Calvin’s Institutes in a Nutshell

The other day I stumbled across a great feature of the Henry Beveridge translation of John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion in my Logos library. At the end of the book, Beveridge includes One Hundred Aphorisms, containing, within a narrow compass, the substance and order of the four books of the Institutes of the Christian Religion, by Rev. William Pringle. Essentially, Pringle has boiled down the four books of Institutes into 100 bullet points. And these are simply “light” observations. Pringle really brings out the depth of the various sections he references from Institutes. For example, here is what Pringle has to say about Calvin’s section on self-denial:

50. The sum of the Christian life is denial of ourselves.

51. The ends of this self-denial are four. 1. That we may devote ourselves to God as a living sacrifice. 2. That we may not seek our own things, but those which belong to God and to our neighbour. 3. That we may patiently bear the cross, the fruits of which are—acknowledgment of our weakness, the trial of our patience, correction of faults, more earnest prayer, more cheerful meditation on eternal life. 4. That we may know in what manner we ought to use the present life and its aids, for necessity and delight. Necessity demands that we possess all things as though we possessed them not; that we bear poverty with mildness, and abundance with moderation; that we know how to endure patiently fulness, and hunger, and want; that we pay regard to our neighbour, because we must give account of our stewardship; and that all things correspond to our calling. The delight of praising the kindness of God ought to be with us a stronger argument.

1 John Calvin and Henry Beveridge, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2010), 566-67.

Having this resource will certainly help anyone looking to see the bird’s eye view of Institutes, or refresh and review the essence of Calvin’s work.

from: http://www.calvin500.com/page/2/

Hi Jeff,

You probably know a LOT more about Calvin's thinking than I, but I would suggest he assumed the help of the Spirit in the Christian's life, because 'cessationism' had not yet appeared.

The Catholic Church still talks of receiving the Holy Spirit (through infant baptism) and there is no hint in Tyndale's work of any denial of the Holy Spirit, just as the scripture describes it, and we still have it in the KJV.

Did Calvin believe it? How do we know he did not?

Hi Jeff,

When darkness is used in Scriptures, it is speaking of the situation man, without the assistance of the Holy Spirit, exists in this world.

It seemed he believed darkness always equalled chaos, and a cover for sin, but I don't see this in Genesis 1:2

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.

Here, darkness is being sanctified by God, and when He commanded the light to shine, there is no dispersal of chaos or sin, for though Lucifer had been cast out of heaven, he was not yet 'on' earth.

I find this contrast helpful, as we all have to face natural darkness every day, and it cannot always be a fearful thing if the Holy Spirit is with us and in us.

I need to look a bit more closely at what else Calvin actually said!

Where does this light come from?

God Himself is un-created Light.

Does not the writer of Hebrews say that what is seen was made out of what was not visible. But then I am not a Calvinost.

Does not the writer of Hebrews say that what is seen was made out of what was not visible.

There is a difference between a thing (like air) which is invisible but has a physical substance - as particular light does - and, the absence of all physical material - no thing at all.

When light was created, God made it out of nothing. Some would say He made it out of Himself, which is a better argument for those who believe God is limited by the universe He has made. If one believes God is bigger than the universe, then He can create light out of nothing.

Things which are not seen are definitely invisible, but their reality may not have a physical substance (like particles) to define them.

Things like faith, hope and love are abstract until they are expressed through human behaviour, and then they become as real to others, as to the person who first perceived them. Effectively, unless they are expressed through word/action (which may simply mean waiting on God), others are entitled to conclude they don't exist.

Am I just rambling now? :)

We see that light and darkness have coexisted from the foundation of this world.

Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

Ezekiel 28:17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness:

I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick;

therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee:

thou shalt be a terror, and never [shalt] thou [be] any more.

Josef83 - I couldn't help to notice your take on what happened with Calvin, Servetus and later Beza.
Thought I'd give you this History from a Calvinist website -

Excerpts from Philip Schaff - 'The History of the Christian Church' - Cpht 16

The deed of accusation, as lodged by Nicholas de la Fontaine, consisted of thirty-eight articles which were drawn up by Calvin (as he himself informs us), and were fortified by references to the books of Servetus, which were produced in evidence, especially the "Restitution of Christianity," both the manuscript copy, which Servetus had sent to Calvin in advance, and a printed copy.

The principal charges were, that be had published heretical opinions and blasphemies concerning the Trinity, the person of Christ, and infant baptism. He gave evasive or orthodox-sounding answers. He confessed to believe in the trinity of persons, but understood the word "person" in a different sense from that used by modern writers, and appealed to the first teachers of the Church and the disciples of the apostles.1174

He professed to believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God according to his divinity and humanity; that the flesh of Christ came from heaven and of the substance of God; but as to the matter it came from the Virgin Mary. He denied the view imputed to him that the soul was mortal.
He admitted that he had called infant baptism "a diabolical invention and infernal falsehood destructive of Christianity."
This was a dangerous admission;
for the Anabaptists were suspected of seditious and revolutionary opinions.

He was also charged with having, "in the person of M. Calvin, defamed the doctrines of the gospel and of the Church of Geneva." To this he replied that in what he had formerly written against Calvin, in his own defence, he had not intended to injure him, but to show him his errors and faults, which he was ready to prove by Scripture and good reasons before a full congregation.

On Thursday, the 17th of August, Calvin himself appeared before the Council as the real accuser, and again on the 21st of August.1176 He also conferred with his antagonist in writing. Servetus was not a match for Calvin either in learning or argument; but he showed great skill and some force.

In the mean time Servetus had, within the space of twenty-four hours, prepared a written defence, as directed by the Council, against the thirty-eight articles of Calvin. It was both apologetic and boldly aggressive, clear, keen, violent, and bitter. He contemptuously repelled Calvin’s interference in the trial, and charged him with presumption in framing articles of faith after the fashion of the doctors of the Sorbonne, without Scripture proof.1184 He affirmed that he either misunderstood him or craftily perverted his meaning. He quotes from Tertullian, Irenaeus, and pseudo-Clement in support of his views. He calls him a disciple of Simon Magus, a criminal accuser, and a homicide.1185 He ridiculed the idea that such a man should call himself an orthodox minister of the Church.

Calvin replied within two days in a document of twenty-three folio pages, which were signed by all the fourteen ministers of Geneva.1186 He meets the patristic quotations of Servetus with counter-quotations, with Scripture passages and solid arguments, and charges him in conclusion with the intention "to subvert all religion."1187

These three documents, which contained the essence of the doctrinal discussion, were presented to the Little Council on Tuesday the 5th of September.

On the 15th of September Servetus addressed a petition to the Council in which he attacked Calvin as his persecutor, complained of his miserable condition in prison and want of the necessary clothing, and demanded an advocate and the transfer of his trial to the Large Council of Two Hundred, where he had reason to expect a majority in his favor.1188 This course had probably been suggested to him (as Rilliet conjectures) by Perrin and Berthelier through the jailer, Claude de Genève, who was a member of the Libertine party.

On the same day the Little Council ordered an improvement of the prisoner’s wardrobe (which, however, was delayed by culpable neglect), and sent him the three documents, with permission to make a last reply to Calvin, but took no action on his appeal to the Large Council, having no disposition to renounce its own authority.

Servetus at once prepared a reply by way of explanatory annotations on the margin and between the lines of the memorial of Calvin and the ministers. These annotations are full of the coarsest abuse, and read like the production of a madman. He calls Calvin again and again a liar,1189 an impostor, a miserable wretch (nebulo pessimus), a hypocrite, a disciple of Simon Magus, etc.
Take these specimens: "Do you deny that you are a man-slayer? I will prove it by your acts. You dare not deny that you are Simon Magus. As for me, I am firm in so good a cause, and do not fear death … . You deal with sophistical arguments without Scripture … . You do not understand what you say. You howl like a blind man in the desert .... You lie, you lie, you lie, you ignorant calumniator .... Madness is in you when you persecute to death … . I wish that all your magic were still in the belly of your mother … . I wish I were free to make a catalogue of your errors. Whoever is not a Simon Magus is considered a Pelagian by Calvin. All, therefore, who have been in Christendom are damned by Calvin; even the apostles, their disciples, the ancient doctors of the Church and all the rest.
For no one ever entirely abolished free-will except that Simon Magus. Thou liest, thou liest, thou liest, thou liest, thou miserable wretch."

He concludes with the remark that, his doctrine was met merely by clamors, not by argument or any authority," and he subscribed his name as one who had Christ for his certain protector.1190

He sent these notes to the Council on the 18th of September. It was shown to Calvin, but he did not deem it expedient to make a reply. Silence in this case was better than speech.

