Who is JESUS ?

Someone asked if I would repost this on it's own, for 'His' sake. I've hesitated and balked for about 7-8 hours now, then the question, "Who do men say that I am ?" This whole Website is ABOUT Jesus/The Lord, so shouldn't we give HIM the Primary focus ?Psa 34:3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt HIS Name "together". Psa 105:3 & 4 Glory ye in HIS Holy Name: let the heart of them rejoice that 'seek' the LORD. 'Seek' the LORD, and His strength: 'seek' His Face Evermore.With that, I just want to "Lift Him Up", so for Him ....~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~One God, in three Equal Persons, yet manifesting as One God in the Beginning and again at the End, but three, somewheres inbetween. What is the 'mystery' ?That our Creator God would die for us. One God called 'ĕlôhîym.Gen 1:1 In the beginning God{'ĕlôhîym/plural} created the heaven and the earth. Joh 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. Isa 45:12 I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him {God created 'for' Himself - by Himself.}Mal 2:10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? Eph 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus ChristIsa 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. Who is this that came to Adam & Eve in the Garden ? ~~ Gen 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God{'ĕlôhîym/plural} walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God{'ĕlôhîym/plural} amongst the trees of the garden. The Great "I AM". John 18:6 As soon then as he had said unto them, I am (he,-not in the Greek) they went backward, and fell to the ground.He called Himself "I AM". In the "present tense".Why did they all fall to the ground ? Not on their faces, but backwards.That moment could have given them a space of time to repent, but as Wesley said, "probably the priests among them might persuade themselves and their attendants, that this also was done by Beelzebub; and that it was through the providence of God, not the 'indulgence' of Jesus, that they received no farther damage."Joh 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am (he,-not in the Greek) ye shall die in your sins. John Wesley on Joh 8:24 - " If ye believe not that I AM - Here (as in Joh_8:58) our Lord claims the Divine name, I AM, Exo_3:14." Vincent's Word Studies ~ "I am (εγω ειμι) the words are rather the solemn expression of His absolute divine being, as in Joh_8:58 : “If ye believe not that I am.” See Deu_32:39; Isa_43:10; and compare Joh_8:28, Joh_8:58 of this chapter, and Joh_13:19." A.T. Roberson ~ "The phrase egō eimi occurs three times here (Joh_8:24, Joh_8:28, Joh_8:58) and also in Joh_13:19. Jesus seems to claim absolute divine being as in Joh_8:58." Joh 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Matthew Henry ~ “Verily, verily, I say unto you; I do not only say it in private to my own disciples, who will be sure to say as I say, but to you my enemies and persecutors; I say it to your faces, take it how you will: Before Abraham was, I am;” prin Abraam genesthaî egō eimi, Before Abraham was made or born, I am. The change of the word is observable, and bespeaks Abraham a creature, and himself the Creator; well therefore might he make himself greater than Abraham. Before Abraham he was, First, As God. I am, is the name of God (Exo_3:14); it denotes his self-existence; he does not say, I was, but I am, for he is the first and the last, immutably the same (Rev_1:8); thus he was not only before Abraham, but before all worlds, Joh_1:1; Pro_8:23. Secondly, As Mediator. He was the appointed Messiah, long before Abraham; the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev_13:8), the channel of conveyance of light, life, and love from God to man. This supposes his divine nature, that he is the same in himself from eternity (Heb_13:8)"R. A. Torrey ~ "I am: That our Lord by this expression asserted his divinity and eternal existence, as the great I AM, appears evident from the use of the present tense, instead of the past tense, from its being in answer to the Jews, who enquired whether he had seen Abraham, and from its being thus understood by the multitude, who were exasperated at it to such a degree that they took up stones to stone him. The ancient Jews not only believed that the Messiah was superior to and Lord of all the patriarchs, and even of angels, but that his celestial nature existed with God from whom it emanated, before the creation, and that the creation was effected by his ministry. Exo_3:14; Isa_43:13, Isa_44:6, Isa_44:8, Isa_46:9, Isa_48:12; Rev_1:8" Who's on the throne ?Eze 1:26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. Eze 1:27 And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. Eze 1:28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke. Rev 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. Rev 4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. The Express Image of GodJoh 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? 2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Eph 1:9-10 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him Eph 4:10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell; Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. Before the Incarnation, was there Anyone but One God ?Now onto Future tense ..... Zec 14:9 And the LORD shall be King over all the earth: in 'that day' shall there be one LORD, and his Name One. 1Co 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.~ God . . . all in all--as Christ is all in all (Col 3:11 ~ "...but Christ is all, and in all." Compare Zec. 14:9 above.) Adam Clarke ~ 1Co 15:28 - "When the administration of the kingdom of grace is finally closed; when there shall be no longer any state of probation, and consequently no longer need of a distinction between the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory; then the Son, as being man and Messiah, shall cease to exercise any distinct dominion and God be all in all: there remaining no longer any distinction in the persons of the glorious Trinity, as acting any distinct or separate parts in either the kingdom of grace, or the kingdom of glory, and so the one infinite essence shall appear undivided and eternal. And yet, as there appears to be a personality essentially in the infinite Godhead, that personality must exist eternally; but how this shall be we can neither tell nor know till that time comes in which we shall See Him as He Is. 1Jo_3:2." John Gill ~ "1Co 15:28.. that God may be all in all; for by God is not meant the Father personally, but God essentially considered, Father, Son, and Spirit, who are the one true and living God; to whom all the saints will have immediate access, in whose presence they will be, and with whom they shall have uninterrupted fellowship, without the use of such mediums as they now enjoy; all the three divine Persons will have equal power and government in and over all the saints; they will sit upon one and the same throne; there will be no more acting by a delegated power, or a derived authority: God will be all things to all his saints, immediately without the use of means; he will be that to their bodies as meat and clothes are, without the use of them; and all light, glory, and happiness to their souls, without the use of ordinances, or any means; he will then be all perfection and bliss, to all the elect, and in them all, which he now is not; some are dead in trespasses and sins, and under the power of Satan; the number of them in conversion is not yet completed; and, of those that are called many are in a state of imperfection, and have flesh as well as spirit in them; and of those who are fallen asleep in Christ, though their separate spirits are happy with him, yet their bodies lie in the grave, and under the power of corruption and death; but then all being called by grace, and all being raised, and glorified in soul and body, God will be all in all: this phrase expresses both the perfect government of God, Father, Son, and Spirit, over the saints to all eternity, and their perfect happiness in soul and body, the glory of all which will be ascribed to God; and it will be then seen that all that the Father has done, in the council and covenant of peace, were all to the glory of his grace; and that all that the Son has done in the salvation of his people, is all to the glory of the divine perfections: and that all that the Spirit of God has wrought in the saints, and all that they have done under his grace and influence, are all to the praise and glory of God, which will in the most perfect manner be given to the eternal Three in One."~ At the end of Revelation ... when all is brought back under One God ... from vs 3, do you see anything different ? ... Remembering, these 5 verses are one continuous sentence.Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and 'his' servants shall serve 'him': Rev 22:4 And they shall see 'his' face; and 'his' name shall be in their foreheads{Rev 3:12}. Rev 22:5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for 'the Lord God' giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever. Rev 22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and 'the Lord God' of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto 'his' servants the things which must shortly be done. Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the saying of the prophecy of this book. Etc.The Lamb = The Creator = God ~Rev 10:6 And swore by him that liveth forever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: Rev 10:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. ~ The Lamb comes out of the "midst" (or middle) of the throne, otherwhere's seen as from in "the bosom" of God. Still One God."The Mystery" .... to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God, The New Jersusalem, with GOD. (all that Adam 'had', plus lots more :) Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be 'with them', and be their God. Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. ~~NEXT THREE VERSES ARE IN 'RED'.Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. Glory To God.

Psa 34:3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt HIS Name "together" ?????This is not about me.GrannieAnnie is DEAD. This is about JESUS.Last nite again, I took a cruise through all the back pages of the boards and saw, "how many views" of certain threads ... and "replies" on threads present and past and being the statistical analysis type that I've been, my heart was broken.There were similar threads to this one in the past, that also had few views and no responses.But bring up some other type subjects and you get over 800 views in just a few days.Could someone here please explain this to me ?I see JESUS crying/grieving ....... does anyone else ?Edit: When I posted this, this thread had 37 views.Dating had 875.

This is the thing brother. If we could just have one thread where we 'just' talk about HIM.Where we Glorify only HIM "together" :-).Where few sentences start with "I".Where it's almost all Scripture or quotes, etc.Here is something Manfred posted from T.A. Sparks that may be our KEY to personal revival.Quote:Man had put his hand on Divine things. When the glory of life, the glory of joy, the glory of spiritual fulness, the glory of Divine power departs, and comes under a shadow, or is eclipsed or limited, it is usually because man’s hand has touched the testimony. Man’s nature has insinuated itself— that is, his judgment, his ideas, his thoughts, his will, his emotions—into this matter. David’s mind got to work, David’s emotions got to work, and it was a very emotional scene. David’s will got to work, so that his soul, mind, heart and will came out to touch Divine things. It was of man. And whenever it is like that, if our judgments and our emotions and our decisions lay hold of the things of God, we will be left without the glory. The glory will depart, or the glory will be under eclipse, or the glory will be limited. Yes, it is a long story, as it began in Genesis: “Lest he put forth his hand.”Well, that is the dark side, but it is well that we took a glance at that side, because that is so largely the trouble today. There is an absence of the glory, or a limiting of the glory, and our hearts are crying out for the glory to return. We are always praying that the glory of the Lord may be manifested, we are always asking the Lord that the glory might be known and felt. But, you see, we have got to get out of the way before that can be. We must give the Lord all the place in order for that to happen. It has to be all the Lord.So, on the one side, there are the limiting of human abilities and powers of mind and will. On the other side, through that limiting or excluding of that natural human element, there is the coming in of the Lord, the increase of Christ, because then Christ is our wisdom, Christ is our strength, Christ is our will, Christ is our all. Dear friends, that is the pathway of the glory. And that pathway is painful to the flesh, very painful, because this flesh is very strong, much stronger than we would believe, yet it is there.Glory to Jesus ! Praise His Glorious Name. Amen.

:-D THAT song 'just now' played on the radio dullrainbow.The Holy Spirit confirming - PRAISE TO JESUS.Watchman Nee wrote a book called ...."Christ: The 'Sum Total' of All Spiritual Things"Thank you Lord for that song.

:-) Amen LGB !Yes, Worthy to Receive 'All' the Glory ![This taken from Manfred's T.A. Sparks again. From "We Beheld His Glory - Vol. 2]What the Glory of God Is. The glory of God is the expression of the satisfaction of His nature. When and where God's nature - His very being - is satisfied, that satisfaction emanates, and there is a spirit of inexpressible joy, peace, rest, beauty, wonder, harmony, and life. All these elements are the components or constituents of what is called "Glory." When any person is filled with this spirit and experiences something of these elements, almost the only suitable and adequate exclamation is "Glory!" "O, what a foretaste of glory Divine!" If our whole life was gathered up into one particular object and concern, so that we had nothing else to justify our existence, and that object was a consuming passion, so that for it we lived, thought, planned, sacrificed, suffered, worked, and longed with an unutterable longing; and then that object was realized, reached, possessed: if that happened, we should be quite unable to shut it all in to ourselves it would break out and affect all around us. In its realm it would be what we would call "Glory" we should exclaim, "Isn't it glorious?!" Well, lift it all into the so much greater and higher realm of Infinite God; make it eternal and not of time; spiritual and not merely temporal; immortal and not corruptible; and that - where it exists - is Divine Glory, and it is affecting and wonderfully satisfying. God's nature craves for that which corresponds to it. God's nature contains the elements of His purpose and desire. Out of His very being He has projected His purpose. To that purpose He has committed Himself; has planned, laboured, thought, sacrificed, suffered, longed; and for its sake He is never resting. When He sees it, in its beginning or increase, in its principle or growth, His "good pleasure," satisfaction and joy are ministered to, so that those concerned register and share His satisfaction; and that is "Glory." Let us use the key.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Rev 5:12-13) Saying with a loud voice, 'Worthy' is the Lamb that was slain to receive Power, and Riches, and Wisdom, and Strength, and Honor, and Glory, and Blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and Honor, and Glory, and Power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.

Yes ! Rev 1:8 ~ I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the 'Almighty'. { Exo 6:3 And I 'appeared' unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God 'Almighty' ....Isa 41:4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he. Isa 48:12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am He; I am the first, I also am the last. } (1:11) I Am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.....And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword and His countenance was as the sun shineth in His strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the First and the Last: I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. ~~~And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and he had a Name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God... And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. (above from Rev 1 & 19)2Co 6:18 And I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty..... Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. Glory !

1Co 2:1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. 1Co 2:2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 1Co 2:3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 1Co 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 1Co 2:5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

R. A. Torrey writes ~Christ Is God As JehovahIsa_40:3; Mat_3:3; As Jehovah of gloryPsa_24:7; Psa_24:10; 1Co_2:8; Jam_2:1; As Jehovah, our RIGHTEOUSNESSJer_23:5; Jer_23:6; 1Co_1:30; As Jehovah, above allPsa_97:9; Joh_3:31; As Jehovah, the First and the LastIsa_44:6; Rev_1:17; Isa_48:12-16; Rev_22:13; As Jehovah's Fellow and EqualZec_13:7; Phi_2:6; As Jehovah of HostsIsa_6:1-3; Joh_12:41; Isa_8:13; Isa_8:14; 1Pe_2:8; As Jehovah, the ShepherdIsa_40:11; Heb_13:20; As Jehovah, for whose glory all things were createdPro_16:4; Col_1:16; As Jehovah, the Messenger of the covenantMal_3:1; Mar_1:2; Luk_2:27; Invoked as JehovahJoe_2:32; Act_2:21; 1Co_1:2; As the Eternal God and CreatorPsa_102:24-27; Heb_1:8; Heb_1:10-12; As the mighty GodIsa_9:6; As the Great God and SaviourHos_1:7; Tit_2:13; As God over allPsa_45:6; Psa_45:7; Rom_9:5; As the true GodJer_10:10; 1Jo_5:20; As God the WordJoh_1:1; As God, the judgeEcc_12:14; 1Co_4:5; 2Co_5:10; 2Ti_4:1; As EmmanuelIsa_7:14; Mat_1:23; As King of kings and Lord of lordsDeu_10:17; Rev_1:5; Rev_17:14; As the Holy One1Sa_2:2; Act_3:14; As the Lord from heaven1Co_15:47; As Lord of the SabbathGen_2:3; Mat_12:8; As Lord of allAct_10:36; Rom_10:11-13; As Son of GodMat_26:63-67; As the Only-begotten Son of the FatherJoh_1:14; Joh_1:18; Joh_3:16; Joh_3:18; 1Jo_4:9; His blood is called the blood of GodAct_20:28; As one with the FatherJoh_10:30; Joh_10:38; Joh_12:45; Joh_14:7-10; Joh_17:10; As sending the Spirit, equally with the FatherJoh_14:16; Joh_15:26; As entitled to equal honour with the FatherJoh_5:23; As Owner of all things, equally with the FatherJoh_16:15; As unrestricted by the law of the sabbath, equally with the FatherJoh_5:17; As the Source of grace, equally with the Father1Th_3:11; 2Th_2:16; 2Th_2:17; As unsearchable, equally with the FatherPro_30:4; Mat_11:27; As Creator of all thingsIsa_40:28; Joh_1:3; Col_1:16; Heb_1:2; As Supporter and Preserver of all thingsNeh_9:6; Col_1:17; Heb_1:3; As possessed of the fulness of the God headCol_2:9; Heb_1:3; As raising the deadJoh_5:21; Joh_6:40; Joh_6:54; As raising Himself from the deadJoh_2:19; Joh_2:21; Joh_10:18; As EternalIsa_9:6; Mic_5:2; Joh_1:1; Col_1:17; Heb_1:8-10; Rev_1:8; As OmnipresentMat_18:20; Mat_28:20; Joh_3:13; As OmnipotentPsa_45:3; Phi_3:21; Rev_1:8; As OmniscientJoh_16:30; Joh_21:17; As discerning the thoughts of the heart1Ki_8:39; Luk_5:22; Eze_11:5; Joh_2:24; Joh_2:25; Rev_2:23; As unchangeableMal_3:6; Heb_1:12; Heb_13:8; As having power to forgive sinsCol_3:13; Mar_2:7; Mar_2:10; As Husband of the ChurchIsa_54:5; Eph_5:25-32; Isa_62:5; Rev_21:2; Rev_21:9; As the object of divine worshipAct_7:59; 2Co_12:8; 2Co_12:9; Heb_1:6; Rev_5:12; As the object of faithPsa_2:12; 1Pe_2:6; Jer_17:5; Jer_17:7; Joh_14:1; As God, He redeems and purifies the Church to HimselfRev_5:9; Tit_2:14; As God, He presents the Church to HimselfEph_5:27; Jud_1:24; Jud_1:25; Saints live to Him as GodRom_6:11; Gal_2:19; 2Co_5:15; Acknowledged by His ApostlesJoh_20:28; Acknowledged by the Old Testament saintsGen_17:1; Gen_48:15; Gen_48:16; Gen_32:24-30; Hos_12:3-5; Jdg_6:22-24; Jdg_13:21; Jdg_13:22; Job_19:25-27 All Hail the Power of Jesus Name.Rom 14:11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. Phi 2:10,11 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Isa 45:23 I have sworn by myself, the Word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.

Thank you lamuskrat. Thank you.As I was off line this evening and that dark shadow of sadness started to rear it's ugly head again, I realized ... the only thing that cheers me, is thoughts of HIM and HIM Alone and His Word.I have a friend, who has given his whole life, just to write about our need to SEE Jesus.Some people call it "the revelation of Christ" ... or Actually Experiencing HIM (seeing Him as He is and the effect it has from then on) ... I think "see" is close enough of an explanation.To "KNOW" Him by Experience. To seek until we do.To not want to move another step, until we do.To KNOW the REAL JESUS. In Hebrew understanding that is the intimate "know" of a spouse.ALL else matters for nought.I miss HIM in the company of His friends.I have been blessed by finding your post and statement of the only Reality we have, but can't "focus" on.Thank you and may He shine His face upon you and you 'see' it. He inhabits (y)our praises.HIM multiplied to you.

God Bless you lamuskrat... Very Much ... for your Love for The Lamb.In 15 minutes, my ISP provider will pull the plug on me, as I've requested to go off Line again, as I started to lose the sweet savor of Christ.It's time to go back under the shadow of His Wings. My brain also needs rest and literal healing.I thank the Lord, that I was able to download every book off of this site before they shut off the Line.http://www.cfcindia.com/cda/mainpages/books.phpI pray that the Lord will cause all who are angry with me, to forgive what I thought was the right way. I am human, so it is not the "perfect" way, by a long shot.Stay focused On JESUS AND HIS WORD, and not man. That was my mistake brothers and sisters.I go back out to seek Him now.Thank you for your Prayers, and you all will always have mine, with love unquenchable.See you all when HE Comes. Glory to The Lamb. Amen & Amen.Thank you and Go with God our 'Savior'.P.S. lamuskrat, What or Who ELSE is there better to "Rant" about ??? :-D Rant on, Yes, rant on.

Now where were we on this thread ? :-DAs I praise God my Savior, may I also add a word of THANKS to HIM, lamuskrat, Mike and LetUsPray, and whosoever, for your prayers. ;-) Thanks to all, very much.By His Grace Alone.Annie

Men Whose Eyes Have Seen The KingO to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,This my constant longing and prayer;Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.RefrainO to be like Thee! O to be like Thee,Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.O to be like Thee! full of compassion,Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,Seeking the wandering sinner to find.RefrainO to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,Holy and harmless, patient and brave;Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,Willing to suffer others to save.RefrainO to be like Thee! Lord, I am comingNow to receive anointing divine;All that I am and have I am bringing,Lord, from this moment all shall be Thine.RefrainO to be like Thee! while I am pleading,Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,Fit me for life and heaven above.RefrainRev 19:1,2a And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in Heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God; for true and righteous are his judgments

The Reality of Christ. Where found.To add to the link above - that's above the song - Forevidence posted this ~ The Real Presence.

~ Have we changed the Image of Jesus ? ~ WHO IS JESUS ?Everywhere you go, you meet "Christians" or "Christ"-ians ~ one who have taken on HIS name, to tell the world they identify and sometimes 'represent' HIM. Awesome identification and 'Responsibility' , to say the least. Taking on such a Name is equal to becoming an Ambassador; representing a foreign power. You'd have to Know & be in agreement with that Power first. Nothing wrong with identifying with or wishing to represent The God , but are we sure we know just WHO this is that we are "representing" ? This is seldom really thought through by most who choose this title for themselves and as a representative...although we see WWJD a lot. There are almost as many mental images of What JESUS is 'like', as there are folks calling themselves Christians. That's plain to see. Some have Him still as a Babe in a Manger. While others have Him as a mealy mouthed Mushy-Love god of sorts who never rocks a boat (at least not 'theirs'.) Still others use Him as their excuse to act ugly {different from 'righteous' anger}. You can see this more clearly if you question 1000 Christians, to find out what their Jesus "Allows" them or 'others' to do, or not do....(of course, it's sometimes different~~what we allow for ourselves, and what we allow for others, no ? )....and by their responses, you will more then likely get close to 1000 different answers in the do's and don't's Dept.. What is this saying about our "Knowing" WHO we are representing ? Christians, in general, fear to tread into this territory; because 'somehow' they know, that once they do, they will be targeted and labeled as a "Close minded~Know it all" and more then likely called a "Legalist and not -Loving." Yet how can you represent or worship the Jesus of the Bible, if your image of Him is not fully formed from the Bible; taken as a Whole ? To embark on a truthful and serious study of Christology (Knowing The Christ), one needs to lay their preconceived notions at the Alter, and start all over from scratch with their Bible in hand, Only, and just read and read and read and read. Asking, while they read....whether it be Old Testament or New..... “How does this verse, or Chpt. reflect the Character of JESUS ?” ... realizing Jesus was/is the same "GOD" of the OLD Testament, Yes, that's right. The same God who did all those "Awesome" things back then,,,Like CREATE the Heavens & the Earth & all that we see, in just 6 days. The same GOD, who creates and then destroys ~ i.e. Sodom ~ the Flood ~ etc. (Oops) ~~ Hard to think of our 'Sweet' Jesus doing such a thing. {Only to 'our' enemies maybe-hoy.} Or our "gentle" Holy Spirit being in on it too ? Oh my ! YES, HE IS SWEET AND GENTLE ! But not by earthly terminology or standards. {i.e. Rev.19:11 - 21} Not quite the Jesus we hear about from most folks today, is it. HE ~ Jesus, is the Same GOD, Who spoke those Fiery Words through His Prophets; and through them worked miracles that weren't always "sweet", to say the least. And what of these "puffy-cute little angels" we see so much of today ? Woe ! Have these folks ever read the O.T. ? Nevertheless, the Greek word for Angel is in the Masculine gender. (Oops again~ya mean they ain't cutesy wootsey little girls or females with wings? (Oh no !!!) No, these are God's messenger's and workers, who when seen by the prophets and others, fell face down in Holy fear ...and who destroyed cities at God's bidding. Yes, at God's bidding. YET ~ with all the "Terrible" acts of GOD/JESUS/Holy Spirit ~ He is PERFECT LOVE.Not our earthly definition of "love", but His Perfect Love...called "Agape." It is usually There, that Christians stumble, or find themselves arguing with each other; more then with any other attribute or "ology" concerning GOD and HIS Word /Jesus {Logos=The WORD=JESUS~John1. Granted it is difficult to be a Trinitarian {in the sense of ONE God in three persons},{"Elohim" in Hebrew was a Plural Name of God in the O.T. = the Trinity} but the problem comes when we make the expression ....... "3 distinct -Personalities" to mean 3 'Different' Personalities.} To some we have~~~~God, the Big Guy who does all the Heavies, ~~~ Jesus is the Love Only Guy ~ and the Holy Spirit ( sometimes mistakenly called ~"it"~ rather then 'He') is the one who we sometimes listen to {when we 'think' to ask His opinion}, Who's Supposed to lead us into ALL "Truth" {again~ If we ask} and Comforts us, when 'comfort' is what's needed~~ and for some,, He's the one who causes a person to do or act in a way at Church that they would never do, or act like, in the street or at work. Hmm ? Though this writing began with Christology ~ and now we've come to the Holy Spirit, some folks may be getting uncomfortable. There and Right there, is just one more symptom that our Christology is off. WHY ? Because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God and Christ. No Difference !!! How easily we forget. Whatever you believe JESUS wouldn't do ~ {if your Christology is Correct} then the Holy Spirit wouldn't do it either. Whatever was done by God in the Bible; all 3 Persons of the Godhead were responsible. Old and New Testament.....He's Elohim Still. If Jesus wouldn't do it ; when He was here setting the example; or on the day He sent HIS Spirit to His Disciples; then it's NOT from His Holy Spirit. Sounds simple enough. So where did we get this modern day Mamby Pamby, allllll mush, no holiness Jesus, no striving for truth Jesus, that we see so much of today ? Or a Jesus that supposedly tells folks to go out and kill ??? Why are there almost as many Jesus' as there are "Christians" ? Why so many different beliefs ??? The answer is simple; but the solution is very difficult. It will mean alot of reading of the Bible only; by yourself ; with praying ,before, during and after reading. It will mean that you'll have to throw out many preconceived notions that you've had about Jesus/God & the Holy Spirit. It will mean that you can no longer take one Scripture verse as your Proof Text, at the exclusion of the context and the rest of the Bible,,,,,,,,,,,and that before you quote that one verse as dogma...you'll have to know EVERY OTHER VERSE IN THE ENTIRE BIBLE THAT GOES ALONG WITH THAT ONE VERSE , AND THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SAME COIN, CALLED~"PROPER APOLOGETICS". This is the Berean way ~ the neglected way unfortunately. Proper apologetics has been accurately called the "Both/And" of analogies... i.e. 'We work out our own Salvation, But it is God which works in you, both to do and to will.' Both/And. NO doctrine can be proved without this two sided coin or the Both/And of apologetics. For each Belief....Every Verse in the Entire Bible must compliment that belief. In other words......If we believe a certain Doctrine .... we'd Better have a Truckload of Scripture to back it up. You must be certain that ,,,, if the Lord took your Doctrine and fed Every Scripture verse found, from cover to cover, that relates to it,,,and put all these verses into some sort of big computer ,,,, that, THAT particular "Doctrine" would come out, unequivocally. Tough test ! Some have already done this. One doctrine that fascinates folks a lot lately is the 'resurrection of the Saints'. Some have taken Every verse in the Entire Bible that relates to this event and the Last Days, and the Coming of the Lord ,,, and put them through 'that test' to come up with some surprising results. The doctrine of Christology is to be treated no differently. But a repeated warning...... once you have Humbled yourself before God, with His Word in hand and your spirit freed to be shown By Him, The Truth....get ready for some heavy persecution. Just a friendly warning. Be prepared to be called every name under the sun .... and by Christians too; because you've touched their pet Doctrine or Belief. Whether it's Christology, or any other Biblical-ology or belief. I don't say this in a lofty way ,,,, {God has thorns in the flesh and Stuff for that attitude},,, but this is said with sadness : a sadness that is actually very painful to one's heart .... because you desire that His Body be ONE ... as He and the Father are one ~ and the wounds received from a fellow Christian are much more, by far, painful then any other type wound you'll ever experience. Nothing to get "puffed up" about. Now, though I would rather "not go there".....I must bring up here, the doctrine of John Calvin. The once-saved-always-saved/easy believism belief has been seen in many forms and in many denominations and /or, individual Christian's beliefs, that formerly held a very true and strong 'doctrine of Salvation'. Once again this is the grasping at some verses (singularly & not in context of the Chpt. or book) and at the exclusion of all other verses, to form a Doctrine. And I blame this doctrine especially for the lackadaisical walk of many Christians today. And why the Church has become to look so much more 'less' different then the world, to where even fornication is allowed, etc. ..... {"Be ye Holy, even as I am Holy, says the Lord".... no ? } Why "Strive" to enter in, if no matter what "you're eternally secure" anyway ? To end here, there's volumes that have already been written on proper apologetics, but the rule of thumb is: to find Every Verse, cover to cover, pertaining to the subject in question, before forming an opinion or belief. I'd like to close with the "both/and" of God's/Jesus'/the Holy Spirit's 'Character' ...(so to speak.) God is 100% LOVE/and 100% HOLY IN TRUTH The 'Both/And' of these=Agape. Unconditional, yet, through Holy Eyes. If our balance (picture a scale, for measuring weights) , is off here {even in the slightest.....now that's a challenge, huh? }, then every other belief, deed, behavior, our Witness/Testimony, our 'feelings', and the very Foundation of our Christianity will be off. Something to really ponder and check into. Bottomline: "GOD IS HOLY IN TRUTH" + "GOD IS LOVE" And that is why Jesus had to die for us and why there is a Hell. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jesus said "I AM the Truth" and "He Is The Word". If you separate your knowledge of the Bible from the knowledge of Him ... or vice versa .... you've made two Jesus' already. He is the Word of God. You cannot know the Jesus of Bible until you know the Jesus from the Bible... From 'Genesis to Revelation'. “Jesus Christ , the Same; yesterday, today and forever.”

The Same ThroneIsa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.Isa 66:1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? {Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Mat 22:41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Mat 22:42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David. Mat 22:43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, Mat 22:44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? Mat 22:45 If David then call him, Lord, how is he his son? Mat 22:46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions. Heb 1:13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? }Eze 1:26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. Eze 1:27 And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. Eze 1:28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke. Rev 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. Rev 4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. Rev 12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. Rev 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.Heb 1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. Rev 21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. Rev 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. Rev 22:1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Rev 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. {Notice these next to verses, how they go from plural to singular}Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and HIS servants shall serve HIM: Rev 22:4 And they shall see HIS face; and HIS name shall be in their foreheads. Rev 22:5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever.

The Alpha and the Omega ~ The First and the Last ~ The beginning and the endIsaiah 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. Isaiah 48:12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. Rev 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: Rev 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Rev 2:8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Jer 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with All your heart.~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Pro 8:1 Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? Pro 8:2 She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. Pro 8:3 She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. Pro 8:4 Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. Pro 8:5 O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Pro 8:6 Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. Pro 8:7 For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. Pro 8:8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. Pro 8:9 They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. Pro 8:10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. Pro 8:11 For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. Pro 8:12 I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. Pro 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogance, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. Pro 8:14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. Pro 8:15 By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. Pro 8:16 By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. Pro 8:17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Pro 8:18 Riches and honor are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. Pro 8:19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. Pro 8:20 I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: Pro 8:21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. Pro 8:22 The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. Pro 8:23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. Pro 8:24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Pro 8:25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: Pro 8:26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. Pro 8:27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: Pro 8:28 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: Pro 8:29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Pro 8:30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; Pro 8:31 Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men. Pro 8:32 Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways. Pro 8:33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. Pro 8:34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. Pro 8:35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the LORD. Pro 8:36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.

