Jesus said out of our innermost beings will flow rivers of living water. The fact that there is something flowing out of us suggest and points to that there is someone else it is flowing to. It isn't to be a vast, inner dead sea held to ourselves.
An organic church is a people living from the life of Christ on a daily basis one to another, sharing that life by the person of the Holy Spirit within us. Meetings are simply an extension of that daily life into a corporate gathering as it is perceived to be needed for all to learn from. By that I mean that something that was learned in daily interaction was found to be something the overall church would benefit from. Overall, that should be the basis for corporate gatherings.
So when you hear the phrase organic church being thrown around, keep these things in mind. It's all about sharing the life of Christ with one another daily.
It's not about only changing from a meeting in a building to a meeting in the home with nothing more to it. That has been happening for a long time with little gain from it. Most people get into that for a short time and gravitate to the "next big thing" God is allegedly doing. I've seen that happen many times over the years.
To be truly organic means the abandonment of your lives together in order to see what is on the heart of God fulfilled. It won't justify sin, selfishness or the world, but will work together to help one another stand successfully against it.
Wicked people have already went outside the institutional church and have become twice the children of hell as those they think they are better than. They make excuses for homosexuals, embrace most religions and gods, and are embracing big government as the means of imposing their wills on others.
They say that so-called post-modernism must be embraced so Christianity can be relevant, and yet in embracing that demonic theory and world view, abandon Christ Himself. Some that even write about the so-called organic church embrace those that have abandoned Christ in the name of post-modernism.
Organic as it relates to Jesus Christ is a reference to His very person being worked out in a people. Anything that opposed and contradicts that is an enemy of Christ and must be rejected and abandoned.
None of this is new. People who are tired of the institutional church and its own compromises and unbiblical practices over respond and throw away the baby with the bath water. In other words, they reject the foundations of Jesus Christ and let in any doctrine that fits their particular fancy of the day.
Many institutional churches have done this as well, although sincere ones do at least keep a modicum of the faith, and teach a saving faith in Jesus Christ that is real.
As always, Satan always raised up a counterfeit from the real, and that's not different than other times in history when God has begun to move His church forward and deeper into Jesus Christ and His ways.
Throughout the entirety of the New Testament, the revelation is that Jesus Christ is the center of all things and life to those who truly believe in His name, and the purpose of God coming forth from that faith is that He will draw people together and build them into a house He can live and move in. That is organic. That is what the church is called to be. And it's expected and meant to be accomplished and lived on a daily basis. Don't accept anything less. Don't accept the sinful and wicked compromises of those trying to ride the wave of real organic life in Christ for a counterfeit.
Most people today think of organic church as a place where everyone is allowed to talk and there is no clergy guiding and directing the process. While that isn't a terrible thing, it falls far short from what is in the heart of God.
Secondly, it also has become something that allows for almost anything to allow to be communicated, much of which isn't representative of Christ at all, and doesn't flow out of daily relationships amongst God's people.
In other words, much of organic church points to the idea of the entire church meeting together. The problem is when the church of Jesus Christ meets together, the result should be that it emerges out of living lives daily together with the interaction flowing from what has been happening with the "one another" of the body.
Look up one another some time in your concordance and see how it fits so predominantly in the hearts and minds of the apostles. In essence, that's what organic church really is. If there isn't a daily one another based upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, it doesn't matter what term may be used, it isn't organic.
Organic is nothing more or less than the sharing of Christ together daily. That can be worked out in a myriad of ways, but if that's not there, it falls far from what it is the Holy Spirit is trying to accomplish in God's people.
That is as simple as I can explain it. Organic is the life of Christ Himself. It can be or mean nothing else. The Holy Spirit lives to reveal and form His life within His people, and the means to achieve that is in the one to another mentioned throughout the letters of the apostles. If there is no one to another, there is no way the work of God as it is meant to be can be accomplished. In fact, that is the work of God to interact with one another on a daily basis in order to watch over and encourage one another to be conformed to His image; to reach the fullness of Christ.
We need to be careful of using the term organic church carelessly and flippantly, as already there are thousands of believers who have done so, bringing it into a mystical, ephemeral meaning, rather than the very practical outworking it was meant to be by the Lord Jesus Christ.
I don't mean by that that there isn't to be a deep, personal walk with the Lord, as if there isn't, the one to another would be meaningless and unfruitful. It would just be a bunch of people having good relationships outside of the life of Christ and the purpose of God.
But that personal, deep walk with Christ is never meant to be done alone. Not only is it extremely difficult to accomplish, but it was never meant to be hoarded, but rather to be shared with others. That's what it means when Jesus said out of our innermost beings will flow rivers of living water. The fact that there is something flowing out of us suggest and points to that there is someone else it is flowing to. It isn't to be a vast, inner dead sea held to ourselves.
An organic church is a people living from the life of Christ on a daily basis one to another, sharing that life by the person of the Holy Spirit within us. Meetings are simply an extension of that daily life into a corporate gathering as it is perceived to be needed for all to learn from. By that I mean that something that was learned in daily interaction was found to be something the overall church would benefit from. Overall, that should be the basis for corporate gatherings.
So when you hear the phrase organic church being thrown around, keep these things in mind. It's all about sharing the life of Christ with one another daily.
It's not about only changing from a meeting in a building to a meeting in the home with nothing more to it. That has been happening for a long time with little gain from it. Most people get into that for a short time and gravitate to the "next big thing" God is allegedly doing. I've seen that happen many times over the years.
To be truly organic means the abandonment of your lives together in order to see what is on the heart of God fulfilled. It won't justify sin, selfishness or the world, but will work together to help one another stand successfully against it.
Wicked people have already went outside the institutional church and have become twice the children of hell as those they think they are better than. They make excuses for homosexuals, embrace most religions and gods, and are embracing big government as the means of imposing their wills on others.
They say that so-called post-modernism must be embraced so Christianity can be relevant, and yet in embracing that demonic theory and world view, abandon Christ Himself. Some that even write about the so-called organic church embrace those that have abandoned Christ in the name of post-modernism.
Organic as it relates to Jesus Christ is a reference to His very person being worked out in a people. Anything that opposed and contradicts that is an enemy of Christ and must be rejected and abandoned.
None of this is new. People who are tired of the institutional church and its own compromises and unbiblical practices over respond and throw away the baby with the bath water. In other words, they reject the foundations of Jesus Christ and let in any doctrine that fits their particular fancy of the day.
Many institutional churches have done this as well, although sincere ones do at least keep a modicum of the faith, and teach a saving faith in Jesus Christ that is real.
As always, Satan always raised up a counterfeit from the real, and that's not different than other times in history when God has begun to move His church forward and deeper into Jesus Christ and His ways.
Throughout the entirety of the New Testament, the revelation is that Jesus Christ is the center of all things and life to those who truly believe in His name, and the purpose of God coming forth from that faith is that He will draw people together and build them into a house He can live and move in. That is organic. That is what the church is called to be. And it's expected and meant to be accomplished and lived on a daily basis. Don't accept anything less. Don't accept the sinful and wicked compromises of those trying to ride the wave of real organic life in Christ for a counterfeit.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
There is something about the idea of the City of God that has captured the imaginations of people from the time of Abraham, when he started to understand that even though he walked across and all over the land promised to his physical descendants, there was something far greater God was offering, and that was a city whose builder and maker was God Himself.
Just like the physical creation, all of that was simply types and shadows of a God who was real. That was the case with the promised land as well, where it was symbolic of a far greater reality, where when Jesus came He set all that aside for the truth that was and is His very person. That's why He is called the truth, or the reality. He is all that is real, and everything else is only a reflection of that reality. The exception is man, who was made in the very image of Jesus Christ.
So when Abraham was looking for a city whose builder and maker was God, he was looking for a city which had Christ as the architect, which is what builder really means, and those blueprints were Christ in and of Himself.
When we see New Jerusalem coming out of heaven and the elements that are described in the city, like the throne, golden street, Tree of Life, light and a river, all those are based upon who Christ is.
And looked at from the outside, we see the people of God described as gates and walls. All those precious stones are what those looking from the outside see, while those precious stones are what they are because of the work that is done on the inside, as represented by what was revealed that was inside of the city.
Abraham saw all of this and as a result always considered himself a pilgrim on the earth because he was not able to find that city, even in the physical promised land, because it was a city that would be built from the inside out based upon Christ who now dwells within us by the Holy Spirit.
All of that means that as long as there isn't a city whose builder and maker is God to be found on the earth, we will never find a place we think of as home. The longing will always be there, but the fulfillment of that longing will be frustrated.
The city of God can only be and be found where the foundation of who Jesus Christ is is the foundation of that city, or rather, is the chief cornerstone of that city.
When all is said and done, the city of God is nothing less than God's people conformed to the image of Jesus Christ in all that that entails. That is the culmination of the eternal purpose of God. That's what it means for His dwelling place to be among men; it's through a people sold out for Christ and seek to have all that He is built in them together in a locality on the earth.
What is called the Israel of God, as it applies to the new creation, is all that is of Christ universal expressed in the world, while the city of God is all of Christ applied to a local, specific geographic area of the earth.
Whether global or local, the point and importance is that Jesus Christ in His person and plan is to be expressed throughout the earth, as it increasingly is to be filled with His glory.
No matter where it is, what makes it magnificent is it'll be organically filled with Christ as His people are transformed into His very likeness; both in who He is and what He wants to be done.
That's another ways of saying we are to be filled with the Spirit of God as we respond to His life within us.
Being filled with the Spirit isn't simply having Christ in us in some type of lethargic, holding pattern, rather it is the same as the very power that raised Christ from the dead. That's the life. That's the power that indwells us, and He's not in any way neutral as to His purpose. He will have a people filled with who He is and doing His purpose on this earth.
This will not be done withing the confines or organized, institutionalized Christianity, but rather by those that go outside the camp and gladly bear His shame as we expose the devices of Satan as he attempts to have an imprint of his own on the world, even those in the religious world that look to the outward primarily and first, rather than the indwelling of the living God who then draws into real fellowship with one another so His work on earth can be accomplished.
Only a people in living fellowship based upon the person of Jesus Christ will fulfill this call. Only they can be that city that has been hidden in the heart of the Godhead since before the foundation of the world, but has now began to be built by God Himself as He brings His people together in living relationships in order to complete His work and satisfy the desire of His heart.
That's the passion of God and by extension my own. We all must live and commit ourselves to that end above all other things or people that may interfere with our lives.