The debate, therefore, between the two divines was closed, and the trial became an affair of Protestant Switzerland, which should act as a jury.

Calvin and Farel saw, in his refusal to recant, only the obstinacy of an incorrigible heretic and blasphemer. We must recognize in it the strength of his conviction. He forgave his enemies; he asked the pardon even of Calvin. Why should we not forgive him? He had a deeply religious nature. We must honor his enthusiastic devotion to the Scriptures and to the person of Christ. From the prayers and ejaculations inserted in his book, and from his dying cry for mercy, it is evident that he worshipped Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour.1203

Farel raised him up and said: "Confess thy crime, and God will have mercy on your soul." Servetus replied:, I am not guilty; I have not merited death." Then he smote his breast, invoked God for pardon, confessed Christ as his Saviour, and besought God to pardon his accusers.1195

On the short journey to the place of execution, Farel again attempted to obtain a confession, but Servetus was silent. He showed the courage and consistency of a martyr in these last awful moments.

Farel invites Servetus to solicit the prayers of the people and to unite his prayers with theirs. Servetus obeys in silence. The executioner fastens him by iron chains to the stake amidst the fagots, puts a crown of leaves covered with sulphur on his head, and binds his book by his side. The sight of the flaming torch extorts from him a piercing shriek of "misericordias" in his native tongue. The spectators fall back with a shudder. The flames soon reach him and consume his mortal frame in the forty-fourth year of his fitful life.

In the last moment he is heard to pray, in smoke and agony, with a loud voice: "Jesus Christ, thou Son of the eternal God, have mercy upon me!"1197

This was at once a confession of his faith and of his error. He could not be induced, says Farel, to confess that Christ was the eternal Son of God.

The tragedy ended when the clock of St. Peter’s struck twelve. The people quietly dispersed to their homes. Farel returned at once to Neuchâtel, even without calling on Calvin. The subject was too painful to be discussed.

The conscience and piety of that age approved of the execution, and left little room for the emotions of compassion. But two hundred years afterwards a distinguished scholar and minister of Geneva echoed the sentiments of his fellow-citizens when he said: "Would to God that we could extinguish this funeral pile with our tears."

§ 157. Calvin’s Defence of the Death Penalty for Heretics.

The public sentiment, Catholic and Protestant, as we have seen, approved of the traditional doctrine, that obstinate heretics should be made harmless by death, and continued unchanged down to the close of the seventeenth century.

Not only dissenters and personal enemies, but also, as Beza admits, some orthodox and pious people and friends of Calvin were dissatisfied with the severity of the punishment, and feared, not without reason, that it would justify and encourage the Romanists in their cruel persecution of Protestants in France and elsewhere.

Calvin’s plea for the right and duty of the Christian magistrate to punish heresy by death, stands or falls with his theocratic theory and the binding authority of the Mosaic code. His arguments are chiefly drawn from the Jewish laws against idolatry and blasphemy, and from the examples of the pious kings of Israel. But his arguments from the New Testament are failures. He agrees with Augustin in the interpretation of the parabolic words: "Constrain them to come in" (Luke 14:23).1209 But this can only refer to moral and not to physical force, and would imply a forcible salvation, not destruction. The same parable was afterwards abused by the French bishops to justify the abominable dragoonades of Louis XIV. against the Huguenots. Calvin quotes the passages on the duty of the civil magistrate to use the sword against evil-doers (Rom. 13:4); the expulsion of the profane traffickers from the temple (Matt. 21:12); the judgment on Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1 sqq.); the striking of Elymas with blindness (13:11); and the delivery of Hymenaeus and Alexander to Satan (1 Tim. 1:20). He answers the objections from the parables of the tares and of the net (Matt. 13:30, 49), and from the wise counsel of Gamaliel (Acts 5:34). But he cannot get over those passages which contradict his theory, as Christ’s rebuke to John and James for wishing to call down fire from heaven (Luke 9:54), and to Peter for drawing the sword (Matt. 26:52), his declaration that his kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36), and his whole spirit and aim, which is to save and not to destroy.

Calvin’s "Defence" did not altogether satisfy even some of his best friends. Zurkinden, the State Secretary of Bern, wrote him Feb. 10, 1554: "I wish the former part of your book, respecting the right which the magistrates may have to use the sword in coercing heretics, had not appeared in your name, but in that of your council, which might have been left to defend its own act. I do not see how you can find any favor with men of sedate mind in being the first formally to treat this subject, which is a hateful one to almost all."1211 Bullinger intimated his objections more mildly in a letter of March 26, 1554, in which he says: "I only fear that your book will not be so acceptable to many of the more simple- minded persons, who, nevertheless, are attached both to yourself and to the truth, by reason of its brevity and consequent obscurity, and the weightiness of the subject. And, indeed, your style appears somewhat perplexed, especially in this work." Calvin wrote in reply, April 29, 1554: "I am aware that I have been more concise than usual in this treatise. However, if I should appear to have faithfully and honestly defended the true doctrine, it will more than recompense me for my trouble. But though the candor and justice which are natural to you, as well as your love towards me, lead you to judge of me favorably, there are others who assail me harshly as a master in cruelty and atrocity, for attacking with my pen not only a dead man, but one who perished by my hands. Some, even not self-disposed towards me, wish that I had never entered on the subject of the punishment of heretics, and say that others in the like situation have held their tongues as the best way of avoiding hatred. It is well, however, that I have you to share my fault, if fault it be; for you it was who advised and persuaded me to it. Prepare yourself, therefore, for the combat."1212

§ 158. A Plea for Religious Liberty. Castellio and Beza.

Cf. § 126, p. 627, and especially Ferd. Buisson, Sébastien Castellion. Paris (Hachette et Cie), 1892. 2 vols. 8vo (I. 358–413; II. 1–28).

A month after Calvin’s defence of the death penalty of heretics, there appeared at Basel a pseudonymous book in defence of religious liberty, dedicated to Duke Christopher of Würtemberg.1213 It was edited and prefaced professedly by Martinus Bellius, whose real name has never been discovered with certainty. Perhaps it was Martin Borrhaus of Stuttgart (1499–1564), professor of Hebrew learning in the University of Basel, and known under the name of "Cellarius," in honor of his first protector, Simon Cellarius (not to be confounded with Michael Cellarius of Augsburg). He studied at Heidelberg and Wittenberg, appeared first among the Zwickau Prophets, and then in connection with Carlstadt (who ended his days likewise as a professor at Basel).1214 The book was misdated from Magdeburg, the stronghold of the orthodox Lutherans, in opposition to the tyranny of the Imperial Interim. A French edition appeared, nominally at Rouen, but was probably printed at Lyons, where Castellio had a brother in the printing business.1215

Calvin at once suspected the true authors, and wrote to Bullinger, March 28, 1554: "A book has just been clandestinely printed at Basel under false names, in which Castellio and Curio pretend to prove that heretics should not be repressed by the sword. Would that the pastors of that church at length, though late, aroused themselves to prevent the evil from spreading wider."1216 A few days afterwards Beza wrote to Bullinger about the same book, and gave it as his opinion that the feigned Magdeburg was a city on the Rhine [Basel], and that Castellio was the real author, who treated the most important articles of faith as useless or indifferent, and put the Bible on a par with the Ethics of Aristotle.1217

Castellio wrote, however, only a part of the book. He adopted the pseudonym of Basilius (i.e. Sebastian) Montfortius (i.e. Castellio).1218

The body of this work consists of a collection of testimonies in favor of religious toleration, extracted from the writings of Luther (his book, Von weltlicher Obrigkeit, 1523), Brenz (who maintain that heresy as long as it keeps in the intellectual sphere should be punished only by the Word of God), Erasmus, Sebastian Frank, several Church Fathers (Lactantius, Chrysostom, Jerome, and Augustin, in his antiManichaean writings), Otto Brunsfeld (d. at Bern, 1534), Urbanus Rhegius (Lutheran theologian, d. 1541), Conrad Pellican (Hebrew professor at Zürich, d. 1556), Caspar Hedio, Christoph Hoffmann, Georg Kleinberg (a pseudonym) and even Calvin (in the first edition of his Institutes). This collection was probably made by Curio.