The Deity of Christ.

I went to sleep burdened in my soul again, wondering, have we left our Main focus.

That was the intent of this thread.

No matter what the discussion, HE needs to be central in our motives of why we post here.

JESUS ALWAYS AND ONLY AND FOREVER.

I'd like to post to this thread again, the many marvels of our LORD & KING.

Let's worship and magnify just HIM here together.

We'll never have personal Revival without Him being our Center point and Focus of all things.

If anyone knows of any good sermons that center on who GOD is, not just what He's done for us, but Who God in Christ 'is' and magnifies Him alone, I believe with all my heart, that we'll be lifting Him up to His deserved position and we can only reap the benefits of making Him central. Thank you to any who have such sermons. Amen.

We're all Christocentric and proud of it here.

All power and honor and glory belong to The Lamb. Holy, Holy, Holy is The Lamb, who was, and is and is to Come. Glory to His Name.

Let all who name His Name Rejoice and strengthen our bonds of being one body under One Head Only.
Joined and linked together for all of Eternity by Him and Him alone. To Him be all the Glory and Honor and Praise.

Bless you in His Name.

Annie~Anonymous

[b]The Christian Conception of God[/b]

God is light.
1 John 1:5

God is love.
1 John 4:8, 16

With God all things are possible.
Matthew 19:26

His understanding has no limit.
Psalm 147:5

We are to consider again today the Christian conception of God. We have seen that God is spirit, that God is a Person and that God has a personal interest and an active hand in the affairs of men today, that He sustains, governs and cares for the world He has created, and that He shapes the whole present history of the world.

I. The Infinite Perfection of God

The next thing to be noted about the Christian conception of God is that God is perfect and infinite in all His intellectual and moral attributes and in power.

1. First of all, fix your attention on our first text: "God is light." These three words form a marvelously beautiful and overwhelmingly impressive statement of the truth. They set forth the Absolute Holiness and Perfect Wisdom of God. The words need rather to be meditated on than to be expounded. "In Him there is no darkness at all." That is to say, in Him there is no darkness of error, no darkness of ignorance, no darkness of sin, no darkness of moral imperfection or of intellectual imperfection of any kind. The three words, "God is light," form one of the most beautiful, one of the most striking, and one of the most stupendous statements of truth that ever was penned.

2. To come to things more specific, the God of the Bible is omnipotent. This great truth comes out again and again in the Word of God. One direct statement of this great truth especially, striking because of the connection in which it is found, occurs in Jeremiah 32:17, 27, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you." Here it is Jeremiah who makes the statement, but in the 27th verse it is the LORD Himself who says: "I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?"

In Job 42:2, we read these words of Job, when at last he has been brought to see and to recognize the true nature of the LORD: "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted." In Matthew 19:26, our Lord Jesus says: "With God all things are possible." Taking these passages together, we are plainly taught by our Lord Himself, and by others, that God can do all things, that nothing is too hard for Him, that all things are possible with Him. In a word, that God is omnipotent. A very impressive passage setting forth this same great truth is Psalm 33:6-9, "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm."

Here we see God by the mere utterance of His voice bringing to pass anything that He desires to be brought to pass. We find this same lofty conception of God in the very first chapter of the Bible, that chapter that so many people who imagine themselves scholarly are telling us is outgrown and not up to date, yet which contains some of the sublimest utterances that ever were written, unmatched by anything that any philosopher or scientist or platform orator is saying today. The very first words of that chapter read: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1), a description of the origin of things that has never been matched for simplicity, excellency and depth; and two verses farther down, in the third verse, we read: "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." These words need no comment.

There is here a excellency of thought in the setting forth of the omnipotence of God's mere word before which any truly intelligent and alert soul will stand in wonder and awe. There is nothing in poetry or in philosophical dissertation, ancient or modern, that for one moment can be put in comparison with these sublime words. Over and over again, it is brought out in the Word of God that all nature is absolutely subject to His will. For example, we see this in Psalm 107:25-29, "For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits' end. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed."

Another description of a similar character is found in Nahum 1:3-6, "The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebukes the sea and dries it up; he makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither and the blossoms of Lebanon fade. The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it. Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him." What a picture we have here of the omnipotence and awful majesty of God!

Not only is nature represented as being absolutely subject to God's will and word, but men also are represented as being absolutely subject to His will and word. For example, we read in James 4:12-15, "There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you--who are you to judge your neighbor? Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'"

Happy is the man who voluntarily subjects himself to God's will and Word, but whether we voluntarily subject ourselves to God's will and Word or not, we are subject to His will and Word whether we believe it or not. The angels also are subject to His will and Word (Hebrews 1:13, 14), and even Satan himself, although entirely against his own will, is absolutely subject to the will and Word of God, as is evident from Job 1:12 and Job 2:6.

The exercise of God's omnipotence is limited by His own wise and holy and loving will. God can do anything, but will do only that which infinite wisdom and holiness and love dictate. This comes out, for example, in Isaiah 59:1, 2, "Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear."

3. The God of the Bible is also omniscient. In 1 John 3:20, we read, "He [God] knows everything." Turning to the Old Testament, in Psalm 147:5, we read, "Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit." The literal translation of the last clause of this passage is, "Of his understanding there is no number." In these passages it is plainly declared that "God knows everything" and that "His understanding is infinite." In Job 37:16, Elihu, the messenger of God, is represented as saying that the LORD is "perfect in knowledge." In Acts 15:18, we read that God knows all His works and all things from the beginning of the world. Known to Him is everything from the vastest to the minutest detail. In Psalm 147:4, we are told, "He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name." While in Matthew 10:29, we are told that not one sparrow will fall to the ground apart from the will of God. The stars in all their stupendous magnitude and the sparrows in all their insignificance are all equally in His mind.

We are told further that everything has a part in His purpose and plan. In Acts 3:17, 18, the Apostle Peter says of the crucifixion of our Lord, the wickedest act in all the history of the human race: "Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer." In Acts 2:23, Peter declared on the day of Pentecost (although the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus was the wickedest act in all history) that, nevertheless, the Lord Jesus was "handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge." According to the Psalmist (Psalm 76:10), God takes the acts of the wickedest men into His plans and makes the wrath of men praise Him, and the remainder of wrath He restrains. Even the present war [World War I] with all its horrors, with all its atrocities, with all its abominations and all its nameless wickednesses, was foreknown of God and taken into His own gracious plan of the ages; and He will make every event in this war, even the most shocking things designed by the vilest conspiracy of unprincipled men, utterly inhuman and beastly and devil-inspired men, work together for good to those who love God, for those who are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

The whole plan of the ages, not merely of the centuries, but of the immeasurable ages of God, and every man's part in it, has been known to God from all eternity. This is made very clear in Ephesians 1:9-12,

He made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

And in Ephesians 3:4-9, we read,

In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

God has no after-thoughts. Everything is seen, known, purposed, and planned from the outset. Well may we exclaim: "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!" (Romans 11:33). God knows from all eternity what He will do through all eternity.

4. God is also absolutely and infinitely holy. This is a point of central and fundamental importance in the Bible conception of God. It comes out in our first text: "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." When he wrote these words John gave them as the summary of "This is the message we have heard from Him [God]" (1 John 1:5). In Isaiah 6:3, in the vision of the LORD which was given to Isaiah in the year that King Uzziah died, the "seraphim," or "burning ones," burning in their own intense holiness, are represented as standing before the LORD with covered faces and covered feet, and constantly crying, "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD Almighty." And in 1 Peter 1:16, God cries to us, "Be holy, because I am holy."

This thought of the infinite and awe-inspiring holiness of God pervades the entire Bible. It underlies everything in the Bible. The entire Mosaic system is built on and about this fundamental and central truth. Its system of washings; the divisions of the tabernacle; the divisions of the people into ordinary Israelites, Levites, priests and high priests, who were permitted different degrees of approach to God under strictly defined conditions; insistence on sacrifices of blood as the necessary medium of approach to God; God's directions to Moses in Exodus 3:5, to Joshua in Joshua 5:15; the punishment of Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 26:16-26; the strict orders to Israel in regard to approaching Sinai when the LORD came down on it; the doom of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram in Numbers 16:1- 33; and the destruction of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10:1-3--all these were intended to teach, emphasize, and burn into the minds and hearts of the Israelites the fundamental truth that God is holy, unapproachably holy.

The truth that God is holy is the fundamental truth of the Bible, of the Old Testament and the New Testament, of both the Jewish religion and the Christian religion. It is the preeminent factor in the Christian conception of God. There is no fact in the Christian conception of God that needs more to be emphasized in our day than the fact of the absolute, unqualified, and uncompromising holiness of God. That is the chief note lacking in Christian Science, Occultism, Buddhism, New Thought, the New Theology, and all the base but boasted cults of the day. That great truth underlies those fundamental doctrines of the Bible--the Atonement by Shed Blood, and Justification by Faith. The doctrine of the holiness of God is the keystone in the arch of Christian truth.

5. God is also love. This truth is declared in one of our texts. The words, "God is love," are found twice in the same chapter (1 John 4:8, 16). This truth is essentially the same truth as that "God is light" and "God is holy," for the very essence of true holiness is love, and "light" is "love" and "love" is "light."

6. Furthermore, God is not only perfect in His intellectual and moral attributes and in power, He is also omnipresent. This thought of God comes out in both the Old Testament and the New. In Psalm 139:7-10, we read: "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." There is no place where one can flee from God's presence, for God is everywhere. This great truth is set forth in a remarkable way in Jeremiah 23:23, 24, "'Am I only a God nearby,' declares the LORD, 'and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?' declares the LORD. 'Do not I fill heaven and earth?' declares the LORD."

We have seen that God has a local habitation, that there is a place where He exists and manifests Himself in a way in which He does not manifest Himself everywhere; but while we insist on that clearly revealed truth, we must also never lose sight of the fact that God is everywhere. We find this same truth set forth by Paul in his sermon to the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers on Mars Hill, Acts 17:24-28,

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. "For in him we live and move and have our being." As some of your own poets have said, "We are his offspring."

From these passages we see that God is everywhere. He is in all parts of the universe and near each individual. In Him each individual lives and moves and has his being.

7. There is one other thought in the Christian conception of God that needs to be placed alongside of His omnipresence, and that is His eternity. God is eternal. His existence had no beginning and will have no ending; He always was, always is, and always shall be. God is not only everywhere present in space, He is everywhere present in time. This conception of God appears constantly in the Bible. We are told in Genesis 21:33 that Abraham called "upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God." In Isaiah 40:28 we read this description of the LORD: "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom." Here again He is called "The everlasting God." Habakkuk, 1:12, sets forth the same conception of God. He says, "O LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One."

The Psalmist gives us the same representation of God in Psalm 90:2, 4, "Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night." We have the same representation of God in Psalm 102:24-27, "I said: 'Do not take me away, O my God, in the midst of my days; your years go on through all generations. In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.'"

The very name of God, His covenant name, LORD, sets forth His eternity. He is the eternal "I am," the One who is, was, and ever shall be (Exodus 3:14, 15).

II. There Is One God

One more fact about the Christian conception of God remains to be mentioned, and that is: There is but one God. The unity of God comes out again and again in both the Old Testament and the New. For example, we read in Deuteronomy 4:35, "the LORD is God; besides Him there is no other." And in Deuteronomy 6:4 we read, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." Turning to the New Testament in 1 Timothy 2:5, we read, "There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." And in Mark 12:29 our Lord Jesus Himself says, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one."

But we must bear in mind the character of the Divine Unity. It is clearly revealed in the Bible that in this Divine Unity, in this one Godhead, there is a multiplicity of persons. This comes out in a variety of ways.

1. First of all, the Hebrew word translated "one" in these various passages denotes a compound unity, not a simple unity (1 Corinthians 3:6-8; 12:13; John 17:22, 23; Galatians 3:28).

2. In the second place, the Old Testament word most frequently used for God is a plural noun. The Hebrew grammarians and lexicographers tried to explain this by saying that it was the "pluralis majestatis," (Greek) but the very simple explanation is that the Hebrews, in spite of their intense monotheism, used a plural name for God because there is a plurality of persons in the one Godhead.

3. More striking yet, as a proof of the plurality of persons in the one Godhead, is the fact that God Himself uses plural pronouns in speaking of Himself. For example, in the first chapter of the Bible, Genesis 1:26, we read that God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness." And in Genesis 11:7, He is further recorded as saying: "Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." In Genesis 3:22, we read: "And the LORD God said, 'The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.'" And in that wonderful vision to which reference has already been made, in which Isaiah saw the LORD, we read this statement of Isaiah's, 6:8, "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'"

4. Another illustration of the plurality of persons in the one Godhead in the Old Testament conception of God is found in Zechariah 2:10-11, where the LORD speaks of Himself as sent by the LORD in these words: "'Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,' declares the LORD. 'Many nations 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.'" Here the LORD clearly speaks of Himself as sent by the LORD, thus clearly indicating two persons in the Deity.

5. Another indication of the plurality of persons in the Godhead in the Old Testament conception of God is found in the fact that "the Angel of the LORD" in the Old Testament is at the same time distinguished from, and identified with, the LORD.

6. This same thought of the plurality of persons in the one Godhead is brought out in John 1:1, where we reach the very climax of this thought. Here we are told in so many words: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." When we study the Deity of Christ and the Personality and Deity of the Holy Spirit, we shall see that the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit are clearly designated as Divine beings and at the same time distinguished from one another, and from God the Father. So it is clear that in the Christian conception of God, while there is but one God, there is a multiplicity of persons in the one Godhead.

This conception of God runs through the whole Bible, is from the first chapter of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation. It is one of the many marvelous illustrations of the Divine unity of the Book. How wonderful is this Book, in that the unity of thought on this very profound doctrine pervades it throughout! It is a clear indication that the Bible is the Word of God. It contains a profounder philosophy than is found in any human philosophy, ancient or modern, and the only way to account for it is that God Himself is the author of this incomparable philosophy. What a wondrous God we have! How we ought to meditate on His Person! With what awe, and, at the same time, with what delight we should come into His presence and bow before Him in adoring contemplation of the wonder and beauty and majesty and glory of His being!

1Co 2:2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

[b]The Transcendent Value of the Knowledge of Christ
The Transcendent Value of the Knowledge of Christ

by T. Austin-Sparks[/b]

"I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.", (Philippians 3:8).

"For to me to live is Christ...", (Philippians 1:21).

"The excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus." Clearly that means that the knowledge of Christ in the case of the Apostle Paul far transcended all other knowledge. For him it was a knowledge that outstripped in its value all other knowledge which he had had or conceived himself capable of having. He sets the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord over against every other thing, and just as the candle light pales when the sun shines, so for him the most powerful light and glory which man is capable of experiencing faded in the presence of Christ Jesus his Lord.

Such words were not just words in the case of Paul. This was not some fine flourish of language. Coming from such a man as he was, they carried tremendous weight, not because of who he was, but because of the life out of which the words sprang.

Really to get something of the power and the strength — the depth, the fulness, the wonder of this phrase, of this language — it is necessary to turn to contemplate this man’s life and to see the background of his words. Words are of value in proportion to the reality of a man’s history — the history that lies behind his words and relates to his words. We may say things, but those things may be worthless, because there is nothing behind them in ourselves. Or we may say things, and those things may carry with them tremendous weight of meaning and value because of what lies behind them in the person of the speaker. We must remember, then, that when Paul said these words, he was practically at the end of his earthly course, and that a whole life crammed with spiritual history lay behind every syllable. But what a life! Everything culminated and was gathered up into these final utterances.

[b]Paul’s Sufferings[/b]

Look at him personally. Here is a man, worn and feeble, upon whom there has broken, and upon whom there has rolled waves — mighty and continuous waves of every kind of suffering that you could think of if you sat down to try to catalogue the sufferings of man: a victim of gross perjury, the prey of many contending enmities; a broken and enfeebled physical frame; in circumstances of deep affliction; vexed with hundreds, possibly thousands, of opponents; having very few real friends now remaining.

He has placed on record some of his experiences of adversity. They run like this: In afflictions, in necessities, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; chastened, sorrowful, poor, having nothing; in prisons, in stripes above measure, in deaths often; "Five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day have I been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of rivers, in perils of robbers, in perils from my countrymen, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in labour and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Besides those things which are without, there is that which presses upon me daily — anxiety for all the churches"., (2 Corinthians 11:24-28).

There are many other touches as to the experiences of this man of God. He lightly refers to them and passes on: "I who am rude of speech" (that is what some had said about him): "I who am despicable in presence" (again, what some had said about him). The yes and the no man — that is, the man who vacillates, who at one time says yes and at another time no. Sending requests to a beloved yokefellow, he says: "Bring the cloak which I left at Troas", clearly showing that he was knowing coldness.

If you look among his writings and in his history, you accumulate a tremendous amount that points to his history of suffering, of trial, of adversity. In the end he says: "All they in Asia have turned away from me"; "Only Luke is with me."

Then we see what he had given up for that; see that for which this is the exchange from the human side. He tells us what his natural advantages were — how that he had a reason and occasion to boast more than any other.

[b]Paul’s Sacrifices[/b]

"If any man thinks to have confidence in the flesh, I yet more (more than any man): circumcised the eighth day (i.e., he was born a Jew; he was not a proselyte), of the stock of Israel (not a graft, but the original stock), of the tribe of Benjamin (After the name of the tribe, the next most distinguished name is that of Saul, the first king, who was of the tribe of Benjamin), a Hebrew of Hebrews: as touching the law, a Pharisee; as touching zeal, persecuting the Church.", (Philippians 3:4-6).

All of that represented position, advantage, influence, reputation — something in this world that provides a basis of honour and success, a name and a place among men. He had exchanged that for all this of which we have spoken and much more.

How does Paul feel about it? See the extremes in this man’s life: the extreme, on the one hand, of honour and earthly glory — that in which men pride themselves, that which from this world’s standpoint was to his advantage. It went a long way. On the other hand is the opposite extreme. Think of it! A man like that, standing out amongst men in a place of conspicuous honour and privilege and influence, yet beaten with rods, thrashed with a whip, flung into prison, stoned, and all the rest. How does he feel about the exchange? What is his attitude to the whole thing? At the end of a life like that, how does he sum it up?

"Rejoice in the Lord", rejoice, rejoice! You say: There is something behind these words! These are no empty words. Put a history, an experience, like that behind an utterance, and the utterance counts for something. It is amazing.

If we stayed long enough to meditate upon it, it is calculated to bring us down to our knees in shame. There is no complaining, no repining here; no saying: "I have given up everything (and it is a big 'everything') for Christ, and look what He has brought me to — see what I have got!" No! There is not a sound or a sign of complaining about it all.

If he says, "Sorrowing" (and he does), he immediately couples with it: "Yet always rejoicing." If he says, "As having nothing", immediately he says, "Possessing all things." If he says "As poor", he instantly says, "And yet making many rich." His attitude toward the whole thing is not one of complaint, but rather the opposite — glorying, rejoicing, and bidding others rejoice. Alone, forsaken, enemies all around, his lifework being torn to pieces by those enemies, universally suspected, all friends leaving him, alone in prison — rejoicing, glorying, exulting.

[b]The Excellence of Knowing Christ Jesus[/b]

This goes a long way beyond us. But what is the explanation? It is the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus. The knowledge of Christ — to know Christ as He may be known; to know Christ as He is open to be known; to know Christ as He desires to make Himself known; that is the explanation and Paul had come into that in large measure.

He is saying this, in other words: It is possible to know Christ in such a way that, although to begin with you may lose everything in this world that is precious in the eyes of men, you have something infinitely more; and to go on with, it is possible so to know Christ that no matter how many may be the forms of suffering, how deep may be the suffering, how inexplicable may be some experiences, how continuous — right on to the end — the adversity may be, yet that knowledge of Christ is something which keeps you above and well above so that you are not submerged. Although these mighty seas of sorrow and suffering and adversity may throw their weight against you, they break; they do not break you, they break on you. It is possible to know Christ like that. That is what he is saying, if we understand him aright.

Most of us will have to confess that too often the problem has shaken us; the suffering has brought clouds of questionings and doubts into our hearts; we have not stood up to it like this. But our object is not just to see Paul doing this thing, neither is it to measure ourselves to a disadvantage at the side of Paul; but it is to see that Paul’s Christ is our Christ, and what was possible to Paul is possible to us that Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever; He is a Christ who is knowable in exactly the same way that Paul knew Him.

[b]Christ as the Dynamic of Life[/b]

What is the way to this knowledge? On the one hand, there is our side, and I think the answer is: "For me to live is Christ." How will you know Christ in fulness? How will you know Him as He can be known: Only on this basis, that for you to live is Christ. What does that mean?

Paul went into Arabia for three years after he met Christ on the way to Damascus, and during those three years he had ample time in solitude to face the implications of his new relationship. For him it became perfectly clear in the course of three solitary years that it was going to cost him everything. All these issues were faced out then. For him it became simply and ultimately a matter of life and death. It meant this: Everything I have on this earth — in this world — has got to be held for the Lord, for Christ; and if, in the course of my relationship to Him, all or any of these things have got to go, then I settle that now. If it means suffering, persecution, and death itself, I come there now — I accept it all — so that for me to live will not be home, family, friends, reputation, acceptance, influence; but if it means none of these things at all — rather, the loss of all things — then the very motive of my being in this world will be none of these things, but only Christ, Christ the dynamic of life!

In other words Paul would say: "For me to be on this earth simply means Christ! I will accept with gratitude what He may give! If He gives something or allows me to retain something here, I will be grateful for it; but if all has to go, then it does not make any difference. Christ — and only Christ — is the object, the dynamic, the motive of my being on this earth!"

When we have settled things like that — when it is really brought to that conclusiveness of issue — that for us to live is Christ, then the Lord has a very open way to become everything to us. Is it not true in our case that too often our relationship to the Lord, our Christian life — our being Christians and being brought into difficulty, resulting in suffering has led us to stand still or draw back for a minute and say: "Ah, well, I did not expect that it would mean this! I do not know that I am prepared for that!" Something like that has very often happened with us, has it not? Suffering the loss of all things is easy language, but really only a man who has put everything once and for all into the balances can know Christ in fulness — utter fulness — and say: "I suffer the loss of all things for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ."

It just means this: the utterness of Christ to us requires our utterness for Him. If we are holding anything instead of Christ — apart from Christ, contrary to Christ — we are limiting our own knowledge of Christ.

That is one side — our side: "For me to live is Christ." We have failed — we have broken down in this matter. And yet our hearts are bent and set upon one thing (I trust they are)... that when we have passed this way, which we pass only once, the eternal verdict will be that our having lived was Christ. It is a solemn thing to bring into view: What is going to be the effect of my having passed this way? Unto what have I lived? What will the end of my life represent as the result of my years? What will eternity show — and what will time show — as to the value of my having gone this way?

When we are utterly for the Lord like that, it gives the Lord the opportunity of the other side — the divine side: [i]"The eyes of your understanding being enlightened... to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge... that God may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him."[/i]

I am sure that if the human side is right and there is utterness for the Lord, the divine side will be all right. But between the two there comes a test — there comes a point where the whole issue of life is focused upon one full-orbed decision: Am I going to be in this world with any interests of my own whatever, or is it going to be, no matter what it costs and what the way may be, just Christ? That is very often headed up in a practical test — not a mental test — and not whether the Lord asks us to say a thing... but to do it. Everything as to our knowledge of Christ in fulness hangs upon an act — sometimes one act that commits us.

We may recognise the implications: ostracism, persecution, defaming, misrepresentation, suspicion, loss of influence, loss of reputation, loss of place — launched out in a way in which comparatively few will go with us and in which we shall be misunderstood. That may be the way of the challenge of the Lord and of His highest interests. The question is: Are we going to stand back and say, "No, I cannot go that way"? Or is it going to be: "For me to live is Christ"? If so, and we put that into the required act, we shall know the excellency of Christ and have the most excellent knowledge of Christ — Christ excelling. May it be so with all of us."

Danielle, I posted somewhere on here yesterday, that since I've been 'back' on line for the fourth time in 5 years, already my view is being "clouded".

It is you that I need to Thank, for your vision through poems.

You are the one who has cleaned my lens and brought me back to my senses.

I've wanted to post your poems to this thread but I can tell all to go to Devotional Thoughts and read them.

Also just posted on Pastorfrin's thread today about these poems and those of others on the Devotional Thoughts section.

You are Heaven sent to SI Broken one.

Bless you for helping me to 'see' afresh & again. {tear}

with my heart. annie

Advocate: 1 John 2:1
Lamb of God: John 1:29
The Resurrection & The Life: John 11:25
Shepherd & Bishop of Souls: 1 Peter 2:25
Judge: Acts 10:42
Lord of Lords: 1 Timothy 6:15
Man of Sorrows: Isaiah 53:3
Head of the Church: Eph 5:23
Master: Matt 8:19
Faithful & True Witness: Rev 3:14
Rock: 1 Cor 10:4
High Priest: Heb 6:20
The Door: John 10:9
Living Water: John 4:10
Bread of Life: John 6:35
Rose of Sharon: Song of Solomon 2:1
Alpha & Omega: Rev 22:13
True Vine: John 15:1
Messiah: Daniel 9:25
Teacher: John 3:2
Holy One: Mark 1:24
Mediator: 1 Tim 2:5
The Beloved: Eph 1:6
Branch: Isaiah 11:1
Carpenter: Mark 6:3
Good Shepherd: John 10:11
Light of the World: John 8:12
Image of the Invisible God: Col 1:15
The Word: John 1:1
Chief Cornerstone: Eph 2:20
Savior: John 4:42
Servant: Matt 12:18
Author& Finisher of our Faith: Heb 12:2
The Almighty: Rev 1:8
Everlasting Father: Isaiah 9:6
Shiloh: Gen 49:10
Lion of the Tribe of Judah: Rev 5:5
I AM: John 8:58
King of Kings: 1 Tim 6:15
Prince of Peace: Isaiah 9:6
Bridegroom: Matt 9:15
Only Begotten Son: John 3:16
Wonderful Counselor: Isaiah 9:6
Immanuel: Matt 1:23
Son of Man: Matt 20:28
Dayspring: Luke 1:78
The Amen: Rev 3:14
King of the Jews: Mark 15:26
Prophet: Matt 21:11
Redeemer: Job 19:25
Anchor: Heb 6:19
Bright Morning Star: Rev 22:16
The Way The Truth & The Life: John 14:6

Moe_Mac brother ~ EE-YESSS ! THANK YOU BROTHER!!!

I LOVE those type posts. Thrice Holy !!!

PRAISE THE LIVING LAMB.

Praise GOD. Thank you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danielle, I can't PM you to tell you this deeply kept secret --- but every post I do on here or ever did on here, I TREMBLE.

May it always be that way for us dear sister.

Nobody has to know but us. ;-)

Watchman Nee said, The only thing we need to fear is our own flesh.

If I don't remember another thing, that stuck in me like an arrow almost 30 years ago.

And I mean I tremble. No Joke.

Bless you dear sister and Thank you for trembling along with me. I Thank GOD you do with all of your posts ... they've had their affect.

Two shakey sisters ~ HA !

Don't forget, don't tell anybody. :-D

[b]THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JESUS THE MESSIAH
by Alfred Edersheim, D. D., Ph. D.

Book II - Chapter V.
What Messiah Did the Jews Expect?[/b]

It were an extremely narrow, and, indeed, false view, to regard the difference between Judaism and Christianity as confined to the question of the fulfillment of certain prophecies in Jesus of Nazareth. These predictions could only outline individual features in the Person and history of the Messiah. It is not thus that a likeness is recognised, but rather by the combination of the various features into a unity, and by the expression which gives it meaning. So far as we can gather from the Gospel narratives, no objection was ever taken to the fulfillment of individual prophecies in Jesus. But the general conception which the Rabbis had formed of the Messiah, differed totally from what was presented by the Prophet of Nazareth. Thus, what is the fundamental divergence between the two may be said to have existed long before the events which finally divided them. It is the combination of letters which constitute words, and the same letters may be combined into different words. Similarly, both Rabbinism and - what, by anticipation, we designate - Christianity might reward the same predictions as Messianic, and look for their fulfillment; while at the same time the Messianic ideal of the Synagogue might be quite other than that, to which the faith and hope of the Church have clung.

1. The most important point here is to keep in mind the organic unity of the Old Testament. Its predictions are not isolated, but features of one grand prophetic picture; its ritual and institutions parts of one great system; its history, not loosely connected events, but an organic development tending towards a definite end. Viewed in its innermost substance, the history of the Old Testament is not different from its typical institutions, nor yet these two from its predictions. The idea, underlying all, is God’s gracious manifestation in the world - the Kingdom of God; the meaning of all - the establishment of this Kingdom upon earth. That gracious purpose was, so to speak, individualized, and the Kingdom actually established in the Messiah. Both the fundamental and the final relationship in view was that of God towards man, and of man towards God: the former as expressed by the word Father the latter by that of Servant - or rather the combination of the two ideas: ‘Son-Servant.’ This was already implied in the so-called Protevangel; and in this sense also the words of Jesus hold true: ‘Before Abraham came into being, I am.’
But, narrowing our survey to where the history of the Kingdom of God begins with that of Abraham, it was indeed as Jesus said: ‘Your father Abraham rejoiced that he should see My day, and he saw it, and was glad.’ For, all that followed from Abraham to the Messiah was one, and bore this twofold impress: heavenwards, that of Son; earthwards, that of Servant. Israel was God’s Son - His ‘firstborn;’ their history that of the children of God; their institutions those of the family of God; their predictions those of the household of God. And Israel was also the Servant of God - ‘Jacob My Servant;’ and its history, institutions, and predictions those of the Servant of the Lord. Yet not merely Servant, but Son-Servant - ‘anointed’ to such service. This idea was, so to speak, crystallised in the three great representative institutions of Israel. The ‘Servant of the Lord’ in relation to Israel’s history was Kingship in Israel; the ‘Servant of the Lord’ in relation to Israel’s ritual ordinances was the Priesthood in Israel; the ‘Servant of the Lord’ in relation to prediction was the Prophetic order. But all sprang from the same fundamental idea: that of the ‘Servant of Jehovah.’