Just like the physical creation, all of that was simply types and shadows of a God who was real. That was the case with the promised land as well, where it was symbolic of a far greater reality, where when Jesus came He set all that aside for the truth that was and is His very person. That's why He is called the truth, or the reality. He is all that is real, and everything else is only a reflection of that reality. The exception is man, who was made in the very image of Jesus Christ.
So when Abraham was looking for a city whose builder and maker was God, he was looking for a city which had Christ as the architect, which is what builder really means, and those blueprints were Christ in and of Himself.
When we see New Jerusalem coming out of heaven and the elements that are described in the city, like the throne, golden street, Tree of Life, light and a river, all those are based upon who Christ is.
And looked at from the outside, we see the people of God described as gates and walls. All those precious stones are what those looking from the outside see, while those precious stones are what they are because of the work that is done on the inside, as represented by what was revealed that was inside of the city.
Abraham saw all of this and as a result always considered himself a pilgrim on the earth because he was not able to find that city, even in the physical promised land, because it was a city that would be built from the inside out based upon Christ who now dwells within us by the Holy Spirit.
All of that means that as long as there isn't a city whose builder and maker is God to be found on the earth, we will never find a place we think of as home. The longing will always be there, but the fulfillment of that longing will be frustrated.
The city of God can only be and be found where the foundation of who Jesus Christ is is the foundation of that city, or rather, is the chief cornerstone of that city.
When all is said and done, the city of God is nothing less than God's people conformed to the image of Jesus Christ in all that that entails. That is the culmination of the eternal purpose of God. That's what it means for His dwelling place to be among men; it's through a people sold out for Christ and seek to have all that He is built in them together in a locality on the earth.
What is called the Israel of God, as it applies to the new creation, is all that is of Christ universal expressed in the world, while the city of God is all of Christ applied to a local, specific geographic area of the earth.
Whether global or local, the point and importance is that Jesus Christ in His person and plan is to be expressed throughout the earth, as it increasingly is to be filled with His glory.
No matter where it is, what makes it magnificent is it'll be organically filled with Christ as His people are transformed into His very likeness; both in who He is and what He wants to be done.
That's another ways of saying we are to be filled with the Spirit of God as we respond to His life within us.
Being filled with the Spirit isn't simply having Christ in us in some type of lethargic, holding pattern, rather it is the same as the very power that raised Christ from the dead. That's the life. That's the power that indwells us, and He's not in any way neutral as to His purpose. He will have a people filled with who He is and doing His purpose on this earth.
This will not be done withing the confines or organized, institutionalized Christianity, but rather by those that go outside the camp and gladly bear His shame as we expose the devices of Satan as he attempts to have an imprint of his own on the world, even those in the religious world that look to the outward primarily and first, rather than the indwelling of the living God who then draws into real fellowship with one another so His work on earth can be accomplished.
Only a people in living fellowship based upon the person of Jesus Christ will fulfill this call. Only they can be that city that has been hidden in the heart of the Godhead since before the foundation of the world, but has now began to be built by God Himself as He brings His people together in living relationships in order to complete His work and satisfy the desire of His heart.
That's the passion of God and by extension my own. We all must live and commit ourselves to that end above all other things or people that may interfere with our lives.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Leviticus 19:35,36 - King James Version
35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.
36 Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Not a lot of Christians think in terms of money or currency in relationship to the Bible or Jesus Christ, as most of us operate under certain assumptions concerning it, and really don't understand the underlying factors affecting the money we used on a daily basis for the transactions we make in our lives.
But the Bible actually has quite a bit to say about money that has integrity, and the passage above encapsulates that very well.
Most of us, when we think of money from long ago, understand historically that people used gold and silver coins as part of the medium of exchange. That's why the reference to just weights and measures are mentioned by God in the passage above.
What we don't understand is even though we mostly use paper or digital currency these days, there is still the principle of the fact that money must have integrity if it is to be something we can predictably trust as a medium of exchange.
In other words, money shouldn't be allowed to be created out of thin air by central banks around the world (which is called fiat money), because it has a strong, negative impact on the value of the currency that is being printed, or these days, digitally added to the marketplace.
Before we touch on this, don't get overly concerned about what a "just ephah, and a just hin," means in the scriptures. The point isn't what they specifically were, but the fact that there was a standard that was understood by the people of that time, and that standard was to be adhered to by the order and command of Almighty God.
I say this because some people easily get sidetracked by this to the detriment of missing the point of the command of God, which was that money was to have integrity to it, and anything that undermines that integrity is disallowed by Jesus Christ.
That means people must be able to confidently engage in financial interactions where they can trust that the money is exactly what it is supposed to be. Fiat money, or money created by central banks around the world disrupt that confidence and predictability, whereby people and businesses are hurt by it because of the fact that just weights and balances are not being used.
How is that the case?
I'm not going to get into every probability and possibility concerning money and the forces bearing on it, as it would confuse most of you, and the frustration would probably cause you to abandon the idea of even trying to understand the basic premise behind central banks using unjust weights and measures in the eyes of God.
Instead, will look at what is the most important part of the equation, and that is when money is printed by central banks, including the Federal Reserve in America, it debases or weakens the U.S. dollar, resulting in less buying power by those using the currency.
Consequently, over time, inflation rises and rises, coming about from the release of money into the economy that is created out of thin air; money that has no backing or support whatsoever, other than people unfortunately trust in it because of the promise that it has the full backing of the U.S. government. Other governments around the world make similar promises, with many reneging on them after they basically destroy their currencies.
So every time a central bank releases money that isn't backed by anything such as gold, it effectually is participating in the unjust act of disrupting the weights and measures required by God. It does that be lowering the value of the currency in question. That's sin.
Period.
The majority of people don't understand this, including Christians, so they support the actions of central banks, or at minimum don't oppose or pray against them, as we should.
Why this is important is because the central banks give governments and corrupt politicians a blank check to spend whatever they want to, which not only adds to the national debt, which in the case of America is unsustainable, as well as other regions of the world, such as the euro zone, bringing the economies crashing down on the heads of unsuspecting people,
who don't understand the forces being applied upon them. They know something is wrong, but they don't know the why of it.
As sheep being led to the slaughter, and because governments and central banks have socialized people into accepting their actions as those that will save them, they continue to call for more spending and stimulus, even though that is one of the major reasons for the sick global and national economies.
What a gold or combined metal or commodity standard does is force governments and politicians to spend within their means. For Christians, that points to the government being kept very small and focused on its only God-given function, which is protection and the court systems.
For example, if there was a gold standard, or a gold standard combined with another commodity like silver or other metals, there could be no more spending than what the currency is backed up with. The result of that would be money that could be counted on to hold its value, and a more predictable outcome in the future.
Notice in the scripture above how God equates just weights and measures to the children of Israel, or the Old Testament church, being delivered from bondage out of Egypt. The result of the abandonment of money with integrity is bondage, and that's what we see today as money is created and thrown around by central banks.
To create money out of thin air is rebellion against God, and ever since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, the value of the U.S. dollar has plummeted by over 95 percent. If the country you live in has had a central bank for decades, you could also check to see how the value of the currency you use has fallen as well. I guarantee it'll shock you when you find out what it is.
Fiat money, or money created by central banks without anything backing it up, is a devastating practice which is the major enabler of politicians trying to make a name for themselves in the earth. It corrupts them even further, and allows them to make the government into a healer and provider; something that is an abomination to God, and something He never intended.
Go and read the book of Daniel when he revealed and interpreted the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. It said that when Jesus Christ (identified as the Rock cut out of a mountain) would come, he would small the worldly kingdoms and empires. Anything that supports the idea of empire-building is a direct assault on the fact that Jesus Christ alone is king of kings and lord of lords. Anything supporting something contrary is an enemy to that reality. Central banks and money creation out of thin air falls within that category.
As for money, for it to operate as God intended, it needs to be backed up by something that provides a value to it. Anything else is a form of magic; only an idea or a thought - nothing else. The only thing allowing it to continue is because people who don't understand the mechanics behind money continue to have misguided trust and faith in it. They'll do that to their ruin.
Money is now flawed for the reasons mentioned above, and we need to pray for the return of money that actually has hard assets backing it. Anything else is built on shifting sand, and it will eventually come tumbling down.
That's not to say we are to trust in money in general. But we do need to be able to trust in the fact that money should be what it is asserted to be. It isn't.
It's like buying a car from someone who says it works great and has nothing wrong with it. We don't put our trust or faith in a car, but when we buy it for an agreed upon amount based upon its condition, we should be able to take possession of the car taking those assertions into account. We cannot do that with money, and the flawed U.S. dollar and many other currencies are a disaster that is no longer even attempted to be held in any type of check or balance.
Money must have integrity, and it no longer has any whatsoever. People, including Christians, will find that out to their ruin some day, as they continue to support the government and out-of-control politicians who believe they can continue to spend with impunity.
At its basic level, money needs to have something back it up. If it doesn't, it can be played with and manipulated by anyone who chooses to, and when you combine that with the governments around the world exceeding the mandate laid down by God, it's only a matter of time and when it'll come crashing down upon unsuspecting people.
We must pray that God will deal with central banks by removing them out of the world. We must pray for an honest currency; one that has substance and integrity to it and which holds its value over time.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Confirming the government is hapless in its operations and ability to function in any responsible manner, the FHA, which had boasted in the past of being “the only government agency that operates entirely from its self-generated income and costs the taxpayers nothing,” is now poised to be the latest government agency to require a bailout.
FHA data show that the number of single-family loans insured by the FHA that are 90 days or over past due jumped to approximately 739,000 in September. That's over 9.5 percent of all the loans guaranteed by the government agency, which backs up $1.08 trillion in mortgages.
The failing Federal Housing Administration has had its capital reserves plunge into the negative, falling to minus $16.3 billion.
Reserves required by the FHA are required to stand at 2 percent, and which based upon its portfolio, should have capital reserves of $22 billion.
As it stands with those numbers, the FHA must have a cash infusion of about $38 billion to meet its requirements and remain solvent.
With very little if any catalysts on the horizon, it appears the problem for the FHA will worsen as the number of people behind on their loan payments soar.
This should be another impetus behind the ongoing rise in price of gold and silver.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Romans 8:18-20
King James Version (KJV)
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
A story from the earlier part of 2012 reminded me of an experience my wife and I had as we walked on a path along the banks of a river in Kentucky. The story I'm referring to is that of a man named Lawrence Anthony, who was also known as “The Elephant Whisperer.”