The epilogue is written by Castellio, and is the most important part of the book. He examines the different biblical and patristic passages quoted for and against intolerance. He argues against his opponents from the multiplicity of sects which disagree on the interpretation of Scripture, and concludes that, on their principles, they should all be exterminated except one. He justly charges St. Augustin with inconsistency in his treatment of the Donatists, for which, he says, he was punished by the invasion of the Arian Vandals. The lions turned against those who had unchained them. Persecution breeds Christian hypocrites in place of open heretics. It provokes counter-persecution, as was just then seen in England after the accession of Queen Mary, which caused the flight of English Protestants to Switzerland. In conclusion he gives an allegorical picture of a journey through the centuries showing the results of the two conflicting principles of force and liberty, of intolerance and charity, and leaves the reader to decide which of the two armies is the army of Jesus Christ.

Castellio anticipated Bayle and Voltaire, or rather the Baptists and Quakers. He was the champion of religious liberty in the sixteenth century. He claimed it in the name of the gospel and the Reformation. It was appropriate that this testimony should come from the Swiss city of Basel, the home of Erasmus.1219

But the leaders of the Swiss Reformation in Geneva and Zürich could see in this advocacy of religious freedom only a most dangerous heresy, which would open the door to all kinds of errors and throw the Church of Christ into inextricable confusion.

Theodore Beza, the faithful aid of Calvin, took up his pen against the anonymous sceptics of Basel, and defended the right and duty of the Christian magistrate to punish heresy. His work appeared in September, 1554; that is, five months after the book of Martinus Bellius. It was Beza’s first published theological treatise (he was then thirty-five years of age).1220

The book has a polemic and an apologetic part. In the former, Beza tries to refute the principle of toleration; in the latter, to defend the conduct of Geneva. He contends that the toleration of error is indifference to truth, and that it destroys all order and discipline in the Church. Even the enforced unity of the papacy is much better than anarchy. Heresy is much worse than murder, because it destroys the soul. The spiritual power has nothing to do with temporal punishments; but it is the right and duty of the civil government, which is God’s servant, to see to it that he receives his full honor in the community. Beza appeals to the laws of Moses and the acts of kings Asa and Josiah against blasphemers and false prophets. All Christian rulers have punished obstinate heretics. The oecumenical synods (from 325 to 787) were called and confirmed by emperors who punished the offenders. Whoever denies to the civil authority the right to restrain and punish pernicious errors against public worship undermines the authority of the Bible. He cites in confirmation passages from Luther, Melanchthon, Urbanus Rhegius, Brenz, Bucer, Capito, Bullinger, Musculus, and the Church of Geneva. He closes the argument as follows: "The duty of the civil authority in this matter is hedged about by these three regulations: (1) It must strictly confine itself to its own sphere, and not presume to define heresy; that belongs to the Church alone. (2) It must not pass judgment with regard to persons, advantages, and circumstances, but with pure regard to the honor of God.

(3) It must proceed after quiet, regular examination of the heresy and mature consideration of all the circumstances, and inflict such punishment as will best secure the honor due to the divine Majesty

and the peace and unity of the Church." [End Quotes]

ccel.org/s/schaff/history/8_ch16.htm

https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=35246&forum=35&start=10&viewmode=flat&order=1

"because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved."

Romans 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness ... 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

2 Thessalonians 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should BELIEVE a lie:

12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

1Jo 3:10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor [is] he who does not love his brother.

1Jo 3:11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,

1Jo 3:12 not as Cain [who] was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous.

So we find that Cain, like the religious leaders of John chapter 8 became "children of the devil."

Aren't we ALL 'children of the devil' apart from God's graciously accepting our attempts to practise righteousness?

Within the context of the testimony of Cain and Abel we find that Abel was the first son of God born of man. What according to Scripture distinguished Abel from Cain?

1Jo 3:7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

How can you skip past John 3 and Romans 3, and Romans 5, to apply this New Covenant verse to a situation in Genesis?

we find that Abel was the first son of God born of man.

The Scriptures declare that Abel is a son of God and Cain is a son of the devil.

I can follow the connections you are making on the surface of the page, but where is the connection in your assertions, to the spiritual situation captured in a few words by Paul in Romans 5?

To say, 'Abel is a son of God', quoting 1 John, as if Abel was a son in the same way that I am son, can be supported neither by the narrative in scripture, nor the interpretation put upon scripture by the apostles. That's my simple complaint.

Hi Jeff,

So, what is the meaning which you draw from this verse?

Jer 10:23 O LORD, I know the way of man [is] not in himself; [It is] not in man who walks to direct his own steps.

I have only begun to explain this beginning with Romans 1, Proverbs 1, John 1, Genesis 4, 1 John 3.

I'm interested to know what's in your mind going forward, which caused you to mention that verse in at all.

Getting back to 1 John 3... do you understand that works of unrighteousness are born of the devil and works of righteousness are born of God?

Rather obvious how men were deemed "righteous" in the Pre-New-Convenant days, as see in part in Heb 11, for one.

Mat 23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of 'righteous Abel' unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

Heb 11:4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that 'he was righteous', God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

1Jn 3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him?

Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

Hi Jesus-is-GOD,

Rather obvious how men were deemed "righteous" in the Pre-New-Convenant days, as see in part in Heb 11, for one.

But, would you agree with Jeff, then, that Abel was 'born of God'?

Whomever is raised at the last day Must have been born of GOD at that point in time that they were declared righteous.

The two trees become one. GOD never says to those who died In Him before His death - as those mentioned in Hebrews 11, that they are deemed any different than the others who will be raised together with them, on that day.

He no where indicates that only we 'Christians' are born of GOD and they were not, despite their faith.
We'll be resurrected together with no differentiating on His part.

Well, Jesus-is-GOD, your post here proves just how far apart we are in our biblical interpretation. Perhaps that's a relief to know. :)

The two trees become one.

Which 'trees become one'? Scripture?

that point in time that they were declared righteous

Whomever is raised at the last day Must have been born of GOD

IF being 'born of God' was such a familiar concept to the children of Israel, why did Jesus have to explain being 'born from above' to Nicodemus?

The Two Trees: Emphasis by quotation marks -

Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and "thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them", and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

Rom 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Rom 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Rom 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

Rom 11:21 For if God spared not "the natural branches", take heed lest he also spare not thee.

Rom 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness:
"otherwise thou also shalt be cut off."

Rom 11:23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in "again".

Rom 11:24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into

"a good olive tree": how much more shall these, which be "the natural branches", be graffed into "their own olive tree"?

WE are being grafted into "their" tree to make One Tree.

The difference of Abraham's seed and those who remain in unbelief is the issue, in both the O.T. and the N.T..

Gal 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

Those who Jesus spoke of who claimed Abraham as their father but weren't children of Abraham -

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Joh 8:45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
Joh 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
Joh 8:47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

It's Always been "by faith" and to fulfill the promise to Abraham. Whether they be Old Covenant Saints or New - they will be grafted into that Natural Olive Tree which GOD, when speaking of the Jews, calls "their" tree.

All will enjoy the same Resurrection of the dead and benefits and make up His New Jerusalem on That Day.

Christianity is Jewish. :)

Hi Jesus-is-GOD,

Thank you for explaining the two trees. How are they relevant to the question of whether Abel was 'born of God'?

The trees which have respect to all of us, including Abel, are the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the Tree of Life.

I understand the New Covenant situation - although I don't believe the olive tree includes Israel of the flesh from before the New Covenant. The root of the olive tree which is 'theirs, to whom pertain the adoption ...' etc (Rom 9:4 -), is Christ Himself. That's what makes it both Jewish and holy - and spiritually of God. That is necessary if born again, holy Gentiles are to be grafted into it.

However, going back to my original question, you began posting in support of the notion that Abel was 'born of God'. Please could you continue to address that question?

Jesus rebuked those Pharisees in the veres given - basically telling them their father was the devil.

We are born of either one Father or the other father.

Doesn't seem too difficult to understand.
We do the work of our "father", whichever one.
To have a father - you must be born of a Father.

I don't believe the Tree was Christ, in Romans 11.
The Olive Tree represented the true Israel.

No one who is not born of GOD can enter the New Jerusalem.

Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and so forth - were not born of GOD, you believe?

Those who were and are truly born of GOD will enter through these gates - even those of the Old Testament -

Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
Rev 21:11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
Rev 21:12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel

How could one enter who was not born of GOD is the question.

How could one enter who was not born of GOD is the question.