One step still remains. The Messiah and His history are not presented in the Old Testament as something separate from, or superadded to, Israel. The history, the institutions, and the predictions of Israel run up into Him. He is the typical Israelite, nay, typical Israel itself - alike the crown, the completion, and the representative of Israel. He is the Son of God and the Servant of the Lord; but in that highest and only true sense, which had given its meaning to all the preparatory development. As He was ‘anointed’ to be the ‘Servant of the Lord,’ not with the typical oil, but ‘the Spirit of Jehovah’ ‘upon’ Him, so was He also the ‘Son’ in a unique sense. His organic connection with Israel is marked by the designations ‘Seed of Abraham’ and ‘Son of David,’ while at the same time He was essentially, what Israel was subordinately and typically: Thou art My Son - this day have I begotten Thee.’ Hence also, in strictest truthfulness, the Evangelist could apply to the Messiah what referred to Israel, and see it fulfilled in His history: ‘Out of Egypt have I called my Son.’ And this other correlate idea, of Israel as ‘the Servant of the Lord,’ is also fully concentrated in the Messiah as the Representative Israelite, so that the Book of Isaiah, as the series of predictions in which His picture is most fully outlined, might be summarised as that concerning ‘the Servant of Jehovah.’ Moreover, the Messiah, as Representative Israelite, combined in Himself as ‘the Servant of the Lord’ the three-fold office of Prophet, Priest, and King, and joined together the two ideas of ‘Son’ and ‘Servant.’ And the final combination and full exhibition of these two ideas was the fulfillment of the typical mission of Israel, and the establishment of the Kingdom of God among men.

Thus, in its final, as in its initial, stage it was the establishment of the Kingdom of God upon earth - brought about by the ‘Servant’ of the Lord, Who was to stricken humanity the God-sent ‘Anointed Comforter’ (mashiaḥ hamenaḥem): in this twofold sense of ‘Comforter’ of individuals (‘the friend of sinners’), and ‘Comforter’ of Israel and of the world, reconciling the two, and bringing to both eternal salvation. And here the mission of Israel ended. It had passed through three stages. The first, or historical, was the preparation of the Kingdom of God; the second, or ritual, the typical presentation of that Kingdom; while the third, or prophetic, brought that Kingdom into actual contact with the kingdoms of the world. Accordingly, it is during the latter that the designation ‘Son of David’ (typical Israel) enlarged in the visions of Daniel into that of ‘Son of Man’ (the Head of redeemed humanity). It were a onesided view to regard the Babylonish exile as only a punishment for Israel’s sin. There is, in truth, nothing in all God’s dealings in history exclusively punitive. That were a merely negative element. But there is always a positive element also of actual progress; a step forward, even though in the taking of it something should have to be crushed. And this step forward was the development of the idea of the Kingdom of God in its relation to the world.

2. This organic unity of Israel and the Messiah explains how events, institutions, and predictions, which initially were purely Israelitish, could with truth be regarded as finding their full accomplishment in the Messiah. From this point of view the whole Old Testament becomes the perspective in which the figure of the Messiah stands out. And perhaps the most valuable element in Rabbinic commentation on Messianic times is that in which, as so frequently, it is explained, that all the miracles and deliverances of Israel’s past would be re-enacted, only in a much wider manner, in the days of the Messiah. Thus the whole past was symbolic, and typical of the future - the Old Testament the glass through which the universal blessings of the latter days were seen. It is in this sense that we would understand the two sayings of the Talmud: ‘All the prophets prophesied only of the days of the Messiah,’ and ‘The world was created only for the Messiah.’

In accordance with all this, the ancient Synagogue found references to the Messiah in many more passages of the Old Testament than those verbal predictions, to which we generally appeal; and the latter formed (as in the New Testament) a proportionately small, and secondary, element in the conception of the Messianic era. This is fully borne out by a detailed analysis of those passages in the Old Testament to which the ancient Synagogue referred as Messianic. Their number amounts to upwards of 456 (75 from the Pentateuch, 243 from the Prophets, and 138 from the Hagiographa), and their Messianic application is supported by more than 558 references to the most ancient Rabbinic writings. But comparatively few of these are what would be termed verbal predictions. Rather would it seem as if every event were regarded as prophetic, and every prophecy, whether by fact, or by word (prediction), as a light to cast its sheen on the future, until the picture of the Messianic age in the far back-ground stood out in the hundredfold variegated brightness of prophetic events, and prophetic utterances; or, as regarded the then state of Israel, till the darkness of their present night was lit up by a hundred constellations kindling in the sky overhead, and its lonely silence broken by echoes of heavenly voices, and strains of prophetic hymns borne on the breeze.
Of course, there was the danger that, amidst these dazzling lights, or in the crowd of figures each so attractive, or else in the absorbing interest of the general picture, the grand central Personality should not engage the attention it claimed, and so the meaning of the whole be lost in the contemplation of its details. This danger was the greater from the absence of any deeper spiritual elements. All that Israel needed: ‘study of the Law and good works,’ lay within the reach of every one; and all that Israel hoped for, was national restoration and glory. Everything else was but means to these ends; the, Messiah Himself only the grand instrument in attaining them. Thus viewed, the picture presented would be of Israel’s exaltation, rather than of the salvation of the world. To this, and to the idea of Israel’s exclusive spiritual position in the world, must be traced much, that otherwise would seem utterly irrational in the Rabbinic pictures of the latter days. But in such a picture there would be neither room nor occasion for a Messiah-Saviour, in the only sense in which such a heavenly mission could be rational, or the heart of humanity respond to it. The Rabbinic ideal of the Messiah was not that of ‘a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the Glory of His people Israel’ - the satisfaction of the wants of humanity, and the completion of Israel’s mission - but quite different, even to contrariety. Accordingly, there was a fundamental antagonism between the Rabbis and Christ, quite irrespective the manner in which He carried out His Messianic work. On the other hand, it is equally noteworthy that the purely national elements, which well nigh formed the sum total of Rabbinic expectation, scarcely entered into the teaching of Jesus about the Kingdom of God. And the more we realise, that Jesus so fundamentally separated himself from all the ideas of His time, the more evidential is it of the fact, that He was not the Messiah of Jewish conception, but derived His mission from a source unknown to, or at least ignored by, the leaders of His people.

3. But still as the Rabbinic ideas were at least based on the Old Testament, we need not wonder that they also embodied the chief features of the Messianic history. Accordingly, a careful perusal of their Scripture quotations shows, that the main postulates of the New Testament concerning the Messiah are fully supported by Rabbinic statements. Thus, such doctrines as the pre-mundane existence of the Messiah; His elevation above Moses, and even above the Angels; His representative character: His cruel sufferings and derision; His violent death, and that for His people; His work on behalf of the living and of the dead; His redemption, and restoration of Israel; the opposition of the Gentiles; their partial judgment and conversion; the prevalence of His Law; the universal blessings of the latter days; and His Kingdom - can be clearly deduced from unquestioned passages in ancient Rabbinic writings. Only, as we might expect, all is there indistinct, incoherent, unexplained, and from a much lower standpoint. At best, it is the lower stage of yet unfulfilled prophecy - the haze when the sun is about to rise, not the blaze when it has risen. Most painfully is this felt in connection with the one element on which the New Testament most insists. There is, indeed, in Rabbinic writings frequent reference to the sufferings, and even the death of the Messiah, and these are brought into connection with our sins - as how could it be otherwise in view of Isa_53:1-12 and other passages - and in one most remarkable comment the Messiah is represented as willingly taking upon Himself all these sufferings, on condition that all Israel - the living, the dead, and those yet unborn - should be saved, and that, in consequence of His work, God and Israel should be reconciled, and Satan cast into hell. But there is only the most indistinct reference to the removal of sin by the Messiah, in the sense of vicarious sufferings.

In connection with what has been stated, one most important point must be kept in view. So far as their opinions can be gathered from their writings, the great doctrines of Original Sin, and of the Sinfulness of our whole nature, were not held by the ancient Rabbis. Of course, it is not meant that they denied the consequences of sin, either as concerned Adam himself, or his descendants; but the final result is far from that seriousness which attaches to the Fall in the New Testament, where it is presented as the basis of the need of a Redeemer, Who, as the Second Adam, restored what the first had lost. The difference is so fundamental as to render further explanation necessary.

The fall of Adam is ascribed to the envy of the Angels - not the fallen ones, for none were fallen, till God cast them down in consequence of their seduction of man. The Angels, having in vain tried to prevent the creation of man, at last conspired to lead him into sin as the only means of his ruin - the task being undertaken by samael (and his Angels), who in many respects was superior to the other Angelic princes. The instrument employed was, the serpent, of whose original condition the strangest legends are told, probably to make the Biblical narrative appear more rational. The details of the story of the Fall, as told by the Rabbis, need not be here repeated, save to indicate its consequences. The first of these was the withdrawal of the shekhinah from earth to the first heaven, while subsequent sins successively led to its further removal to the seventh heaven. This, however, can scarcely be considered a permanent sequel of sin, since the good deeds of seven righteous men, beginning with Abraham, brought it again, in the time of Moses, to earth. Six things Adam is said to have lost by his sin; but even these are to be restored to man by the Messiah. That the physical death of Adam was the consequence of his sin, is certainly taught. Otherwise he would have lived forever, like Enoch and Elijah. But although the fate which overtook Adam was to rest on all the world, and death came not only on our first father but on his descendants, and all creation lost its perfectness, yet even these temporal sequences are not universally admitted. It rather seems taught, that death was intended to be the fate of all, or sent to show the folly of men claiming Divine worship, or to test whether piety was real, the more so that with death the weary struggle with our evil inclination ceased. It was needful to die when our work was done, that others might enter upon it. In each case death was the consequence of our own, not of Adam’s sin. In fact, over these six - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam - the Angel of Death had had no absolute power. Nay, there was a time when all Israel were not only free from death, but like the Angels, and even higher than they. For, originally God had offered the Law to all Gentile nations, but they had refused to submit to it. But when Israel took on themselves the Law at Mount Sinai, the description in Psa_82:6 applied literally to them. They would not have died, and were ‘the sons of God.’ But all this was lost by the sin of making the golden calf - although the Talmud marks that, if Israel had continued in that Angelic state, the nation would have ceased with that generation. Thus there were two divergent opinions - the one ascribing death to personal, the other tracing it to Adam’s guilt.

When, however, we pass from the physical to the moral sequences of the fall, our Jewish authorities wholly fail us. They teach, that man is created with two inclinations - that to evil (the yeṣer hara), and that to good; the first working in him from the beginning, the latter coming gradually in the course of time. Yet, so far from guilt attaching to the yeṣer hara, its existence is absolutely necessary, if the world is to continue. In fact, as the Talmud expressly teaches, the evil desire or impulse was created by God Himself; while it is also asserted that, on seeing the consequences, God actually repented having done so. This gives quite another character to sin, as due to causes for which no blame attaches to man. On the other hand, as it is in the power of each wholly to overcome sin, and to gain life by study and works; as Israel at Mount Sinai had actually got rid of the yeṣer hara: and as there had been those, who were entirely righteous, - there scarcely remains any moral sequence of Adam’s fall to be considered. Similarly, the Apocrypha are silent on the subject, the only exception being the very strong language used in 2 Esdras, which dates after the Christian era.

4. In the absence of felt need of deliverance from sin, we can understand, how Rabbinic tradition found no place for the Priestly office of the Messiah, and how even His claims to be the Prophet His people are almost entirely overshadowed by His appearance as their King and Deliverer. This, indeed, was the ever-present want, pressing the more heavily as Israel’s national sufferings seemed almost inexplicable, while they contrasted so sharply with the glory expected by the Rabbis. Whence these sufferings? From sin - national sin; the idolatry of former times; the prevalence of crimes and vices; the dereliction of God’s ordinances; the neglect of instruction, of study, and of proper practice of His Law; and, in later days, the love of money and party strife. But the seventy years’ captivity had ceased, why not the present dispersion? Because hypocrisy had been added to all other sins; because there had not been proper repentance; because of the half-heartedness of the Jewish proselytes; because of improper marriages, and other evil customs; and because of the gross dissoluteness of certain cities. The consequences appeared not only in the political condition of Israel, but in the land itself, in the absence of rain and dew, of fruitfulness and of plenty; in the general disorder of society; the cessation of piety and of religious study; and the silence of prophecy. As significantly summed up, Israel was without Priesthood, without law, without God. Nay, the world itself suffered in consequence of the destruction of the Temple. In a very remarkable passage where it is explained, that the seventy bullocks offered during the Feast of Tabernacles were for the nations of the world, R. Jochanan deplores their fate, since while the Temple had stood the altar had atoned for the Gentiles, but who was now to do so? The light, which had shone from out the Temple windows, into the world, had been extinguished. Indeed, but for the intercession of the Angels the world would now be destroyed. In the poetic language of the time, the heavens, sun, moon and stars, trees and mountains, even the Angels, mourned over the desolation of the Temple, and the very Angelic hosts had since been diminished. But, though the Divine Presence had been withdrawn, it still lingered near His own; it had followed them in all their banishments; it had suffered with them in all their sorrows. It is a touching legend, which represents the shekhinah as still lingering over the western wall of the Temple - the only one supposed to be still standing. Nay, in language still bolder, and which cannot be fully reproduced, God Himself is represented as mourning over Jerusalem and the Temple. He has not entered His Palace since then, and His hair is wet with the dew. He weeps over His children and their desolateness, and displays in the heavens tokens of mourning, corresponding to those which an earthly monarch would show.
All this is to be gloriously set right, when the Lord turneth the captivity of Zion, and the Messiah cometh. But when may He be expected, and what are the signs of His coming? Or perhaps the question should thus be put: Why are the redemption of Israel and the coming of the Messiah so unaccountably delayed? It is here that the Synagogue finds itself in presence of an insoluble mystery. The explanations attempted are, confessedly, guesses, or rather attempts to evade the issue. The only course left is, authoritatively to impose silence on all such inquiries - the silence, as they would put it, of implicit, mournful submission to the inexplicable, in faith that somehow, when least expected, deliverance would come; or, as we would put it, the silence of ever-recurring disappointment and despair. Thus the grand hope of the Synagogue is, as it were, written in an epitaph on a broken tombstone, to be repeated by the thousands who, for these long centuries, have washed the ruins of the Sanctuary with unavailing tears.

5. Why delayeth the Messiah His coming? Since the brief and broken sunshine of the days of Ezra, and Nehemiah, the sky over-head has ever grown darker, nor have even the terrible storms, which have burst over Israel, reft the canopy of cloud. The first captivity passed, why not the second? This is the painful question ever and again discussed by the Rabbis. Can they mean it seriously, that the sins of the second, are more grievous than those which caused the first dispersion; or that they of the first captivity repented, but not they of the second? What constitutes this repentance which yet remains to be made? But the reasoning becomes absolutely self-contradictory when, together with the assertion that, if Israel repented but one day, the Messiah would come, we are told, that Israel will not repent till Elijah comes. Besides, bold as the language is, there is truth in the expostulation, which the Midrash puts into the mouth of the congregation of Israel: ‘Lord of the world, it depends on Thee that we repent.’ Such truth, that, although at first the Divine reply is a repetition of Zec_1:3, yet, when Israel reiterates the words, ‘Turn Thou us unto Thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned,’ supporting them by Psa_85:4, the argument proves unanswerable.
Other conditions of Israel’s deliverance are, indeed, mentioned. But we can scarcely regard the Synagogue as seriously making the coming of Messiah dependent on their realisation. Among the most touching of these is a beautiful passage (almost reminding us of Heb xi.), in which Israel’s future deliverance is described as the reward of faith. Similarly beautiful is the thought, that, when God redeems Israel, it will be amidst their weeping. But neither can this be regarded as the condition of Messiah’s coming; nor yet such generalities as the observance of the Law, or of some special commandments. The very variety of suggestions shows, how utterly unable the Synagogue felt to indicate any condition to be fulfilled by Israel. Such vague statements, as that the salvation of Israel depended on the merits of the patriarchs, or on that of one of them, cannot help us to a solution; and the long discussion in the Talmud leaves no doubt, that the final and most sober opinion was, that the time of Messiah’s coming depended not on repentance, nor any other condition, but on the mercy of God, when the time fixed had arrived. But even so, we are again thrown into doubt by the statement, that it might be either hastened or retarded by Israel’s bearing!
In these circumstances, any attempt at determining the date of Messiah’s coming would be even more hypothetical than such calculations generally are. Guesses on the subject could only be grounded on imaginary symbolisms. Of such we have examples in the Talmud. Thus, some fixed the date at 4000 years after the Creation - curiously enough, about the era of Christ - though Israel’s sin had blotted out the whole past from the reckoning; others at 4291 from the Creation; others again expected it at the beginning, or end, of the eighty-fifth Jubilee - with this proviso, that it would not take place earlier; and so on, through equally groundless conjectures. A comparatively late work speaks of five monarchies - Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and Ishmael. During the last of these God would hear the cry of Israel, and the Messiah come, after a terrible war between Rome and Ishmael (the West and the East). But as the rule of these monarchies was to last altogether one day (=1000 years), less two-thirds of an hour (1 hour = 83½years), it would follow, that their domination would last 944 4/9 years. Again, according to Jewish tradition, the rule of Babylon had lasted 70, that of Medo-Persia 34, and that of Greece 180 years, leaving 660 4/9 years for Rome and Ishmael. Thus the date for the expected Advent of the Messiah would have been about 661 after the destruction of Jerusalem, or about the year 729 of the Christian era.
In the category of guesses we must also place such vague statements, as that the Messiah would come, when all were righteous, or all wicked; or else nine months after the empire of Rome had extended over the whole world; or when all the souls, predestined to inhabit bodies, had been on earth. But as, after years of unrelieved sufferings, the Synagogue had to acknowledge that, one by one, all the terms had passed, and as despair settled on the heart of Israel, it came to be generally thought, that the time of Messiah’s Advent could not be known beforehand, and that speculation on the subject was dangerous, sinful even damnable. The time of the end had, indeed, been revealed to two sons of Adam, Jacob and David; but neither of them had been allowed to make it known. In view of this, it can scarcely be regarded as more than a symbolical, though significant guess, when the future redemption of Israel is expected on the Paschal Day, the 15th of Nisan.
6. We now approach this most difficult and delicate question: What was the expectation of the ancient Synagogue, as regarded the Nature, Person, and qualifications of the Messiah? In answering it - not at present from the Old Testament, but from the views expressed in Rabbinic literature, and, so far as we can gather from the Gospel-narratives, from those cherished by the contemporaries of Christ - two inferences seem evident. First, the idea of a Divine Personality, and of the union of the two Natures in the Messiah, seems to have been foreign to the Jewish auditory of Jesus of Nazareth, and even at first to His disciples. Secondly, they appear to have regarded the Messiah as far above the ordinary human, royal, prophetic, an even Angelic type, to such extent, that the boundary-line, separating it from Divine Personality is of the narrowest, so that, when the conviction of the reality of the Messianic manifestation in Jesus burst on their minds, this boundary-line was easily, almost naturally overstepped, and those who would have shrunk from framing their belief in such dogmatic form, readily owned and worshipped wonder at this, even taking the highest view of Old Testament prophecy. For here also the principle applies, which underlies one of St. Paul’s most wide-reaching utterances: ‘We prophesy in part’ (ἑκ μέρους προφητεύομεν). In the nature of it, all prophecy presents but disjecta membra, and it almost seems, as if we had to take our stand in the prophet’s valley of vision (Eze 37), waiting till, at the bidding of the Lord,the scattered bones should be joined into a body, to which the breath of the Spirit would give life.
These two inferences, derived from the Gospel-narratives, are in exact accordance with the whole line of ancient Jewish teaching. Beginning with the LXX. rendering of Gen_49:10, and especially of Num_24:7, Num_24:17, we gather, that the Kingdom of the Messiah was higher than any that is earthly, and destined to subdue them all. But the rendering of Psa_72:5, Psa_72:7; Psa_110:3; and especially of Isa_9:2 carries us much farther. They convey the idea, that the existence of this Messiah was regarded as premundane (before the moon, before the morning-star), and eternal, and His Person and dignity as superior to that of men and Angels: ‘the Angel of the Great Council,’ probably ‘the Angel of the Face’ - a view fully confirmed by the rendering of the Targum. The silence of the Apocrypha about the Person of the Messiah is so strange, as to be scarcely explained by the consideration, that those books were composed when the need of a Messiah for the deliverance of Israel was not painfully felt. All the more striking are the allusions in the Pseudepigraphic Writings, although these also do not carry us beyond our two inferences. Thus, the third book of the Sibylline Oracles - which, with few exceptions, dates from more than a century and a half before Christ - presents a picture of Messianic times, generally admitted to have formed the basis of Virgil’s description of the Golden Age, and of similar heathen expectations. In these Oracles, 170 years before Christ, the Messiah is ‘the King sent from heaven’ who would ‘judge every man in blood and splendour of fire.’ Similarly, the vision of Messianic times opens with a reference to ‘the King Whom God will send from the sun. That a superhuman Kingdom of eternal duration, such as this vision paints, should have a superhuman King, seems almost a necessary corollary.
Even more distinct are the statements in the so-called ‘Book of Enoch.’ Critics are substantially agreed, that the oldest part of it dates from between 150 and 130 b.c. The part next in date is full of Messianic allusions; but, as a certain class of modern writers has ascribed to it a post-Christian date, and, however ungrounded, to Christian authorship, it may be better not to refer to it in the present argument, the more so as we have other testimony from the time of Herod. Not to speak, therefore, of such peculiar designations of the Messiah as ‘the Woman’s Son,’ ‘the Son of Man,’ ‘the Elect,’ and ‘the Just One,’ we mark that the Messiah is expressly designate in the oldest portion as ‘the Son of God’ (‘I and My Son’). That this implies, not, indeed, essential Sonship, but infinite superiority over all other servants of God, and rule over them, appears from the mystic description of the Messiah as ‘the first of the [now changed] white bulls,’ the great Animal among them, having great and black horns on His head’ - Whom ‘all the beasts of the field and all the fowls of heaven dread and to Whom they cry at all times.’
Still more explicit is that beautiful collection of eighteen Psalms, dating from about half a century before Christ, which bears the name of ‘the Psalter of Solomon.’ A chaste anticipation of the Messianic Kingdom is followed by a full description of its need and its blessings, to which the concluding Psalm forms an apt epilogue. The King Who reigns is of the house of David. He is the Son of David, Who comes at the time known to God only, to reign over Israel. He is a righteous King, taught of God. He is Christ the Lord (Χριστὸς Κύριος, exactly as in the LXX. translation of Lam_4:20). ‘He is pure from sin,’ which qualifies Him for ruling His people, and banishing sinners by His word. ‘Never in His days will He be infirm towards His God, since God renders Him strong in the Holy Ghost,’ wise in counsel, with might and righteousness (‘mighty in deed and word’). The blessing of the Lord being upon Him, He does not fail. ‘This is the beauty of the King of Israel Whom God hath chosen, to set Him over the house of Israel to rule it.’ Thus invincible, not by outward might, but in His God, He will bring His people the blessings of restoration to their tribal possessions, and of righteousness, but break in pieces His enemies, not by outward weapons, but by the word of His mouth; purify Jerusalem, and judge the nations, who will be subject to His rule, and behold and own His glory. Manifestly, this is not an earthly Kingdom, nor yet an earthly King.
If we now turn to works dating after the Christian era, we would naturally expect them, either simply to reproduce earlier opinions, or, from opposition to Christ, to present the Messiah in a less exalted manner. But since, strange to say, they even more strongly assert the high dignity of the Messiah, we are warranted in regarding this as the rooted belief of the Synagogue. This estimate of the Messiah may be gathered from 4 Esdras, with which the kindred picture of the Messiah and His reign in the Apocalypse of Baruch may be compared. But even in strictly Rabbinic documents, the premundane, if not the eternal existence of the Messiah appears as matter of common belief. Such is the view expressed in the Targum on Isa_9:6, and in that on Mic_5:2. But the Midrash on Pro_8:9 expressly mentions the Messiah among the seven things created before the world. The passage is the more important, as it throws light on quite a series of others, in which the Name of the Messiah is said to have been created before the world. Even if this were an ideal conception, it would prove the Messiah to be elevated above the ordinary conditions of humanity. But it means much more than this since not only the existence of the Messiah long before His actual appearance, but His premundane state are clearly taught in other places. In the Talmud it is not only implied, that the Messiah may already be among the living, but a strange story is related, according to which He had actually been born in the royal palace at Bethlehem, bore the name menaḥem (Comforter), was discovered by one R. Judan through a peculiar device, but had been carried away by a storm. Similarly, the Babylon Talmud represents Him as sitting at the gate of Imperial Rome. In general, the idea of the Messiah’s appearance and concealment is familiar to Jewish tradition. But the Rabbis go much farther back, and declare that from the time of Judah’s marriage, ‘God busied Himself with creating the light of the Messiah,’ it being significantly added that, ‘before the first oppressor [Pharaoh] was born, the final deliverer [Messiah, the son of David] was already born.’ In another passage the Messiah is expressly identified with anani, and therefore represented as pre-existent long before his actual manifestation. The same inference may be drawn from His emphatic designation as the First. Lastly in Yalkut on Isa lx., the words ‘In Thy light shall we see light’ (Psa_36:9) are, explained as meaning, that this is the light of the Messiah, - the same which God had at the first pronounced to be very good, and which, before the world was created, He had hid beneath the throne of His glory for the Messiah and His age. When Satan asked for whom it was reserved, he was told that it was destined for Him Who would put him to shame, and destroy him. And when, at his request, he was shown the Messiah, he fell on his face and owned, that the Messiah would in the future cast him and the Gentiles into Gehenna. Whatever else may be informed from it, this passage clearly implies not only the pre-existence, but the premundane existence of the Messiah.
But, indeed, it carries us much farther. For, a Messiah, pre-existent, in the Presence of God, and destined to subdue Satan and cast him into hell, could not have been regarded as an ordinary man. It is indeed true that, as the history of Elijah, so that of the Messiah is throughout compared with that of Moses, the ‘first’ with ‘the last Redeemer.’ As Moses was educated at the court of Pharaoh, so the Messiah dwells in Rome (or Edom) among His enemies. Like Moses He comes, withdraws, and comes again. Like Moses He works deliverance. But here the analogy ceases, for, whereas the redemption by Moses was temporary and comparatively small, that of the Messiah would be eternal and absolute. All the marvels connected with Moses were to be intensified in the Messiah. The ass on which the Messiah would ride - and this humble estate was only caused by Israel’s sin - would be not only that on which Moses had come back to Egypt, but also that which Abraham had used when he went to offer up Isaac, and which had been specially created on the eve of the world’s first Sabbath. Similarly, the horns of the ram caught in the thicket, which was offered instead of Isaac, were destined for blowing - the left one by the Almighty on Mount Sinai, the right and larger one by the Messiah, when He would gather the outcasts of Israel (Isa_27:13). Again, the ‘rod’ of the Messiah was that of Aaron, which had budded, blossomed, and burst into fruit; as also that on which Jacob had leaned, and which, through Judah, had passed to all the kings of Israel, till the destruction of the Temple. And so the principle that ‘the later Deliverer would be like the first’ was carried into every detail. As the first Deliverer brought down the Manna, so the Messiah; as the first Deliverer had made a spring of water to rise, so would the second.

But even this is not all. That the Messiah had, without any instruction, attained to knowledge of God; and that He had received, directly from Him, all wisdom, knowledge, counsel, and grace, is comparatively little, since the same was claimed for Abraham, Job, and Hezekiah. But we are told that, when God showed Moses all his successors, the spirit of wisdom and knowledge in the Messiah equalled that of all the others together. The Messiah would be greater than the Patriarchs,’ higher than Moses, and even loftier than the ministering Angels. In view of this we can understand, how the Midrash on Psa_21:3 should apply to the Messiah, in all its literality, that ‘God would set His own crown on His head,’ and clothe Him with His ‘honour and majesty.’ It is only consistent that the same Midrash should assign to the Messiah the Divine designations: ‘Jehovah is a Man of War,’ and ‘Jehovah our Righteousness.’ One other quotation, from perhaps the most spiritual Jewish commentary, must be added, reminding us of that outburst of adoring wonder which once greeted Jesus of Nazareth. The passage first refers to the seven garments with which God successively robed Himself - the first of ‘honour and glory,’ at creation; the second of ‘majesty,’ at the Red Sea; the third of ‘strength,’ at the giving of the Law; the fourth ‘white,’ when He blotteth out the sins of Israel: the fifth of ‘zeal,’ when He avengeth them of their enemies; the sixth of ‘righteousness,’ at the time when the Messiah should be revealed; and the seventh ‘red,’ when He would take vengeance on Edom (Rome). ‘But,’ continues the commentary, ‘the garment with which in the future He will clothe the Messiah, its splendour will extend from one end of the world to the other, as it is written: “As a bridegroom priestly in headgear.” And Israel are astounded at His light, and say: Blessed the hour in which the Messiah was created; blessed the womb whence He issued; blessed the generation that sees Him; blessed the eye that is worthy to behold Him; because the opening of His lips is blessing and peace, and His speech quieting of the spirit. Glory and majesty are in His appearance (vesture), and confidence and tranquillity in His words; and on His tongue compassion and forgiveness; His prayer is a sweet-smelling odour, and His supplication holiness and purity.

Happy Israel, what is reserved for you! Thus it is written: “How manifold is Thy goodness, which Thou hast reserved to them that fear Thee.”’ Such a King Messiah might well be represented as sitting at the Right Hand of God, while Abraham was only at His left; nay, as throwing forth His Right Hand, while God stood up to war for Him.
It is not without hesitation, that we make reference to Jewish allusions to the miraculous birth of the Saviour. Yet there are two expressions, which convey the idea, if not of superhuman origin, yet of some great mystery attaching to His birth. The first occurs in connection with the birth of Seth. ‘Rabbi Tanchuma said, in the name of Rabbi Samuel: Eve had respect [had regard, looked forward] to that Seed which is to come from another place. And who is this? This is Messiah the King.’ The second appears in the narrative of the crime of Lot’s daughters: It is not written, “that we may preserve a son from our father,” but “seed from our father.” This is that seed which is coming from another place. ‘And who is this? This is the King Messiah.’

That a superhuman character attached, if not to the Personality, yet to the Mission of the Messiah, appears from three passages, in which the expression, ‘The Spirit of the Lord moved upon the face of the deep,’ is thus paraphrased: ‘This is the Spirit of the King Messiah.’ Whether this implies some activity of the Messiah in connection with creation, or only that, from the first, His Mission was to have a bearing on all creation, it elevates His character and work above every other agency, human or Angelic. And, without pressing the argument, it is at least very remarkable that even the Ineffable Name Jehovah is expressly attributed to the Messiah. The fact becomes the more significant, when we recall that one of the most familiar names of the Messiah was anani - He Who cometh in the clouds of heaven.
In what has been stated, no reference has been made to the final conquests of Messiah, to His reign with all its wonders, or to the subdual of all nations - in short, to what are commonly called ‘the last things.’ This will be treated in another connection. Nor is it contended that, whatever individuals may have expected, the Synagogue taught the doctrine of the Divine Personality of the Messiah, as held by the Christian Church. On the other hand, the cumulative evidence just presented must leave on the mind at least this conviction, that the Messiah expected was far above the conditions of the most exalted of God’s servants, even His Angels; in short, so closely bordering on the Divine, that it was almost impossible to distinguish Him therefrom. In such circumstances, it only needed the personal conviction, that He, Who taught and wrought as none other, was really the Messiah, to kindle at His word into the adoring confession, that He was indeed ‘the Son of the Living God.’ And once that point reached, the mind, looking back through the teaching of the Synagogue, would, with increasing clearness, perceive that, however ill-understood in the past, this had been all along the sum of the whole Old Testament.