He died in March of 2012, and according to his son, the elephants he worked with to rescue and rehabilitate, spontaneously returned to his home when he died, even though they were scattered across the Thula Thula, a reserve in South Africa.
The report said this:
When Anthony died of a heart attack, the elephants, who were grazing miles away in different parts of the park, travelled over 12 hours to reach his house. According to his son Jason, both herds arrived shortly after Anthony’s death. They hadn’t visited the compound where Anthony lived for a year and a half, but Jason says 'in coming up there on that day of all days, we certainly believe that they had sensed it.'
I want to add to that story the experience I mentioned. As my wife and I were walking along the bank of the river - about 15 feet away from the edge - I told the Lord Jesus Christ how I wished that He would allow me to see some fish.
As we walked I saw a couple of large fish and was excited and thankful to see them. There was nothing unusual in and of itself concerning that. But as we got nearer to the first fish we saw, more of them appeared to my eyes, and as we walked on, hundreds of them were sitting on the surface of the river, which was dead calm.
This was the case for about several blocks before there were no more fish. What was amazing was the fish never moved or spooked as we walked.
I'm an expert in fresh water fish, so I knew for a small number of fish, and for a short period of time, it's not unprecedented for them to stay around even if they see or hear you. What is unprecedented is to have hundreds of them laying on top of a river and all facing you for several blocks, with none of them making an attempt to even move as they saw and heard us.
Interestingly, at first I just viewed this as a unique blessing of God to allow us to see His amazing power and superiority over His creation.
After we got home and seemingly prompted a little by the Holy Spirit, I started to think on the event some and realized that it wasn't just for an interesting blessing and response to a prayer of mine that God allowed us to see and experience the event, it was to teach us about the reality of the creation waiting "... for the manifestation of the sons of God."
Now this wasn't revealed to make it look like there was anything special about my wife or myself. That wasn't part of the story or narrative. The purpose of it was to share and help those who truly are born of the Spirit and have Christ within them, see that the creation itself is centered and focused on the work of God within us because "the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."
The response of God's children to Christ within us, as He works to change us into His image, will result in the release of the entire creation itself, which is eagerly waiting for that day.
When thinking about the fish, I realized they were paying homage to Christ within us ... not to us as having anything inherently special about us.
But Christ has put His people in charge of creation, and ultimately how the people of Jesus Christ go, so will go creation go. Eventually Christ will grow, enlarge and expand within us to the point where creation will be released from the bondage of corruption.
That will happen when we as a people enter into the experience of the "glorious liberty of the children of God."
I have no idea whether or not the "elephant whisperer" was a Christian or not, but it does point to the fact that there is a direct connection to the creation and the sons of God. It will probably be amazing as we continue to respond to the work of Christ within us how it'll impact not only the creation, but effects of the curse upon it, which apparently will be slowly released in conjunction with the image of Jesus Christ being formed within us.
Having said all that, people are first among the Godhead, and no matter how wonderful our effect on the creation, they will by far be the most important focus as we grow in Christ. But when the creation is gradually, slowly released, we'll find that our dominion over it will increasingly result in it yielding its fruit at levels previously unheard of since sin first entered into the world.
This isn't something that should be a goal of ours, but it's mentioned for the purpose of understanding that it will be a byproduct of our faithful and obedient response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness.
As the years and decades roll on, we'll continually see the land providing improved crop yields, among many other benefits and changes related to creation because of the fact there will be among the people of Jesus Christ those that are faithful to the call of being willing and obedient in responding to the work of being conformed to the very image of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ isn't going to suddenly appear to a complete discontinuity when coming for His people at the end of this age, rather it'll be like a symphony orchestra building up to a crescendo, where there's nothing else to do but call us to be with Him in response to the faithfulness of those that heed His purpose.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Data gathered from over 3,000 measuring points on land and sea has confirmed that the earth indeed has stopped warming since 1997, according to the British Met Office, which is the meteorological center of Great Britain.
The dishonest proponents of global warming have known this for years, which is why they changed their identification of the fictitious problem to climate change. Doing that, they can now disingenuously use any change in temperature to back their claims, which in the end, is an attack on business and economic growth.
Here's what the Daily Mail reported:
The world stopped getting warmer almost 16 years ago, according to new data released last week (October 2012).
The figures, which have triggered debate among climate scientists, reveal that from the beginning of 1997 until August 2012, there was no discernible rise in aggregate global temperatures.
This means that the ‘plateau’ or ‘pause’ in global warming has now lasted for about the same time as the previous period when temperatures rose, 1980 to 1996. Before that, temperatures had been stable or declining for about 40 years.
The new figures mean that the pause in global warming has now lasted for about the same time as the previous period when temperatures rose, 1980 to 1996. . . . The new figures mean that the ‘pause’ in global warming has now lasted for about the same time as the previous period when temperatures rose, 1980 to 1996.
The new data, compiled from more than 3,000 measuring points on land and sea, was issued quietly on the Internet, without any media fanfare, and, until today, it has not been reported.
This stands in sharp contrast to the release of the previous figures six months ago, which went only to the end of 2010 – a very warm year.
Ending the data then means it is possible to show a slight warming trend since 1997, but 2011 and the first eight months of 2012 were much cooler, and thus this trend is erased. . . .
From the start of 1997 until August 2012, however, figures released last week show the answer is zero: the trend, derived from the aggregate data collected from more than 3,000 worldwide measuring points, has been flat.
Not that there has been any coverage in the media, which usually reports climate issues assiduously, since the figures were quietly release online with no accompanying press release – unlike six months ago when they showed a slight warming trend.. . .
But according to increasing numbers of serious climate scientists, it does suggest that the computer models that have for years been predicting imminent doom, such as those used by the Met Office and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, are flawed, and that the climate is far more complex than the models assert.
This is a blistering conclusion that now much defended point by point by the proponents of global warming, or they'll have to admit they have either outright lied, or have another agenda behind pushing the scam on the global public.
Of course the evidence against global warming is now irrefutable, so they'll have to change their tactics and not even attempt to defend their erroneous position.
The tactics, since they are now no longer believed by an increasing number of people, will have to be to persuade politicians to force laws and taxes on corporations and people no matter if it needs to be or not.
For Christians, we need to pray against this evil, as it will do more to undermine the liberties and economic well-being of a growing number of Americans and other global economies which it would have a negative impact, which will ultimately affect the followers of Jesus Christ.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
We've been talking about the immense importance of the first day of creation, where fanciful and imaginary inferences have been made by many who claim strange things like there had to be a pre-Adamic race (Adam wasn't the first man, and Adam and Eve were the first people made by God).
This all comes from the false assumption that God couldn't have created the earth "without form and void," and also because the earth lay in darkness. Since God is light and no darkness dwells within Him, it would be impossible for the darkness of Genesis 2 to be from Him, according to this idea.
All of this nonsense is easy to disprove Biblically, and we'll get into that in a moment.
First, it must be understood that this isn't just some teaching to titillate our curiosity and interest. If we don't correctly understand what happened in the beginning, the rest that follows will be distorted as well. And it has been.
Because the creation of the earth at the beginning was a representation of who Christ is, it is vital that we understand what it was He was trying to teach us by revealing Himself in that manner.
In the previous two articles we got into that, but I'll repeat it again. As far as the phrase "without form and void" as to the condition of the earth, all that had to do with was the fact that this was the first step by God in creation. He wasn't through yet.
Some people make up entire scenarios from this condition of the earth, saying it was impossible for God to create something like this. Not only is it possible - He did it!
The assumption that He wouldn't do it is based upon human reasoning, not fact. To say something had to have happened for it to be "without form and void" means an entire scenario has to be created in regard to this as well to support that fallacy.
Those that assert this say Satan probably rebelled in the heavenly realms and brought the battle down to earth, and thus the devastation.
The problem with that made up story is we have no proof that Satan was even created at this moment. It must be assumed to support the proposed narrative. But even if he was created, there are many more problems that must be dealt with to force this tale to work.
One of those is the fact that there was nothing but the heavens and the earth present at this moment in time. That means if there was actually another race of men that inhabited the earth before this time, that Satan and his minions would have had to have deconstructed the entire universe God created in order to bring it down to only the earth and the heavens being all that was left. That's a stretch to be sure.
When talking about this, the earth is what is usually focused on, making the rest of what had to have happened to have them alone in the physically created world ignored. It strains credibility to believe there have been entire systems of stars, planets and galaxies that had been destroyed completely by Satan. Poor God. He lost everything and had to start all over.
At least that's what those making up these fanciful stories want us to believe.
Why is this so important to understand? It's because there was something of Jesus Christ revealed in the actual events that occurred, which we miss if we believe there was this rebellion and destruction which resulted in the universe and alleged previous creation to be completed disintegrated. There is no proof that Satan even has that type of power to do that.
This doesn't even deal with other facts. Such as the fact that the Holy Scriptures reveal to us that Adam was the first mankind, while Jesus was the last one. Period. You can't escape that fact and truth.
So if there was another race of men before Adam, it would contradict that Biblical record. That alone confirms and proves there was no such thing as a race of men before Adam was created. And if some want to get cute and say there were some type of life forms created which weren't men, but a race that predated men, then there is no real hope for those believing that fantasy. As they'll keep on rewriting the entire story until if fits their wild imaginations in order that they may be respected by those opposing the Biblical account.
When reading the phrase "without form" in Genesis 2, it must be understood that they are only one Hebrew word. Here are the meanings associated with that word in the Scriptures.
(without form) =
formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness, formlessness, nothingness, empty space,
that which is empty or unreal (of idols) (fig), wasteland, wilderness (of solitary places),
and place of chaos.
In the King James version "without form" is written using these words in the Old Testament text:
Without form, empty place, wilderness, vain, vanity, confusion, nought, nothing and waste.
The term void simply means "empty."
As for the word "darkness" following those words and meanings, it can mean, among other things - ignorance, death, dark place and secret place.
So when people say things like there is no way there could be darkness because God is light, and so darkness couldn't have been created by Him, they're limiting the meaning of the word, and are unfamiliar with Biblical text which contradict those assumptions.
For example, Isaiah 45:7 says this, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things."
In Psalm 18:11 this is declared, "He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies."
Both of these words used for darkness are the same Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:2.
Not only can God create darkness, He did create darkness. The problem people have is they always tend to associate darkness with sin or evil, and miss out on the other meanings the word have, as well as the usage they convey.
There is no doubt that Jesus Christ created the earth in the beginning to reveal something of Himself. The first thing He revealed is alluded to in Job. It says:
Job (NAS) 12:22, “He reveals mysteries from the darkness. And brings the deep darkness into light.