Look at the end of Hebrews 11:

39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received NOT the promise: 40 God having provided some BETTER thing FOR US, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Now look closely at Hebrews 12:18 FOR YE ARE NOT come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest 19 - 21,

22 BUT YE are come unto mount Sion, and unto the CITY OF THE LIVING GOD, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

23 to the general assembly and CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN [ONES], which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, AND TO THE SPIRITS OF JUST MEN MADE PERFECT,

24 And to JESUS THE MEDIATOR OF THE NEW COVENANT, and to THE BLOOD OF SPRINKLING THAT SPEAKETH BETTER THINGS THAN THAT OF ABEL.

According to Hebrews 11:40, they are already 'perfect'. This is restated in Hebrews 12:23 in the clause at the end of the verse. BEFORE THAT though, is carried through the other idea in Hebrews 11:40, namely the 'better thing for us', which is also revisited in Hebrews 12:23 'the general assembly and Church of the firstborn ones'.

(If you check the Greek, you'll see that 'firstborn' is plural. It's a reference to us, as being born directly from God. We are all of the same 'generation' as Christ - Matt 1:1.)

(There is a large study to follow through the connection with firstborn, right from Exodus, leading through the priesthood right up until Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, not forgetting that in Him we are 'firstborn'. Because He is, we also are partakers of the double portion.)

So, back to Abel. There is nothing in scripture which requires him to have been born again to be in the New Jerusalem. But, like all the others before Pentecost, he is not part of the general assembly of the firstborn.

The Olive Tree represented the true Israel.

We are born of either one Father or the other father.

John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as RECEIVED HIM,

to them gave he POWER TO BECOME THE SONS OF GOD,

EVEN TO THEM THAT BELIEVE ON HIS NAME:

'that believe on HIS name.'

John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

I would have to agree with AtG. The least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist (who signifies the end of the LAW and the PROPHETS - the OT) because the least is a SON and John was not a son. It does not mean that he won't be in heaven, just that he does not have the same status as that of the least (sons) in the kingdom of heaven.

Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven IS GREATER THAN HE.
Matthew 11:11

For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but HE THAT IS LEAST in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
Luke 7:28

Redemption came through Jesus Christ.
Gal 4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, THAT WE (talking to NT people) might receive the ADOPTION OF SONS.

Gal 4:6 And because YE ARE SONS, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the PROMISE:
Heb 11:40 God having provided some better thing FOR US, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Act 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the PROMISE of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

Act 13:23 Of this man's seed hath God according to his PROMISE raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:

The PROMISE was not realized by OT Saints, only hoped for.
Act 26:6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers:

The PROMISE was FULFILLED AFTER JOHN THE BAPTIST.
Act 13:32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the PROMISE which was made unto the fathers,
Act 13:33 God hath FULFILLED THE SAME unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the SONS of God.
Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the SPIRIT OF ADOPTION (came thru Jesus), whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Rom 8:18 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.
Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the SONS OF GOD.

A777

As a side note to this thought you have posted...

Who is this servant in Scripture?

Isa 42:1 "Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One [in whom] My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.

John 13:12 So after he [Jesus] had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? 13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. 17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

John 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

But this message of the New Testament is heralded by Malachi in respect of John the Baptist:

4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 6 And HE SHALL TURN THE HEART OF THE FATHERS TO THE CHILDREN AND THE THE HEART OF THE CHILDREN TO THEIR FATHERS, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Interesting that 'heart' is singular, while the fathers and children are plural.

Luke 1:16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17 And he [John] shall go before him [Jesus Christ] in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; TO MAKE READY A PEOPLE PREPARED FOR THE LORD.

The humble way that Jesus 'served' His Father, was in the highest obedience - by going to the death on the cross for us - Phil 2 - to 'bring forth justice to the Gentiles'.

John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

1Jn 3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him?

Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

How, or for what reason is the carnal mind unable to be subject to the law of God?

Where is the first time in Scripture do we come upon the seed?

Galatians 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith NOT, And to seeds, as of many; BUT AS OF ONE, And to thy SEED, which is Christ.

Galatians 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, TILL THE SEED SHOULD COME to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Galatians 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Galatians 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

What significance does the seed play in the lives of Cain and Abel?

Joshua 3:16
That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city ADAM, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, EVEN THE SALT SEA FAILED, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.

Genesis 4:15
And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

Matthew 27:20
But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.

Note: Barabbas means 'son of the father'.

Matthew 27:26
Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

Sorry, I posted that last one and ran next door to Dad's. Back now.

AtG - when I mentioned the two trees, first you said that they were the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life and than the following post you said that the olive tree represented spiritual Israel. Sorry if that confused me.

I think we need to look at those verses again -

The Two Trees: Emphasis by quotation marks -

Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and "thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them", and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

Rom 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Rom 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Rom 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

Rom 11:21 For if God spared not "the natural branches", take heed lest he also spare not thee.

Rom 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness:
"otherwise thou also shalt be cut off."

Rom 11:23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in "again".

Rom 11:24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into

"a good olive tree": how much more shall these, which be "the natural branches", be graffed into "their own olive tree"?

The verse that needs some thought is Rom 11:23 And they also, if they abide not "still" in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in "again".

That word "again" must say something about the state that they were in at one time before Messiah came.

They 'were' in - but GOD came in the flesh - but they didn't recognise Him, so they, the individual branches that didn't believe in Him were removed.
They believed in "GOD" so at one time they were "in" - but when GOD came to earth in the flesh - they couldn't believe that it was HIM/GOD, the time of their visitation ... so He "broke those branches off" and He also says in verse 11:17 that only "some" were 'broken off' - so I see those who were not broken off as "the Saints" mentioned 35 times in the Old Testament, Saved and called righteous by believing in the Messiah to come - who have equal promises and blessing as the N.T. Saints, as promised to Abraham.

How could they be just "servants"?
So much of what GOD promised Abraham is being tossed aside by lowering the status of the O.T. Saints who were 'righteous' in GOD's sight prior to Christ's coming.

I do not see that the O.T. "Saints" having a lower position than those who were here at and after Christ's coming that believed in Him and will believe in Him at His second Coming - or before.

Hi Jesus-is-GOD,

I think you may have solved a mystery for me, which is why it has been accepted by so many people that the old Israel of flesh is the 'natural olive tree'.

That word "again" must say something about the state that they were in at one time before Messiah came.

Let me explain: if Messiah had not come, how could they believe in Him?

The reason they are not already in the olive tree is because Messiah HAS COME (Isa 59:20) and MANY MANY in Israel at the time DID NOT BELIEVE.

Saul of Tarsus was a notable one.

When he writes 'God is able to graft them in again', he is explaining what happened to him. Same as happened to quite a few Pharisees and priests after Pentecost.

The condemnation is that light HAS COME INTO THE WORLD but men loved darkness rather than light and chose not to come to the light.

The conversations in John 8 between Jesus and the religious leaders have meaning ONLY because THEY DID KNOW He was Messiah AND STILL DID NOT BELIEVE.

John 16:9 Of SIN because they believe not on Me.

No-one is condemned in scripture for being in darkness, captive, blind, deaf; but once God's word comes to them and HE KNOWS their ears have been opened - that's when their culpability starts. This was the situation in natural Israel of old; they had agreed to obey God, but did not. Moses told them prophetically that they would turn away from Him, but 'that Prophet' would come, for not heeding whose words they would have to answer. Acts 3:19 has Peter calling them to account on those terms. In fact, long before Paul he had said 'to you first'.

The cutting off which Israel experienced, from the Branch, was through the cross. The whole of Israel was cut off, if you see Messiah's cutting off for their sins looking at it from His point of view. Those who believed He was Messiah before His death, had to believe again into His resurrection, AND had to receive the indwelling and anointing of the Holy Spirit BEFORE they were grafted in at all. This is what Paul explains at the start of Romans 6 (in tree terms) but there also, it is clear that through Christ the whole human race has been cut off from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in His death. Individuals still have to choose to believe and start eating of the Tree of Life.

So, going back to John's comment about Cain in 1:3:12, John could say that because God had come to Cain BEFORE he had sinned so grieviously, and Cain had REFUSED to do what he knew was right - I'm guessing he should have sacrificed a lamb to God by fire as a peace offering. That choice was open to him. But Cain chose to act out the power of his first spiritual birth into sin, just as the religious leaders who, four millennia later, shouted 'Crucify him'. The New Testament clearly records a number of times when Jesus had done good, to which the priesthood's response was to start another plot to have him killed.

How could they be just "servants"?

Hebrews 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; 2 who was faithful to him that appointed him, as AS MOSES [was faithful] IN ALL HIS HOUSE. 3 For this [man] was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. 4 For every house is builded by some [man]; but he that built all things [is] God.