JESUS, JESUS, JESUS ~ There's just something about that name.

Christ is all ~

More and more, I am made to feel that Christ does not have His proper place among the children of God. He is not the object. It is either a doctrine, a dogma, a party, or our experience-something besides Christ. We seem possessed with very much the same spirit that actuated Peter on the mount, when he said: "Let us make here three tabernacles." The Father solemnly rebukes this, "While he yet spake, behold a voice out of the cloud which said: This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him." "And when the disciples heard it they fell on their faces, and were sore afraid; and Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes they saw no man save Jesus only" (Matt. 17:4-8).

Have you ever been in the ''cloud,'' dear brother? Have you ever heard the "voice?" Have you been on your "face?" Have you felt the "touch?" Have you heard another voice, "Arise?" Do your eyes see "no man save Jesus only?" Many, perhaps, have reached the top of the mount; but few, very few, have been in the "cloud," have heard the "voice," have been on their "faces," have risen to see "Jesus only."

"Christ is all" (Col. 3:11). Do we make Him this? Is it a question of my salvation? "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31). Is it a question of relationship with God? "Ye are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:26). Is it a question of experience? "For me to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21). Is it a question of service? "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Phil. 4:13). Is it a question of my path? "I am the way" (John 14:6). Is it a question of heaven or the place to which m,~ path leads? He would define it as where I am" (John 14:3). "0, let us know more of that rich blessedness which comes of making Christ all," of seeing "Jesus only." Our cry should be, "0, to know Him" (Phil. 3:10). In our selfishness we cry and beg for blessings. It is the Blesser we need, HIMSELF He is the joy of the Father's heart. Let us taste with Him the delight He takes in His Son. Christ is infmitely higher than doctrine or experience. Experience we shall have, but only with Him can our hearts be ravished and raptured.

Why is it we are not changed more from 'glory to glory?" The veil has been rent; the blood has heen sprinkled; the Spirit has been given. The reason is we are occupied with ourselves and the work of the Spirit in us rather than with Christ alone. This is the weakness in the wide-spread holiness movement, so much of which is superficial. Let us look more in that unveiled face, from which streams the light of the knowledge of the glory of God (2 Cor. 3, 4). All else will pale, and fade if we will but linger there.

Let me say here-the Spirit never occupies me with His work in me. And if I am thus occupied I am experimentally out of the Spirit. The word is, "He shall not speak of Himself." "He shall glorify ME '(John 16:13,14). To go further, the work of Christ, wonderfully blessed as it is, can never be the object of my heart. It gives my conscience sweet peace, but only HIS PERSON can satisfy my heart. And 0, how His person does. Ten thousand hallelujahs to Him!

The Father directs our attention to Him (Matt. 17:5). The Holy Ghost would occupy us with Him (Acts 7:55, 56). The Word of God testifies of Him (John 6:39). He is the object of faith; He is the object of love; He is the object of hope; and the faith, or love, or hope, that does not make Him the object is spurious and unreal. He is all for my path; He is all for my service; He is all for my worship; blessed, blessed, be His Name. He is not on the Cross, He is not in the grave; He is on the throne. Wondrous fact, a Man in the glory of God, and that One my Savior; my Priest; my Advocate; the One Who died for me; the One Who lives for me; the One Who is coming for me; the Bridegroom of His Church. It is not surprising that Peter should say, "Unto you therefore which believe He is precious." The ungodly world as well as the religious world are equally bent upon shutting Him out. The former is "reserved unto fire," the latter He will vomit out of His mouth (2 Peter 3 and Rev. 3). Therefore keep clear from them both, if not clear, let us "Go forth unto Him" (Heb. 13:13). He is enough, and it pleases His heart for us to make everything of Him.

May it be with us. Christ, Christ, CHRIST. You cannot get a better portion or place than He gives. Your portion here will be "food and raiment," your place "outside." Your portion there is "all spiritual blessings,'' your place "in Him.'

And now, dear brother, let every affection, every desire, every thought, and every aim, be gathered to, and centered in Him.

F.C.B.

www.lifehouse.org/tracts/fcbchristisall.htm

[b]Proofs of The Tri-Unity - Against Jesus-Only Doctrine.[/b]

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Mat 10:40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth [b]him that [u]sent[/u] me.[/b]

Mat 21:37 But last of all [b]he [u]sent[/u] unto them his son[/b], saying, [b]They will reverence [u]my son[/u].[/b]

Mar 9:37 Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me,[b] receiveth not me, but [u]him 'that sent me'[/u][/b].

Mar 12:6 [b]Having yet therefore one son, his well-beloved, [u]he sent him[/u][/b] also last unto them, saying, [b]They will reverence my son.[/b]

Luk 1:32 He shall be great, and shall be called [b]the Son of the Highest:[/b] and [b]the Lord God shall '[u]give[/u]' unto him [/b]the throne of his father David:

Luk 3:22 And the [b]Holy Ghost descended[/b] in a bodily shape like a dove [b]upon him, and [u]a voice came from heaven[/u], which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.[/b]

Luk 4:18 [b]The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, [u]because 'He' hath 'anointed' me'[/u] [/b]to preach the gospel to the poor; [b][u]he hath 'sent' me[/u][/b] to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised >
Isa 53:10 Yet [b]it pleased the LORD< -to bruise- >him; He< -hath put- > him[/b] to grief: when [b]Thou< -shalt make- >his[/b] soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, He< -shall prolong- >his days, and the pleasure of [b]the LORD shall prosper in his hand.[/b]

Luk 4:43 And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore [b]am I [u]sent[/u].[/b]

Luk 9:48 And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: And whosoever shall receive me [b]receiveth him that [u]'sent'[/u] me:[/b] for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.

Luk 10:16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth [b]him that '[u]sent'[/u] me[/b].

Luk 20:13-15 Then said [b]the lord of the vineyard,[/b] What shall I do?[b] 'I will [u]send[/u] my beloved son:'[/b] it may be they will reverence him when they see him. {But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying,[b]This is the 'HEIR':[/b] come,[b] let us kill him,[/b] that the inheritance may be ours. So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. [b]What therefore shall the Lord of the vineyard do unto them? }

Christ the "Heir" - Heb 1:2 (God)Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath 'appointed' heir of all things, 'by whom' also He made the worlds [/b]

Luk 24:49 And, behold,[b] I send the promise of [u]My Father[/u][/b] upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Joh 3:17 For [b]God sent not his Son[/b] into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Joh 3:34[b] For he 'whom' God hath 'sent' speaketh the words of God: for God 'giveth' not the Spirit by measure 'unto him'. [/b]

Joh 3:35 [b]The Father loveth the Son, and hath 'given' all things into his hand.[/b] Psalm 2:6-9

Joh 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, [b]My meat is to do the will of 'him that sent me', and 'to finish 'His' work.'

{Heb 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he 'obedience' (to Whom ?) by the things which he suffered} [/b]

Joh 5:23-24 That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath [b]sent him.[/b] Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, [b]'AND' believeth on him that 'sent' me,[/b] 'hath everlasting life', and 'shall not come into condemnation'; 'but is passed from death unto life'.

Joh 5:30 [u]I can of mine own self[/u] do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because [b]I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath ‘sent’ me.[/b]

Joh 5:36-38 But I have greater witness than that of John: for [b]the works which the Father hath 'given' me[/b] to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me,[b] that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me.[/b] Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And ye have not his word abiding in you: [b]for whom he hath sent[/b], him ye believe not.

Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye [b]believe on him whom He hath 'sent'. [/b]

Joh 6:38-40 For I came down from heaven, [b]not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath 'sent me'[/b], that of all which [b]He hath 'given' me [/b]I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is [b]the will of Him that 'sent me'[/b], that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except [b]the Father which hath sent me[/b] draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Joh 6:57 As the living [b]Father hath 'sent' me, and I live 'by' the Father[/b]: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

Joh 7:16 Jesus answered them, and said, [b]My doctrine is not mine, but his that 'sent' me.[/b]

Joh 7:18 [b]He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory[/b]: BUT [b]he that seeketh his glory that 'sent' him[/b], the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

Joh 7:28-29 Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, [b]Ye both know me,[/b] and ye know whence I am: and [b][u]I am not come of myself[/u], but he that 'sent' me is true, whom ye know not.[/b] But I know him: for [b]I am 'from him', and 'he hath sent me'. [/b]

Joh 7:33 Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and [b]then I 'go unto him that sent' me.[/b]

Joh 8:16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for [b]I am not alone, but I AND the Father that 'sent' me.[/b]

Joh 8:18 I am one that bear witness of myself,[b] AND the Father that 'sent' me beareth witness of me.[/b]

Joh 8:26 I have many things to say and to judge of you: but [b]He that sent me is true;[/b] and I speak to the world those things which[b] I have heard of Him. [/b]

Joh 8:29 And [b]He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; [u]for I do always those things that 'please Him'[/u].[/b]

Joh 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: [b]for I proceeded forth and came 'from' God; [u]NEITHER CAME I OF MYSELF, BUT HE SENT ME[/u]. [/b]

Joh 9:4 [b]I must work the works of Him that sent me,[/b] while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
Joh 10:36 Say ye[b] of him, whom the Father 'hath sanctified', and 'sent'[/b] into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, [b]I am the Son of God ?[/b]

Joh 11:41-42 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, [b]Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that 'Thou hast sent me'.[/b]

Joh 12:44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, [b]but on him that 'sent' me.[/b]

Joh 12:49 [b][u]For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which 'sent me', 'he gave me' a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.[/u][/b]

Joh 13:16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord;[b] neither 'he that is sent' greater than 'he that sent him'.[/b]

Joh 13:20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and [b]he that receiveth me receiveth him that 'sent me.'[/b]

Joh 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and[b] the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which 'sent me'.[/b]

Joh 15:21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, [b]because they know not Him that 'sent me'.[/b]

Joh 15:26 [b]But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: [/b]

Joh 16:3 And these things will they do unto you, [b]because they have not known the Father, 'nor' me.[/b]

Joh 16:5 But now [b]I go my way to Him that 'sent me'[/b]; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?

Joh 16:7-10 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, [b]I will 'send' 'him'[/b] unto you.
And when 'he' is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, [b]because I go to my Father,[/b] and ye see me no more

Joh 16:13-14 [b]Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall 'hear',[/b] that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. [b]He shall glorify me: for he shall 'receive' of mine,[/b] and shall show it unto you.

Joh 16:16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because [b]I go to the Father.[/b]

Joh 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, [b]he will give it you.[/b]

Joh 16:28 I came forth [b]'from' the Father,[/b] and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and [b]go 'to' the Father.[/b]

Joh 17:3[b] And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, AND Jesus Christ, whom THOU hast 'sent'. [/b]

Joh 17:8 For [b]I have given unto them the words which THOU 'gavest' me;[/b] and they have received them, and have known surely that [b]I 'came out from' Thee, and they have believed that THOU didst 'send' Me.[/b]

Joh 17:18 [b]As THOU hast sent Me[/b] into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

Joh 17:21 [b]That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in "[u]US[/u]": that the world may believe that THOU hast 'sent' Me.[/b]

Joh 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that [b]Thou hast sent me[/b], and hast loved them, as [b]Thou hast loved me.[/b]

Joh 17:25 [b]O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent me.[/b]

Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: [b]as My Father hath sent me,[/b] even so send I you.

Act 3:19-26 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; [b]And 'HE shall send' Jesus Christ,[/b] which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, [b]A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me[/b]; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first [b]God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you,[/b] in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

Act 10:38 How [b]'God' 'anointed' Jesus of Nazareth 'with' the Holy Ghost'[/b] and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of the time was come, [b]God sent forth His Son[/b], made of a woman, made under the law

Gal 4:6 And because ye are sons, [b]God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.[/b]

1Jo 4:9-10 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that [b]God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.[/b]

1Jo 4:14 [b]And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. [/b]

Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. [b]The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand,[/b] until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Act 7:55-56 But he {Stephen}, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and [b]Jesus standing on the right hand of God[/b], and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the [b]Son of man standing on the right hand of God. [/b]

Mat 20:23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but [b]to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.[/b]

Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, [b]ye blessed of My Father,[/b] inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Mat 26:64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, [b]Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power,[/b] and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Mar 12:36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost,[b] the LORD said to my LORD, Sit thou on my right hand,[/b] till I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Mar 14:62 And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see[b] the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power,[/b] and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Mar 16:19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, [b]and sat on the right hand of God.[/b]

Luk 20:42 And David himself saith in the book of Psalms, [b]The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand[/b]

Luk 22:69 [b]Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. [/b]

Act 2:33,34 Therefore [b]being by the right hand of God[/b] exalted, and [b]having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost[/b], he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, [b]The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand [/b]

Act 5:31 [b]Him hath God exalted[/b] with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, [b]who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. {[u]To Whom is Christ's "intercession" made Unto ?[/u]}[/b]

Heb 8:1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: [b]We have such a high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; {In order to have a High Priest, there must be One to Whom "intercession" is made TO"}[/b] Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost [b]that come unto God 'by' him,[/b] seeing he ever liveth to make [b]intercession[/b] for them.

Eph 1:20[b] Which HE wrought in Christ, when HE raised him from the dead, and set him at HIS own right hand in the heavenly places[/b]

Col 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, [b]where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.[/b]

Heb 1:3 [b]Who being the brightness of HIS glory, and the express image of HIS person[/b], and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, [b]sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high

From Strong's - "express Image" = G5481 - χαρακτήρ khar-ak-tar' - From the same as G5482; a graver (the tool or the person), that is, (by implication) engraving (["character"], the figure stamped, that is, an exact copy or [figuratively] representation): - express image. [/b]

Heb 1:13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, [b]Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? [/b]

Heb 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, [b]sat down on the right hand of God;[/b]

Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and [b]is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.[/b]

1Pe 3:22 Who is gone into heaven, and [b]is on the right hand of God[/b]; angels and authorities and powers being 'made' subject unto him.

Rev 5:6,7 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood [b]a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God[/b] sent forth into all the earth. [b]And He 'came' and 'took' the book 'out of the right hand of Him' that sat upon the Throne'...... [ Dan 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and 'came to the Ancient of days', and they 'brought him near before him'.][/b]

Rev 3:21 [b]To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.[/b]

Rev 21:22,23 And I saw no temple therein: for the [b]Lord God Almighty AND the Lamb[/b] are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of [b]God did lighten it, AND the Lamb is the light thereof.[/b]

Rev 22:1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of [b]the throne of God AND of the Lamb.[/b] {Mat 22:44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool} Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: [b]but the throne of God AND of the Lamb[/b] shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him

Isa 52:13-14 Behold, [b]My servant [/b]shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men

Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;[b] and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isa 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; He hath put him to grief: when Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin,[/b] he shall see his seed, [b]He shall prolong his days,[/b] and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Isa 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall [b]MY righteous servant[/b] justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Isa 53:12 Therefore[b] will I divide him[/b] a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isa 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
Isa 60:2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: [b]but the LORD shall arise upon 'thee', and HIS glory shall be seen upon 'thee'.[/b]
Isa 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to 'Thy' light, and kings to the brightness of 'thy rising'.

Isa 61:1 [b]The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because 'the LORD hath anointed Me' to preach good tidings unto the meek; HE hath sent Me[/b] to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

Zec 3:8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold,[b] I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.[/b]

Mat 12:17-18 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying,[b]Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put My Spirit upon him, and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles.[/b]

Mat 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, [b]This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. [/b]

Luk 4:1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and [b]was 'led by' the Spirit [/b]into the wilderness,

Luk 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, [b]I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father;[/b] for so it seemed good in thy sight.

Luk 23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, [b]he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit:[/b] and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

Joh 1:32-34 And John bare record, saying, [b]I saw the Spirit 'descending' from heaven like a dove, and 'it' 'abode' 'upon' 'him'.[/b] And I knew him not: [b]but HE that sent me to baptize with water, the same 'said' unto me,[/b] Upon [b]whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending[/b], and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
And I saw, and bare record that [b]this is the Son of God.[/b]

Joh 15:26 But when the [b]Comforter[/b] is come, [b]whom I will send unto you 'from' the Father,[/b] even the Spirit of truth,[b] which proceedeth 'from' the Father, 'he' 'shall testify' 'of me': [/b]

Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: [[b]for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear,[/b] that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.

Act 2:22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; [b]Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God[/b]among you by miracles and wonders and signs, [b]which God did 'by' him[/b] in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
Act 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Act 2:24 [b]Whom God hath raised up[/b], having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
Act 2:25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, [b]for he is on my right hand[/b], that I should not be moved:
Act 2:26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
Act 2:27 [b]Because 'Thou' wilt not leave 'My soul' in hell, neither wilt 'THOU' suffer 'thine' Holy One to see corruption.[/b]
Act 2:28 [b]Thou hast made known to Me[/b] the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with Thy countenance.
Act 2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.
Act 2:30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh,[b] HE would raise up Christ to sit on HIS throne;[/b]
Act 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
Act 2:32 [b]This Jesus hath God raised up[/b], whereof we all are witnesses.

Act 2:33 [b]Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having 'received' of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost[/b], he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
Act 2:34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, [b]The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
Act 2:35 Until 'I' make 'thy' foes thy footstool.[/b]
Act 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, [b]that 'God hath made' that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.[/b]

Act 5:30-32 [b]The God of our fathers raised up Jesus,[/b] whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. [b]Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior,[/b] for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; [b]and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given[/b] to them that obey him.

Act 10:38 [b]How 'God anointed Jesus' of Nazareth 'with the Holy Ghost' and with power:[/b] who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; [b]for God was 'with' him.[/b]

Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of [b]HIS dear Son:[/b]

Eph 1:17 [b]That the God OF our Lord Jesus Christ[/b], the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

Eph 2:18[b] For 'through' HIM we both have access 'by' one SPIRIT 'unto' the FATHER.[/b]

Heb 1:1 [b]God who[/b] at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, :2 Hath in these last days [b]spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir[/b] of all things, [b]by whom also he[/b] made the worlds; :3 [b]Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of His person[/b], and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, [b]sat down on the right hand of the Majesty[/b] on high; :4 [b]Being made (by Whom ?) [/b] so much better than the angels,[b] as he hath by inheritance [/b]obtained a more excellent name than they. :5 For unto which of the angels [b]said he at any time, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? :6 And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. [/b]:7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. :8 [b]But unto the Son, He saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever:[/b] a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. :9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; [b]therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee[/b] with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. :10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: :11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;:12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. :13 [b]But to which of the angels 'said He' at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?[/b]:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit [b]offered himself without spot TO God,[/b] purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Heb 2:7 [b]Thou madest him[/b] a little lower than the angels.....

Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who [b] was made [/b] a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; [b] that he by the grace of God [/b] should taste death for every man.

1Ti 2:5 For there is one God,[b] and one 'mediator' between God and men,[/b] the man Christ Jesus;

1Pe 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of [b]God the Father[/b], through sanctification of [b]the Spirit,[/b] unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of[b] Jesus Christ:[/b] Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that [b]HE might bring us TO God,[/b] being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

2Pe 1:17-18 [b]For HE received 'FROM' God the Father [/b]honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is [b]MY my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
And this voice which came from heaven[/b] we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

1Jo 5:7[b] For there are THREE that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are One.[/b]

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; [b]but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in Heaven.[/b]

Mat 10:32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will [b]I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.[/b] Mat 10:33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will[b] I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.[/b]

Mat 11:25 [b]At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
Mat 11:26 Even so,Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight.
Mat 11:27 All things are delivered unto me of My Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.[/b]

Mat 12:50 For whosoever shall do the will of [b]my Father which is in heaven[/b], the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Mat 15:13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which [b]my heavenly Father[/b] hath not planted, shall be rooted up.

Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but [b]My Father which is in heaven.[/b]

Mat 16:27 For [b]the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father[/b] with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Mat 18:10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of [b]My Father which is in heaven.[/b]

Mat 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them [b]of my Father which is in heaven.[/b]

Mat 18:35 So likewise[b] shall my heavenly Father do also unto you,[/b] if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Mat 20:23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, [b]is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of My Father.

Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.[/b]

Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of [b]my Father,[/b] inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Mat 26:29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you [b]in my Father's kingdom. [/b]

Mat 26:39 And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and [b]prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as THOU wilt.[/b]

Mat 26:42 He went away again the second time, and [b]prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, THY will be done. [/b]

Mat 26:53 Thinkest thou that [b]I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall[/b] presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

Mar 13:32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, [b]neither the Son, but the Father.

Mar 14:36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto THEE; take away this cup from ME: nevertheless not what I will, but what THOU wilt.

Luk 1:32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and 'the Lord God shall give unto him' the throne of his father David: [/b]

Luk 2:49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about [b]my Father's business? [/b]

Luk 9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, [b]and in HIS Father's[/b], and of the holy angels.

Luk 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, [b]I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou[/b] hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: [b]even so, Father; for so it seemed good in THY sight.[/b]

Luk 10:22 All things are [b]delivered TO me OF My Father[/b]: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.

Luk 22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, [b]as My Father hath appointed unto Me;

Luk 22:42 Saying, Father, if THOU be willing, remove this cup from ME: nevertheless not MY will, but THINE, be done.

Luk 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them;[/b] for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Luk 23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, [b]Father, into THY hands I commend MY spirit:[/b] and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

Luk 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of [b]My Father upon you[/b]: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Joh 1:18 [b]No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath 'declared' him.[/b]

Joh 2:16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not [b]My Father's[/b] house a house of merchandise.

Joh 3:35 [b]The Father loveth the Son, and hath 'given' all things into His hand.[/b]

Joh 5:17 But Jesus answered them, [b]My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.[/b]
Joh 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but [b]said also that God was his Father, making himself equal With God.[/b]
Joh 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, [b]The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever HE doeth, these 'also' doeth the Son 'likewise'.
Joh 5:20 For the Father 'loveth' the Son, and 'showeth' Him all things that Himself 'doeth': and He will 'show' 'Him' greater works than these,[/b] that ye may marvel.

Joh 5:22 [b]For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son [/b]

Joh 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; [b]so hath He 'given' to the Son to have life in himself[/b]

Joh 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because [b]I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.[/b]

Joh 5:36 But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which [b]the Father hath 'given me' to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath 'sent me'.

Joh 5:37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.[/b]

Joh 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but [b]my Father[/b] giveth you the true bread from heaven.

Joh 6:37 All that [b]the Father 'giveth' me shall come to me[/b]; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

Joh 6:39 And this is [b]the Father's will which hath 'sent' me, that of all which he hath 'given' me[/b] I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

Joh 6:44 No man can [b]come to Me, except the Father which hath 'sent me' draw him:[/b] and I will raise him up at the last day.

Joh 6:46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, He hath 'seen' the Father.

Joh 6:65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can [b]come unto me, except it were given unto him of MY Father. [/b]

Joh 8:16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but [b]I 'and' the Father that 'sent' me. [/b]

Joh 8:19 Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor MY Father: if ye had known me, ye should have know MY Father also.

Joh 8:26-28 I have many things to say and to judge of you: but [b]He that 'sent me' is true;[/b] and I speak to the world those things [b]which 'I have heard of him'.[/b] They understood not that [b]he spake to them of the Father.[/b] Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that [b]I do nothing of myself; but as My Father hath 'taught' me,[/b] I speak these things.

Joh 8:29[b] And he that 'sent me' is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that 'please' him.[/b]

Joh 8:38 [b]I speak that which I have 'seen' 'with' my Father[/b]: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

Joh 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and [b]came 'from' God; 'neither' 'came' 'I' 'of' 'myself', 'but' 'he' 'sent' 'me'.[/b]

Joh 8:49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but [b]I honor my Father[/b], and ye do dishonor me.

Joh 8:54 Jesus answered, [b]If I honor myself, my honor is nothing: it is my Father that honoreth me [/b] ; of whom ye say, that he is your God:

Joh 10:15 As [b]the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father:[/b] and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Joh 10:17 Therefore doth [b]My Father love me,[/b] because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

Joh 10:29 [b]My Father, which 'gave' them me,[/b] is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of [b]MY Father's hand.[/b]

Joh 10:32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you [b]from MY Father;[/b] for which of those works do ye stone me?

Joh 10:36 [b]Say ye of him, whom the Father 'hath sanctified', and 'sent' into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? [/b]
Joh 10:37 If I do not the works of [b]MY Father[/b], believe me not.

Joh 11:41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And [b]Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I 'thank THEE' that THOU hast 'heard' ME.[/b]

Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: [b]if any man serve me, him will My Father honor.[/b]
Joh 12:27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? [b]Father, save me[/b] from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Joh 12:28 [b]Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from HEAVEN, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.[/b]

Joh 12:49 For [b]I have not spoken 'of myself'; but the Father which 'sent me', 'he gave me' a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
Joh 12:50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father "said" unto me, so I speak.

Joh 13:3 Jesus knowing that the Father had 'given' all things into his hands, and that he was come 'from' God, and went TO God; [/b]

Joh 14:2 In [b]my Father's[/b] house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Joh 14:16 And [b]I will 'pray' the Father, and 'he' shall give you another Comforter,[/b] that he may abide with you forever;

Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and [b]he that loveth me shall be loved of MY Father[/b], and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Joh 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and [b]the word which ye hear 'is not mine', 'but' the Father's' 'which' 'sent me'.

Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.[/b]

Joh 14:28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, [b]I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. [/b]

Joh 14:31 But that the world may know that[b] I love the Father; and 'as the Father gave me commandment', even so I do.

Joh 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.[/b]

Joh 15:8 Herein is [b]My Father[/b] glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Joh 15:9 As [b]the Father hath loved me,[/b] so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
Joh 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; [b]even as I have kept 'my Father's commandments', and abide in his love.[/b]

Joh 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for [b]all things that I have 'heard' of my Father[/b] I have made known unto you.
Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever [b]ye shall ask 'of the Father' in my name, 'he' may give it you.[/b]

Joh 15:23 He that hateth me hateth [b]My Father also.[/b]
Joh 15:24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and[b] hated 'BOTH' me 'AND' My Father.

Joh 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me [/b]

Joh 16:3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known [b]the Father, 'nor' me.[/b]

Joh 16:10 Of righteousness, because[b] I go to My Father,[/b] and ye see me no more;

Joh 16:15 [b]All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that 'He shall take of mine'[/b], and shall show it unto you.
Joh 16:16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because [b]I go to the Father.[/b]

Joh 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, [b]Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, HE will give it you.[/b]

Joh 16:26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that [b]I will pray the Father for you: [/b]
Joh 16:27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that [b]I came out from God.[/b]
Joh 16:28 [b]I came forth 'from' the Father[/b], and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and[b] go 'to' the Father.[/b]
Joh 16:32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and [b]yet 'I am not alone',because the Father is 'with' me. [/b]

Joh 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and [b]lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify THEE

Joh 17:5 And now, "O Father, glorify THOU ME" 'with' 'thine own self' with the glory which 'I had' 'with THEE' before the world was.[/b]

Joh 17:24 Father, I will that they also, whom [b]thou hast 'given' me[/b], be with me where I am; that they may behold [b]my glory, which 'thou' hast 'given me': for "THOU lovedst Me" before the foundation of the world.[/b]

Joh 17:25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but[b] I have known Thee, and these have known that THOU hast 'sent' Me. [/b]

Joh 18:11 Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: [b]the cup which my Father hath 'given' me,[/b] shall I not drink it?

Joh 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I[b] am not yet ascended to My Father[/b]: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, [b]I ascend unto MY Father, and your Father; AND TO MY GOD, and your God.[/b]

Joh 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and[b] I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom 'THOU hast 'given' me', that they may be one, as [u]'WE'[/u] are. [/b]

Joh 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be [b]one in '[u]US[/u]': that the world may believe that THOU hast SENT Me.[/b]

Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: [b]and my Father [/b]will love him, and [b]'WE'[/b] will come unto him, and make [b]'OUR'[/b] abode with him.

_________________________________________________________________

Gen 1:26 And God {Elohim} said, Let[b] Us [/b]make man in[b] Our[/b] image, after [b][Our[/b] likeness.

[b]Elohim. From Strong's - H430 = 'ĕlo^hıym Plural of H433; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God. Part of Speech: noun masculine plural.

~ Total KJV Occurrences of 'Elohim': 2605 times

Gen 3:22 And the LORD God {Elohim} said, Behold, the man is become as one of Us,[/b] to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever

____________________________________________________

Joh 1:1 & 2 ~ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was [b]with[/b] God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning [b]with[/b] God.

[b]Strong's Definition of [u]"with"[/u] G4314[/b] - πρός - pros - pros - A strengthened form of G4253; a preposition of direction; forward to, that is, toward (with the genitive case the side of, that is, pertaining to; with the dative case by the side of, that is, near to; usually with the accusative case the place, time, occasion, or respect, which is the destination of the relation, that is, whither or for which it is predicated): - about, according to, against, among, at, because of, before, between, ([where-]) by, for, X at thy house, in, for intent, nigh unto, of, which pertain to, that, to (the end that), + together, to ([you]) -ward, unto, with (-in). In compounds it denotes essentially the same applications, namely, motion towards, accession to, or nearness at.

Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, [b]but I will confess his name before My Father[/b], and before[b] his [/b]angels. Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, [b]says Jehovah, that [u]I will raise[/u] to David a righteous Branch[/b], and a King shall reign and act wisely, and shall do judgment and justice in the earth. Jer 33:15 In those days, and at that time, [u]I will cause[/u] the [b]Branch[/b] of righteousness to grow up to David. And He shall do judgment and righteousness in the land.Zec 3:9 For behold![b] I will bring forth My Servant the Branch[/b]. For behold the stone that I have set before Joshua: On one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its engraving, says Jehovah of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.Zec 6:12 And speak to him, saying, So speaks Jehovah of Hosts, saying, Behold the Man whose name is The [b]BRANCH![/b] And He shall spring up out of His place, and He shall build the temple of Jehovah.

_______________________________________________________________________

[b]The Psalm of the Messiah, with added cross-references.[/b]

Psa 22:1 [b]My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?[/b] why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? Mat 27:46; Mar 15:34; Luk 22:44; Heb 5:7

Psa 22:2 [b]O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.[/b] Luk 6:12, Luk 22:41-46

Psa 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

Psa 22:4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

Psa 22:5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.