What this tells us is that God does include darkness as part of Himself and creation in order from that darkness to being things to light. Creation was, is and remains a mystery, and as Christ continues to give us understanding of it, the mystery is lessened, as is the darkness surrounding and shrouding it.
Why did Jesus Christ create the darkness? In order to bring the mystery of Himself out into the light. It was for the sake of man these things are written. It is from the darkness that mysteries are revealed. If they weren't, they wouldn't be considered mysteries. This is part
of the secret of the darkness that existed at the beginning of creation. It covered up an extraordinary mystery that had been hidden in God and Christ from before creation.
This is why it says of the Spirit that it hovered or brooded over the waters. He was poised to begin the revelation of the mystery hidden in Christ, even though the existence of the water-covered earth already revealed one of the most important revelations of Jesus Christ there ever has been or will be.
That revelation was that the waters covering the earth pointed to the reality that Jesus Christ completely was dead to Himself as creation began. Waters refer to the cross or baptism, which both signify death. This earth was created dead, or if you will: crucified.
But not only that. The waters covered the entirety of the heavens as well, which is why they had to be separated as creation continued to be developed by the Lord Jesus Christ. So even the heavens speak of the total disregard of the self of Jesus Christ as the work started and continued on. The cross and baptism speak to that completely. In other words, the cross was part of the very nature of Jesus Christ and the Godhead before sin ever entered the world.
It was simply manifested in time when Jesus came into space and time and died for the sins of the world. But that death or inherent characteristic of the cross had always been part of Him, and always will be. This is how the world began, and why it probably cost Him much more
than we know to bring it into being for Himself, and on our behalf (everything was created for Him).
When the Scriptures say He was crucified from the foundation of the world, it's probably related to what we're talking about here. There's more to that, but in order to not get too far off of what we're talking about, we'll leave it there.
Let's look at another confirmation of what darkness in this instance meant.
Deut: 5:22 These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness (6205), with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.
5:23 And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness (2822) (obscurity, darkness, secret place - from The Hebrew lexicon is Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon), (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders;
5:24 And ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.
I included the numbering of the words darkness here from Strong's Concordance in order to let you know that they were two different words. The word darkness used in Genesis 1:2 was the one numbered '2822' in Deuteronomy 5:23.
First of all it reveals that there were two ways of viewing darkness. The first (6205) is a reference to it simply being literally a "thick darkness." The second use of the word darkness in the phrase "midst of the darkness," speaks of a mystery, or secret place, an obscure place. This is what the darkness in Genesis 1:2 undoubtedly refers to.
Listen again to how it is said, " ...when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness." If that isn't a way God moves and acts, then we have to pretend it doesn't exist. God speaks out of darkness, or from an obscure, secret place we aren't aware of in order to bring light and understanding to a situation. After all, He is light, and when He speaks and moves, those mysteries, for those who have ears to hear and eyes to see, are made known.
In the case of creation, the mystery was there from the beginning, and from the earth covered and hidden in the waters of baptism, or the place of the cross, the Spirit of God stood ready to respond to the command of "let there be light." This is a reference to speaking forth in order to reveal a mystery hidden within the Godhead when nothing but they existed.
This is all extremely important because it reveals where it is that God works from for our benefit.
Only those that learn to die in Christ truly live. There is no resurrection without death. Resurrection can only come if we die. This is where the creation story begins. It doesn't end there, and it would truly be desolate if all there was was the cross and baptism.
But we must begin there. Only the dead rise, and that death must be embraced by all believers to fully reach all that God has for us in Christ.
If we don't realize and see this is how everything began outside of and from God, we'll remain in confusion as to what it is Christ did and who He is.
Let's look at a portion of Scripture to get more understanding of this.
Jeremiah 4:18-28 (KJV)
18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart. 19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace , because thou hast heard , O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. 20 Destruction upon destruction is cried ; for the whole land is spoiled : suddenly are my tents spoiled , and my curtains in a moment. 21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? 22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding : they are wise to do evil , but to do good they have no knowledge . 23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. 24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled , and all the hills moved lightly . 25 I beheld , and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled . 26 I beheld , and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger. 27 For thus hath the LORD said , The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. 28 For this shall the earth mourn , and the heavens above be black : because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent , neither will I turn back from it.
What Jeremiah sees, as culminating in verse 23 where he says, "I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light," is this. He is making the point that because of wickedness, when God gets through with judgement, it'll be as if there had been no creation; it'll be as if there was only the cross without resurrection. It'll be as if there were no hope, as resurrection is our blessed hope. That's what God was revealing through Jeremiah in this instance.
My reason for bringing this up is from what was mentioned above before listing the verses from Jeremiah, and also at the beginning of the article. First, God wasn't through when things were without form and void, he was just beginning. The condition of the earth is one that awaited His life to be revealed. That's a reference to life, and by extension, to resurrection. After all, His life is the light of men.
In Jeremiah here, he says it's because of the fierce anger of God that He was basically going to de-create His creation. He views creation has having never went beyond being without form and void. God views it as if there never was a creation, as if there never was anything besides the death of the cross or rising up after entering the waters of baptism.
Again, it's where everything within God and Jesus Christ begins, but it's far from being the place where He wants to end.
The mystery of the early part of creation is that Jesus Christ was revealing to us that everything begins at the cross, everything must and has been crucified ... even creation from the beginning.
Being without form and void means that this is far from where God wants things to end. But to go on, we must be covered in the waters of baptismal death in the reality of what that represents, in order to be brought forth out of the waters by first seeing that we need light to comprehend this extraordinary mystery of the person of Jesus Christ and the Godhead.
The condition of creation wasn't from some cataclysmic event coming about from the rebellion of Satan, rather a glimpse into the nature of Jesus Christ, showing us where everything must begin and why we must walk in the light and resurrection life in order to escape being and remaining without form and void. Instead, we must conform to the image of Jesus Christ, as the earth and heavens did by type through the creation account.
Even so, there is no escaping the cross and its work in our lives. If there is no death to self and a dying to ourselves daily, there will never be resurrection life working in us either. The more we die to ourselves, the more of Jesus Christ will be revealed and seen within us. That's the mystery unveiled in the very beginning of the Creation account.
To relegate it to some old wives fable about fantasy races and fallen angels destroying some previous universe causes us to miss all that it is Christ has for us in this world, and the world to come.
Friday, November 2, 2012
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And
the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the
morning were the first day.
KJV
With the battles between evolutionists and creationist having escalated, it has largely taken away from the real importance of the first several verses of the Holy Scriptures, which we'll get into in a moment.
That's not to say it's not important to challenge and deal with the numerous lies and unproven falsehoods associated with the evolutionary theory, just that it has absolutely nothing to do with why the creation account was revealed by God.
Even the unfolding of the actions taken by Jesus Christ in the Bible concerning creation aren't readily understood as to their meaning, as it was in fact something that came from what was the nature of the Godhead expressed in visible form. In other words, they were glimpses into the nature of God; so much so that it was said later on that no man will ever have an excuse when standing before the judgement seat of Christ, as the creation declares Him continuously.
So while it's interesting and generally important to read about the physical creation, it's far more important to get a revelation of, and respond to the invisible characteristics and nature of Jesus Christ which the creation was based upon. To that end we'll now look at some aspects of Christ on the first day of creation.
We're not going to touch on the enormous amount of revelation in the first few verses of the Bible and creation, as it could take books to do so. Rather, we'll look at what are the most important parts of the revelation instead of going off into numerous secondary directions which would take us down too many rabbit holes and get off the most important characteristics of Christ as revealed to His people.
Where I want to begin is with the place where it says "... darkness was upon the face of the deep."
Without getting too deeply into the erroneous teaching on the idea there was a pre-Adamic race, I do want to comment on it briefly to eliminate that as even being a remotely relevant or accurate depiction of what was happening during this early stages of the creation.
The reasoning behind alleged pre-Adamic race is the assumption God doesn't create anything that could be called "... without form, and void." But the truth is, and the Scriptures declare that in fact God did create it that way.
Now there's no doubt this is all shrouded in mystery, which is mostly what the meaning behind the darkness laying on the face of the deep meant.
Another reason for the error is based upon the faulty use of the word "replenish" the earth when God ordered Adam to do so. The idea is the word replenish has to mean there had been a time when the earth was populated before. But the word just as easily could have been translated as "filled," which in fact it is in other translations of the Bible.
But the definitive understanding concerning this issue is Adam Himself. In 1st Corinthians 15:45 it says this, "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit."
The first man Adam refers to his being the representative of the first mankind, while the last Adam, who was of course Jesus Christ, was the representative of another mankind; one of a completely different makeup than former Adam, or the first mankind.
This clearly and efficiently slashed the feet from under the false teaching of a pre-Adamic race. Adam was the first of the natural mankind - there was no other before him. Period. It doesn't get any clearer than that. How can the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures reveal that Adam was the representative of the first mankind be contradicted by those who make up an entire scenario based upon nothing but human assumption and reasoning? There was no mankind or other race before Adam. He was the first of all flesh.
I mention all of this because many have been made to believe in this nonsense, and so get totally distracted from the weightier matters of creation, and really the only ones that really are important to those who believe.
The scriptures reveal over and over again that God and Jesus Christ, working with the Holy Spirit, created the earth and the universe. There's no reason for any true believer to doubt that, so most should simply stop listening to any of the numerous lies out there that attempt to contradict that face. Jesus is the creator. That's really all we need to know and believe concerning that issue.
For those who battle these lies in a public forum, of course it's important to pursue and expose many of these matter so the unbelievers can see that there is a God behind the creation we all walk in and interact with. Those claiming to know Christ and whom give credence to these liars need to re-examine themselves as to their faith. There is no evolution, and there is no "mechanism" following initial creation that would include
evolution in any way. The creation account is enough. All of us should be settled and unmoved by any other falsehood and assertions made by men; whether non-Christian or allegedly Christian.
Those catering to the lies do so in order to be found palatable and respectable among men. We should all know that Jesus Christ reproves strongly any that attempt to please men and love the world and its praise.
Let's get back to the Scriptures. So "darkness was upon the face of the deep." This is one of the first revelations of an amazing Characteristic of Jesus Christ and the Godhead. As a matter of fact, it's totally central to their person hood, and all of life flows out from it as far as the Godhead goes, and by extension, those who believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.
The reason why we talked a little on the pre-Adamic race is found in this verse. If that is the focus of believers, they'll miss the true meaning of what was being unveiled by Christ of Himself when He created.