5 And MOSES VERILY [was] FAITHFUL IN ALL HIS HOUSE AS A SERVANT, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; 6 BUT CHRIST AS A SON OVER HIS OWN HOUSE; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Galatians 4:1 Now I say, [That] the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.

3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, THAT WE MIGHT RECEIVE THE ADOPTION OF SONS.

6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 WHEREFORE THOU ART NO MORE A SERVANT BUT A SON; AND IF A SON, THEN AN HEIR OF GOD THROUGH CHRIST.

Romans 9:'... my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: 4 who are Israelites; TO WHOM [pertaineth] THE ADOPTION, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service [of God], and the promises; 5 Whose [are] the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ [came], who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

These fit in with Isaiah 42:1 which Jeff posted.

There is, also, Ephesians 2 which distinguishes Israel as 'nigh', but not until Christ are they at true spiritual peace with God through His death IF they believe.

Romans 8:10 And IF Christ [be] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness. 11 But IF the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For IF ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but IF ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

14 For as many as ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, they ARE THE SONS OF GOD. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but YE HAVE RECEIVED THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

AtG, I'd have to say your thoughts on O.T. Israel or the Jews has evolved over the yrs but I'd like to ask you, what do you feel about Simeon and Anna - were they saved?

Are Saved Jews still servants and not sons of Abraham?

Are Elijah and Moses not saved, nor sons?

The list goes on. How is that those who waited for Messiah before His death are not saved and not sons?

Actually, when I think about Simeon and Anna and the Prophets and all that waited for Him but didn't live until He came - I don't really feel as though I'd like to discuss these things any further.

Granted, once He came and fulfilled all the O.T. prophecies, He became the only way to GOD - yet - being GOD, if the people of the O.T. "Loved the LORD their GOD, with all of their heart, mind, soul and strength" and believed and HIM - they were "saved" and pulling a verse here and there won't change that. They will hold no lower position than those who believed on Him once He did come.'

I won't argue this because I pictured what your conclusion is and thought of all of those who were faithful to GOD before GOD came in the flesh and was grieved that you believe they all hold a different position with GOD then those of us who were saved after His Advent.

A Scripture pulled here and there can prove anything you want it to - so I leave you to your beliefs and you can picture in your mind, Simeon, Anna, and the rest as merely servants.

Only the disobedient ones of Israel lost out - just as the disobedient 'christians' lose out and are chopped from the tree or vine.
We were grafted into "their tree" not the other way around and "their tree" existed before Christ came.
I've said enough and have heard enough and won't try to convince you of anything more. You have the 'whole' of the Word and you may look more into maybe Heb 6, etc, etc. I don't debate just for the sake of debate. But until you see that they were favored, "to the Jew first" and 'from' the Jews and given an eternal promise and that the Gentile believers wouldn't exist without the promises to Israel and set the Israel of GOD in their proper place, than you are boasting over not only the branches that were broken off for your sake but over the tree itself. Excuse me - I'm nauseous today.

Mary said:

Luk 1:50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
Luk 1:51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
Luk 1:52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
Luk 1:53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
Luk 1:54 He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
Luk 1:55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

Jesus said:

Joh 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

Mat 8:11 And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save HIS people from their sins.

Zacharias about his son John:

Luk 1:67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

Luk 1:68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed HIS people,

Luk 1:69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
Luk 1:70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
Luk 1:71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
Luk 1:72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
Luk 1:73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
Luk 1:74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
Luk 1:75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
Luk 1:76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

Luk 1:77 To give knowledge of salvation unto HIS people by the remission of their sins,
Luk 1:78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
Luk 1:79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Simeon over the infant Jesus:

Luk 2:27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
Luk 2:28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
Luk 2:29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
Luk 2:30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Luk 2:31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
Luk 2:32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of THY people Israel.

Paul:

Gal 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Gal 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
Gal 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the 'heathen' through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Gal 3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

Gal 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE -

Rom 9:4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Rom 9:5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
Rom 9:6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
Rom 9:7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Rom 9:8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
Rom 9:9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.
Rom 9:10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;
Rom 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

Rom 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

Rom 11:2 "God hath not cast away HIS people which He 'foreknew'."

Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,
Rom 11:3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.
Rom 11:4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
Rom 11:5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
Rom 11:6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
Rom 11:7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded
Rom 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
Rom 11:9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:
Rom 11:10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.
Rom 11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
Rom 11:12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?
Rom 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
Rom 11:14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.
Rom 11:15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
Rom 11:16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
Rom 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Rom 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Rom 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
Rom 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
Rom 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
Rom 11:23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
Rom 11:24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?

Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery,

lest ye should be wise in your own conceits;

that blindness in part is happened to Israel,
until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved:
as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer,
and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27 For this is My COVENANT unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Rom 11:28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for YOUR sakes:

but as touching the election, they are Beloved for the Fathers' sakes.

Rom 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Rom 11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
Rom 11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Rom 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Rom 11:34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
Rom 11:35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Rom 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

That is why the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem that 'we' will enter through are represented by each of the twelve Tribes, who's names are written on them.... for salvation is of the Jews and to the Jews first. Boast not - for when they are fully come in - after the time of the Gentiles - and "HIS people" will also be glorified as sons and as His wife [Hosea 3].

Zec 8:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.
Zec 8:3 Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.
Zec 8:4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.
Zec 8:5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.
Zec 8:6 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.
Zec 8:7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;
Zec 8:8 And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem:

and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

Zec 8:22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.
Zec 8:23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts:
and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
Heb 8:11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

These were just a small bit of Scriptures on this topic, but enough.

Pray we don't find ourselves using the Old Testament only when it suits our own teachings and leave out what we choose -- For His Promises stand, to "His People" forever.

Jesus - New Testament

John 7:39 (But this spake He OF THE SPIRIT, which they that believe on him SHOULD RECEIVE: for the Holy Ghost WAS NOT YET GIVEN; ***BECAUSE*** that JESUS WAS NOT YET GLORIFIED.)

The Bible, from beginning to end, should be interpreted specifically from the perspective of the person and work of Jesus Christ, comprising a Christ-centered theology. Various erroneous teachings are fomented when the Bible is not interpreted Christocentrically.

Consider these words of John W. Nevin, a German Reformed author, written in 1846:

"...if the order of grace is supposed to continue the same...if Christ manifested himself previously to the patriarchs and prophets as he now manifests himself to his church...if the Spirit of Christ indwelt the people of the Old Testament the same as Christians.... ...if so, let the church know that she is no nearer to God now ...than she was under the Old Testament; that the indwelling of Christ in believers, is only parallel with the divine presence as enjoyed by the Jewish saints, who all 'died in faith, not having received the promises;' that the mystical union in the case of Paul or John was nothing more intimate and vital and real than the relation sustained to God by Abraham, or David, or Isaiah.

Under the Old Testament..(the presence of the Spirit) was always an afflatus or influence simply, exerted on the soul of the person to whom it was extended. Is this all that we are to understand by it, in the Christian church? So the theory would appear to mean. The theory of "supernatural influence" -- merely moral union, rather than the actual LIFE of Christ conveyed into us."

John 14:16–17
I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you FOREVER; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you **AND** will be in you.

Not only abides with you (reference to OT Saints) AND WILL BE IN YOU.

Why did Jesus draw this distinction? "AND, will be in You."

Samson lost the abiding of the Holy Spirit, Saul lost the Holy Spirit abiding with him, David said, "Don't take your Holy Spirit from me".

The ministry of the Holy Spirit was different in the OT than it is in the NT.

The Dispensationalist and Covenant theological (Reformed) positions apply the "benefits" of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ back to Old Testament people.

If the Old Testament believers experienced all of the spiritual "benefits" that are derived from the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ, that in a retroactive "prior reality," WHY THEN DID JESUS NEED TO BECOME HISTORICALLY INCARNATE AND BE CRUCIFIED? DID HE "DIE NEEDLESSLY" as Paul indicates in Gal 2:21., since everything was readily available? Paul could not accept such reasoning and neither should we.

This teaching is a direct attack on the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and I might add, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.

The promised new covenant relation to the Holy Spirit and it's indwelling the Believer in Christ, is realized and experienced ONLY by Christians.

You can say of the OT as a whole what was said of its last and greatest prophet, John the Baptist as "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God! It was just a "crying in the wilderness".

The religion of the Old Testament...(its) covenants, law, promises...(were) only a shadow to the substance it represents.