Psa 22:6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. Isa 49:7, Isa 53:3; Lam 3:30;

Psa 22:7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, Psa 35:15, Psa 35:16, Isa 37:22, Isa 37:23

Psa 22:8 [b]He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.[/b] Mat 27:42, Mat 27:43 ,Mar 15:30-32 ,Isa 42:1; Mat 3:17, Mat 12:18, Mat 17:5; Luk 23:35

Psa 22:9 [b]But thou art He that took me out of the womb:[/b] thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. Isa 7:14,

Psa 22:10 [b]I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.[/b] Rev 12:5, Luk 2:40

Psa 22:11 [b]Be not far from me[/b]; for trouble is near; for there is none to help. Heb 5:7 ,Mat 26:56

Psa 22:12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. Act 4:27

Psa 22:13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. Psa 35:17

Psa 22:14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. John 19:17,18

Psa 22:15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. Joh 19:28, Isa 53:12 , Mat 27:50

Psa 22:16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. Zec 12:10; Mat 27:35; Mar 15:24; Luk 23:33; Joh 19:23, Joh 19:37,

Psa 22:17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. Isa 52:14 , Mat 27:36

Psa 22:18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. Mat 27:35; Mar 15:24; Luk 23:34; Joh 19:23,24

Psa 22:19 [b]But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.[/b] Luk 22:41-42, Mat 26:44

Psa 22:20 [b]Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.[/b] Zec 13:7

Psa 22:21 [b]Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me[/b] from the horns of the unicorns.Act 5:30-32

Psa 22:22 [b]I will declare thy name unto my brethren[/b]: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. Heb 2:11,12; Joh 20:17

Psa 22:23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. Luk 1:50 ;Rev 15:4;

Psa 22:24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; [b]neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.[/b] Isa 50:6-9; Luk 23:46;Heb 5:7

Psa 22:25 [b]My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.[/b] Psa 116:14-19

Psa 22:26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live forever.Joh 6:51

Psa 22:27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. Rev 7:9-12, Rev 15:4

Psa 22:28 For the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations. Rev 11:15

Psa 22:29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul. Isa 60:3-5; Phi 2:10

Psa 22:30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. 1Pe 2:9

Psa 22:31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this. Rom 3:21-25

[b]Eph 1:2-3 Grace be to you, and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father [u]of[/u] our Lord Jesus Christ,

Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.[/b]

Hi Everett, Well yes and no, but if you read the first post that started this thread, I think you'd see some things that you may settle on better.

I'd like to continue this talk with you because I found your posts interesting and I could see you put a lot of thought into them.

Could we continue our talk on another thread though. I wanted to keep this one for [u]JESUS[/u] only. :-)

Thanks Brother - I've [i]really[/i] appreciated this.

LORD Bless you!

Oh good Everett - I'm afraid though that my security settings are having to be so high, that I can't start a thread - but if you just start one or continue one you're already on - whichever you'd like.

I wouldn't mind staying on here, but I'm afraid what it may attract and take away from HIS GLORY.
I'm the anonymous person through-out this thread and so far so good - everyone has kept it Just For Him. Bless HIS Thrice Holy Name.

Thank you and I look forward to our talk. Blessings!!!

"...That they might know you the One True God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

From your first post, how would "The One True God" be? :-D

Brother Everett, right now I'm so caught up in JESUS, all day praying for them up in Canton has got me in tears.

[b]WE NEED JESUS!!![/b]

Brother I can barely speak. Reading what Apollos wrote yesterday and knowing what it is to have HIM allow us to actually sit with HIM in HIS Presence is beyond words. So many days, I've turned to Him and merely whispered, are You there for me to be with and talk to and HE was always faithful to be there and allow me - a wretch like me - to feel like I was part of His Bride. What on earth could be more unimaginable than that?

JESUS-JESUS-JESUS - there is nothing else.

Until we come to the complete end of ourselves and HE allows us to be stripped of everything and we're left to do nothing but cleave to HIM for our very life - we'll only give birth to the wind.

Help me pray brother - Bring JESUS and nothing and no one else to us.

That we'll know HIM and how to come into HIS Presence when we are alone. And take HIM with us when we leave.

Oh just give us JESUS Dear GOD.

Let our Love for HIM increase to the point where we can barely stand it or contain it - without saying HIS Name again and again and again.

Just give us JESUS. Nothing else will do. Nothing else is REAL. No other words but HIS are Real or Reality.

OH JESUS WE LOVE YOU. Please hear the cries of your Saints Dear LORD. Please hear their cries Precious Savior Lord and GOD.
We Love YOU.

Brother, Thank you.

I fixed my post for you on page 5, because I do and have always understood what you are saying.

If you read this entire thread, it is saying what you are trying to word with pencils [that one went over my head :-) - but I [i]am[/i] tired.]

HE was ONE in the Garden with Adam and Eve and after the Millenial Reign - He will resume that same form (for a lack of a better word) again.

That is what the first post on this thread says.

What I fixed for you on this previous page is something I can't fix in my first post.

I fully understand your problem with the word "trinity", but man has a hard time with words. I also understand your problem with saying "3 persons".

I think the only thing missing in that word was a "U".

Stick that "u" back in and then we have a better understanding.

TriUnity.

Our language is limited I know. Our understanding shouldn't be though.

But may I add - as mentioned in one of these posts - At the second Advent in Revelations 19 - you probably already know this - but HIS Name won't be "Jesus".

Actually, where they got Jesus out of Iēsous I won't venture to guess, but just like we've always tried to explain God The Father - God The Son and God The Holy Spirit as the "trinity" - we also have called HIM Jesus. I have no problem with that. His Name is actually Joshua or in Hebrew Yehoshua - but somewhere, at some point, they changed Joshua to Jesus.

The point is - Who is JESUS?

:-D

As GOD walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve - He will again with us in the New Jerusalem. That is also in the two commentaries quoted in the first post on here. This whole thread is about HIM.

But I see GOD's Tri-Unity yet One God as I see that I am made up of body, soul and spirit.

I worship Jesus as Creator GOD by His Spirit.

HE - Jesus - The Logos - is seated at the right hand of GOD as Stephen saw him when they were about to stone him.

He's coming back as we see HIM in Rev. 19.

But again, after the Millenial reign as He was in the Garden of Eden - that again is in the first post with those two commentary quotes about it.

It's not hard to understand at all. This whole thread is about HIM - and the verses given on the previous page here just prove the Tri-Unity.

Deu 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD

In the language of Deut 6:4 it is a "compound unity" rather than 'single' - same language as the husband and wife become one flesh.

1Jn 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

Not to belabor it - but seeing GOD in the garden and Him again that same way, after the Millenial reign, helps.

And yes, I do agree with your post above. :-D

PRAISE GOD - HE IS AWESOME!

We need to "see" Him - Our Savior.

[b]1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Tit 3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Tit 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior

Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ

Jud 1:25 To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. [/b]

Brother, after I went off-line last night, I thought of the descriptive word that has probably been why this thread was started in the first place. It is Co-Equality.

As you have said, line upon line - I agree and truly do desire to stay with His Word when discussing HIM. His Word alone will stand forever and by it's grammar, can prove or disprove a teaching.
And to Love/Revere Jesus is to equally Love/Revere His Word. :-)

GOD Bless!

More clearly brother - The Logos - The Word of God - was/is with GOD and is GOD - and GOD was in the Garden and 'after' the Millenial reign, when the New Jerusalem descends from Heaven - GOD Himself - as HE was in the Garden - will wipe the tears from all eyes and make His habitation with man - us.

Yes, Revelation 19:12 says - "and He had a Name written, that no man knew, but He Himself."

I think again, that if Revelation chpt.s 19-22 are read slowly - it ALL comes to light.

Those are my favorite chpt.s to read when this world looks so dark, ugly and frightening at times.

[b]Before the Incarnation, was there Anyone but One God ?

Now onto Future tense .....

Zec 14:9 And the LORD shall be King over all the earth: in 'that day' shall there be one LORD, and his Name One.

1Co 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

~ God . . . all in all--as Christ is all in all (Col 3:11 ~ "...but Christ is all, and in all." Compare Zec. 14:9 above.)[/b]

Adam Clarke ~ 1Co 15:28 - "When the administration of the kingdom of grace is finally closed; when there shall be no longer any state of probation, and consequently no longer need of a distinction between the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory; then the Son, as being man and Messiah, shall cease to exercise any distinct dominion and God be all in all: [i]there remaining no longer any distinction in the persons of the glorious Trinity, as acting any distinct or separate parts in either the kingdom of grace, or the kingdom of glory, and so the one infinite essence shall appear undivided and eternal.[/i] And yet, as there appears to be a personality essentially in the infinite Godhead, that personality must exist eternally; but how this shall be we can neither tell nor know till that time comes in which we shall See Him as He Is. 1Jo_3:2."

John Gill ~ "1Co 15:28.. that God may be all in all; for by God is not meant the Father personally, but God essentially considered, Father, Son, and Spirit, who are the one true and living God; to whom all the saints will have immediate access, in whose presence they will be, and with whom they shall have uninterrupted fellowship, without the use of such mediums as they now enjoy; all the three divine Persons will have equal power and government in and over all the saints; they will sit upon one and the same throne; there will be no more acting by a delegated power, or a derived authority: God will be all things to all his saints, immediately without the use of means; he will be that to their bodies as meat and clothes are, without the use of them; and all light, glory, and happiness to their souls, without the use of ordinances, or any means; he will then be all perfection and bliss, to all the elect, and in them all, which he now is not; some are dead in trespasses and sins, and under the power of Satan; the number of them in conversion is not yet completed; and, of those that are called many are in a state of imperfection, and have flesh as well as spirit in them; and of those who are fallen asleep in Christ, though their separate spirits are happy with him, yet their bodies lie in the grave, and under the power of corruption and death; but then all being called by grace, and all being raised, and glorified in soul and body, God will be all in all: this phrase expresses both the perfect government of God, Father, Son, and Spirit, over the saints to all eternity, and their perfect happiness in soul and body, the glory of all which will be ascribed to God; and it will be then seen that all that the Father has done, in the council and covenant of peace, were all to the glory of his grace; and that all that the Son has done in the salvation of his people, is all to the glory of the divine perfections: and that all that the Spirit of God has wrought in the saints, and all that they have done under his grace and influence, are all to the praise and glory of God, which will in the most perfect manner be given to the eternal Three in One."

~ At the end of Revelation ... when all is brought back under One God ... from vs 3, do you see anything different ? ... Remembering, these 5 verses are one continuous sentence.

Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and 'his' servants shall serve 'him':
Rev 22:4 And they shall see 'his' face; and 'his' name shall be in their foreheads{Rev 3:12}.
Rev 22:5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for 'the Lord God' giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever.
Rev 22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and 'the Lord God' of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto 'his' servants the things which must shortly be done.
Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the saying of the prophecy of this book. Etc.

[b]"The Mystery"[/b] .... to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God, The New Jersusalem, with GOD. (all that Adam 'had', plus lots more :)

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be 'with them', and be their God.
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
~~NEXT THREE VERSES ARE IN 'RED'.
Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Glory To GOD.

[b]There Is One God[/b]

One more fact about the Christian conception of God remains to be mentioned, and that is: There is but one God.

The unity of God comes out again and again in both the Old Testament and the New. For example, we read in Deuteronomy 4:35, "the LORD is God; besides Him there is no other." And in Deuteronomy 6:4 we read, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." Turning to the New Testament in 1 Timothy 2:5, we read, "There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." And in Mark 12:29 our Lord Jesus Himself says, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one."

But we must bear in mind the character of the Divine Unity. It is clearly revealed in the Bible that in this Divine Unity, in this one Godhead, there is a multiplicity of persons. This comes out in a variety of ways.

1. First of all, the Hebrew word translated "one" in these various passages denotes a compound unity, not a simple unity (1 Corinthians 3:6-8; 12:13; John 17:22, 23; Galatians 3:28).

2. In the second place, the Old Testament word most frequently used for God is a plural noun. The Hebrew grammarians and lexicographers tried to explain this by saying that it was the "pluralis majestatis," (Greek) but the very simple explanation is that the Hebrews, in spite of their intense monotheism, used a plural name for God because there is a plurality of persons in the one Godhead.

3. More striking yet, as a proof of the plurality of persons in the one Godhead, is the fact that God Himself uses plural pronouns in speaking of Himself. For example, in the first chapter of the Bible, Genesis 1:26, we read that God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness." And in Genesis 11:7, He is further recorded as saying: "Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." In Genesis 3:22, we read: "And the LORD God said, 'The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.'" And in that wonderful vision to which reference has already been made, in which Isaiah saw the LORD, we read this statement of Isaiah's, 6:8, "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'"

4. Another illustration of the plurality of persons in the one Godhead in the Old Testament conception of God is found in Zechariah 2:10-11, where the LORD speaks of Himself as sent by the LORD in these words: "'Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,' declares the LORD. 'Many nations 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.'" Here the LORD clearly speaks of Himself as sent by the LORD, thus clearly indicating two persons in the Deity.

5. Another indication of the plurality of persons in the Godhead in the Old Testament conception of God is found in the fact that "the Angel of the LORD" in the Old Testament is at the same time distinguished from, and identified with, the LORD.

6. This same thought of the plurality of persons in the one Godhead is brought out in John 1:1, where we reach the very climax of this thought. Here we are told in so many words: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." When we study the Deity of Christ and the Personality and Deity of the Holy Spirit, we shall see that the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit are clearly designated as Divine beings and at the same time distinguished from one another, and from God the Father. So it is clear that in the Christian conception of God, while there is but one God, there is a multiplicity of persons in the one Godhead.

This conception of God runs through the whole Bible, is from the first chapter of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation. It is one of the many marvelous illustrations of the Divine unity of the Book. How wonderful is this Book, in that the unity of thought on this very profound doctrine pervades it throughout! It is a clear indication that the Bible is the Word of God. It contains a profounder philosophy than is found in any human philosophy, ancient or modern, and the only way to account for it is that God Himself is the author of this incomparable philosophy. What a wondrous God we have! How we ought to meditate on His Person! With what awe, and, at the same time, with what delight we should come into His presence and bow before Him in adoring contemplation of the wonder and beauty and majesty and glory of His being!

[url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/index.php?view=article&aid=2012]By R.A. Torrey[/url]

Joh 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and[b] I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom 'THOU hast 'given' me', that they may be one, as [u]'WE'[/u] are. [/b]

Joh 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be [b]one in '[u]US[/u]': that the world may believe that THOU hast SENT Me.[/b]

Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: [b]and my Father [/b]will love him, and [b]'WE'[/b] will come unto him, and make [b]'OUR'[/b] abode with him.

Hi Everett. I know that title "persons" throws folks. It would sound to some like it means three gods. But we know from all the Scripture we've looked at that there is but One God.

Your analogy and mind of the trichotomy of man is maybe as close to what our peanut heads can contain.

Yet, the individuality came with the incarnation - when the man Christ Jesus had total free-will and yet did nothing of Himself without The Father BY The Spirit - to be an example unto us of how we are to live, move and have our being.

The Holy Spirit in John 16:13 is said to not speak of Himself - but only what He "hears".

Catch that?

Yes, three in One. One Mind. Co-Equal yet interdependent - like your analogy.
Except that He's GOD of course. We're just pee-wee headed humans trying to conceive of such an unimaginable mystery - that's not quite that much of a mystery, once you just take the whole of The Word in by faith. The Holy Spirit was promised to lead us into all truth - and HE can help us pee-wee brains to "see" this - in the spirit.

HE is AWESOME!

Edit to add [I love these words]: Eph 3:9-12 And to make all men 'see' what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that 'now' unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places 'might be known by the church' the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him.

Oh man, I can't help it. I'm sitting here just reading this chpt. and I have to put the rest up here now. This is amazing - But it ALL is - but here's the rest ... :-) Isn't His Word wonderful.

Eph 3:14-21 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Brother, I had my "break through" when I saw Him in the Garden of Eden and then with Joh 14:23 "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and 'WE' will come unto him, and make 'OUR' abode with him." - and then again in the New Jerusalem as He was in Eden.

I find no problem with seeing the Tri-Unity "as it is written" and when I saw those verses about GOD wiping our tears from our eyes in Rev 21, that revelation nearly blew me out of my desk chair, literally.

This isn't a Jesus Only thread - it's a [b]GOD[/b] thread.

:-D Praise God!!!

Hi Brother Everett, I'm sister Annie. Or GrannieAnnie as my old sign-on was.

I joined here in 6/05. So like I said, I'm the Anonymous person from the first post on here.

Just mentioning that, because someone new has come on with lots of harsh words to a few of us so far - and thought we'd clear that part up first. Those who have been here for at least that long know I'm GrannieAnnie, but just in case there was any confusion left.

Anyhow - back on topic - God is Love is what I heard tonight from some of the posters who got to hear Carter Conlon tonight - more specifically - to love one another, Dorcas said that he said. That is good to hear.
Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Love has a way of doing that "break through" thing, as you so well call it. True Agape Love.
That is what we've been praying for for this conference. That the judgmentalism would stop and we would truly get a glimpse of God and His true Nature by getting a vision of Him, through WORD pictures and who we are as His Family.

Love was why HE created us - to have us to love and to bless us as a parent loves their child.
HE is so good. I do get tears often brother but many times they are just for the sheer Awe.

Thank you for walking with me through my desire to be with Him in words with another of His children.

I've needed this. Just to do this focusing that we've been allowed to do here.
It was like walking through the garden 'with' Him and it's blessed me and helped me at just the time, when I needed Him most.

Thank you Brother Everett. We still have many "break throughs" to enjoy. Even after we see HIM as HE is.

Bless you!

Hi Brother Everett. Praise the LORD. Your post is excellent. Yes, you got the Key there. Without His Love, the door won't open.

There's a thread in the archives somewhere that's titled something like, "Is love in action necessary to salvation?" Well, something like that, if you want use the Search engine to find the thread. That came from an old man who taught that "breakthrough". The "essential for salvation" breakthrough.

Yes, you are lined up with His Word on this issue. It's so essential now more than ever to be filled up on His Word, like Corrie Ten Boon recommended we do - to get through these coming days. I'm so glad you posted so much of it.
Bless God.

I've gotta take another break from posting for a while - health reasons - but I hope you'll spread the news of the Diety of Christ and the necessity of His Love.

I've enjoyed meeting you and glorifying Him together sincerely and will be looking for ya when HE comes. Then we'll really be 'laughing' with JOY that we made it. PRAISE GOD !!!

His Love and His Word in abundance to you.
Always.

Annie

In this one week this Forum has seen Unitarianism, Oneness Doctrine and those who say it doesn't matter how or what people believe about Who Jesus is.

Who Jesus is - is the Foundation upon which all the rest of what Christianity is based upon.

Our Christology is a foundational and First Doctrine of Salvation.

If our Christology is off - all else built upon a faulty foundation is dross.
Posting this Site Link for those who care to find out Who Jesus is.
That would be a recommended venture.
If we cannot prove out Scripturally Who Jesus is - it's time we may want to brush up or learn.

This whole site is downloadable, but I can't find the link, but we downloaded it years ago, so I assume that the Download Link is still somewhere on this Site.

[url=http://www.thriceholy.net/uuf.html][b] He said ~ "Learn of Me."[/b][/url]

[b]LORD Bless![/b]

Edit: [url=http://www.thriceholy.net/zip.html][b]I found it! Praise God![/b] :-)[/url]

[color=CC0033][b]Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

[Isa 41:4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.

Isa 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

Isa 48:12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. ]

Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Rev 1:17,18 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Rev 21:3-7 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. [/b][/color]

2Pe 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

John Gill Exposition:

2Pe 2:1 - But there were false prophets also among the people,.... As well as holy men of God, who gave out prophecies, by the inspiration and impulse of the Holy Spirit; that is, among the people of the Jews, God's professing people, whose God was the Lord, and who had chosen them to be a special and peculiar people, above all people of the earth; and had distinguished them by his favours from all others: among these, though the Syriac version reads "in the world", there were false prophets, who ran, and were not sent; and who prophesied, and the Lord spake not to them: of these there were many in Jeremiah's time, and in the times of Ezekiel; and in Ahab's time, besides the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, slain by Elijah, there were four hundred that called themselves the prophets of the Lord; among whom went forth a lying spirit, encouraging Ahab to go up to Ramoth Gilead, promising him prosperity and success; Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah, with whom Micaiah, the true prophet, had much contention, was at the head of them; and such there were among that people in all ages, until the times of Christ, and in his likewise; see Mat_7:15 now from these,[u] by an easy transition, the apostle proceeds to another part of his design in this epistle, to describe the characters of false teachers under the present dispensation, that saints may beware, and avoid their pernicious principles and practices: even as there shall be false teachers among you; which need not to be wondered at, or stumble any, it being no new or strange thing, but what was always more or less the case of the people of God. This is a prophecy of what should be, and agrees with the prediction of our Lord, Mat_24:11 and which regards not only the times immediately following, in which it had a remarkable fulfilment, for false teachers now began to arise, and appeared in great numbers in the age succeeding the apostles, but to all periods of time from hence, to the second coming of Christ; and these were to spring from, and be among such that bore the Christian name, and so regards not Mahometans and Deists; and it is to be observed, that the phrase is varied in this clause, and these are called not "prophets" but "teachers": because as prophecy was more peculiar to the former dispensation, so is teaching to the present: who privily shall bring in damnable heresies: errors in the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel; such as relate to a trinity of persons in the Godhead; and to the person of Christ, to his proper deity, distinct personality,[/u] eternal sonship, and real humanity; and to his office as Mediator, rejecting him as the true Messiah, and as the only Saviour of sinners; denying his sacrifice and satisfaction, and the imputation of his righteousness; and to the Holy Spirit, [u]his deity, personality, and divine influences and operations: these are "damnable", or "destructive", or "heresies of destruction"; which lead to eternal destruction both those that introduce and propagate them, and those that embrace and profess them; for they remove, or attempt to remove, the foundation of eternal life and happiness: the manner in which these are usually introduced is "privily"; at unawares, secretly, under a disguise, and gradually, by little and little, and not at once, and openly; and which is the constant character and practice of such men, who lie in wait to deceive, creep into churches at unawares, and into houses privately; and insinuate their principles under specious pretences and appearances of truth[/u], using the hidden things of dishonesty, walking in craftiness, handling the word of God deceitfully, and colouring things with false glosses and feigned words: and even denying the Lord that bought them.

Barnes Notes:

Even denying the Lord that bought them - This must mean that they held doctrines which were in fact a denial of the Lord, or the tendency of which would be a denial of the Lord, for it cannot be supposed that, while they professed to be Christians, they would openly and avowedly deny him. To “deny the Lord” may be either to deny his existence, his claims, or his attributes; it is to withhold from him, in our belief and profession, anything which is essential to a proper conception of him. The particular thing, however, which is mentioned here as entering into that self-denial, is something connected with the fact that he had ““bought”” them. It was such a denial of the Lord “as having bought them,” as to be in fact a renunciation of the uniqueness of the Christian religion.
(1)\tthat the word used here Δεσπότην Despotēn is not the usual term (κύριος kurios) by which the Lord Jesus is designated in the New Testament; and,
(2)\tthat the admission that it refers to the Lord Jesus would lead inevitably to the conclusion that some will perish for whom Christ died.
That it does, however, refer to the Lord Jesus, seems to me to be plain from the following considerations:
(1) It is the obvious interpretation; that which would be given by the great mass of Christians, and about which there could never have been any hesitancy if it had not been supposed that it would lead to the doctrine of general atonement. As to the alleged fact that the word used, Δεσπότης Despotēs, is not that which is commonly applied to the Lord Jesus, that may be admitted to be true, but still the word here may be understood as applied to him. It properly means “a master” as opposed to a servant; then it is used as denoting supreme authority, and is thus applied to God, and may be in that sense to the Lord Jesus Christ, as head over all things, or as having supreme authority over the church. It occurs in the New Testament only in the following places: 1Ti_6:1-2; Tit_2:9; 1Pe_2:18, where it is rendered “masters;” Luk_2:29; Act_4:24,; Rev_6:10, where it is rendered “Lord,” and is applied to God; and in Jud_1:4, and in the passage before us, in both which places it is rendered “Lord,” and is probably to be regarded as applied to the Lord Jesus. There is nothing in the proper signification of the word which would forbid this.
(2) the phrase is one that is properly applicable to the Lord Jesus as having “bought” us with His blood. The Greek word is ἀγοράζω agorazō - a word which means properly “to market, to buy, to purchase,” and then to redeem, or acquire for oneself by a price paid, or by a ransom. It is rendered “buy” or “bought” in the following places in the New Testament: Mat_13:44, Mat_13:46; Mat_14:15; Mat_21:12; Mat_25:9-10; Mat_27:7; Mar_6:36-37; Mar_11:15; Mar_15:46; Mar_16:1; Luk_9:13; Luk_14:18-19; Luk_17:28; Luk_19:45; Luk_22:36; Joh_4:8; Joh_6:5; Joh_13:29; 1Co_7:30; Rev_3:18; Rev_13:17; Rev_18:11 - in all which places it is applicable to ordinary transactions of “buying.” In the following places it is also rendered “bought,” as applicable to the redeemed, as being bought or purchased by the Lord Jesus: 1Co_6:20; 1Co_7:23, “Ye are ‘bought’ with a price;” and in the following places it is rendered “redeemed,” Rev_5:9; Rev_14:3-4. It does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. It is true that in a large sense this word might be applied to the Father as having caused his people to be redeemed, or as being the Author of the plan of redemption; but it is also true that the word is more properly applicable to the Lord Jesus, and that, when used with reference to redemption, it is uniformly given to him in the New Testament. Compare the passages referred to above.
It is strictly and properly true only of the Son of God that he has “bought” us. The Father indeed is represented as making the arrangement, as giving his Son to die, and as the great Source of all the blessings secured by redemption; but the “purchase” was actually made by the Son of God by his sacrifice on the cross. Whatever there was of the nature of “a price” was paid by him; and whatever obligations may grow out of the fact that we are purchased or ransomed are due particularly to him; 2Co_5:15. These considerations seem to me to make it clear that Peter referred here to the Lord Jesus Christ, and that he meant to say that the false teachers mentioned held doctrines which were in fact a “denial” of that Saviour. He does not specify particularly what constituted such a denial; but it is plain that any doctrine which represented him, his person, or his work, as essentially different from what was the truth, would amount to such a denial.

If He were Divine, and that fact was denied, making him wholly a different being; if he actually made an expiatory sacrifice by his death, and that fact was denied, and he was held to be a mere religious teacher, changing essentially the character of the work which he came to perform; if he, in some proper sense, “bought” them with his blood, and that fact was denied in such a way that according to their views it was not strictly proper to speak of him as having bought them at all, which would be the case if he were a mere prophet or religious teacher, then it is clear that such a representation would be in fact a denial of his true nature and work. That some of these views entered into their denial of him is clear, for it was with reference to the fact that he had bought them, or redeemed them, that they denied him.

Adam Clarke:

Jesus Christ, who had bought them with his blood; and the heresies, or dangerous opinions, may mean such as opposed [u]the Divinity of our Lord[/u], or his meritorious and sacrificial death, or such opinions as bring upon those who hold them swift destruction. It seems, however, more natural to understand the Lord that bought them as applying to Christ, than otherwise; and if so, this is another proof, among many,
1.\tThat none can be saved but by Jesus Christ.
2.\tThat through their own wickedness some may perish for whom Christ died.

Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His Own blood.

edited to add.

Thank you Everett.

Tri-Unity/Co-Equality Of The ONE GOD.

Mat 3:16 And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him:
Mat 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Isa 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon Him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

Mat 12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon Him, and He shall show judgment to the Gentiles.
Mat 12:19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
Mat 12:20 A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench, till He send forth judgment unto victory.
Mat 12:21 And in His name shall the Gentiles trust.

Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Isa 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Isa 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Luk 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luk 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Isa 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
Isa 11:2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
Isa 11:3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
Isa 11:4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
Isa 11:5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

Rom 15:12 And again, Isaiah saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.

Dan 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
Dan 7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
1Co 15:27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
1Co 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

[b]Joh 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

1Jn 4:13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

Rom 8:9-14 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the [u]Spirit of Christ[/u], he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
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. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
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.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Rom 8:1-4 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Eze 11:19.20 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh: that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

Eze 36:26,27 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Luk 11:13If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

1Co_6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Gal_4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Eph 1:17-23 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.

Eph 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
Eph 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
Eph 3:18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
Eph 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.
Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Eph 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

2Ti 1:13,14 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.

1John 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

Php 1:19-21 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

1Pe 1:10-12 Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

1Ti 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Joh 16:13,14 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.

***

Jer 20:9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Mat 24:25 Behold, I have told you before.
Mat 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Mat 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:28 For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. [/b]

Hi Everett. I think you answered your own question on the previous page and within this last post.
He emptied Himself and became as one of us and while in the flesh Only - He did not have the "day nor the hour" to share with the disciples, while mortal.
You spoke how he limited Himself in your explanation of the God/man.
He said, "Father Glorify me with the Glory I had with You from the beginning", when looking at His coming death/Crucifixion.

He is not "limited and humiliated in the flesh" if you read Rev. 19:11 - on.

The flesh of the Son died, but rose from the dead in a glorified body. And you're right, "God didn't die."

The Logos only became subservient, while in the flesh of man. He is Co-Equal with the Father again now as He was before the Incarnation.

Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Php 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Php 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Php 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Php 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

He shares the Same Glory and Throne ~

Eze 1:26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
Eze 1:27 And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
Eze 1:28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke.

Rev 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
Rev 4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

Hi Brother, I went straight to chpt 12 of your book, because I know the Oneness doctrine - and his chart about our beliefs in the Tri-Unity of God is off.
Numbers 8 & 9 are covered in this thread.

Many answers are in the post on page 5 about the Tri-Unity and why we don't believe the Oneness doctrine.

Too many Scriptures left out of the book you offered. And renaming our belief as "Tritheism" is a slur to what we believe.

Going through the pages I see the same verses left out and the same lame history.

If we go with Scripture alone - the problem of understanding the Triune Godhead is not problematic.

Just those on page 5 on this thread alone if viewed without any preformed bias, speak for themselves.

I said, I did understand your problem with the titles, Trinity and "persons", but the Scriptures bare out the Three in ONE GOD.

I'm thrilled that you understand that Christ or The Logos is GOD but your beliefs are forcing you not to see a major bulk of Scripture.

Man's words do not prove anything to anyone - only Scripture.
We could go through that book chpt. by chpt. but unless we do it Scripture by Scripture and your heart is open to possibly seeing the Godhead as Three equals in One God, then it would be unfair to my time to try.

If you are concreted into your belief - than how far can we go with our conversation without constant disagreeing?