What was it? Two things. The first is that darkness was not a part of sin. It had nothing to do with it whatsoever, as sin hadn't entered the world yet because man hadn't even been created or tempted. That means whatever darkness refers to, it has nothing to do with sin.
It's already proven from the Scriptures that Adam was the first mankind. So there wasn't sin from some type of prior mankind that God was dealing with in His creation.
So the first thing to learn is God hides and shrouds things in mystery. That's what this darkness is referring to. As a matter of fact, God actually names this darkness "night." He didn't name some non-existent sinful aspect of a prior creation, but something He created that we are told nothing about.
I'm referring to the fact that the earth, the water, and the darkness existed without us being told how it came into being. The first revelation of an actual step taken in creation was when God said, "Let there be light." Before that we simply have this earth without having and form and being void and covered with water and darkness. That's it. We know nothing else about how it came into being. The book of Job deals with some of the planning aspects of the creation, but we still aren't told exactly what God did to bring it into being. We're simply presented with the fact that it was there.
And even if later in the Biblical account it had been revealed, it wouldn't have been known until later by those it would have been unfolded to, meaning the way it was unveiled retains the purpose as to how it was created, explained and described.
All of that means that the earth and how it was at the time of the initial creation was done so intentionally by God in that condition and order, and consequently something exists in Jesus Christ that is explained in that reflection of reality.
The question is this: what was it that was explained about Christ that the waters covering the earth reveal? We know that the darkness reveals that there is a mystery that is hidden that is about to be revealed. That mystery was named by God as night, suggesting throughout this dispensation more and more of the mystery hidden in Christ will be revealed and understood by those that are His and hungry to know Him fully. Not simply for the purpose of knowing about Him, but through revelation and experience, knowing Him as to who He is.
That's what this darkness is referring to, and why the Holy Spirit was agitated upon the waters in anticipation of and ready to work with what was about to happen next in the creation order, and as to how God works with His people.
What was this mystery hidden within the waters and covered by darkness? Of course it's the entirety of who Christ is. But the real question is what do the waters themselves represent. To go on with knowing, experiencing and understanding Jesus Christ, we must understand the waters themselves before we can begin to comprehend what was hidden in them.
At this point it isn't too difficult to understand the waters, as in the context it is in, and as it is throughout the Holy Scriptures, the water represents death, or baptism. Not death in the sense of that which came about as the result of sin, but death in the sense of the total denying of oneself.
Since man wasn't created yet, this is an obvious reference to Christ. This is why it says this in Revelation 13.8, "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him (Beast), whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world. How could that be when we know He came to the earth a little over 2,000 years ago and died? Some sloppy translations of the Hebrew attempt to make it look like the foundation of the world reference is in regard to those written in the book of life. While that's true, it's not here that it talks about that. Here it's talking about the fact that Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world.
That means that when we come upon the first verses of the creation account, that was when the actual slaying happened. I don't want to get sidetracked by getting too much into this, as it's the slaying that matters, not how it happened seemingly at two different times in history. As a matter of fact it didn't. They aren't two separate events, but one in the same. One explains it as it happened in eternity, the other explains it as it happened in time and space on the earth.
Again, it's what it represents that is important, not delving into how eternal events are migrated into the physical creation from outside of time.
What we have here is the essence of who Christ is. Jesus Christ didn't die for our sins on the cross out of nothing at all, and the sacrifice and denial of Himself for our sake didn't happen only because of sin. It was and is something inherent in the Godhead, and from within His total love and denial of self He first created the earth, and that brought about the crucifixion of Christ in the eternals.
But the point is it cost Jesus Christ everything when He created the heavens and the earth, and it was expressed in time when He died on Calvary.
What that implies and confirms is an extraordinary thing was driving Jesus Christ when He created when He was known as the word, and that passion, which is identified in the
Scriptures as His eternal purpose, continues to be the driving force behind everything He does.
The bottom line is Jesus Christ gave everything He had, and that was expressed at the beginning by the waters covering the earth, because it revealed that within Christ there is this immense willingness and characteristic of His nature of being dead to Himself. Waters point to being willing to die unto oneself in order to have the life of God live through us. Christ is the example of that in these beginning verses of the Bible, and is why it is said He was crucified from that very moment the creation came into being.
And just like the darkness filled the land when Jesus died on the cross on Calvary, so the darkness covered the waters in response to the crucifixion of Jesus from the foundation of the world.
Death of Himself wasn't a response to sin by man alone, it was something that is part of His very nature and makeup. It of course brought about His physical death on the earth, but it was motivated by something that He was and is. Man was the recipient and beneficiary of the magnificent offering of Himself for our sins, but it was based upon the fact that He begins in death and always moves from there to life. One can't truly live unless they really die.
Christ shows us that it is something experiential at the very core of His being, not only something He demands of man alone.
In other words, Jesus Christ was the lamb of God within and in eternity before He ever came into the world as a man. This wasn't just figuratively, but it literally happened at the time of creation.
Why all of this is important to see isn't so we can have some interesting things to talk about. May that never be. The reason I'm sharing it is because this very thing that Christ is and lives by, is what He also requires of us, or rather, is how He will live in us when walking in us throughout our earthly journey.
So whenever any of us are looking for understanding and guidance, understand that creation teaches us that first we must be covered with the waters, dying to ourselves, before the life of Christ will spring forth from within to answer the situation and circumstances we face, or to fulfill a specific calling He has given us.
Nothing can come forth into live unless it dies. If there is no death it is impossible for there to be a resurrection. And resurrection is life. Life that overcomes death. But death can only be overcome when you go through it.
Those that are willing to experience that over and over again throughout their lives, will find life and times of refreshing just as many times.
One thing I've learned experientially in all of this is we must not get too bogged down in the cross and crucifixion side of it, without understanding that that isn't the final place God has for us at any time we're going through it.
The whole issue is that His life can be manifest as we continue to die daily. That's what the meaning of the earth being shrouded in mystery with the waters covering all that was about to be brought to life by and in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is at that moment the words come forth, "Let there be light." That's the beginning of His life manifesting itself in us.
But to have light manifested, just like to have resurrection in regard to life, we must go through dark times if light is to come in the morning. That light is His life, and those who are willing to have Him draw and guide through darkness, won't be staying in it indefinitely. Darkness and the cross are went through so that light and life can be revealed. That's where the beginning of all things coming from Christ into this world through our being temples of the Holy Spirit launch.
It's there that out of our innermost being comes rivers of living water. Only broken vessels are able to release the treasure of Christ dwelling within them.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Before the beginning mentioned in the first verse of the Bible, one written, by the way, far after it happened, there was something, or should I say - Someone that was. The reason why is there can never be a beginning unless there is a living being behind starting something. No being ... no start. It's as simple as that.
Everything about something that begins demands that there is a personal force and idea behind it. Nothing that is just starts off from something that isn't, it must begin somewhere as a thought or idea, or as part of who someone is.
So before anything mentioned in Genesis 1:1 happened, there was someone that was; someone that existed. As a matter of fact, there were three beings living, although they were identical as to characteristics, and so they identify themselves as one and testify to that fact and reality, confirming it by what happened in verse 1 of the Holy Scriptures.
Now what's very interesting about this is the majority of those studying and reading these verses immediately make some wrong conclusions about the narrative and record of creation in a way that results in many distortions emerging because of those faulty assumptions concerning the beginning. We'll get into that in a moment.
Again, the immediate point that must be seen is that verse one of Genesis may be the beginning, but it wasn't the first among things. The triune God was the first, although He had no beginning, and will have no end. He existed before the beginning.
So here we have this community of eternal beings living and doing something before anything happens concerning "In the beginning." The Bible actually talks about many of these things, but, again, we won't focus on those things at this time. They're only mentioned for you to be aware of them as we get into these first verses of the creation account.
Another thing to be aware of is there was nothing else that existed but these three beings before the beginning, and while impossible to comprehend by us human beings - specifically those that have been born from above - it is still a fact.
One of the reasons that's important is because creation had to be based upon something; it's not based upon nothing. The best way to explain it is the Godhead decided that they would reveal, express and communicate themselves through what at that time, as far as has been revealed to us, and as far as we know, was identified as the Word. John reveals this in the first part of his gospel concerning Jesus Christ.
This is extremely important to understand. What happened is the person of the Godhead identified as the Father, along with the Holy Spirit and the Word, agreed together to pour all that they were into the Word (the reason He was identified as the word, and still is) and express that through a creation that reflected all that they were in types, shadows and symbols.
All of that doesn't mean they didn't retain their person hood, just that all were the same, and if you saw One of Them you saw all of Them. They had different operations and jobs to do, but what and who they were was completely one; there was nothing in their union and unity that would ever change concerning that. One of the Godhead didn't carry a different thought in His head while another one carried another; it was impossible. They were a unity, and that is why revealing Themselves in One of Them was possible to do.
Jesus confirmed this when talking to His disciples when He said if you've seen Me, you have seen the Father. Even though Jesus was the only person of the Godhead to become a man and physically die, doesn't change the fact that He was completely one with the Father and Holy Spirit. This is why He was confident in sending the Holy Spirit, whose job was and is to reveal who Christ is within men and women born again from above. They are so one with one another that Jesus had no qualms about remaining in heaven and entrusting that job to the Holy Spirit on earth who dwells in those whom came to truly believe in Christ.
What was and is true in time, was and is true outside of time as well, meaning before the beginning the Godhead were one and the same as far as what their makeup was, and so looking inside of Christ, and all of them working together, the Word was about to make His personal statement on Who it was that God was. It is in that idea and thought that we approach the first verse of the Bible as it records the first moment in history ... or at least a description of what we perceive as the first moment in history.
By that I simply mean that an unusual thing was described about the first moment, and that is that God created the heavens and the earth, yet other than that phrase, absolutely nothing else is mentioned about the creation of heaven. It is simply left blank as it is, and it is surely done so for a number of reasons.
One of those reasons is the Holy Scriptures were written so man would know and understand what it was God did and why, and in regard to heaven, as far as its creation goes, it wasn't related at that time to man, as God retained jurisdiction over it and man was to focus on duplicating what was happening and going on in heaven onto the earth. That remains true to this day, although the importance of bringing the Lordship of Jesus Christ in heaven and earth remains a part of the eternal purpose of God in Jesus Christ, and to be accomplished by His people as it relates to the earth.
The other unique thing that happened was the interesting revelation that the earth was without form and void, with darkness covering the deep; referring to the waters which covered the earth.