Heb 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

Its truth was not in itself, but in a different system altogether to which it pointed. Its reality was..relative only. It made nothing perfect. It was the picture merely of good things to come. ...We have no right to say that the New Testament is a mere extension or enlargement of the Old, UNDER THE SAME FORM OR UNDER THE SAME MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Its salvation was in the form of PROMISE, more than present fact. It became REAL ultimately, ONLY IN CHRIST; for before His appearance, we are told the patriarchs of the law COULD NOT BE MADE PERFECT (Hebrews 11:13, 39,40).

Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

The dispensation of the Spirit has its origin wholly in the person of Christ (Lk 1:35; 3:22; Jn 3:34) and could not reveal itself in the world until He was glorified (Jn 7:39)

John 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit BY MEASURE UNTO HIM.

Did you catch that?

"for God giveth not the Spirit BY MEASURE UNTO HIM."

"The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."

Jesus Christ is the author of a new creation. The Word of God Himself became permanently joined with man in the person of Jesus Christ through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

1Co 6:14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.

1Co 6:17 BUT HE THAT IS JOINED UNTO THE LORD IS ONE SPIRIT.

There was no "Christ in us, the hope of glory" in the OT.

The mystery of the incarnation (God in man) is a fact manifested only in the NT because the OT outward ordinances and external were only comparative in nature and could never create the internal union between God and man.

The promise that the OT Saints saw, (divine union) never came. God drew near to them in an outward way, but it was always and only in an outward way, even to the last, (John the Baptist).

The wall of partition that separated man from God was never fully broken down. This was a separation of "oneness" with the Lord. A returning unto Him from a land of alienation, but not just a returning to Him, but Christ in me and I in Him!

Eph 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

In the OT, it was a revelation of "God to man" and not "God in man", which is the only way in which He can become truly known.

Not one OT Scripture used.

Let us be careful how we hear and how we teach.

A777

Hi rookie,

Verses like Job 33:30 and even this one:

Psalms 36:9
For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.

merely acknowledge that life and light (truth) are the domain of God.

No one ever implied that OT Saints were not given revelation about eternal life or about a coming Redeemer.

Job 19:25
25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

A777

777, The Entire Word of GOD is Christocentric.

No one ever intimated that we are under the law.

The whole of the Old Testament, down to every ounce is symbolic of the Lamb that would be slain and His atoning death for both the Jews and the Gentiles and His being the King Who will reign from Jerusalem, after He rescues Israel from her enemies - in the end of days.

Why would you misinterpret my post again. It's not 'about me', but it's abougt us Gentiles seeing His promises stand faithful, right to the very end - to what He promised through Abraham. It's also how we witness to the Jewish people. Many Gentiles make it appear that the Jews don't matter anymore - that it's all about "THEM". That's not healthy and maybe a good healthy dose of Art Katz or some other that knows who the Jewish people are, would be good for you and others to listen to.

Gentile Christians throw out the Jews and much more than His Word and His intent would ever permit and that's where Gentile Christians have gotten careless. Paul said - "knock off the boasting" [paraphrased] and that's what my posts have been about. I doubt that you even read my post.

GOD does not appreciate Gentiles making light of where this whole "relationship with GOD" thing Began - the when, how and with whom He began this whole full redemption story.

Again - Christianity is Jewish and always will be.

Amen, knock off the boasting, says Paul.

ETA - many Christians are closer to replacement theology than they may realize.

I don't think Art Katz who wrote "Reality, The Hope of Glory" referring to Christ in You, believed OT Saints were regenerated by the Spirit of God and had Christ dwelling in them.

This is not a Jew/Gentile thing. NT Jews and Gentiles receive the Promise not OT Jews and Gentiles.

By the way, Abraham was not a Jew. He was a Gentile.

My post was nothing about Gentiles boasting. If you skim my post you will obviously misunderstand it. Read it slowly with all of it's NT Scriptures.

This belief that OT Saints received Christ, the new birth and the indwelling Holy Spirit is flat out deception.

A777

P.S. Of course the entire Word of God is Christocentric. That's what I said and furthermore I said if you don't interpret the Word of God, all of it from a Christocentric standpoint you will come up with all kinds of strange doctrines.

I never said that - I said they had faith in the future Coming Messiah and that faith is what got them to Heaven and that faith will have them in the New Jerusalem. That's called "saved". No one will enter the New Jerusalem unless they're saved. "Saved from Hell."

Unless you put yourself over people like Simeon and Anna [who died before He was crucified] and Elijah, Abraham, Moses, Jeremiah and all those who faithfully followed Him through-out the Word and died before the day He resurrected.

You're arguing in your replies to me for no reason.

Now what am I saying?

OK - The proper way to change a post is to put the words "edit" in the new post - as I'm doing here.

This is my edited revised post - for obvious reasons - that now I believe there's some understanding here.

I love happy endings and would love the article posted that follows this edited post of mine to give the O.T. verses and some of Paul about the end of the story - of those who repent before and during His second Advent.

I love that story very much. That they will look upon Him and mourn as for an only Son - etc. etc. and live happily ever after with Him in Jerusalem.

Thanks!

ETA - I'll even let this FOURTH change of your post go, this time.

Maybe this will help you regarding where you were going. I was not talking about this.

The Mystery of the Olive Tree
Peter Cohen

“The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken” (Jeremiah 11:16).

Israel - the Olive Tree

The Lord referred to Israel as a beautiful and fruitful olive tree. The imagery of the olive tree is a beautiful and very meaningful analogy in understanding the relationship of the church and Israel. It provides us with an insight into the wonderful mystery of how gentile believers become partakers of and sharers in the ancient heritage of Israel through being grafted into the olive tree and a correct perspective of the place of gentile believers in relation to the whole. The olive tree was known for its longevity, its fruitfulness, which could last for centuries, and for its ability to flourish in a hot, arid climate.

The roots of the olive tree are strong and sturdy, thriving in rocky soil and extending much deeper below the soil than the gnarled trunk and branches that are visible above the ground. The fruit of the olive tree was a major source of wealth in ancient times, the oil being used in cooking, for lamps, for ceremonial anointing and for healing the sick.

This then is the analogy which Paul draws on to illustrate the relationship of gentile believers to Israel, both the faithful and the unfaithful part, and to explain the mystery of Israel’s stumbling.

The prophecy in Jeremiah compares Israel to a thriving and fruitful olive tree which was destined to be set on fire and have its branches broken! Jesus the Messiah said, “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49). There is a great mystery surrounding the breaking of the branches of the olive tree and the grafting of wild branches on to it, something of which the apostle Paul also writes.

“If the part of the dough offered as first fruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.’ granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.

After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree! I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: ‘The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins’” (Romans 11:11-2).

The Faithful Assembly of Israel

The olive tree, with its roots going right back to the patriarchs, remains the faithful assembly of Israel. Throughout the history of Israel the Lord used Israel’s enemies as a sword to purge the unfaithful from among them, but He always preserved a faithful remnant for Himself. Though many Israelites were destroyed and cut off from among God’s people, God’s holy nation was never destroyed.

The Lord said in the Torah that he would raise up a prophet like Moses from among his people who would speak the word of God. This prophet is the Messiah and the mediator of the new covenant. All who refuse to listen to him are cut off from the faithful assembly of Israel:

“For Moses said, ‘the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people’” (Acts 3:23, cf. Deut. 18:19).

Throughout the ages there were many who did not remain faithful to the God of Israel. The faithful assembly is the sacred gathering of Israel which excludes the ceremonially unclean, the sinful, rebellious and disobedient. The Hebrew word, kahal, (lhq) meaning “congregation, assembly, gathering, community,” in the context of the Torah refers to God’s holy, called out, and faithful assembly of Israel. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint) this word was translated as ekklesía, meaning called out, from which we get our English word church. The meaning of “church” is the called out faithful assembly of God’s holy people.

The New Testament church is the continuation of the faithful assembly of Israel, albeit with certain distinctive and new characteristics, but nevertheless joined to the roots of the olive tree. To this olive tree gentiles have been added in greater numbers than ever before. Thus the apostle Peter calls his readers, many of whom were from a gentile background, “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God” (1 Peter 2:9), and in 1 Peter 1:1 even addresses them as part of the Diaspora. The faithful assembly of Israel today are those whose sins have been forgiven because they have heard and obeyed the word of God spoken through the Messiah. Through the new covenant they all know God personally and intimately (cf. John 10:1-6) and they worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Has the Church replaced Israel?