I'm at the point in my life where I don't read much of anything but The Word, because only it is 100% Divinely Inspired and is Living.
I've read enough of man and have seen enough of how they've split the Church.
If we all could just learn Hermeneutics properly and stay with the Bible Only as our basis for discussions, I think in the long run - we'd all benefit from such discussions. At least it would cause us to dig deeper into The Word, which I hear from Polls taken, is only truly studied by an extremely low number of professing Christians. How sad.

His Love to you.

Actually I'll just look at the previous posts since these things have already been discussed. Thank you for your fellowship.

Thank you on both accounts brother. I hope you will understand that I saw it from The Bible and asking the Holy Spirit to fulfill John 16:13 and not from man's teaching. I really believe that we're to be like little children when asking for Truth and fully dependent and leaning and trusting that verse about The Holy Spirit.
Like little kids. Wide open - big eyed and dependent.

Still equates to One God regardless and the Scriptures don't 'take' from That Fact - but just expounds on how HE works.

Bless you also. You're a kind soul.
I pray for you HIS Best - Always.

[color=CC3300][b]Mic 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Isa 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness [John the baptist], Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Mat 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

1Jn 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

Joh 20:28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

Heb 1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.

1Ti 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Joh 5:18 - Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

Joh 10:30 I and my Father are one.

Joh_10:33 - The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

Joh_14:9 - Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

Joh_14:23 - Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

Phil_2:6 - Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God

Rev 1:17 - .... Fear not; I am the first and the last

Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

[Isa 41:4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.

Isa 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

Isa 48:12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. ]

Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Rev 1:17,18 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Rev 21:3-7 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. [/b][/color]

[color=993300][b]If Jesus is not God, then explain...

Why Thomas calls Jesus God in John 20:28? (Note, Thomas addresses Jesus specifically.)

Why does God call Jesus God in Heb. 1:8?

Why does John the apostle state that Jesus was the Word which was God that became flesh (John 1:1,14)?

Why is the phrase "Call upon the name of the LORD" (Hebrew, YHWH, i.e., Psalm 116:4) used only of God on the OT, and translated into the Greek in the LXX as "Call upon the name of the LORD (greek, KURIOS)," applied to Jesus in the NT (1 Cor. 1:2) if Jesus is not God in flesh?

Why does the apostle John say that Jesus was , "...calling God His own Father, making Himself equal to God," (John 5:18)?

What did Jesus say that caused the Pharisees to claim that Jesus was making Himself out to be God?

How was it possible for Jesus to know all things (John 21:17)?

How can Jesus know all men (John 16:30)?

How can Jesus be everywhere (Matt. 28:20)?

How can Jesus, the Christ, dwell in you (Col. 1:27)?

How can Jesus be the exact representation of the Nature of God (Heb. 1:3)?

How can Jesus be eternal (Micah 5:1-2)?

How can Jesus be the one who gives eternal life (John 10:27-28)?

How can He be our only Lord and Master (Jude 4)?

How can Jesus be called the Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6) if there is only one God in existence (Isaiah 44:6-8; 45:5)?

How can Jesus be called the Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6) and "God" also be called the Mighty God in Isaiah 10:21?

How was Jesus able to raise Himself from the dead (John 2:19-21)?

How can Jesus create all things (Col. 1:16-17), yet it is God who created all things by Himself (Isaiah 44:24)?

How can Jesus search the hearts and minds of the people (Rev. 2:23)?

Why was Jesus worshiped (Matt. 2:2,11; 14:33; 28:9; John 9:35-38; Heb. 1:6) when He says to worship God only (Matt. 4:10)? (same Greek word for worship is used in each place.)

In the OT God was seen (Exodus 6:2-3; 24:9-11; Num. 12:6-9; Acts 7:2), yet no man can see God (Exodus 33:20; John 1:18). It was not the Father that was seen in the OT (John 6:46). Who, then were they seeing? See John 8:58.
Then why did Jesus claim the divine name, "I AM", for Himself in John 8:58? see Exodus 3:14.

Then why did Jesus say you must honor him even as you honor the Father (John 5:23)?

Then why is it that both the Father and the Son give life (John 5:21)?

Then why did Jesus bear witness of Himself (John 8:18; 14:6)? [/b][/color]

[url=http://www.carm.org/doctrine/Jesus_to_john.htm][color=CC3300][b]John KNEW Him.[/b][/color][/url]

[url=http://www.carm.org/doctrine/100truths.htm][color=CC3300][b]1Ti 3:16 ~ "God was manifest in the flesh"[/url][/b][/color]

Everett wrote:
If there is a Co Equality among the "persons" in the Godhead then why is the Son seen as inferior to the Father. The Son doesn't know the day of his return only the Father. That would mean he doesn't know everything in which being God he should know. The Son died but the Father can't die. What happened to the Co-Equality there since the Son is now inferior or below the Father but that is impossible if there is Co Equality in the Godhead, meaning all three persons who are all equally God are equal but the Son is not equal to the Father in his humanity. Jesus has two natures. A human side and a divine side. The human side is what we call the Son which had limitations, he had to pray to the Father. The divine side is what we call the Father within. God was in him

So how can The Son have Co equality with the other "Persons" of the Godhead when he is limited and humiliated in the flesh?

[i][b]Subordination isn't the same as inferiority![/b][/i] Otherwise we would be some kind of inferior being to our parents, our teacher or our boss in work, or to the King, Queen or President of wherever we happen to live.

Similarly Jesus' willing subordination to the Father in no way means He is inferior.

Re His not knowing "the day nor the hour", Zola Levitt had a wonderful little booklet about this. It spoke from the perspective of Jewish marriage customs of the time.

Maybe a young man saw a girl he would like to marry. He would go home and ask his father to arrange things. There would be consultation between the two families, and if all went to plan, the betrothal would take place.

Then the bridegroom would return to his father's house and prepare a special bridal chamber, (or perhaps even a separate house on his father's estate).

This preparation was usually expected to take about a year, then the young man would go to fetch his bride.

But he wouldn't be able to go until his father had inspected the prepared place, and approved of it. (In case the young man ,eager to have his wife, had failed to do things properly).

So the bride and her family would know roughly when to expect the bridegroom, and would no doubt post lookouts when the time came near, but they wouldn't know exactly.

And if the bridegroom was asked when he was going to get his wife, he might well say, with a wry smile (he loves her so much it's difficult to contain his eagerness) "Only Father knows!"

I think that's beautiful, don't you?

In Him

Jeannette

From the other thread, as it seems relevant:

[b]why Jesus had to be wholly God and wholly man[/b]:
Even if the Bible said so less plainly than it does this would be the only way God could save us. Even the divine nature of the Holy Spirit is logically essential to our salvation:

After the Fall, God made clothes of skins for Adam and Eve. He also promised that one born from the woman would crush the serpent.

Even if Satan had no access to "insider information" this would show him a lot about God's plan for mankind's rescue, and his own destruction.

Yet mankind had put himself in Satan's power, so how could man crush him?

The clothes of skins show that an innocent victim had to die, and be made a covering for man's sin.

But how can a sheep be a substitute for a man? Only a man can substitute fully for a man.

But man was now blemished, and would pass the blemish on to all their children.

And even if God were to create another perfect man, as Adam was in the beginning, how could he possibly stand against temptation? Humanity - even perfect humanity - is by its very nature too weak to resist Satan's wiles. The test in Eden had already showed that.

Who can stand against Satan, who is stronger and cleverer than he? Only God Himself.

But even Satan is more intelligent than man; he must have figured out some idea of what God would have to do to solve this dilemma.

Think of the requirements of this "Lamb"

1. The "lamb" must be fully human, born of a woman as we all are, and as God promised Eve.

2. The "lamb" must be perfect

3. The "lamb" must be capable of succeeding where Adam had failed.

4. The "lamb" must somehow be able to give rise to a new type of man, who would be able to resist temptation, who would be able to succeed where our ancestors failed.

As i said, only God is stronger and cleverer than Satan. Even if another angel proved mightier in a fight, he couldn't save mankind. Angels are too different from us.

So the only way God could save mankind is for God also to somehow become man and, AS A MAN, beat Satan on his own ground!

And as a man he would have to die, as the perfect sacrifice for sin.

And then He would have to come Himself and live within men, to give them the power to overcome Satan.

I love General Booth's hymn, "Send the fire". One verse has the lines:
For strength to ever do the right,
For grace to conquer in the fight,
For power to walk the world in white,
Send the fire, send the fire, send the fire!

This is the only way

And only God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, no less, could do it.

This is more of a meditation than an argument, and has blessed me so very much - many of the thoughts (to put things in that particular way) were new to me too - that each Person of the Godhead is absolutely necessary to our salvation, and each has to be God Himself, or we could not be saved.

HALLELUJAH!!!

Jeannette

Thanks LittleGift.
I tried to go off to do something else and this song started going through my head. :-)

[url=http://www.lyricsondemand.com/miscellaneouslyrics/christianlyrics/standupstandupforjesuslyrics.html][b]Stand up! Stand up for Jesus! [/url]

Stand up! stand up for Jesus!
Ye soldiers of the cross;
Lift high His royal banner,
It must not suffer loss:
From vict'ry unto vict'ry
His army shall He lead,
Till every foe is vanquished
And Christ is Lord indeed.

Stand up for Jesus
Ye soldiers of the cross;
Lift high His royal banner,
It must not, it must not suffer loss.

Stand up! stand up for Jesus!
The trumpet call obey;
Forth to the mighty conflict
In this His glorious day.
Ye that are men, now serve Him
Against unnumbered foes;
Let courage rise with danger.
And strength to strength oppose.

Stand up! stand up for Jesus!
Stand in His strength alone;
The arm of flesh will fail you;
Ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the Gospel armor,
And, watching unto prayer,
Where duty calls, or danger,
Be never wanting there.

Stand up! stand up for Jesus!
The strife will not be long:
This day the noise of battle,
The next the victor's song;
To him that overcometh
A crown of life shall be;
He, with the King of Glory,
Shall reign eternally.

Amen![/b]

Friend, I don't have a facebook, but you've stuck yourself in my heart under Family Photos.

Thinking of some of my favorite Scriptures earlier today and about The Holy Spirit and how 'He' bears witness of Who Jesus is, in the spirit of the believer.

Joh 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Joh 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Joh 16:9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
Joh 16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
Joh 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Joh 16:12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.
Joh 16:14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.

http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=727

Good article.

Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Mat 1:23 "Behold! The virgin will conceive in her womb and will bear a son, and they will call His name Emmanuel" (which translated is, God with us). Isa. 7:14

G1694 Εμμανουήλ Emmanouel
Thayer Definition: Emmanuel = “God with us”
1) the title applied to the Messiah, born of the virgin, Mat_1:23, , because Jesus was God united with man, and showed that God was dwelling with man
Part of Speech: noun proper masculine

John Wesley - Mat 1:23 - They shall call his name Emmanuel - To be called, only means, according to the Hebrew manner of speaking, that the person spoken of shall really and effectually be what he is called, and actually fulfil that title. Thus, Unto us a child is born - and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace - That is, he shall be all these, though not so much nominally, as really, and in effect. And thus was he called Emmanuel; which was no common name of Christ, but points out his nature and office; as he is God incarnate, and dwells by his Spirit in the hearts of his people. It is observable, the words in Isaiah are, Thou (namely, his mother) shalt call; but here, They - that is, all his people, shall call - shall acknowledge him to be Emmanuel, God with us. Which being interpreted - This is a clear proof that St. Matthew wrote his Gospel in Greek, and not in Hebrew. Isa_7:14.

Adam Clarke - Mat 1:23 - Both the Divine and human nature of our Lord, as well as the miraculous conception, appear to be pointed out in the prophecy quoted here by the evangelist: - He shall be called עמנו־אל IM-MENU-EL; literally, The Strong God with Us: similar to those words in the New Testament: - The Word which was God - was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth: Joh_1:1, Joh_1:14. And, God was manifested in the flesh: 1Ti_3:16. So that we are to understand, God with us, to imply God incarnated - God in human nature. This seems farther evident from the words of the prophet, Isa_7:15.

Jamieson, Faussett & Brown - Mat 1:23 - shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which, being interpreted, is, God with us--Not that He was to have this for a proper name (like "Jesus"), but that He should come to be known in this character, as God manifested in the flesh, and the living bond of holy and most intimate fellowship between God and men from henceforth and for ever.

[b]Is 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.[/b]

[b][u]By Him All Things Consist[/u]

When Paul declared in Ephesians that "Christ filleth all in all" and in Colossians that "Christ is all and in all," he was not merely giving us pious phrases to roll under our tongues; he was stating the fixed and fundamental fact of the Allness of Jesus Christ. Christ was everything to Paul. To the Corinthians he had written, "I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified." To the Galatians he wrote: "God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ." To the Ephesians he wrote of Him who "filleth all in all," and to the Philippians he declared, "To me to live is Christ."

Writing to the Colossians, he met an outbreak of heresy not so much by pointing out its errors, although he did that, as by presenting the Lord Jesus Christ as "the image of the invisible God," "Christ in you, the hope of glory," "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," "Christ, who is our life," "Christ, all and in all."

It has been a long time since Colossians was written, but there is the same tendency to belittle our Lord. Thousands of Christians localize Him in their thinking either to Palestine a long time ago or at the Father's right hand now. One thinks of the preacher, back from a trip to the Holy Land, who bored everybody by continually relating it. Finally, an old preacher observed, "I'd rather walk with Christ five minutes now than five years where He has been!" We need the sweep of Paul's vision to see Christ past, present, and future.

No wonder so many Christians are pale, sickly, anemic: they do not know what a Christ they have.

If Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and Ending, Author and Finisher of our faith, if by Him all things consist, it follows that everything centers and converges in Him.

By Him creation consists. "For by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created by him and for him" (Col. 1:16). How many Christians ever think of Christ as the One "by whom all things are created," as Colossians puts it; "by whom all things were made: as John puts it; "by whom God made the worlds," as Hebrews put it? Why did God make the universe, anyway? He made it that one day Christ might be all in all, that one day, from tiniest electron to mightiest planet, it might glorify Jesus. Scientists cannot give the reason for the universe: Christ is the reason. Creation is now enslaved in corruption, but one day it will display the glory of Christ, the bondage of sin will be broken, the Sons of God be manifested. And Christ not only created the universe and is its object but He sustains it now. The very existence of each of us, to say nothing of our salvation, depends on Him. Without Him the universe would fall apart.

By Him redemption consists. In order to conform men to the image of His Son, God gave His Son. There is no salvation in any other.

By Him the Gospel consists. The Gospel is simply the good news about Jesus, that He came, died, and rose again. It is not a program, plan, or philosophy that saves, but a Person. It takes a Person to reach persons, a Life to reach lives. The Gospel is a personal matter: "HE shall save His people from THEIR sins." "I if I be lifted up will draw all men unto ME."

By Him the Bible consists. True, we see Christ in the light of the Scriptures, for they are they which testify of Him. But we can see the Scriptures only in the light of Christ. He is the Key to the Scriptures. He expounded unto His disciples in all the Scriptures the things concerning HIMSELF.

All roads lead to Him throughout the Book. Someone has said that the Pentateuch gives us the foreshadowings of Christ; the Prophets, the foretellings of Christ; the Psalms, the feelings of Christ; the Gospels the facts of Christ; the epistles, the fruits of Christ.

By Him the church consists. "God gave him to be head over all things to the church which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all" (Eph. 1:22,23). We are married to Him, members of His Body. Any group that feeds on itself and not on Christ is a monstrosity, for it is a headless body.

By Him doctrine consists. Some Christians become disciples of a phrase instead of a person, they harp on one string and ride one hobby. Some get off on a tangent on sanctification, for instance. But sanctification, strictly speaking, is not just a doctrine: Christ is our sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30).

Spurgeon said, "Holiness is not the way to Christ; Christ is the way to holiness." Better still, Christ is our holiness.

Some make the Holy Spirit the figurehead of movements, but the Spirit testifies not of Himself but of Christ (John 15:26). In that classic passage on the Spirit, John 7:37-39, it is Jesus who is at the center of the stage: "If any man thirst, let him come unto ME and drink. He that believeth on ME, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. 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." Any supposed experience of the Spirit that draws attention to itself and not to Christ is not to be trusted.

By Him the resurrection consists. Jesus said to Martha, "Your brother shall rise again." She said, "I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Martha was orthodox, but she needed to move from the doctrinal to the personal.

[i]So Jesus said, "I [u]am[/u] the resurrection and the life."
The resurrection is not something to believe but Someone to believe.[/i][/b]

[url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/articles/index.php?view=article&aid=10704]Excerpt: Vance Havner[/url]

Just a tiny fragment of the Scriptures that prove it out.

HE chose 'each' Word in His Word very carefully and for a specific purpose - so it should always be read very slowly - considering "one word at a time." Note all the personal & possesive pronouns especially.

Joh 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Joh 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Joh 16:9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
Joh 16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
Joh 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Joh 16:12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.
Joh 16:14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.

Everett wrote:
That was a really good article but i still just can't accept that the Holy Spirit is another person outside the one person of God.
I believe that since the Holy Spirit is the spirit of Jesus who is God and then the spirit of Jesus is the spirit of God so we don't need to label it as separate since He is altogether the same spirit and Jesus who is the Word made flesh, who reveals the characteristics and personalities of God to humanity and the Holy Spirit who implements those characteristics and personalities into the heart of mankind to recreate the image and likeness of God.

I don't see separate persons but one God working in many forms, one God working and residing in three main offices and roles throughout this earthly phase of life.

And He did!

Some thoughts that have really blessed me concerning the concept of "three Persons":

We know that Jesus humbled himself (Philipppians 2 etc), but have you thought about the utter [i][u]humility[/u][/i] of God, in and of himself, in the mutual interaction of Father, Son and Spirit?

For example, the Father keeps nothing back and gives all to the Son, all authority and power and the name by which we are saved.

The Son is totally obedient and responsive to the Father, and submits to his will in all things - whatever the cost.

And the Holy Spirit - Power personified - doesn't speak of himself but hides himself and glorifies Jesus instead, and reveals him to men. He also shows perfect responsive obedience to the Father and the Son - allows himself to be sent by the Father at Jesus' request, as if he was a mere angel to be commanded!

Technically, as mentioned before in one of these threads, John's Gospel bends the rules of Greek grammar to make it clear that the Spirit isn't a mere "it". The word for "spirit" is a neuter noun, so sometimes "it" has to be used to make it plain that the reference is to the Spirit, not to someone else. Then [i][u]masculine[/u][/i] forms (pronouns I think - my understanding of grammar is rather vague) are used of the Spirit.

Blessings

Jeannette

psalm1 wrote:
jeanette, we used to sing that at the brownsville revival.

Brownsville probably isn't much known outside America, though Pentecostals in the UK have certainly heard of Azuza Street. Are the two places near each other or connected historically? Was the Brownsville revival recent? (You can't be old enough for the Azuza Street move - even I'm not that old ;-)!

Now and again I try to get in a sly reminder to those of you from the USA that America isn't the only nation in the world, so you can't assume that the rest of us know what you are talking about :-P)

Isn't it great though that we are all one in Christ - even if we do sometimes argue quite a lot!

Jeannette

LittleGift, do you know, just now is the first time in over a year and a half that I've wished I could start a thread. :-(

It would be called "Is sound doctrine a must?"

Here are just a few of the verses I'd put in the first post I think.

2Ti 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
2Ti 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Tit 1:9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

Tit 2:1 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine

2Jn 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
2Jn 1:8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
2Jn 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
2Jn 1:10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed:
2Jn 1:11 For he that biddeth him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds.

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;
Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Tit 2:15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

1Ti 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

[b]Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last

Isa 41:4 I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.

Isa 48:12 I am the first, I also am the last.

Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

We know that this is Jesus in these verses above.

His appearing is also in this next verse -

Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and [u]the glorious 'appearing' of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ[/u]

The following discusses the "one article" within this verse.

A.T. Robertson - of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ (tou megalou theou kai so¯te¯ros Ie¯sou Christou). This is the necessary meaning of the one article with theou and so¯te¯ros just as in 2Pe_1:1, 2Pe_1:11.

Geneva notes: (e) Christ is here most plainly called that mighty God, and his appearance and coming is called by the figure of speech metonymy, our hope.

Jamieson, Faussett & Brown - the great God and our Saviour Jesus --[u]There is but one Greek article to "God" and "Saviour," which shows that both are predicated of one and the same Being.[/u][/b] "Of Him who is at once the great God and our Saviour." Also (2) "appearing" (epiphaneia) is never by Paul predicated of God the Father (Joh_1:18; 1Ti_6:16), or even of "His glory" (as ALFORD explains it): it is invariably applied to CHRIST'S coming, to which (at His first advent, compare 2Ti_1:10) the kindred verb "appeared" (epephanee), Tit_2:11, refers (1Ti_6:14; 2Ti_4:1, 2Ti_4:8). Also (3) in the context (Tit_2:14) there is no reference to the Father, but to Christ alone; and here there is no occasion for reference to the Father in the exigencies of the context. Also (4) the expression "great God," as applied to Christ, is in accordance with the context, which refers to the glory of His appearing; just as "the true God" is predicated of Christ, 1Jo_5:20. The phrase occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, but often in the Old Testament. Deu_7:21; Deu_10:17, predicated of Jehovah, who, as their manifested Lord, led the Israelites through the wilderness, doubtless the Second Person in the Trinity. Believers now look for the manifestation of His glory, inasmuch as they shall share in it. Even the Socinian explanation, making "the great God" to be the Father, "our Saviour," the Son, places God and Christ on an equal relation to "the glory" of the future appearing: a fact incompatible with the notion that Christ is not divine; indeed it would be blasphemy so to couple any mere created being with God.

Next - "God our Savior" and "Jesus Christ our Savior"...

Jud 1:25 To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Tit 3:4 But after that the kindness and love [u]of God our Savior toward man appeared[/u],
Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Tit 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through [u]Jesus Christ our Savior[/u]

[b]Robertson's Word Studies - Of God our Saviour[/b] (theou so¯te¯ros he¯mo¯n). Genitive case with epitage¯n. In the lxx so¯te¯r (old word from so¯zo¯ for agent in saving, applied to deities, princes, kings, etc.) occurs 20 times, all but two to God. In the N.T. the designation of God as Saviour is peculiar to Luk_1:47; Jud_1:25; 1Ti_1:3; 1Ti_2:3; 1Ti_4:10; Tit_1:3; Tit_2:10; Tit_3:4. In the other Epistles Paul uses it of Christ (Phi_3:20; Eph_5:23) as in 2Ti_1:10. In 2Pe_1:1 we have “our God and Saviour Jesus Christ” as in Tit_2:13.

Next question would be - Who is this and who is speaking in the last three verses?

Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Rev 21:5 And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Rev 21:6 And He said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Shalom!

Everett wrote:But then doesn't Jesus also say something like I will not leave you comfortless (i.e. the comforter/holy spirit)....I WILL COME UNTO YOU?

Hi Everett - Yes, that verse in within these -

Joh 14:16 And [u]I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;
Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth[/u]; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Joh 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Joh 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
Joh 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

These verses above 'do' prove that the Comforter is "the Spirit of Jesus Christ" Php 1:19, Rom 6:9, 1Pet 1:11 - and/or "the Spirit of God" and also shows "the Three in One" as do these below.

Joh 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me

Joh 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Joh 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Joh 16:9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
Joh 16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
Joh 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Joh 16:12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.
Joh 16:14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.

It would be interesting to see you debate the unitarians, my friend.

I'd smile if those threads weren't so sad.

Everett wrote:
... And what is Jesus doing now?

No time to ponder the rest of your posts now - will try to later - but this question is fairly easy to answer!

Hebrews 7
[color=990000] 24 But this [i]man[/i], because he continueth ever, hath [b]an unchangeable priesthood[/b].
25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing [b]he ever liveth to make intercession for them[/b].[/color]

What is Jesus doing, He's praying for us!

So who is He praying [i]to[/i]? ;-)

There's also 1Corinthians 15:

[color=990000] 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
24 Then cometh the end, [b]when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father[/b]; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.[/color]

So Jesus is extending His rule and subduing His enemies.

[color=990000]26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
28 And [b]when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.[/b] [/color]

Those few verses say a lot about the relationship between Father and Son.

As said before, that Jesus is subordinate to the Father doesn't mean inferior: As God, Jesus reigns supreme, as man He submits to the Father, as we should have done.

Indeed it could be said that He submits on our behalf so that the whole of Creation will be brought back into its proper order.

Mmmm, that's a new thought for me too, but that does seem to be the sense of the passage...

in Him

Jeannette

Everett wrote:
That was a rhetorical question by the way but you answered it correctly if it were an actual question. Bravo! We seem to have the same idea, the same concept and doctrine on this since I have said the same thing concerning Jesus' humanity as to being a man and his divinity as to being God in which he had to submit and pray to the Father in his human nature and how he is Lord God Almighty who can walk on water and calm the roaring sea as to his divine nature but the "persons" and "trinity" terminology is the only thing I find right now that separates us and a lot of other people in doctrine.

Our human words are just hooks to hang concepts on. They don't have substance in themselves, as the Word of God has.

It's when the concepts themeslves are badly wrong that there are problems.

Blessings

Jeannette

Yes, the way you put it shows the distinct differential personalities of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit but don't you see how Jesus fulfills all of these? Who was Jesus before he was manifested in the flesh? Who was Jesus on this earth? And what is Jesus doing now? Seems to be he is the One who is and who was and who is to come? The Most High God. The Almighty God. Its no wonder Paul said that in him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily! God said that he would reveal his Name in the end times and it just so happens that the name of Jesus is that One name of God that is being revealed to the whole world. Not everyone comes to know Jehovah Jireh or the Lord God but once they come to know Jesus all his other names come with it. Jehovah Salvation is pretty much the whole purpose of the bible. God who knew that mankind would sin prepared a sacrifice and all throughout the centuries he has been working, working, working through different methods to come to the end of the book of revelation where Man is back with God in the paradise and the devil and all evil are where they are supposed to be out of the presence of God in and under the wrath of God. Jehovah Salvation/Joshua/Jesus is in a nutshell is the Word of God his thoughts, his emotions, his will revealed, manifested and carried out.

Hi Brother again. Other than what I posted on Page 5 here that showed some "interdependence" going on - in the Tri-Unity post [and not just "showing the Father"] - and maybe looking at what's called The Lord's Prayer - I'd say your Modelism is no where near compared to Unitarianism - that believes that Jesus wasn't/isn't GOD.
Your quote up above here, reads almost like the first post on this thread page one.

That is one major - foundational - essential doctrine - that JESUS IS GOD. And since you are such a strong believer in His Deity - that's why I said, you should go talk to them. :-) Now I will smile.
Had communion at Church this morning and a good message on His Divinity and what communion is, in Truth.

Everett, I don't know if you attend a Church - do you ?

One problem I have with the Oneness Churches is, when they say that if we're baptised in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit - that we're not Saved.

Pooey brother - I don't believe that.

The other thing they teach is that, unless you have the Baptism with tongues as the evidence, you're not saved neither. [even though I'm pentecostal - I don't believe that neither.]

Do you believe those things?

I can't find that Baptism thread and really don't want to go searching for it and through it anyways. Only wanted to know what you personally believe on these two teachings and not even to debate them - just so that I'd know.

We've got some here also teaching that unless we have Sabbath on Saturday - we're antichrist.

It's getting rough Everett. I like agreeing where we can every time - but some things are just non-negotiable. Especially that our SAVIOR IS GOD.

Thanks brother Everett.

HE_Reigns wrote

Hi Brother again. Other than what I posted on Page 5 here that showed some "interdependence" going on - in the Tri-Unity post [and not just "showing the Father"] - and maybe looking at what's called The Lord's Prayer - I'd say your Modelism is no where near compared to Unitarianism - that believes that Jesus wasn't/isn't GOD.
Your quote up above here, reads almost like the first post on this thread page one.

That is one major - foundational - essential doctrine - that JESUS IS GOD. And since you are such a strong believer in His Deity - that's why I said, you should go talk to them. :-) Now I will smile.
Had communion at Church this morning and a good message on His Divinity and what communion is, in Truth.

Everett, I don't know if you attend a Church - do you ?

One problem I have with the Oneness Churches is, when they say that if we're baptised in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit - that we're not Saved.

Pooey brother - I don't believe that.

The other thing they teach is that, unless you have the Baptism with tongues as the evidence, you're not saved neither. [even though I'm pentecostal - I don't believe that neither.]

Do you believe those things?

I can't find that Baptism thread and really don't want to go searching for it and through it anyways. Only wanted to know what you personally believe on these two teachings and not even to debate them - just so that I'd know.

We've got some here also teaching that unless we have Sabbath on Saturday - we're antichrist.

It's getting rough Everett. I like agreeing where we can every time - but some things are just non-negotiable. Especially that our SAVIOR IS GOD.

Thanks brother Everett.

SO YOU SEE THIS INTRICATE UNITY HERE?
NO DIVISION IN PERSONS BUT ONE GOD MANIFESTED IN THREE

HA - cut ya short there - but whenever you go to capitals, I get such a kick out of it. It's like the joy of The LORD. I start laughing - but in a good way.

Hey, maybe they'll stone me next - but again - this thread bears my heart out on this subject.

SO YOU SEE THIS INTRICATE UNITY HERE?
NO DIVISION IN PERSONS BUT ONE GOD MANIFESTED IN THREE

Ya see, you said, GOD MANIFESTED IN "THREE MAIN OFFICES AND ROLES" --- and I said, I like to call that the Tri-Unity or Co-Equality of the Godhead. To me that's the "INTRICATE UNITY HERE".

This thread has been so refreshing to me these last however manys days that all I can do is thank you and LittleGift with her post on "The Lamb" - it's just been really refreshing and I've needed it - HIM. Amen.

Thank you to the both of you.
LORD BLESS YA'S.

[b]What is the 'mystery' ?

That our Creator God would die for us. One God called 'ĕlôhîym.[/b]

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God{'ĕlôhîym/plural} created the heaven and the earth.

Joh 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, [u]and the Word was God[/u]. The same was in the beginning with God.
[u]All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. [/u]

Isa 45:12 I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.

Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: [u]all things were created by him, and for him[/u] {God created 'for' Himself - by Himself.}

Mal 2:10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us?

Eph 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ

Isa 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

[b]Who is this that came to Adam & Eve in the Garden ? ~~[/b]
Gen 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God{'ĕlôhîym/plural} walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God{'ĕlôhîym/plural} amongst the trees of the garden.

[b]The Great "I AM".

John 18:6[/b] As soon then as he had said unto them, [b]I am[/b] (he,-not in the Greek) they went backward, and fell to the ground.

He called Himself "I AM". In the "present tense".

Why did they all fall to the ground ? Not on their faces, but backwards.