This is one of the most misinterpreted and misunderstood Scriptures I've seen in the Bible, as the idea has been put forth by numerous men of God that something had to have happened because God could never create something in that condition. That's a huge assumption, and a misreading of what was actually happening.
What has come about from all of that wrong thinking is a bizarre tale of some type of pre-Adamic race which God had to judge the world over, which left the earth in the state described as being without form and void and with darkness upon the face of the waters. Others believe Satan destroyed the former inhabitants of the earth and God had to start over with a renewed creation.
In other words, what earth was at that moment was an unformed object with water covering every part of it, and completely hidden by darkness because of some assumed events that we aren't left in the dark about.
In that regard the Scriptures teach us that darkness and light are the same to the Lord, as far as His ability to see, and so this (the darkness) wasn't meant to be something important to God as far as He Himself goes, but was revealed for our understanding and edification. God already knew the narrative about to be revealed, and it was the unveiling of types and shadows of who He was; at least until the pinnacle of the creation was reached where His very image was unveiled in Adam and Eve as representatives of all of mankind.
The point is that there was no human or other race created before Adam, which is identified in the Scriptures later on as the first Adam, or the first mankind. That's in 1 Cor. 15:45. The silly assertions by men who don't understand there's more than one meaning for darkness in the Bible, apparently aren't aware that the fantasy they created about a pre-Adamic race completely contradicts the declaration that Adam was the first mankind.
Some could attempt to get cute at this point by taking the so-called and alleged discovery of other types of beings that aren't human, but that's ridiculous and a fantasy; one created and espoused for the purpose of undermining the Biblical account, which can't be broken. Adam was the first mankind, and the only mankind until a new mankind came in the person of Christ. There are only two according to the Holy Scriptures, and I believe what God says in His word concerning it. There is a first Adam and a last Adam. No others.
So the idea of a pre-Adamic race is a lie perpetuated in some cases by well-meaning men, but who don't comprehend it totally conflicts with what the Bible clearly states concerning Adam being the first mankind.
One scripture that is used to primarily support this false idea is in Genesis 1: 28, where God says this to Adam and Eve, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth...." The problem with that is the word replenish doesn't only mean to refill something, but also means, as is the case here, to fill something. God is simply telling Adam and Eve to begin to fill the earth with people, and they were to teach their offspring to do the same. How that becomes an entire teaching based upon someone choosing which definition of the word to use to support a nonsensical theory to create their own story is strange to say the least.
All of this is tempered by the scripture in 1 Cor. 15:45. This is the first man, who represents the race of mankind which came from the earth. There is no other man, as the genealogy in Matthew also confirms. It goes back to Adam and no other. No other group of human beings or other earthly beings were created by God. Adam was the first of mankind, and it all begins from there. Period.
Now let's go to the question of what was meant then by the Biblical account of how things were at the beginning of the physical creation.
The darkness wasn't reference to sin or a destructive act of Satan, it was a reference to a mystery hidden beneath the waters that the Godhead was passionately moved to reveal. That's why the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters in anticipation of the Word of God possibly speaking the first utterance in His eternal existence. That may not be the case, but it's a legitimate possibility.
What else needs to be understood is why the earth was covered with water and the darkness covering the waters of the earth. This is a great mystery, but one that isn't that difficult to understand.
Waters in the Bible, for the most part, are a reference to death. That is expressed numerous times throughout the Scriptures, including the Jordan when it was strategically crossed over by the Children of Israel; as well as some of the individual prophets; along with the laver in the Tabernacle; and of course in the New Testament with baptism.
And death, as far as it relates to the Godhead, is the eternal denial of each one of them; death not meaning the end of life, but rather the end of self. Of course there was never any selfishness within the Godhead, so it was an expression of that lack of self-centeredness that was part of God, not the need to eliminate it that was being expressed in the beginning.
In other words, it's a reference to the cross, which was far from being only displayed at Calvary, but was inherent in the person hood of the Godhead. The earth was created crucified is the point I'm making here. This is why while God was and is very interested in what happens on the earth (as He created it for a very distinctive purpose). He is also completely dead to it, and will only interact with it on His terms and not our own.
Not only was He dead to it, but He reveals to us that the cross and being dead to self is the center of all things in the Godhead, and will also be in those who follow Him. This is why we begin at the cross of Jesus Christ when we come into salvation. It's not the end, but the beginning of life. That's also the case in the beginning of the physical creation.
Jesus Christ, when He created the earth, showed forth through the earth being covered with water so that everything as it relates to man and as practiced among the community of the Godhead, begins with a total denial of self. The revelation of the creation account begins there, as does life in God for His people.
All of that means the cross wasn't some secondary thought or simply a provision for mankind in case something went wrong. God already knew it would and of course provided for that eventuality in Christ coming to the earth as a man. As important is the fact that this isn't something external to God that only happened because man sinned and needed a Savior, but was the very core of the person and nature of God, who totally lived by pouring out Themselves to and for one another before creation and outside of time and space.
So the earth was revealed as covered with water as the first part of the revelation of what the Godhead was like, which was revealed as being totally selfless, as represented by the water covering the earth.
Also important to note is the fact that Jesus Christ was crucified from the foundation of the world. That means there is a connection between the initial creation and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It's hard to fathom and understand, but the Holy Scriptures are completely clear on this: Jesus Christ was crucified from the foundation of the world. This has to do with living outside of time and space and dwelling as an eternal being. I'm not going to pursue that train of thought at this point so it isn't distracting to the purpose I'm writing this for. But the connection was made by the Holy Spirit Himself, and so it is completely true even if we can't figure it out or know why it's important. We need revelation from Christ in this area, and all we have to do is ask Him and He'll help us to see.
One thing I will touch on is this is related to the darkness on the face of the earth. Remember when Jesus died on the cross and it got dark out immediately afterwards? That's because the light of the world had been temporarily extinguished. It was a testimony to the fact that the earth and the world is not relevant and dwells in darkness if the light of the world isn't there for it. The earth was created for Christ, so when the purpose for the creation was removed from the earth, the reason for the earth to exist was also removed.
This is why the earth was dark and without form and void and the water covered the earth long ago at the beginning. It is the story of the crucified Lord expressing that crucifixion at the beginning of the creation. The connection between the two are inescapable or the Scriptures can't be trusted. So when Jesus was crucified and died, the earth was darkened, as was the crucified earth when it was initially created.
It was darkened because the light hadn't been created yet, and Jesus Christ was teaching us that everything is dead and dark until He as the light of the world reveals Himself as the light. That happened in creation at the moment He spoke.
His life is the light of men, and until His life is revealed by revelation from God, we remain in darkness. That's the case whether it's related to sin or not seeing who He is. Either way we're blind unless we have our eyes cleansed and we see the true light of the world.
This is extremely important because while taking up our cross and dying daily is vital, it does no good unless the life of Christ is manifest in us.
So the world being created crucified and baptized was meaningless unless the light shone upon it. And that is exactly what happened. There is no life, especially resurrected life, unless someone dies. You can't be brought to life unless you're first dead. That's the same with the earth, and the first step towards bringing it to life was for it to be created dead, and from there the life of God, first via the light, started the process of bringing it to life. This is why the creation story from day one was a revelation of the person of Jesus Christ revealing the true nature of the Godhead to man. This is after all why the creation account was revealed by God and written down.
In other words, this was part of the very nature of God, and even though Jesus Christ had to die for our sins to make those who believe in Him right with God, the cross was part of His very nature, as confirmed by the creation of the earth as it was, which held the hidden mysteries of His true nature for us to learn by revelation and experience. That's what the meaning of the water covering the earth is, and it's why darkness was over it. The life of God had to be expressed as light in order for the earth to come to life, and that isn't just a light to see by by man's eye balls, but a pointer towards the fact that unless He allows us to see by revelation who He is, we can never discover it. That is another way of saying we're completely dependent upon God to give us light about Himself, and our job is to hold to Him in faith as the process of that revelation is unfolded.
This is difficult to explain, and it's something I see much more clearly within that I am able to explain without. The bottom line, again, is creation was an account and revelation of what God is actually like, as He based it upon His very nature in order to be a reflection of who He was, and so man could live in the midst of it to help see what the invisible attributes of God actually were. It begins with total selflessness, which was expressed in the creation by the water-covered earth, which agrees with the revelation and fact that Jesus Christ was crucified from the foundation of the world.
With the light I have now concerning this, it appears that the creation of the earth cost Jesus everything, and history proves that that is the case, culminating in His death on the cross in space and time. Yet that event also happened when the earth was formed. It's a mystery, which is why the beginning of the creation account was shrouded in the darkness and needed the light of the life of Christ to help us see and understand what it is He is like. It's about laying down His life for us in order to create the earth we would be formed from, and about a love that was impossible to keep to Himself.
In the end that's what's important. Creation was inevitable because of the selflessness of God. He had to share Himself through fellowship with others who would ultimately become His sons, and so that demanded a creation in order to bring those sons into being. That act of love cost Him everything, although the Father, because of Christ's obedience, gave it all back to Him and more. Ultimately Jesus will present His completed work in us to the Father that God may be all in all.
Now as to a secondary reason, God also revealed that when He created the heavens and the earth, things in the physical realm, unless He intervenes, will be run on a sequential and progressive level, meaning you have to take one step in the physically created world before you take the next step.
The idea is that while God created the earth covered with water as an expression of who He is, and to show us that reality and fact, secondarily it also teaches us that things done in this realm are done one step at a time, and not all at once. There's much to learn practically from that, but that's the essence of it.
Faith of course can change some of this, but even there man is still man, and God will perform the miraculous at times to remind us that the He rules from heaven, and the earth is to also ruled in that manner. But it must be line upon line and precept upon precept for everyday life, with God sometimes intervening and performing miracles to reveal His power so our faith in Him is built upon the power He has and His person.
Another very important thing to understand in the creation account is that there is no mention as to how the earth is made. Other than saying God created it, there is nothing told to us as to whether it was spoken into existence, or if there was another means used. Since everything was created by Christ working with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the assumption has to be made that was spoken into existence, but God chose to leave that unsaid as well, supporting the fact that He wanted us to realize this was a mystery that He was revealing concerning Himself, as well as something we must embrace by faith in Him and what He revealed to us.
I know that the Holy Spirit reveals in Job some of the preliminary aspects of creation, but it's not real clear as to the means employed to create the earth even though the plans had been drawn up.