If we suggest that the church is the faithful assembly of Israel, both Jew and gentile as one new man, does this imply that the church has replaced Israel? The allegory of the olive tree illustrates just the opposite - that God has preserved Israel because the faithful remnant believed. The olive tree remains Israel, many of the natural branches remain on it and some branches were cut off and replaced by wild olive branches of gentile believers. Gentiles have been grafted into this olive tree and are supported by the root. If the root were to die all the branches would die. It is vital to understand this in a proper perspective because Paul issues a stern warning that ignorance of this mystery will lead to conceit and boasting over the natural branches and those which have been cut off. God has worked a miracle in this because what he has done is contrary to nature. A gardener would graft a good olive branch into the bad in order to make the tree more fruitful, but God takes that which is wild and barren and good for nothing and grafts it into a good olive tree to make that branch bear fruit. As Matthew Henry put it, “Men graft to mend the tree; but God grafts to mend the branch.”

The church is not a new entity that has replaced Israel. Rather the church has always represented the faithful assembly of Israel. When Stephen addressed the people before he was stoned to death he referred to the “church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38). Gentiles who believe in the Messiah of Israel become members of this faithful assembly and share in the nourishing sap from the root. They have not replaced Israel - rather they have been included in God’s holy nation. Those gentiles were formerly foreigners to the covenants of promise and excluded from citizenship in Israel but are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus as the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:12,19). The word “church” refers to the faithful remnant of Israel, rather than to the entire nation. Strictly speaking, the “church” is a part of Israel - the faithful part of Israel, redeemed by the Messiah. The “church is the holy part of Israel, but not all of Israel is a part of the “church.” When the apostle Paul speaks of the “Israel of God,” he is referring to faithful Israel i.e. the church.

When we refer to the “Christian Church,” we usually think of a predominantly Gentile religious institution represented by various denominations and when we refer to “Israel,” we usually think of the present State of Israel and the citizens of that state. The terms “Israel” and the “Church,” as commonly used today, are misleading as far as their proper Scriptural meaning is concerned. Much of what masquerades under the banner of Christianity and the Church has apostatized to such a degree that it is cut off from the root. They think of Christianity as a Gentile religion to which Jewish people must convert. This perception is encouraged by Rabbinical Judaism which asserts that a Jew cannot remain a Jew and believe in Jesus. However, this is a denial of history. Jesus was a Jew and was first believed in and proclaimed as the Jewish Messiah by Jews in the land of Israel, who later carried the good news to the Gentiles too. Christianity is Jewish, i.e. the true faith of Israel.

A more accurate and correct understanding of the term “Christian Church” can be gleaned from Isaiah Chapter 8, which refers to the small band of faithful disciples of the Anointed King of Israel who are not moved by the confederacies of nations who threaten Israel, but remain faithful to the covenant established between God and his people. As Paul writes to Timothy, “the Lord knows those that are His” (2 Tim 2:18).

Foreigners in the Assembly of Israel

Although, with the advent of the Messiah and the New Covenant, gentiles came into the assembly of Israel in much larger numbers, there were always proselytes to the faith of Israel. Even those that left Egypt were a “mixed multitude.” Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord assured foreigners wishing to join themselves to Israel that they would not be excluded on the ground that they were not natural descendants. Faithfulness to the God of Israel is not determined by natural descent, as Paul wrote:

“For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children” (Romans 9:6-7).

The Lord gives this assurance to gentiles who faithfully serve Him:

“Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the LORD say, ‘The LORD will surely exclude me from his people’. . . ‘And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to serve him, to love the name of the LORD, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant; these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.’ The Sovereign LORD declares; he who gathers the exiles of Israel: ‘I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered’.” (Isaiah 56:3-8)

Compare this with John 10:16 where Jesus speaks of gathering all his sheep into one fold under one shepherd.

“I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” (John 10:16).

Psalm 87 also reveals this mystery:

“He has set his foundation on the holy mountain; The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God: Selah ‘I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me; Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush-- and will say, ‘This one was born in Zion.’ Indeed, of Zion it will be said, ‘This one and that one were born in her, and the Most High himself will establish her.’ The LORD will write in the register of the peoples: ‘This one was born in Zion’. Selah” (Psalms 87:1-6)

What is the Mystery?

There are two aspects to the mystery that Paul speaks of and both are inextricably bound together:

The first part is the spiritual blindness which came upon part of Israel, so that they failed to see the glory of their Messiah and were consequently cut off from the olive tree. The blindness was a judicial consequence of their own pride and self-righteousness. Although they claimed to be faithful Jews, believing in Moses and the prophets their unbelief and unfaithfulness was exposed by Jesus when he challenged them by saying, “Do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” (John 5:46).

Those who are cut off are spiritually dead because they are no longer receiving the life from the root. Jesus said, “No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23). Although they are cut off from the faithful assembly of Israel this position is not irreversible and if they do not persist in unbelief they will easily be grafted back into the olive tree. The heritage of the patriarchs, Moses, the prophets and the gospel belongs to them. The spiritual blindness and unbelief of those Jews who stumble over the stumbling stone was foretold through the prophet Isaiah and by King David (Isaiah 29:10-12 & Psalm 69:23). That God would show his kindness and mercy to Gentiles and include them with his chosen, covenant people Israel, was also intended to provoke unfaithful, unbelieving Israel to jealousy. This mystery was hinted at even in the Torah:

“They [Israel] made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding” (Deut. 32:21).

The second aspect of the mystery is that their stumbling has contributed to the salvation of the gentiles.
“I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness?” (Romans 11:11-12).

The mystery, that many Gentiles would become faithful to the God of Israel by responding to the word of God spoken through the Messiah, was implied by the word of God spoken through Moses and the prophets - including Isaiah, Hosea and Zechariah.

“Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the LORD. “Many gentiles will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you” (Zechariah 2:10-11).

The mystery that Gentiles would be included in the faithful people of Israel through faith in the Messiah was hinted at in the prophets but the apostle Paul declares it plainly:

“How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel” (Ephesians 3:3).

Through faith in Jesus both Jews and Gentiles have been regenerated and given spiritual life through which they become “one new man” (Eph. 2:15). Some see the “one new man” as a new universal body quite separate from Israel. If the church is a brand new entity, born at Pentecost and completely distinct and separate from the faithful assembly of Israel, then unbelieving Jews could not have been cut off from it because they were never part of it. Likewise, the first believers, all of whom were Jewish, would have been grafted in along with gentiles who believed, but the allegory of the olive tree shows a natural branch being cut off from that which is their rightful heritage, their own tree, because of unbelief, while those Jews who did believe remain as natural branches. From what then, if not from the faithful assembly of Israel, were unbelieving Jews cut off? Gentiles, referred to as wild olive branches, were grafted into this cultivated tree with well established roots and branches. The olive tree can only represent Israel, and the Church - the faithful assembly of Israel - has the same calling that Israel always had - to be a holy nation, a chosen people, a royal priesthood and a people belonging to God so that they may declare the praises of him who called them out of darkness into his wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9).

The broken branches

When Jesus was presented in the temple, Simeon, who had been waiting to see the Lord’s Messiah, prophesied over him:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother:

“This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too” (Luke 2:29-35).

The Lord said that the Messiah will be called, “God with us.” It is in the Messiah that God himself becomes a sanctuary to his people or a stone that causes many to stumble. Jesus is either the Rock of our salvation or the stone that causes men to stumble and a rock of offence.

The Messiah was destined to cause the rising and falling of many in Israel depending on how they respond to him.

“The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare. Many of them will stumble; they will fall and be broken, they will be snared and captured” (Isaiah 8:13-15).
Speaking of His death and resurrection, Jesus identified himself as the sanctuary. “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19). Jesus is the Cornerstone of Israel and everything that is not built upon him as the foundation will certainly collapse. The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes. (Ps.118:22)

What would the consequence of rejecting the Messiah be? History has already provided the answer. Jesus wept as he prophesied the destruction that would come upon Jerusalem because the people had failed to recognise the time of God’s coming to them. At that time too there was a faithful remnant who escaped the destruction by heeding the word of Messiah.

Some Bible teachers gloss over this rising and falling of Israel, focusing only on the prophecies which speak of the future glory of Israel while ignoring the devastating consequences of unbelief. There is no future glory for those who die in unbelief, only eternal condemnation and separation from the God of Israel.