That moment could have given them a space of time to repent, but as Wesley said, "probably the priests among them might persuade themselves and their attendants, that this also was done by Beelzebub; and that it was through the providence of God, not the 'indulgence' of Jesus, that they received no farther damage."

[b]Joh 8:24[/b] I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that [b]I am[/b] (he,-not in the Greek) ye shall die in your sins.

John Wesley on Joh 8:24 - " If ye believe not that I AM - Here (as in Joh_8:58) our Lord claims the Divine name, I AM, Exo_3:14."

[b]Vincent's Word Studies ~ "I am (εγω ειμι) the words are rather the solemn expression of His absolute divine being, as in Joh_8:58 : “If ye believe not that I am.”
See Deu_32:39; Isa_43:10; and compare Joh_8:28, Joh_8:58 of this chapter, and Joh_13:19."

A.T. Roberson ~ "The phrase egō eimi occurs three times here (Joh_8:24, Joh_8:28, Joh_8:58) and also in Joh_13:19. Jesus seems to claim absolute divine being as in Joh_8:58."

Joh 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. [/b]

Matthew Henry ~ “Verily, verily, I say unto you; I do not only say it in private to my own disciples, who will be sure to say as I say, but to you my enemies and persecutors; I say it to your faces, take it how you will: Before Abraham was, I am;” prin Abraam genesthaî egō eimi, Before Abraham was made or born, I am. The change of the word is observable, and bespeaks Abraham a creature, and himself the Creator; well therefore might he make himself greater than Abraham. Before Abraham he was, First, As God. I am, is the name of God (Exo_3:14); it denotes his self-existence; he does not say, I was, but I am, for he is the first and the last, immutably the same (Rev_1:8); thus he was not only before Abraham, but before all worlds, Joh_1:1; Pro_8:23. Secondly, As Mediator. He was the appointed Messiah, long before Abraham; the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev_13:8), the channel of conveyance of light, life, and love from God to man. This supposes his divine nature, that he is the same in himself from eternity (Heb_13:8)"

R. A. Torrey ~ "I am: That our Lord by this expression asserted his divinity and eternal existence, as the great I AM, appears evident from the use of the present tense, instead of the past tense, from its being in answer to the Jews, who enquired whether he had seen Abraham, and from its being thus understood by the multitude, who were exasperated at it to such a degree that they took up stones to stone him. The ancient Jews not only believed that the Messiah was superior to and Lord of all the patriarchs, and even of angels, but that his celestial nature existed with God from whom it emanated, before the creation, and that the creation was effected by his ministry. Exo_3:14; Isa_43:13, Isa_44:6, Isa_44:8, Isa_46:9, Isa_48:12; Rev_1:8"

[b]Who's on the throne ?[/b]

Eze 1:26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
Eze 1:27 And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
Eze 1:28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke.

Rev 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
Rev 4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

[b]The Express Image of God[/b]

Joh 14:9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Eph 1:9-10 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him

Eph 4:10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.

Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell;
Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature

2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

[b]Before the Incarnation, was there Anyone but One God ?

Now onto Future tense .....

Zec 14:9 And the LORD shall be King over all the earth: in 'that day' shall there be one LORD, and his Name One. [/b]

1Co 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

~ God . . . all in all--as Christ is all in all (Col 3:11 ~ "...but Christ is all, and in all." Compare Zec. 14:9 above.)

Adam Clarke ~ 1Co 15:28 - "When the administration of the kingdom of grace is finally closed; when there shall be no longer any state of probation, and consequently no longer need of a distinction between the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory; then the Son, as being man and Messiah, shall cease to exercise any distinct dominion and God be all in all: there remaining no longer any distinction in the persons of the glorious Trinity, as acting any distinct or separate parts in either the kingdom of grace, or the kingdom of glory, and so the one infinite essence shall appear undivided and eternal. And yet, as there appears to be a personality essentially in the infinite Godhead, that personality must exist eternally; but how this shall be we can neither tell nor know till that time comes in which we shall See Him as He Is. 1Jo_3:2."

John Gill ~ "1Co 15:28.. that God may be all in all; for by God is not meant the Father personally, but God essentially considered, Father, Son, and Spirit, who are the one true and living God; to whom all the saints will have immediate access, in whose presence they will be, and with whom they shall have uninterrupted fellowship, without the use of such mediums as they now enjoy; all the three divine Persons will have equal power and government in and over all the saints; they will sit upon one and the same throne; there will be no more acting by a delegated power, or a derived authority: God will be all things to all his saints, immediately without the use of means; he will be that to their bodies as meat and clothes are, without the use of them; and all light, glory, and happiness to their souls, without the use of ordinances, or any means; he will then be all perfection and bliss, to all the elect, and in them all, which he now is not; some are dead in trespasses and sins, and under the power of Satan; the number of them in conversion is not yet completed; and, of those that are called many are in a state of imperfection, and have flesh as well as spirit in them; and of those who are fallen asleep in Christ, though their separate spirits are happy with him, yet their bodies lie in the grave, and under the power of corruption and death; but then all being called by grace, and all being raised, and glorified in soul and body, God will be all in all: this phrase expresses both the perfect government of God, Father, Son, and Spirit, over the saints to all eternity, and their perfect happiness in soul and body, the glory of all which will be ascribed to God; and it will be then seen that all that the Father has done, in the council and covenant of peace, were all to the glory of his grace; and that all that the Son has done in the salvation of his people, is all to the glory of the divine perfections: and that all that the Spirit of God has wrought in the saints, and all that they have done under his grace and influence, are all to the praise and glory of God, which will in the most perfect manner be given to the eternal Three in One."

~ At the end of Revelation ... when all is brought back under One God ... from vs 3, do you see anything different ? ... Remembering, these 5 verses are one continuous sentence.

Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and 'his' servants shall serve 'him':
Rev 22:4 And they shall see 'his' face; and 'his' name shall be in their foreheads{Rev 3:12}.
Rev 22:5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for 'the Lord God' giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever.
Rev 22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and 'the Lord God' of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto 'his' servants the things which must shortly be done.
Rev 22:7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the saying of the prophecy of this book. Etc.

[b]The Lamb = The Creator = God ~[/b]

Rev 10:6 And swore by him that liveth forever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
Rev 10:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

~ The Lamb comes out of the "midst" (or middle) of the throne, otherwhere's seen as from in "the bosom" of God. Still One God.

[b]"The Mystery"[/b] .... to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God, The New Jersusalem, with GOD. (all that Adam 'had', plus lots more :)

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be 'with them', and be their God.
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
[b]~~NEXT THREE VERSES ARE IN 'RED'.
Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; [u]and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.[/u] [/b]

[url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=7346&forum=36&9][b]Glory To [u]GOD[/u] - Again, "The First and The Last"[/b][/url]

[url=http://www.carm.org/doctrine/100truths.htm][b]100 Truths About Jesus[/url]

Jesus claimed to be God - John 8:24; 8:56-59 (see Exodus 3:14); John 10:30-33
Jesus is called God - John 1:1,14; 20:28; Col. 2:9; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:8
Jesus is the image of the invisible God - Heb. 1:3
Jesus abides forever - Heb. 7:24
Jesus created all things - John 1:1-3; Col. 1:15-17
Jesus is before all things - John 1:1-3; Col. 1:17;
Jesus is eternal - John 1:1,14; 8:58; Micah 5:1-2
Jesus is honored the same as the Father - John 5:23
Jesus is prayed to - Acts 7:55-60; 1 Cor. 1:2 with Psalm 116:41; (John 14:14)
Jesus is worshipped - Matt. 2:2,11; 14:33; John 9:35-38; Heb. 1:6
Jesus is omnipresent - Matt. 18:20; 28:20
Jesus is with us always - Matt. 28:20
Jesus is our only mediator between God and ourselves - 1 Tim. 2:5
Jesus is the guarantee of a better covenant - Heb. 7:22; 8:6
Jesus said, "I AM the Bread of Life" - John 6:35,41,48,51
Jesus said, "I AM the Door" - John 10:7,9
Jesus said, "I AM the Good Shepherd" - John 10:11,14
Jesus said, "I AM the Way the Truth and The Life" - John 14:6
Jesus said, "I AM the Light of the world" - John 8:12; 9:5; 12:46; Luke 2:32
Jesus said, "I AM the True Vine" - John 15:1,5
Jesus said, "I AM the Resurrection and the Life" - John 11:25
Jesus said, "I AM the First and the Last" - Rev. 1:17; 2:8; 22:13
Jesus always lives to make intercession for us - Heb. 7:25
Jesus cleanses from sin - 1 John 1:9
Jesus cleanses us from our sins by His blood - Rev. 1:5; Rom. 5:9
Jesus forgives sins - Matt. 9:1-7; Luke 5:20; 7:48
Jesus saves forever - Matt. 18:11; John 10:28; Heb. 7:25
Jesus discloses Himself to us - John 14:21
Jesus draws all men to Himself - John 12:32
Jesus gives eternal life - John 10:28; 5:40
Jesus resurrects - John 5:39; 6:40,44,54; 11:25-26
Jesus gives joy - John 15:11
Jesus gives peace - John 14:27
Jesus has all authority - Matt. 28:18; John 5:26-27; 17:2; 3:35
Jesus judges - John 5:22,27
Jesus knows all men - John 16:30; John 21:17
Jesus opens the mind to understand scripture - Luke 24:45
Jesus received honor and glory from the Father - 1 Pet. 1:17
Jesus reveals grace and truth - John 1:17 see John 6:45
Jesus reveals the Father - Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22
Jesus bears witness of Himself - John 8:18; 14:6
Jesus' works bear witness of Himself - John 5:36; 10:25
The Father bears witness of Jesus - John 5:37; 8:18; 1 John 5:9
The Holy Spirit bears witness of Jesus - John 15:26
The multitudes bear witness of Jesus - John 12:17
The Prophets bear witness of Jesus - Acts 10:43
The Scriptures bear witness of Jesus - John 5:39
The Father will honor us if we serve Jesus - John 12:26 see Col. 3:24
The Father wants us to fellowship with Jesus - 1 Cor. 1:9
The Father tells us to listen to Jesus - Luke 9:35; Matt. 17:5
Everyone who's heard & learned from the Father comes to Jesus - John 6:45
We come to Jesus - John 5:50; 6:35,37,45,65; 7:37;
The Father draws us to Jesus - John 6:44
The Law leads us to Christ - Gal. 3:24
Jesus is the Rock - 1 Cor. 10:4
Jesus is the Savior - John 4:42; 1 John 4:14
Jesus is the King - Matt. 2:1-6; Luke 23:3
In Jesus are the treasures of wisdom and knowledge - Col. 2:2-3
In Jesus we have been made complete Col. 2:10
Jesus indwells us - Col. 1:27
Jesus sanctifies - Heb. 2:11
Jesus loves - Eph. 5:25
We sin against Jesus - 1 Cor. 8:12
We receive Jesus - John 1:12; Col. 2:6
Jesus makes many righteous - Rom. 5:19
Jesus sends the Holy Spirit - John 15:26
Jesus offered up Himself - Heb. 7:27; 9:14
Jesus offered one sacrifice for sins for all time - Heb. 10:12
The Son of God has given us understanding - 1 John 5:20
Jesus is the author and perfector of our faith - Heb. 12:2
Jesus is the Apostle and High Priest of our confession - Heb. 1:3
Jesus is preparing a place for us in heaven - John 14:1-4
Jesus is the Light of the world - Rom. 9:5
Jesus has explained the Father - John 1:18
Jesus was crucified because of weakness - 2 Cor. 13:4
Jesus has overcome the world - John 16:33
Truth is in Jesus - Eph. 4:21
The fruit of righteousness comes through Jesus Christ - Phil. 1:11
Jesus delivers us from the wrath to come - 1 Thess. 1:10
Disciples bear witness of Jesus Christ - John 15:27
Jesus died for us - 1 Thess. 5:10
Jesus died and rose again - 1 Thess. 4:14
Jesus was a ransom for many - Matt. 20:28
The Christian dead have fallen asleep in Jesus - 1 Thess. 4:15
Jesus rendered the devil powerless - Heb. 2:14
Jesus is able to save completely - Heb. 7:25
Jesus came to serve - Matt. 20:28
Jesus came to be a high priest - Heb. 2:17
Jesus came to save - John 3:17; Luke 19:10
Jesus came to preach the kingdom of God - Luke 4:43
Jesus came to bring division - Luke 12:51
Jesus came to do the will of the Father - John 6:38
Jesus came to give the Father's words - John 17:8
Jesus came to testify to the truth - John 18:37
Jesus came to set us free from the Law - Rom. 8:2
Jesus came to die and destroy Satan's power - Heb. 2:14
Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets - Matt. 5:17
Jesus came to give life - John 10:10,28
Jesus came to taste death for everyone - Heb. 2:9
Jesus came to proclaim freedom for believers - Luke 4:18 [/b]

[url=http://www.carm.org/doctrine/Jesus_to_john.htm][b]Who is Jesus according to John the Apostle?[/b][/url]

The Alpha and The Omega ~ Praise His Thrice Holy NAME !

I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN BROTHER.

YOU LOVE HIM SO MUCH - YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR GOING TO BURST - LITERALLY - AND WITH A BIG SMILE AND A TEAR IN YOUR EYE.

HE'S AWESOME !!!!!!! < - 7 for Perfection - Or Revelation 1:4,3:1,4:5,5:6.

:-D

[b]We Love HIM because HE 'First' Loved us.

Thank YOU JESUS !

He misses our fellowship with HIM alone.

He waits in that secret place to love, speak, comfort, exhort and direct us individually.

HE said, "Without ME, you can do Nothing."

We 'are' His Body - He needs to be The Head of/on His Body - the body cannot function without a head -- [i]then[/i] we shall take off in Faith and Love and His Spirit and do the works that HE did while in the body He was in, while on this earth.
What HE did - we 'can' do - if we put our eyes back unto HIM.

HE is our judge - HE is our Creator - HE is Who we need every minute of every day. He keeps our hearts beating and HE can stop them when HE pleases. We need to see HIM.
Then His Body will be whole and work as One - not comparing ourselves among ourselves, but all looking to HIM individually.

What a beautiful wholeness we can have with HIM and each other - as HIS Body.

He wants to work through a healthy/sound Body.

LORD GOD - Dear JESUS - help us to have our eyes singlarly on YOU - then we will be a witness of YOU in this world as One Body working under One Head.

His Thrice Holy Name only, be exalted.

Glory to GOD !!!

"To His Glory Only." --- Lord we pray.[/b]

[b][color=003399]Quote:
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pastorfrin wrote:
I was in a meeting a number of years ago where the head of the SBC was the speaker.
He told the story of attending the National Prayer Breakfast; this was I believe toward the beginning of President Bush’s first term, which does not matter because this is not about him. The speakers theme was how one should be politically correct and not offend others by using the name of Jesus Christ.
[u]In other words the name of Jesus was not to be used in conversation or public prayer[/u], as the name Jesus Christ may be an offense to others.

Now, one must understand the caliber of those in attendance, all denominations were represented, as well as many nations and of course, many of our political leaders, business leaders and such.

[u]The speaker finished his speech on ‘Not Using the Name of Jesus Christ’ and the whole place stood and erupted into applause.[/u]

The head of the SBC said at that moment the Holy Spirit spoke to him and said, “you will not stand”, so he and his staff remained seated without applauding, to the disgruntle of those around them.

The point being this, when we go along with not using the name of Jesus Christ and those who promote this ‘political correctness’, we are promoting apostasy.[/color]

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[color=CC3300]Brother, I wonder if you are correct using this word apostasy in this case, is too soft, I can strongly feel the spirit of antichrist here. anti-Christ - against-Christ

[i]1Pe 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
1Pe 2:7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
1Pe 2:8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.

Eph 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;[/i]

I think the devil is too smart to promote something openly against Christ and open persecution in the "countries that have liberty and freedom", like mine, America, western Europe etc(he will probably do that in the end days, but the church has been always the strongest in times of persecution), but now there is more wicked way, much more.

[u]Now we are witnesses of counterfeit Christianity, the real one has been substitute with false one that can many believe in the false Christ, non-offensive one, which is idol in reality, because it doesn't exist. And so many are after that.[/u]

[i]The voice of our Lord is still crying:

Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.[/i][/color]

[color=003399]Quote:
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I still proclaim Jesus Christ is the only name under heaven whereby one must be saved and there is no other way unto the Father then through Jesus Christ.
All those religious leaders, politicians, high ranking dignitaries from around the world, and of course many of our corporate heads or representatives, all applauding not using the name of Jesus Christ.

Can one imagine instructing Paul, Peter, Silas, and all the other disciples not to use the name of Jesus Christ because it may offend someone? Was this not the reason most all of them lost their lives? How about Stephen, should he be reprimanded for using the name of Jesus Christ? Can we say he got what he deserved because he did not go along with the system, like so many are accused of today?

Those who gave their lives not only used the name of Jesus Christ, they proclaimed Him to all and in all that they did.

It is time for the true Christian to stand up and proclaim Jesus Christ and to stop giving in to the whims of the many voices which proclaim ‘political correctness’; as the disciples and members of the early church were, so must we become.
Why are we afraid? Are your jobs and your worldly possessions more important than Jesus Christ?

[u]It does not matter what man nor organization says, this is not the time to be politically correct, it is time to proclaim JESUS CHRIST, and if it cost us all we have in this world, we may begin to understand these words:[/u]

2 Tim. 3:12
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. [/color]
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[color=CC3300]I think I cannot agree more. I still remember in one sermon that I heard years ago, brother Wilkerson was preaching how [u]we will hear less and less preaching the Name of Jesus, we will hear God, Almighty, but the name of Jesus will be forbidden. This is happening in front of our eyes, and it will be promoted in a stronger way in the years following.[/u]

Kire

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[/color]

'This is happening in front of our eyes, and it IS being promoted in an even stronger way, Now' - because they [u]don't *KNOW* or 'want' to KNOW[/u] HIM.

Same old serpent sin - 666 - "[u]man[/u] wants to be promoted."

1Jn 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there 'many' antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

"Anti" means - "in place of" also.

Humans are being promoted or 'wanting to be' promoted 'in place of' Christ Jesus and 'their words' over HIS. This is "against" Christ Jesus.

[color=CC0000]Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.[/color] [/b]

[color=993300]SOS 2:1 ~ I am the rose of Sharon, and the Lily of the valleys.

Son 3:2-4 I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said,
"Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?"
It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go ~[/color]

[color=006600][b]Eli_Barnabas wrote:

... urged Willam Nagenda repeatedly,“Let us talk about Jesus.”

Praise God! What a perfect example of the power of God confirming the preaching and exalting of the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe with all my heart if we just start preaching Jesus again, like the apostles did, we shall see the power of God. Though we may not like to admit it, much preaching today is not Christ centered but something else centered with Christ on the side.

http://www.richardbewes.com/comments-4.html [/b][/color]

[color=006600] [b]Pastorfrin posted:

[u]I'd Rather Have Jesus[/u]

(1) I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold,
I'd rather be His than have riches untold;
I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands,
I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand.

CHORUS:

Than to be the king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin's dread sway;
I'd rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.

(2) I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause,
I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I'd rather have Jesus than world-wide fame,
I'd rather be true to His holy name.

(3) He's fairer than liles of rarest bloom,
He's sweeter than honey from out the comb;
He's all that my hungering spirit needs,
I'd rather have Jesus and let Him lead. [/b][/color]

[b][color=006600]hmmhmm posted:

(Leonard Ravenhill)
My goal is God Himself.
Not joy.
Not peace.
Not even blessing, but [u]Himself, my God[/u]
It is His to lead me there not mine but His.
[i]At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.[/i]
So faith bounds forward to its goal in God and love can trust our Lord to lead her there.
I pray by Him my soul will follow hard ’til God has at last fulfill my deepest prayer.
No matter if the way become sometimes dark.
No matter if the cost be often great.
He knoweth how I best should reach the mark.
The way that leads to Him must need be straight.
One thing I know, I cannot say Him nay.
One thing I do, I press toward my God.
The secret of the life of the Apostle was this - you want to know – it’s this one thing I do - he never got into sidetracks.
He never got into business like so many preachers do.
This one thing I do, it will be hell to get there.
I forget – one of the old puritan preachers said in the 1600s - you have to go through hell to get to heaven.
You have to lose everything in order to become the part of the Bride of Jesus Christ.
One thing I know, I can not say Him nay.
One thing I do, I press toward my Lord.
My God, my glory here from day to day.
And in the glory then, my great reward - {HIM}[/color][/b]

[color=CC3333] 1Ch 16:11 Seek the LORD and His strength, seek His Face continually.

Psa 105:4 Seek the LORD, and His strength: seek His Face evermore. [/color]

[color=006666][b][i]Christ: 1Jn 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life [Zoe]

His Word: Php 2:16 Holding forth the word of life [Zoe]; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.[/i]

The Word of Life

The Savior or the Scriptures?
By Richard Hollerman

"Throughout history men have fallen into one extreme view or another. This is as true in the spiritual realm as in every other realm of life. Instead of maintaining a balance of truth, we follow one truth to the neglect of an equally valid truth. Others, in reaction, may focus their attention on the neglected truth but thereby fail to give proper attention to the truth that others have wrongly made their exclusive concern. Let us explore how a proper balance has been violated in regard to two equally important and vital truths.

Our Focus on Jesus Personally:

The Lord Jesus declared, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12). (Unless otherwise noted, the New American Standard Bible is used.) Jesus Himself is the focus of our faith, our life, and our discipleship. Again and again, Christ drew our attention to Himself Personally:

· "I am the door of the sheep" (John 10:7).
· "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11).
· "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25).
· "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).
· "I am the true vine" (John 15:1).

This focus on the Lord Jesus is clearly revealed in John, chapter 6. Our Lord declared, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst" (v. 35). Throughout this chapter, Jesus emphasized how essential it is to come to Him (vv. 44-45), behold Him (v. 40), and believe in Him (v. 40). We must even "eat His flesh" and "drink His blood" (vv. 53-56). Only through personally appropriating Him or spiritually consuming Him will we "live forever" (vv. 51,58) and "not die" (v. 50). Only through Him can we have life in ourselves (v. 53), an eternal life (v. 54) that issues in the resurrection (v. 54). Through responding to Jesus personally, particularly in His flesh and blood sacrifice, we will abide in Him and He in us (v. 56). Indeed, our entire life now and forever is utterly dependent on our personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ Jesus knows that our spiritual life now and eternally is directly related to Him personally. In the words of the hymn writer, we must cry to the Lord, "Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord, my spirit pants for Thee, O living Word."["Break Thou the Bread of Life," (by Mary A. Lathbury).

Christ is the theme of the entire New Testament. Through a perusal of its pages we discover that Jesus was the object of preaching. Philip "preached Jesus" to the Ethiopian (Acts 8:35). Paul likewise declared, "I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified" (I Cor. 2:2). Describing his preaching to the Galatians, Paul wrote "Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified" before their very eyes (Gal. 3:1).

The New Testament writers stressed that through Jesus Himself and through our response of faith in Him, we have such blessings as redemption and forgiveness (Eph. 1:7), the promised Holy Spirit (Gal. 3:14; Eph. 1:13), reconciliation with God (Rom. 5:10-11), a heavenly inheritance (1 Pet. 1:3-4), and experience the grace of God (1 Cor. 1:4). It is quite clear that no personal merit, no good deeds, nothing within ourselves can appropriate Jesus or His salvation blessings. We can merely respond to Him in a submissive, obedient faith (Romans 3:24-25; John 3:36; Heb. 5:9). Salvation is of the Lord!

The apostle Paul was passionately devoted to the Lord Jesus after he was delivered from sin. He wrote of this devotion on many occasions: "Whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him" (Phil. 3:7-9a). At another place, Paul wrote, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me" (Gal. 2:20). Just as Paul saw the necessity of having this deep and rich spiritual relationship with Christ personally, so we must see and experience it. We must trust, love, know, and serve the Lord Jesus Christ and abide in Him.

Our Focus on Christ's Word

There is a parallel theme in Scripture to what we have noticed above. The Word of Christ or the Word of God does not conflict with focusing our faith and life on Jesus personally but rather complements this. The Word of God itself is emphasized again and again, not in competition with Christ Jesus but as His active and powerful agent in accomplishing His saving purposes.

Notice how this underlying theme is found throughout the New Testament. Jesus said, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). We "live" (or find spiritual life) through God's word, just as we noticed above that we "live" through Jesus, the Bread of life. Furthermore, Jesus said that the "words" He spoke "are spirit and are life" (John 6:63). Later He said that if one "keeps [His] word he shall never see death" (8:51). While discussing the truth with His opponents, Jesus showed His entire devotion to God's Word with the statement: "The Scripture cannot be broken" (10:35). Jesus held the Word of God in highest esteem. On the night of His betrayal, Jesus said, in prayer to the Father, "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth" (17:17). Jesus so elevated His words that He could affirm, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away" (Matt. 24:35).

Not only did the Lord Jesus emphasize His Word (which was actually the Word of God), but this same theme is conveyed in the remainder of the New Testament. In the book of Acts, the apostles began to "speak the word with boldness" (4:31) and were careful not to "neglect the word of God" (6:2). The Samaritans and the Gentiles "received the word of God" (8:14; cf. 11:1). Sergius Paulus "sought to hear the word of God" (13:7) and nearly the whole city of Antioch "assembled to hear the word of God" (13:44; cf. v. 46). We also notice that "the word of God kept on spreading" (6:7) and "the word of the Lord continued to grow and be multiplied" (12:24; cf. 19:20). When Paul preached Christ to the Bereans, "they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so" (17:11).

As we continue reading, repeatedly we find references to the Word of God. In Romans, Paul uses the Scriptures, or the written Word of God, as the basis of his reasoning and argument. He frequently quotes it to end all disputes. He asks, "What does the Scripture say?" (Romans 4:3). To Paul, God's Word is inspired or God-breathed and is "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness" and through the written Word "the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The Scriptures give encouragement (Rom. 15:4) and lead to salvation through faith in Christ (2 Tim. 3:15). The Hebrew writer reminds us that "the word of God is living and active" and is "able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (4:12). Peter refers to "the living and abiding word of God" (1 Pet. 1:23-25).

An Unbalanced Focus on Either Christ or Christ's Word

We have noticed how the theme of Christ Jesus Himself and the theme of Christ's word (or God's word) are parallel themes that run through the entire New Testament. Both emphases are true and both are essential. We would have no faith in Christ Jesus were it not for the testimony to Him that the Scriptures bear. But we would have no Scriptures were it not for the fact that God inspired them to bear witness to His dear Son. Jesus Christ is the object of our faith and devotion-but so are the Scriptures, the written Word of God. From the time of Christ until the present age, men and women have often emphasized the one while neglecting the other.

Consider a prominent illustration of a nearly exclusive emphasis on the Scriptures alone. Even in the time of His earthly life, we find Jesus interacting with the Pharisees who were intense students of the Scriptures and of the accumulated traditions that were meant to interpret the Scriptures. Yet, very often, all of this devotion to the Scriptures merely involved a dry and academic exercise of the mind that left the Pharisees void of any real devotion to God Himself-the ultimate Author of the Scriptures that they professed to know and obey!

Jesus exposed this hypocrisy by saying to them, "I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves" (John 5:42). He said that they were hypocrites who were outwardly righteous and devoted to God but inwardly they were "full of robbery and self-indulgence . . . of hypocrisy and lawlessness" (Matt. 23:25,28). They worshipped and honored God with their lips but their hearts were far away from Him (Matt. 15:8-9). Although they studied the Scriptures, they did not understand them or the power of God (Matt. 22:29).

The tragedy of the Pharisees was that they seemed to be devoted to the Scriptures but in reality they closed their hearts to God and to His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life" (John 5:39-40). They searched for eternal life in the Scriptures and, in a sense, this is the very source of our knowledge of salvation and Him who gives it (2 Tim. 3:15). But the tragedy is that they went no further than this. They were unwilling to come to Christ Himself, the author and object of Scripture, that they might indeed have eternal life! The example of the Pharisees should be a warning to us of the danger of emphasizing the written Word of God while neglecting a warm and loving relationship with God through Christ Himself!

Others besides the Pharisees have had a misplaced emphasis on the text of Scripture without the needful and corresponding love for the Author of the Scriptures-the very God who inspired them! They too have stressed the importance of knowing the Scriptures. They may spend countless hours reading, studying, and meditating on the written Word of God. All of this is good-and needful. But these same people who seem to be devoted to the Bible may be spiritually dead, void of the Spirit, lacking in a love for Christ, and separated from any deep emotional response to God the Father.

We must acknowledge that most professing Christians plainly do not have a burning desire to know, love, and serve Jesus Himself. They may be like those in Ephesus who left their first love (Rev. 2:4) or they may have allowed their love to "grow cold" (Matt. 24:12). They may be similar to the Laodiceans who were lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, in their devotion to the Lord (Rev. 3:1 5-. 16). They make some form of commitment, claiming to be Christians, but their hearts are not ablaze for God! They tragically "profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him" (Tit. 1:16; cf. 1 John. 2:3-6). Although they hold to "a form of godliness," they have "denied its power" (2 Tim. 3:5). Inwardly, like the Pharisees, they are cold and devoid of spiritual life.

However, in addition, we must also observe that most professing Christians do not have a burning desire to search the Scriptures, know the Scriptures, and obey the Scriptures (John 5:39-40; Luke 8:21). They have neglected to read, study, and seek truth in the written Word of God. They have either minimized the importance of the Bible or have become entangled in their "desires for other things" that "enter in and choke the word" so that "it becomes unfruitful" (Mark 4:19). In short, they neither have a fervent devotion to glorify and love Jesus personally nor do they have a firm commitment to His Word or delight in seeking the truth of Scripture."

Christ and His Word

Christ Jesus and His Word are so intimately related and connected that if we rightly emphasize Christ we will necessarily emphasize His Word or teaching.

Likewise, the Scriptures are so centered on Christ Jesus that to focus on the Word of God is to focus on Jesus in all of His glory.

We cannot divide Christ from His Word that bears witness to Him.

Notice several passages that reveal this relationship quite clearly. Jesus said, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you" (John 15:7). These two relationships-abiding in Christ Himself and His words abiding in us-cannot be divided. It is impossible to abide in Christ if we refuse to allow His words to abide in us. And it is impossible to have Christ's words abide in us if we refuse to abide in Him!

In another place, Jesus said, "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day" (John 12:48). Judgment will come to those who reject Jesus and do not receive His words or teachings. It is not one or the other-but both.

Consider another instance. Jesus declared, "Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels" (Mark 8:34). It is not simply being ashamed of Jesus alone but also being ashamed of His words as well.

Jesus is so closely related to His words that we must not separate them.

Peter could see this relationship. After the disciples of Jesus walked away from Him because His teaching was too difficult for them (John 6:60,66), Jesus asked the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?" (v. 67). Peter answered, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God" (vv. 68-69). He was convinced that Jesus was the Holy One of God.