Leaving out facts shouldn't be a problem in any way for us, as the just live by faith, and by faith we understand He created the heavens and the earth. That should be enough for us. The major reason for the creation was to design an environment that was filled with types and shadows of God within it, and then the very image of God was expressed in the creation of man. Not only was man provided for a perfect environment, but was also able to enjoy it as man for the purpose of learning much about God through the creation itself, as well as direct fellowship with Him. Creation after all, is said to speak to man of who God is, and it's as real as anything other than God himself, although tainted now through the curse coming from the sin of Adam and Eve.
As to the earth being without form and void, it was that way simply because God had to take step one in order to take step two. He created this great mystery covered with water to first reveal that the earth was created crucified in order to show that this was the starting place with God in relationship to man, and also that it was a vital characteristic of the Godhead themselves.
It was also so that man would understand that until God reveals who He is out of the cross or baptism, there is no hope of man being anything but without form and void. Only God can bring order out of chaos, and until He takes the next step, there is nothing but a formless void covered in darkness.
There can never be redemption unless there is a dying to self. There can never be creation unless God sheds light on the circumstances of life and gives revelation of how to emerge out of this chaotic world. All of this was represented in the creation without sin. The emphasis isn't on sin at all at this point, but what this world would be like if God doesn't bring light to us concerning its purpose.
Even God's creation will never make sense to His people unless He brings us revelation as to what that meaning is. That's what creation is all about and why God created; not just to give us an environment to live in, but that that very environment testified and revealed who He is to us. Because He looked inside Himself and knew and understood who He was, upon that basis, in an orderly fashion, God began to create the heavens and the earth, with the earth being the focus of the narrative and revelation for man.
So with the darkness hiding the mystery hidden under the waters of the created earth, and the earth itself created as a crucified entity, at this point the Spirit of God is fluttering or hovering over the waters, with the goal of changing this formless and void place into an orderly work. But it was to primarily reveal His eternal purpose in its embryonic form. So at that point the Word of God utters the first words we know of, which is of course: "Let there be light."
It starts with selflessness and crucifixion, but goes on with the mighty creation of light, which is a reflection of the very life of God Himself, and of course the beginning of the revelation of who He is as far as moving out of death to self into life. Remember, this is all written so we can know and understand who He is, and not for God.
Again, this isn't something God does as finding out something of Himself. He's simply expressing who He is, which is in itself an act of selflessness and love, as He is passionate about expressing Himself in a people in order to fill a created earth with Himself to reflect what has already happened in heaven. The invisible and visible worlds were always meant to be an exact reflection and image of who Jesus Christ is. Man was created in order to bring the invisible quality of God's into themselves and then express it into the earth. That way Jesus Christ would the be the Lord of heaven and earth. There has been no change or alteration to that purpose, and the Holy Spirit continues to work in us to that end to this day.
While the focus of this has been largely on creation before light was spoken into existence, in fact this is completely about the life of Christ as expressed by light. We are taught that His life is the light of men. And so it is.
But that light or life makes no sense unless it comes forth out of death to self, which is revealed in the mystery of creation from the moment of conception.
All of this is a drama emerging from a selfless loving God, who in the Son was crucified from the foundation of the world, and through death, as represented by the waters covering the earth, gave everything in order to pour out His love on a people and be received and embraced as the God of the universe. This is part of His great inheritance in the saints, and for the joy that was set before Him, was more than willing to endure the cross so He could share of Himself with those who believe in Him ... forever. What an eternal purpose He has had from before time.
Everything about something that begins demands that there is a personal force and idea behind it. Nothing that is just starts off from something that isn't, it must begin somewhere as a thought or idea, or as part of who someone is.
So before anything mentioned in Genesis 1:1 happened, there was someone that was; someone that existed. As a matter of fact, there were three beings living, although they were identical as to characteristics, and so they identify themselves as one and testify to that fact and reality, confirming it by what happened in verse 1 of the Holy Scriptures.
Now what's very interesting about this is the majority of those studying and reading these verses immediately make some wrong conclusions about the narrative and record of creation in a way that results in many distortions emerging because of those faulty assumptions concerning the beginning. We'll get into that in a moment.
Again, the immediate point that must be seen is that verse one of Genesis may be the beginning, but it wasn't the first among things. The triune God was the first, although He had no beginning, and will have no end. He existed before the beginning.
So here we have this community of eternal beings living and doing something before anything happens concerning "In the beginning." The Bible actually talks about many of these things, but, again, we won't focus on those things at this time. They're only mentioned for you to be aware of them as we get into these first verses of the creation account.
Another thing to be aware of is there was nothing else that existed but these three beings before the beginning, and while impossible to comprehend by us human beings - specifically those that have been born from above - it is still a fact.
One of the reasons that's important is because creation had to be based upon something; it's not based upon nothing. The best way to explain it is the Godhead decided that they would reveal, express and communicate themselves through what at that time, as far as has been revealed to us, and as far as we know, was identified as the Word. John reveals this in the first part of his gospel concerning Jesus Christ.
This is extremely important to understand. What happened is the person of the Godhead identified as the Father, along with the Holy Spirit and the Word, agreed together to pour all that they were into the Word (the reason He was identified as the word, and still is) and express that through a creation that reflected all that they were in types, shadows and symbols.
All of that doesn't mean they didn't retain their person hood, just that all were the same, and if you saw One of Them you saw all of Them. They had different operations and jobs to do, but what and who they were was completely one; there was nothing in their union and unity that would ever change concerning that. One of the Godhead didn't carry a different thought in His head while another one carried another; it was impossible. They were a unity, and that is why revealing Themselves in One of Them was possible to do.
Jesus confirmed this when talking to His disciples when He said if you've seen Me, you have seen the Father. Even though Jesus was the only person of the Godhead to become a man and physically die, doesn't change the fact that He was completely one with the Father and Holy Spirit. This is why He was confident in sending the Holy Spirit, whose job was and is to reveal who Christ is within men and women born again from above. They are so one with one another that Jesus had no qualms about remaining in heaven and entrusting that job to the Holy Spirit on earth who dwells in those whom came to truly believe in Christ.
What was and is true in time, was and is true outside of time as well, meaning before the beginning the Godhead were one and the same as far as what their makeup was, and so looking inside of Christ, and all of them working together, the Word was about to make His personal statement on Who it was that God was. It is in that idea and thought that we approach the first verse of the Bible as it records the first moment in history ... or at least a description of what we perceive as the first moment in history.
By that I simply mean that an unusual thing was described about the first moment, and that is that God created the heavens and the earth, yet other than that phrase, absolutely nothing else is mentioned about the creation of heaven. It is simply left blank as it is, and it is surely done so for a number of reasons.
One of those reasons is the Holy Scriptures were written so man would know and understand what it was God did and why, and in regard to heaven, as far as its creation goes, it wasn't related at that time to man, as God retained jurisdiction over it and man was to focus on duplicating what was happening and going on in heaven onto the earth. That remains true to this day, although the importance of bringing the Lordship of Jesus Christ in heaven and earth remains a part of the eternal purpose of God in Jesus Christ, and to be accomplished by His people as it relates to the earth.
The other unique thing that happened was the interesting revelation that the earth was without form and void, with darkness covering the deep; referring to the waters which covered the earth.
This is one of the most misinterpreted and misunderstood Scriptures I've seen in the Bible, as the idea has been put forth by numerous men of God that something had to have happened because God could never create something in that condition. That's a huge assumption, and a misreading of what was actually happening.
What has come about from all of that wrong thinking is a bizarre tale of some type of pre-Adamic race which God had to judge the world over, which left the earth in the state described as being without form and void and with darkness upon the face of the waters. Others believe Satan destroyed the former inhabitants of the earth and God had to start over with a renewed creation.
In other words, what earth was at that moment was an unformed object with water covering every part of it, and completely hidden by darkness because of some assumed events that we aren't left in the dark about.
In that regard the Scriptures teach us that darkness and light are the same to the Lord, as far as His ability to see, and so this (the darkness) wasn't meant to be something important to God as far as He Himself goes, but was revealed for our understanding and edification. God already knew the narrative about to be revealed, and it was the unveiling of types and shadows of who He was; at least until the pinnacle of the creation was reached where His very image was unveiled in Adam and Eve as representatives of all of mankind.
The point is that there was no human or other race created before Adam, which is identified in the Scriptures later on as the first Adam, or the first mankind. That's in 1 Cor. 15:45. The silly assertions by men who don't understand there's more than one meaning for darkness in the Bible, apparently aren't aware that the fantasy they created about a pre-Adamic race completely contradicts the declaration that Adam was the first mankind.
Some could attempt to get cute at this point by taking the so-called and alleged discovery of other types of beings that aren't human, but that's ridiculous and a fantasy; one created and espoused for the purpose of undermining the Biblical account, which can't be broken. Adam was the first mankind, and the only mankind until a new mankind came in the person of Christ. There are only two according to the Holy Scriptures, and I believe what God says in His word concerning it. There is a first Adam and a last Adam. No others.
So the idea of a pre-Adamic race is a lie perpetuated in some cases by well-meaning men, but who don't comprehend it totally conflicts with what the Bible clearly states concerning Adam being the first mankind.
One scripture that is used to primarily support this false idea is in Genesis 1: 28, where God says this to Adam and Eve, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth...." The problem with that is the word replenish doesn't only mean to refill something, but also means, as is the case here, to fill something. God is simply telling Adam and Eve to begin to fill the earth with people, and they were to teach their offspring to do the same. How that becomes an entire teaching based upon someone choosing which definition of the word to use to support a nonsensical theory to create their own story is strange to say the least.
All of this is tempered by the scripture in 1 Cor. 15:45. This is the first man, who represents the race of mankind which came from the earth. There is no other man, as the genealogy in Matthew also confirms. It goes back to Adam and no other. No other group of human beings or other earthly beings were created by God. Adam was the first of mankind, and it all begins from there. Period.
Now let's go to the question of what was meant then by the Biblical account of how things were at the beginning of the physical creation.
The darkness wasn't reference to sin or a destructive act of Satan, it was a reference to a mystery hidden beneath the waters that the Godhead was passionately moved to reveal. That's why the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters in anticipation of the Word of God possibly speaking the first utterance in His eternal existence. That may not be the case, but it's a legitimate possibility.
What else needs to be understood is why the earth was covered with water and the darkness covering the waters of the earth. This is a great mystery, but one that isn't that difficult to understand.