If we overlook the obvious truth that unbelieving Israel are cut off and spiritually dead in their transgressions and sins, we can in no way identify with Paul’s anguish and his unceasing burden for those of his own race. Unless we perceive the tragic consequences of the falling of Israel we will not be inspired to preach the gospel in the face of fierce opposition and stubborn resistance. Today is the day of salvation. Only those who take hold of salvation by faith are assured of a place in the Kingdom of God.
Those who see Israel and the Church as two entirely separate entities often accuse the “Church” of wrongly and presumptuously laying claim to the blessings, while ascribing the curses to “Israel.” This fails to acknowledge that Israel is divided between those who are cut off and those who remain in the olive tree - the rising and falling of Israel. The curses have come upon the whole world, Jews and Gentiles, for God has bound all men over to disobedience (Rom. 11:32). We are only redeemed from the curse through faith in Jesus the Messiah, Saviour and Redeemer who became a curse for us. Unfaithful Israel remains under the curse while they rely on the Torah for salvation.

Furthermore, Paul said that no matter how many promises God has made they are “Yes” in Messiah. Although unbelievers may enjoy a season of blessing in this world for a period of time, everyone will be called to give account. There can be no eternal blessings outside of faithfulness to Jesus Christ either for Jew or gentile. To suggest otherwise is a betrayal of Jesus. He is both the Rock of our salvation and the stone that causes men to stumble. Depending on our response to Him we will either rise or fall.

Apostasy Predicted

Jesus told a parable that illustrates how the Kingdom of God grows alongside the wicked kingdoms of this world:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn’” (Matt.13:24-30).

Jesus also prophesied that the true and faithful assembly would be infiltrated by wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15). The apostasy that began in the first century church and continues to this day was not unforeseen. The Lord forewarned his people that the enemy would infiltrate the faithful assembly in an attempt to discredit the truth.

It does not take much to discern that much of what masquerades as the church of Jesus Christ has completely departed from the truth. Many have deliberately changed the grace of God into a license for immorality. In this process much of so-called Christendom has intentionally cut itself off from the biblical roots of the true faith in the Messiah.

The result is that the gospel has been brought into disrepute, particularly among many Jewish people who now perceive the church as their worst enemy. Just as Paul’s indictment against the Jews in the first century was that the name of God was blasphemed among the Gentiles because of them, today the name of Jesus is blasphemed among both Jews and Gentiles because of those who claim to be his disciples but whose lives contradict their claims. Just as not all Israel under the old covenant remained faithful, not all who claim to belong to the Christian Church are faithful to Jesus.

Lessons from History

The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians that the things that happened to Israel serve as examples and warnings to us on whom the fulfilment of the ages has come. Israel was always punished severely for her unfaithfulness to the Lord. Although the land was promised to the descendants of Abraham as an everlasting inheritance, there were strict conditions placed upon their occupancy thereof.

If Israel did not remain faithful to the covenant which the Lord had made with them, they would be exiled from the Land just as the nations before them were driven out. 2 Kings Ch. 17 describes how the northern kingdom of Israel was exiled into Assyria and Gentiles were settled in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. At first the people who replaced the Israelites did not worship the God of Israel or live according to the law of the God of Israel because they were ignorant of what God required.

A Hebrew priest was called from the exile to teach the Gentiles how to worship the God of Israel. However, even after being taught how they were to worship the only true God of Israel, we read the following account:

“They worshiped the LORD, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate for them as priests in the shrines at the high places. They worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought. To this day they persist in their former practices” (2 Kings 17: 32-34).

This is precisely the sort of compromise that has happened throughout Church history. When Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, instead of pagans being converted to the true faith in Jesus, many corrupted true Christianity through a deliberate process of syncretism with all of their pagan customs. Because they did not understand their relationship to the olive tree, they became conceited, just as Paul had warned, and they boasted over the natural branches, forcing Jewish believers to prove their faith by adopting pagan customs.

This worldly church, which represented a marriage between the Roman Empire and a corrupted paganised “church,” perverted the good news of the Jewish Saviour, Redeemer and King into an excuse for anti-Semitism and persecution of Jews. Tragically, the Jewish people have perceived some of their most cruel and unkind enemies to be those who proudly call themselves “Christians.”

“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?” (James 4:4-5)

The apostle John was astonished when he was given a vision of the harlot that would emerge and prostitute herself to the rulers of this world (cf. Rev. 17:7). Following the way of Balaam, who put on a display of false humility by saying “Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my end be like theirs,” while at the same time being enticed by the King of Moab with promises of riches and status, the harlot likewise claims to represent the faithful church but is filled with conceit and prostitutes herself with the rulers of this world who seek to destroy God’s people. The strategy remains the same – to seduce God’s people into unfaithfulness through unholy alliances.

Just as Israel was called to flee from Babylon (Isaiah 48:20), the word of the Lord to the faithful believers is quite clear:

“Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Mix her a double portion from her own cup. Give her as much torture and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn.’ Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her. When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: “‘Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!’” (Revelation 18:4-10).
The early church described in the book of Acts was an assembly of faithful, called out and separate people, set apart to declare the praises of the only true God of Israel. The power of God was manifest among them and the unconverted did not dare to casually join this holy congregation of the redeemed people of Israel.

“The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number” (Acts 5:12-14).

Unfortunately, the infiltration by the enemy, as foretold by our Lord, did not take long to develop and as the church grew, many who were not truly converted joined the assemblies of believers and began to corrupt them with false teachings. Already in the first century Jude felt it necessary to warn the church about these false brethren and the urgent need to contend for the faith and to preserve sound doctrine and holiness:
“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ, our only Sovereign and Lord” (Jude 3-4).

The apostle Paul also warned of these men, describing them as savage wolves who would not spare the flock, and that even from among their own number men would arise who would distort the truth to draw disciples after themselves (Acts 20:29).

True Faithfulness

The insecurities and anxieties of life may cause people to turn to religion. There were many who followed Jesus because of his reputation of healing the sick etc., but they were not really committed and soon abandoned him when his teaching became difficult to accept. Messiah’s word is the very word of God which imparts eternal life (cf. Deut. 18:17-18). Just as the Passover lamb had to be completely consumed Jesus taught his disciples that they must, metaphorically, consume his very being, i.e. his life and teaching, in order to attain eternal life, because he is the embodiment of all truth.

Multitudes may believe in Jesus for selfish reasons, but few are sincerely prepared to take up their cross and follow him in self sacrificing devotion. The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans (8:17):

“Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

The story of Naomi and her two daughter-in-laws is a lesson in faithfulness. Both were related through marriage to the people of Israel, but when their circumstances became difficult only Ruth remained faithful to the God of Israel, demonstrating her faith by returning with Naomi. Orpah, who returned to her own people and her own gods, represents those whose “faith”, when tested through trials, is found not to be sincere or genuine, and who choose friendship with the world over faithfulness to the Lord and His people.

Ruth clings to Naomi and adopts the attitude, “Your people shall be my people and your God, my God.” Ruth represents those who are grafted into the faithful assembly of Israel, having willingly left behind their former way of life and pagan culture into which they were born. Those with a heart like Ruth will fulfil their calling to provoke unbelieving Jews to jealousy. Those who follow the pattern of Orpah merely reinforce the false perception among Jews that Christianity is a foreign and pagan religion.

Coming back to the analogy of the olive tree, Paul reminds the engrafted branches that they do not support the root, but the root supports them. God will cut them off just as He cut off the unbelieving Jewish branch if they do not continue in His kindness.

Anything that does not remain connected to the root must eventually whither and die. Jesus uses a similar analogy of the vine and the branches. Branches which do not remain in Him cannot bear fruit and will be thrown into the fire and burned. The test of true faithfulness is fruitfulness - the kind of faithfulness demonstrated in the life of Ruth. The apostle Paul urges the Corinthian believers to examine themselves to see whether they are in the faith. Let us all examine ourselves to see whether we belong in the company of Ruth or of Orpah.

Saints,

We are going to lock this thread, the initial post was on the theme of self-denial and how God's Gospel leads to this on this earth for Christians. We are locking this thread now.

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50. The sum of the Christian life is denial of ourselves.

51. The ends of this self-denial are four. 1. That we may devote ourselves to God as a living sacrifice. 2. That we may not seek our own things, but those which belong to God and to our neighbour. 3. That we may patiently bear the cross, the fruits of which are—acknowledgment of our weakness, the trial of our patience, correction of faults, more earnest prayer, more cheerful meditation on eternal life. 4. That we may know in what manner we ought to use the present life and its aids, for necessity and delight. Necessity demands that we possess all things as though we possessed them not; that we bear poverty with mildness, and abundance with moderation; that we know how to endure patiently fulness, and hunger, and want; that we pay regard to our neighbour, because we must give account of our stewardship; and that all things correspond to our calling. The delight of praising the kindness of God ought to be with us a stronger argument.

1 John Calvin and Henry Beveridge, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2010), 566-67.