Waters in the Bible, for the most part, are a reference to death. That is expressed numerous times throughout the Scriptures, including the Jordan when it was strategically crossed over by the Children of Israel; as well as some of the individual prophets; along with the laver in the Tabernacle; and of course in the New Testament with baptism.
And death, as far as it relates to the Godhead, is the eternal denial of each one of them; death not meaning the end of life, but rather the end of self. Of course there was never any selfishness within the Godhead, so it was an expression of that lack of self-centeredness that was part of God, not the need to eliminate it that was being expressed in the beginning.
In other words, it's a reference to the cross, which was far from being only displayed at Calvary, but was inherent in the person hood of the Godhead. The earth was created crucified is the point I'm making here. This is why while God was and is very interested in what happens on the earth (as He created it for a very distinctive purpose). He is also completely dead to it, and will only interact with it on His terms and not our own.
Not only was He dead to it, but He reveals to us that the cross and being dead to self is the center of all things in the Godhead, and will also be in those who follow Him. This is why we begin at the cross of Jesus Christ when we come into salvation. It's not the end, but the beginning of life. That's also the case in the beginning of the physical creation.
Jesus Christ, when He created the earth, showed forth through the earth being covered with water so that everything as it relates to man and as practiced among the community of the Godhead, begins with a total denial of self. The revelation of the creation account begins there, as does life in God for His people.
All of that means the cross wasn't some secondary thought or simply a provision for mankind in case something went wrong. God already knew it would and of course provided for that eventuality in Christ coming to the earth as a man. As important is the fact that this isn't something external to God that only happened because man sinned and needed a Savior, but was the very core of the person and nature of God, who totally lived by pouring out Themselves to and for one another before creation and outside of time and space.
So the earth was revealed as covered with water as the first part of the revelation of what the Godhead was like, which was revealed as being totally selfless, as represented by the water covering the earth.
Also important to note is the fact that Jesus Christ was crucified from the foundation of the world. That means there is a connection between the initial creation and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It's hard to fathom and understand, but the Holy Scriptures are completely clear on this: Jesus Christ was crucified from the foundation of the world. This has to do with living outside of time and space and dwelling as an eternal being. I'm not going to pursue that train of thought at this point so it isn't distracting to the purpose I'm writing this for. But the connection was made by the Holy Spirit Himself, and so it is completely true even if we can't figure it out or know why it's important. We need revelation from Christ in this area, and all we have to do is ask Him and He'll help us to see.
One thing I will touch on is this is related to the darkness on the face of the earth. Remember when Jesus died on the cross and it got dark out immediately afterwards? That's because the light of the world had been temporarily extinguished. It was a testimony to the fact that the earth and the world is not relevant and dwells in darkness if the light of the world isn't there for it. The earth was created for Christ, so when the purpose for the creation was removed from the earth, the reason for the earth to exist was also removed.
This is why the earth was dark and without form and void and the water covered the earth long ago at the beginning. It is the story of the crucified Lord expressing that crucifixion at the beginning of the creation. The connection between the two are inescapable or the Scriptures can't be trusted. So when Jesus was crucified and died, the earth was darkened, as was the crucified earth when it was initially created.
It was darkened because the light hadn't been created yet, and Jesus Christ was teaching us that everything is dead and dark until He as the light of the world reveals Himself as the light. That happened in creation at the moment He spoke.
His life is the light of men, and until His life is revealed by revelation from God, we remain in darkness. That's the case whether it's related to sin or not seeing who He is. Either way we're blind unless we have our eyes cleansed and we see the true light of the world.
This is extremely important because while taking up our cross and dying daily is vital, it does no good unless the life of Christ is manifest in us.
So the world being created crucified and baptized was meaningless unless the light shone upon it. And that is exactly what happened. There is no life, especially resurrected life, unless someone dies. You can't be brought to life unless you're first dead. That's the same with the earth, and the first step towards bringing it to life was for it to be created dead, and from there the life of God, first via the light, started the process of bringing it to life. This is why the creation story from day one was a revelation of the person of Jesus Christ revealing the true nature of the Godhead to man. This is after all why the creation account was revealed by God and written down.
In other words, this was part of the very nature of God, and even though Jesus Christ had to die for our sins to make those who believe in Him right with God, the cross was part of His very nature, as confirmed by the creation of the earth as it was, which held the hidden mysteries of His true nature for us to learn by revelation and experience. That's what the meaning of the water covering the earth is, and it's why darkness was over it. The life of God had to be expressed as light in order for the earth to come to life, and that isn't just a light to see by by man's eye balls, but a pointer towards the fact that unless He allows us to see by revelation who He is, we can never discover it. That is another way of saying we're completely dependent upon God to give us light about Himself, and our job is to hold to Him in faith as the process of that revelation is unfolded.
This is difficult to explain, and it's something I see much more clearly within that I am able to explain without. The bottom line, again, is creation was an account and revelation of what God is actually like, as He based it upon His very nature in order to be a reflection of who He was, and so man could live in the midst of it to help see what the invisible attributes of God actually were. It begins with total selflessness, which was expressed in the creation by the water-covered earth, which agrees with the revelation and fact that Jesus Christ was crucified from the foundation of the world.
With the light I have now concerning this, it appears that the creation of the earth cost Jesus everything, and history proves that that is the case, culminating in His death on the cross in space and time. Yet that event also happened when the earth was formed. It's a mystery, which is why the beginning of the creation account was shrouded in the darkness and needed the light of the life of Christ to help us see and understand what it is He is like. It's about laying down His life for us in order to create the earth we would be formed from, and about a love that was impossible to keep to Himself.
In the end that's what's important. Creation was inevitable because of the selflessness of God. He had to share Himself through fellowship with others who would ultimately become His sons, and so that demanded a creation in order to bring those sons into being. That act of love cost Him everything, although the Father, because of Christ's obedience, gave it all back to Him and more. Ultimately Jesus will present His completed work in us to the Father that God may be all in all.
Now as to a secondary reason, God also revealed that when He created the heavens and the earth, things in the physical realm, unless He intervenes, will be run on a sequential and progressive level, meaning you have to take one step in the physically created world before you take the next step.
The idea is that while God created the earth covered with water as an expression of who He is, and to show us that reality and fact, secondarily it also teaches us that things done in this realm are done one step at a time, and not all at once. There's much to learn practically from that, but that's the essence of it.
Faith of course can change some of this, but even there man is still man, and God will perform the miraculous at times to remind us that the He rules from heaven, and the earth is to also ruled in that manner. But it must be line upon line and precept upon precept for everyday life, with God sometimes intervening and performing miracles to reveal His power so our faith in Him is built upon the power He has and His person.
Another very important thing to understand in the creation account is that there is no mention as to how the earth is made. Other than saying God created it, there is nothing told to us as to whether it was spoken into existence, or if there was another means used. Since everything was created by Christ working with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the assumption has to be made that was spoken into existence, but God chose to leave that unsaid as well, supporting the fact that He wanted us to realize this was a mystery that He was revealing concerning Himself, as well as something we must embrace by faith in Him and what He revealed to us.
I know that the Holy Spirit reveals in Job some of the preliminary aspects of creation, but it's not real clear as to the means employed to create the earth even though the plans had been drawn up.
Leaving out facts shouldn't be a problem in any way for us, as the just live by faith, and by faith we understand He created the heavens and the earth. That should be enough for us. The major reason for the creation was to design an environment that was filled with types and shadows of God within it, and then the very image of God was expressed in the creation of man. Not only was man provided for a perfect environment, but was also able to enjoy it as man for the purpose of learning much about God through the creation itself, as well as direct fellowship with Him. Creation after all, is said to speak to man of who God is, and it's as real as anything other than God himself, although tainted now through the curse coming from the sin of Adam and Eve.
As to the earth being without form and void, it was that way simply because God had to take step one in order to take step two. He created this great mystery covered with water to first reveal that the earth was created crucified in order to show that this was the starting place with God in relationship to man, and also that it was a vital characteristic of the Godhead themselves.
It was also so that man would understand that until God reveals who He is out of the cross or baptism, there is no hope of man being anything but without form and void. Only God can bring order out of chaos, and until He takes the next step, there is nothing but a formless void covered in darkness.
There can never be redemption unless there is a dying to self. There can never be creation unless God sheds light on the circumstances of life and gives revelation of how to emerge out of this chaotic world. All of this was represented in the creation without sin. The emphasis isn't on sin at all at this point, but what this world would be like if God doesn't bring light to us concerning its purpose.
Even God's creation will never make sense to His people unless He brings us revelation as to what that meaning is. That's what creation is all about and why God created; not just to give us an environment to live in, but that that very environment testified and revealed who He is to us. Because He looked inside Himself and knew and understood who He was, upon that basis, in an orderly fashion, God began to create the heavens and the earth, with the earth being the focus of the narrative and revelation for man.
So with the darkness hiding the mystery hidden under the waters of the created earth, and the earth itself created as a crucified entity, at this point the Spirit of God is fluttering or hovering over the waters, with the goal of changing this formless and void place into an orderly work. But it was to primarily reveal His eternal purpose in its embryonic form. So at that point the Word of God utters the first words we know of, which is of course: "Let there be light."
It starts with selflessness and crucifixion, but goes on with the mighty creation of light, which is a reflection of the very life of God Himself, and of course the beginning of the revelation of who He is as far as moving out of death to self into life. Remember, this is all written so we can know and understand who He is, and not for God.
Again, this isn't something God does as finding out something of Himself. He's simply expressing who He is, which is in itself an act of selflessness and love, as He is passionate about expressing Himself in a people in order to fill a created earth with Himself to reflect what has already happened in heaven. The invisible and visible worlds were always meant to be an exact reflection and image of who Jesus Christ is. Man was created in order to bring the invisible quality of God's into themselves and then express it into the earth. That way Jesus Christ would the be the Lord of heaven and earth. There has been no change or alteration to that purpose, and the Holy Spirit continues to work in us to that end to this day.
While the focus of this has been largely on creation before light was spoken into existence, in fact this is completely about the life of Christ as expressed by light. We are taught that His life is the light of men. And so it is.
But that light or life makes no sense unless it comes forth out of death to self, which is revealed in the mystery of creation from the moment of conception.
All of this is a drama emerging from a selfless loving God, who in the Son was crucified from the foundation of the world, and through death, as represented by the waters covering the earth, gave everything in order to pour out His love on a people and be received and embraced as the God of the universe. This is part of His great inheritance in the saints, and for the joy that was set before Him, was more than willing to endure the cross so He could share of Himself with those who believe in Him ... forever. What an eternal purpose He has had from before time.
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