But he also was convinced that Jesus spoke "words of eternal life." He saw the relationship between Christ and His words-a relationship that we also need to see.

At the conclusion of His "Sermon on the Plain," Jesus said, "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46). Once again we can see that there is a relationship between Jesus and His words. It is one thing to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and respond to Him personally but this is only genuine if one actually accepts what Jesus has taught and obeys it. One cannot accept the Person of Jesus while rejecting His teachings.

This intimate relationship between Christ and His words is seen very clearly in John 14. Notice how Jesus expresses this: "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me" (v. 21a). We relate to Jesus personally when we are willing to respond to His words. He continues, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. He who does not love Me does not keep My words" (vv. 23a, 24a).

It is not simply a matter of loving Jesus and disregarding His words.
Nor is it a matter of obeying Jesus' words and neglecting Him.
Instead, we must love Him personally as well as respecting and obeying His words.

These passages are sufficient for us to see how Christ and His Word must both be accepted. We are never justified in emphasizing Christ while neglecting His Word nor are we justified in having a preoccupation with His Word while neglecting Him personally.

Similar Descriptions

Has it ever come to your attention that some of the same descriptions are given to both Christ and His Word? Notice several of these:

(a) [u]Christ and His Word give life.[/u]

Christ: "The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live" (John 5:25b).

Word: "The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life" (John 6:63).

(b) [u]Christ and His Word will judge.[/u]

Christ: "Not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son" (John 5:22).

Word: "The word I spoke will judge him on the last day" (John 12:48).

(c) [u]Christ and His Word save.[/u]

Christ: "Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15).

Word: "In humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls" (James 1 :21b).

(d) [u]Christ and His Word make disciples.[/u]

Christ: "Whoever does not carry his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:27).

Word: "If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine" (John 8:32b).

(e) [u]Christ and His Word are truth.[/u]

Christ: "I am... the truth" (John 14:6).

Word: "I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice" (John 18:37).

(f) [u]Christ and His Word will prevent spiritual death.[/u]

Christ: "This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die" (John 6:50).

Word: "If any one keeps My word he will never see death" (John 8:5 1).

What are we saying by these comparisons? We must conclude that these comparisons may be made because the Word of Christ is an extension of Christ Himself.

Christ is revealed or manifested through His Word.
Christ is so identified with His own Word that what is affirmed of Him may be affirmed of His Word.

Therefore, we must never emphasize Christ to the exclusion of His Word nor must we be so engrossed in His Word that we neglect the One who gave that Word.

Christ as the Word

It is helpful for us to remember that Jesus Himself is called the "Word" (Greek, logos). John writes, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). He then identifies this Word: "The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth" (v. 14). The Word became flesh and was born of the virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judea 2,000 years ago. The Word was God's "personal manifestation." (W. E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, sv. "Word.") Thus, John could write, "No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him" (v. 18). Christ, the "Word" has made the Father known to us (cf. NIV). Therefore, His name is declared to be "the Word of God" (Rev. 19:13), and He is called "the Word of Life" by John (1 John 1:1). He has revealed or manifested or personalized God the Father to us (cf. John 14:9-11).

Christ is the personal, living "Word" of God. But He also speaks the Word of God.

Jesus said, "The things which I heard from Him [God], these I speak to the world. . . . I speak these things as the Father taught Me" (John 8:26b, 28b; cf. 7:16; 8:38). In prayer to His Father, Jesus said, "Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them" (John 1 7:7-8a). He explains this more fully in this way: "I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me" (John 12:49-50). He said, "The word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me" (John 14:24b; cf. v. 10).

Christ's words were God the Father's words. As we listen to Christ we are listening to God speaking to us! The one who receives Christ is receiving God and the one who receives Christ's words is receiving God's words (cf. Matt. 10:40; John 13:20).

The one who rejects Christ is rejecting God and the one who rejects Christ's words is rejecting God's words (cf. Luke 10:16). This shows the sober responsibility of responding to both Christ personally as well as the words of Christ!

What Have We Seen?

We began with the observation that Christ Jesus is the theme of the Scriptures (cf. Luke 24:25-26, 44-47; John 5:38-40). The Gospels reveal His coming to earth to be the Savior of the world and show how, through His sacrificial death and glorious resurrection, Jesus is the only way for people to be reconciled to God. The book of Acts shows us how Christ was preached and people responded to Him for the forgiveness of their sins. The remainder of the New Testament documents show how our faith in Him is to be manifested in our personal lives and in the body of Christ or community of believers.

We also noticed how crucial the Word of God is to our life. Through God's Word we are led to faith in Christ and nourished in our spiritual life. What we know about Christ is what we have learned from the pages of Scripture. We know the will of Christ and of God from what we see in the written Word.

We know that vast numbers of professing Christians have departed from this proper balance regarding Christ and His Word.

Some have searched for a rich, deep, and meaningful relationship with Christ but have neglected the written Word of God. They have wandered into mystical experiences, emotional excesses, aberrant theology, and false teaching because they have wandered from their Scriptural moorings and have suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.

Perhaps some few others have diligently applied themselves to the Scriptures and academic disciplines in an attempt to please God and know His will. However, they have become lost in intellectualism or tradition or cold and heartless religion. They have failed to find a rich and real relationship with God through Christ in the Holy Spirit.

Tragically, most professing Christians have taken neither of these routes. They have neither had mystical experiences through a spiritual quest nor have they become preoccupied with God's will in Scripture. They have been content to remain in a worldly and superficial form of religion.

What does God have planned for us? God our Father has reached down to us in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, and has made provision for our present and eternal salvation from sin, death, and eternal destruction. Those who come to God through Christ enter into a deep, rich, and fulfilling fellowship with Him and with others who are savingly related to Him as His children. This personal and corporate relationship with God in the Holy Spirit has been created, formed, and sustained by God's written revelation that we know as holy Scripture.

Through God's Word we are saved, forgiven, born again, and given new life; through it we grow and are nourished in our new life; and through it we are encouraged to endure to the end. The Word of God is God's divine agent in accomplishing His purposes with men and women.

We disrespect God and Christ if we neglect the Scriptures, and we disrespect the Scriptures if we neglect God and Christ who give us their Word in Scripture.

God's "Love Letters"

Let us imagine that a young man loves a girl but must be parted from her for a long period of time. Each day he writes his beloved a letter, explaining his day, aspects of his character, and describing his continued love and devotion for her. What if we discover that the girl continually receives these letters of love and carefully places them on her dresser-without opening them and without reading them? She may profess to love this young man, but we must question whether she really knows the meaning of love. Why? Because the man 's letters are extensions of himself his words reveal his heart, his mind, his character, his plans, and his dreams. His words also reveal his response toward this girl whom he loves. If the girl really loves him and receives his love, she will eagerly read each letter as soon as it arrives. She will open it expectantly, read over it receptively, search out the meaning of his words and expressions, and find deep delight in his words of love toward her! If she does not respond to his words in this way, her profession of love is in vain.

There is a lesson in this illustration for us. Christ loves us and wants us to respond to Him by responding to His Word. If we do genuinely love Christ and are devoted to Him, we will have a delight in reading, studying, discussing, listening to, and meditating on His revealed Word. If we do not respond to Him by believing His Word, loving His Word, and obeying His Word, we thereby demonstrate our lack of devotion to Him personally.

Think of it in this way. Jesus said, "The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart" (Matt. 12:34b). Christ speaks to us from what fills His heart. Therefore, we learn something of the heart and mind of our Savior by being receptive to what He has spoken-whether personally or through His chosen apostles and prophets (cf. 1 Cor. 14:37; 1 Thess. 4:2; 2 Peter 3:2; 1 Thess. 2:13).

Since Christ's thoughts and ways are higher than our thoughts and ways (cf. Isa. 55:8-9), the only way we can learn of His mind and heart is through what He has revealed to us. This is why it is so utterly vital that we respond in faith and love to His revealed Word.

And this is also why we must respond in humble submission and total obedience to what He has make known to us in Scripture.

We respond to Jesus Christ personally by responding to His Word, the Scriptures!

We must never separate what God has joined. We must never seek a relationship with God or with Christ on our own terms-through subjective revelations or mystical experiences.

But neither must we fall into a cold and heartless devotion to the Scriptures that leaves us devoid of spiritual life and without a warm and vibrant fellowship with God through Christ.

Paul warns, "If anyone advocates a different teaching and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the teaching conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing" (I Tim. 6:3-4a).

We must have an absolute commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and we must have a like commitment to The sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Anything less than this dishonors both Christ and the Word He has given."[/b][/color]

by Stuart Townend Copyright © 1999 Thankyou Music

[color=CC3333][b]O MY SOUL, ARISE AND BLESS YOUR MAKER,
For He is your Master and your Friend.
Slow to wrath but rich and tender mercy:
Worship the Saviour, Jesus.

King of grace, His love is overwhelming;
Bread of Life, He's all I'll ever need,
For His blood has purchased me forever:
Bought at the cross of Jesus.

And I will sing for all my days
Of heaven's love come down.
Each breath I take will speak His praise
Until He calls me home.

When I wake, I know that He is with me;
When I'm weak, I know that He is strong.
Though I fall, His arm is there to lean on:
Safe on the Rock of Jesus.

Stir in me the songs that You are singing;
Fill my gaze with things as yet unseen.
Give me faith to move in works of power,
Making me more like Jesus.

Then one day I'll see Him as He sees me,
Face to face, the Lover and the loved;
No more words, the longing will be over:
There with my precious Jesus.[/color][/b]

[color=3399FF][b]
*

[i]Rev 19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

Rev 19:11 And I saw Heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a Name written, that no man knew, but He Himself.

Rev 19:13 And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God.

Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Rev 19:15 And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Rev 19:16 And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

*

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.

Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Rev 21:5 And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Rev 21:6 And He said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

*

Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Rev 22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Rev 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. [/color][/i][/b]

[url=http://www.biblestudycharts.com/SH_All_That_Thrills_My_Soul.html][color=006633]"[u][b]ALL that thrills my soul is Jesus[/u]"[/url]

Who can cheer the heart like Jesus,
By His presence all divine?
True and tender, pure and precious,
O how blest to call Him mine!

[i]All that thrills my soul is Jesus,
He is more than life to me;
And the fairest of ten thousand
In my blessed Lord I see.[/i]

Love of Christ so freely given,
Grace of God beyond degree,
Mercy higher than the heaven,
Deeper than the deepest sea!

[i]All that thrills my soul is Jesus,
He is more than life to me;
And the fairest of ten thousand
In my blessed Lord I see.[/i]

What a wonderful redemption!
Never can a mortal know
How my sin, tho red like crimson,
Can be whiter than the snow.

[i]All that thrills my soul is Jesus,
He is more than life to me;
And the fairest of ten thousand
In my blessed Lord I see.[/i]

Every need His hand supplying,
Every good in Him I see;
On His strength divine relying,
He is all in all to me.

[i]All that thrills my soul is Jesus,
He is more than life to me;
And the fairest of ten thousand
In my blessed Lord I see.[/i]

By the crystal flowing river
With the ransomed I will sing,
And forever and forever
Praise and glorify the King

[i]All that thrills my soul is Jesus,
He is more than life to me;
And the fairest of ten thousand
In my blessed Lord I see.[/i][/b][/color]

[color=CC3333][b]
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.[/b][/color]

[color=006633][b][url=https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=20399&forum=34&0]by J. C. Ryle, [i]"To Whom?"[/i] 1880[/url]

"Because of what Jesus said, many of His
disciples turned their backs on Him and
stopped following Him." John 6:66

Millions in every age have turned their back on
Christ. The defection is continually going on.
It is an old disease, and must not surprise us.

The heart is always deceitful and desperately wicked;
the devil is always busy, and seeking whom he may devour;
the world is always ensnaring;
the way of life is narrow,
the enemies many,
the friends few,
the difficulties great,
the cross heavy,
the doctrine of the gospel offensive to the natural man.

What thoughtful person need wonder that multitudes
in every age turn back from Christ, throw off all religion,
and perish miserably!

It is only the 'sifting process' which God permits, in
order to separate the wheat from the chaff, through
which we must all pass. The world after all, with . . .
its pitfalls and snares for the soul,
its competitions and struggles,
its failures and successes,
its disappointments,
its perplexities,
its perpetual crop of crude theories and extreme views,
its mental conflicts and anxieties,
its extravagant 'free thought',
its equally extravagant superstition,
--the world is a fiery furnace and ordeal, through
which all believers must make up their minds to pass.

"Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words
of eternal life!" John 6:68

Where, indeed, could we turn . . .
for peace of heart,
for satisfaction of conscience,
for hope in the world to come,
--if we turn away from Jesus?

To whom, indeed, shall we go for help, strength,
and comfort--if we turn our backs on Christ?

We live in a world of troubles, whether we like it or
not. Our bodies are liable to a thousand ailments,
and our hearts to a thousand sorrows. No creature
on earth is so vulnerable, and so capable of intense
physical as well as mental suffering, as man.

Sickness,
and death,
and funerals,
and partings,
and separations,
and losses,
and failures,
and disappointments,
and private family trials,
which no mortal eye sees, will break in upon us
from time to time; and we desperately need help
to meet them! Alas, where will our thirsty, wailing
hearts find such help--if we leave Christ?

The plain truth is, that nothing but an almighty
personal Friend will ever meet the legitimate
needs of man's soul--with His daily help,
sympathy, and watchful care.[/b][/color]

[color=CC3333][b]Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Glory to the new-born King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th' angelic host proclaim
Christ is born in Bethlehem!

Refrain:
Hark! the herald angels sing
Glory to the new-born King!

Christ, by highest heaven adored;
Christ, the everlasting Lord;
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of the virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail the incarnate Deity,
Pleased as man with man to dwell;
Jesus, our Emmanuel!

Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Risen with healing in His wings,
Light and life to all He brings,
Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!
Hail, the Heaven-born Prince of Peace!

Come, Desire of nations come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman's conquering Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent's head.
Adam's likeness now efface:
Stamp Thine image in its place;
Second Adam, from above,
Reinstate us in Thy Love. [/b][/color]

How Blessed to give each other JESUS ! HE & HE alone satisfies.

Thank You LORD for Your Body.

[color=006633]www.watchman.net

[b]All Things In Christ[/b]
by Chip Brogden

"For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to Whom be glory for ever. Amen. (Romans 11:36)."

In my written and spoken messages I make frequent reference to the preeminence of Christ. Just what do we mean by Christ having the preeminence? What do we mean by giving Christ the preeminence in all things?

"Preeminence" literally means having the first, highest, chief, and best place in a position of ascendancy over everything else. It is an ultimacy, a glory, an honor, a distinction, a prestige, an illustriousness, a renown, a notability, and a nobility that surpasses all others. Paul simply says that the aim of God is for JESUS CHRIST to have THAT kind of position in - all things. That explains everything God has done, is doing and will do. But what does he mean by "all things"?

Whenever I teach from a passage that includes the phrase "all things" I usually stop and ask, "Now how many things does 'all things' include?" And the people always respond, "Everything!" That word "all" is a very large word, a very encompassing word. There is nothing outside of "all"! How casually and easily we allow our eyes to glance past these words. We have not comprehended them. If we comprehended them we could not read them with a yawn, but we would read them with a shout!

If we intend to make some exception to "all" we might say something like, "everything but" or "everything except" in order to qualify what we mean as something less than "all". But "all things" is without qualification. "All" is "all", and "all things" is everything. Nothing is left out, nothing is excluded. It is not necessary for us to list every single thing that "all" includes, because "all" is all-inclusive. But what about this, you ask? It is among the All. And what of this, you say? That, too, is included in the All. And what about this thing, or that thing? Oh yes, they are in the All as well. You cannot come up with a single thing that is not included in All.

So in Romans 11:36 Paul sums up the preeminence of Christ into three expressions: "Of Him... through Him... to Him... are ALL THINGS." "OF HIM" says that everything which exists - things in heaven, things in earth, everything that was created, everything that has come into being, everything that will come into being - is created by, and because of, CHRIST. "THROUGH HIM" says that everything which lives, moves, breathes, operates, exists, or functions in this universe, whether animate or inanimate, whether biological, chemical, spiritual, natural, or cosmotological - does so THROUGH CHRIST, Who sovereignly upholds all these things, determines their place, and keeps them in order. "TO HIM" says that everything, no matter how far from God's Thought it may be, no matter how chaotic things may appear, is being directed, summed up, and gathered together INTO CHRIST. As the Alpha, all things flow FROM Him; as the Omega, all things flow TO Him.

That is quite a paragraph. A paragraph like that cannot be grasped in one reading. But that paragraph is, in essence, what Paul means, and what we mean, by Christ having the preeminence in all things. We are talking about Jesus as Lord over us individually, over the Church corporately, and over all creation collectively. We are talking about a preeminent Christ Who is exalted above every principality and power, rule and dominion; things visible, things invisible; things past, things present, things future; things in heaven, things in earth, things under the earth: all things are OF Him, all things are THROUGH Him, and all things are TO Him. That is preeminence.

Let us go through the Scriptures and bring out a few gems from the storehouse of tremendous wealth and riches in Christ. Our criteria for selecting these particular Scriptures was very simple. We wanted to look at every reference that mentions Christ in connection with His preeminence over "all things". We found quite a number. There are dozens more references that support our study, but we have included only the ones which contain the phrase "all things". Once we gathered the references together, we sorted them according to Romans 11:36 - those that are OF Him, those that are THROUGH Him, and those that are TO Him.

The result of that study is the basis of this writing. I pray these will not be mere verses of Scripture to us, but will be the very means through which the Father gives us greater illumination and revelation into His Son. We ought to meditate on this daily and ask the Lord to open our eyes to see the height, depth, width, length, and breadth of this JESUS Whom we say we serve. May God deliver us from our own idea, concept, perception, and illusion of a small Christ and give us revelation into the preeminence of His Son.

I promise that if you will read through these verses once or twice a day, every day, it will be impossible for you to remain unaffected by the Truth they present! I am affected just in the preparation of this material, and how much more in the application and apprehending of it! When we see Christ as All in All then it will be impossible for us to ever again be reduced to the small, the trivial, the petty things which occupy us and waste so much of our time. Our only hope is seeing a Christ that fills us, a Christ that is greater than us, a Christ that is larger than we can fathom, an indescribable Christ that overshadows, overwhelms, and consumes us through and through!

OF HIM ARE ALL THINGS

"All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:3)."

"And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:9)."

"For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him (Colossians 1:16)."

"For Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things (Hebrews 2:10ff)."

"But to us there is but one God, the Father, of Whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom are all things, and we by Him (I Corinthians 8:6)."

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created (Revelation 4:11)."

The Father declares the preeminence of His Son by involving Him in the process of creating all things. As a result, nothing was created apart from Christ. Of Him are all things - things in heaven, in earth, visible, invisible, spiritual, and physical. Scientists believe there may be as many as twenty-four dimensions in this universe, of which we only know five. However many there may be, He is preeminent over them all. Thus, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Alpha, the Beginning, the First, the Source. This establishes Him as preeminent over all creation.

All things were created by Him, and everything was created for Him. For Him! Why this earth, the moon, the stars, the galaxies? Why the animals, the birds, the fish, the insects? Why men and women, angels, cherubim, and seraphim? For Him! All for Him! God's original thought is for Christ to fill every created thing with His Life, Love, and Glory. A design implies a Designer, a plan implies a Planner, and a creation implies a Creator. We are not drifting along aimlessly, and we did not come into being by accident. We were created by Him, and we were created for Him. We were created to love Him, and to be loved by Him.

Of the three spheres - of Him, through Him, and to Him - "of Him" is probably the easiest to grasp. It is easier for us to look backwards and see Christ in retrospect than it is for us to perceive the present and to discern the future. But He is All of these at once. It is not that in times past He was the Alpha, and after a lengthy period of time He become the Omega. No, "I AM Alpha AND Omega, the Beginning AND the Ending, says the Lord: which was AND which is to come, the Almighty (Revelation 1:8)." And, "They rest not day and night saying, 'Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, AND is, AND is to come (Revelation 4:8b)." He always has been AND He always is AND He always will be; hence three "Holies" are necessary. What a mighty God!

So we progress forward and see that...

THROUGH HIM ARE ALL THINGS

First, all things are in His hands:

"All things are delivered unto Me of My Father (Matthew 11:27)."

"The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand (John 3:35)."

"Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He was come from God, and went to God (John 13:3)."

"All things that the Father hath are Mine (John 16:15a)."

"[God] hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, Whom He hath appointed Heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2a)."

His hands speak of His Ownership, His Authority, His Possessing of all things. The Father gave all things to the Son. Then, because all things are in His hands, all things are under His feet. His feet speak of His Dominion, His Rule, His subjecting of all things to the authority that is in His hands.

"Thou madest Him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; thou has put all things under His feet (Psalms 8:6)."

"And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the Church (Ephesians 1:22)."

"And He is the Head of the Body, the Church: Who is the Beginning, the Firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence (Colossians 1:18)."

"Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. (Hebrews 2:8a)

This possession and subjection of all things to Christ is not a passive, disinterested, distant, absentee ownership, like a clock that was once wound and now ticks all by itself long after the watchmaker has left it. Make no mistake: at the core of this spiritual and physical universe is a living, powerful, proactive Personality at work to bring fallen creation back to its original state, back into line with God's Purpose, Heart, Mind, Desire, and Plan, which is CHRIST FILLING ALL THINGS, CHRIST UPHOLDING ALL THINGS, CHRIST AT THE CENTER OF ALL THINGS! Come quickly Lord Jesus! May Your Kingdom be manifest!

"And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist [Greek: find their being, take their place] (Colossians 1:17)."

"Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His Person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1:3)."

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28)."

"Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do (Hebrews 4:13)."

"For the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God (I Corinthians 2:10)."

Everything is upheld by His power, and all things are working together according to His Purpose. The Spirit searches all things and reveals them for what they are. Before Him everything is manifest, and there is nothing hidden from Him. There is no darkness that He does not penetrate, no deception that He cannot illuminate, no evil that He will not eradicate.

"He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30)." Christ is ever increasing in order to fill all things, conforming them to His image, so that His glory is manifest in every corner of Creation - and He begins with individual disciples. The increasing of Christ and the decreasing of Self in every individual disciple is but a fragment of an ultimate Plan which extends from each disciple, to "two or three gathered together", to the Church, and finally to all Creation. We should be able to look at each disciple and see a demonstration of Christ filling All in All: "Look, this is what I intend to do with all Creation." He will continue to increase, and everything outside of Him will continue to decrease, until there will remain nothing outside of Him. He is Lord!

TO HIM ARE ALL THINGS

"Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself (Philippians 3:21)."

"And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be All in All (I Corinthians 15:28)."

"That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him (Ephesians 1:10)."

"And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven (Colossians 1:20)."

"He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things (Ephesians 4:10)."

Everything is moving back TOWARDS a Christocentric universe, so that as it was in the beginning, so it will be in the ending. Just as all things have their source and beginning in Christ, so all things will have their ending in Christ. He subdues all things, in order to gather together and reconcile all things, that He may fill all things. What a task that is! How can that be? How can all things ever be subdued, gathered together into one, reconciled, and filled by Christ? We cannot say how, but we know that "He is able". Praise God, how can we doubt Him? How can we question this Man? Do we not yet know that He is the Preeminent One? Let us bow down and thank and praise God that He is able!

When we pray, "May Your Name be hallowed, may Your Kingdom come, may Your Will be done: as in heaven, so in earth", this is the End we have in mind: "all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are in earth, even in Him." This reconciliation and marriage of heaven and earth is a tremendous thing. In heaven, His Word is settled forever (Psalms 119:89); but on earth, things are very unsettled. In heaven, we see Jesus seated at the right hand of God, exalted above all principality and power, name and dominion; but on earth, "we see not yet all things put under Him (Hebrews 2:8b)." We see that "the heavens are the Lord's: but the earth has He given to the children of men (Psalms 115:16)."

One day that discrepancy and unceasing conflict, that great chasm between Heaven and Earth, will be healed.

"And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new (Revelation 21:5a)."

"He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and He shall be my son (Revelation 21:7)."

"How shall He not, with Him, freely give us all things (Romans 8:32b)?"

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us (Romans 8:37)."

"Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; Christ is God's (I Corinthians 3:21-23)."

How glorious! How tremendous! He is doing all of this for us! Everything He has is freely given to us, and through Him we possess all that He possesses. When He has all that we have, then we have all that He has. When we give Him all that we are, He gives us all that He is. Oh, the depth of this love! Oh, the depth of the richness of His grace to us! Who can understand it? Who can know it?

The chorus to a song comes to mind, that says

How could you not love Him back?
How could you hold out your heart
For even another day?
How could you not love Him back
When you've learned every loving fact?
How could you not love Him back?

Oh Jesus, may You have the Preeminence henceforth and Forever! [/color]

Chris, Thank you for this. It is beautiful. Did you compile this? What a blessing.
Thank you very much.
Keep looking UP. :-)
And thank you for 'that' thought too! [the cosmos].

His Love.
Annie

[color=CC3333][b][size=x-small][u]Jesus IS GOD and it Does matter![/u][/b][/color][/size]

Compare this site - http://www.islamic.org.uk/jesusgod.html

with this one - http://thriceholy.net/sonisgodf.html

How many religions, New Age groups, philosophers and so forth say that HE is Not GOD - Can you count them?

:cry:

[size=xx-small] (This song has gone through my head since reading a brother's question on Ezek 38 and I thank him for it. Thank you brother. Thank You Jesus!)[/size]

[url=http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh462.sht][color=CC3333][b]'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus[/url]

1.\t'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
\tand to take Him at His Word;
\tjust to rest upon His promise,
\tand to know, "Thus saith the Lord."

Refrain:
\tJesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
\tHow I've proved Him o'er and o'er!
\tJesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
\tO for grace to trust Him more!

2.\tO how sweet to trust in Jesus,
\tjust to trust His cleansing blood;
\tand in simple faith to plunge me
\t'neath the healing, cleansing flood!

\t(Refrain)

3.\tYes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
\tjust from sin and self to cease;
\tjust from Jesus simply taking
\tlife and rest, and joy and peace.

\t(Refrain)

4.\tI'm so glad I learned to trust Thee,
\tprecious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
\tand I know that Thou art with me,
\twilt be with me to the end.

\t(Refrain) [/b][/color]

Thank you Pastorfrin - we needed the Blessing of that song - Amen! Thanks very much indeed!
___________________________________________________

Mike Oppenheimer is one of the Apologists in the Apologetic Coordination Team ["ACT"] - along with Jacob Prasch, Sandy Simpson, Juanita Simpson, Gary Giley, Jewel (van der Merwe) Grewe, Bill Randles, James Sundquist, Orrel Skeinkamp, Tom Smith, Robert Liichow, Steve Mitchell, Philip L. Powell and Michael Gendron.

You'll see why this is on - "Who is JESUS?" by time you finish.

[b][u]Excerpt[/u] from Mike Oppenheimer's Testimony[/b]

I was brought up Jewish, went to Shabbat quite faithfully each Friday and celebrated the holydays at the temple and with family. Our family like many others, gathered together on the high holy days in observance. I attended Hebrew school twice a week and learned the language and eventually was Bar Mitzvahed and confirmed. While attending classes I asked a lot of questions about God the Rabbi could not answer. Though I continued each year, mainly to please my parents, I became less interested in the traditional religion of my parents and feeling hindered in my spiritual development, leaped head first into my own brand of freestyle spirituality after graduation.
By my own search in reading and attending lectures and gatherings I got involved in the New Age Movement, became a vegetarian and for 15 years practiced yoga and meditation. I ended up using psychedelic drugs for a time (LSD, mescaline etc.), as part of my regular religious observances and smoking “pakalolo” (pot) became part of my normal lifestyle. During these times I also experimented with various religions and the occult. I felt they each contained some part of the truth of the one “true” religion, just as Rosicrucianism teaches all religions are petals on the same flower.
I studied about the Ancient Masters of the East, learning about Buddhism and Zen I picked up on a number of the practices. I had a number of spiritual experiences which at the time I was sure were from God and leading me to a greater knowledge of myself and Him. I discovered and believed in the Ascended Masters that were guiding our world into a greater evolutionary path. I was involved with UFO’s and channeled messages. I was sure I was on the right spiritual path because of the various signs things just fell into place. At the same time I also read the Bible (even the New Testament), not denying my Jewish roots. I began reading over 50 books a year, having an insatiable spiritual appetite, but God was working on my exit out of this spiritual bondage.

I had also started to surf before beginning my spiritual pilgrimage. I fell in love with the sport and began traveling, surfing and entering contests. Surfing became my livelihood after I learned to shape surfboards for a living. I became the NY champion for a number of years and eventually the eastern surfing champion for two years. Hawaii proved to be an irresistible attraction due to its fantastic surf. I moved permanently to Hawaii with my girlfriend Kathy in the mid 70's. This gave me more freedom to pursue both my first love of surfing and my freelance spirituality. We thought we were becoming enlightened. Reading books about the Ascended Masters involvement and “learning” about Earth’s past history on Lemuria and Atlantis. We desired to become servants of the New age movement, convinced that if we all united we could usher in an age of spiritual cooperation and enlightenment that so many were talking about. After nine years my searching came to a head when my girlfriend Kathy and I started to pursue our spiritual hunger more seriously and became involved in the “I Am Movement” (the Saint Germaine Society of the Ballard's). Through calling on angels and powers unknown to us and by “decreeing” and using the Violet Consuming Flame to eradicate past life karma, we were learning to become active in the New Age Movement. At the time, Kathy was practicing affirmations, mantras, studying herbology, polarity therapy, kinesiology and learning about the supposed spiritual energies of the body. She also was a manager of a health store on the Island of Oahu.

At the same time, the Lord started moving ahead with His rescue plan and during one week we had two friends over who had recently became Christians. One was also a surfer that I knew from New York. We talked about end-time events for hours. Since I was familiar with, as I had been reading the Bible for years, and was especially fascinated about the end of the age. (At that time we both thought Christians were very narrow minded about their view of the Bible, God and the world. Kathy and I used to laugh about how the New Age was coming in without Christians even being aware of it, and were still trying to live in the old traditions and were not going to be part of it). Later that week my friends invited us to a seminar that just so happened to be on the New Age Movement with speakers Dave Hunt, Johanna Michaelson and Hal Lindsey. Talk about timing! It was also during that same week that I heard an audible voice say, “I am the Lord your God, you shall not want.” I recognized this was from Psalm 23 from my Jewish upbringing and had never experienced anything like it. Inside I knew this was the God I was searching for but still did not know. It was only later I would understand why this voice was outside and not from inside me. [end excerpt. see -http://www.letusreason.org/testim.htm]

[b]Why I posted Mike's Testimony is because of the confusion that has entered the Church on what is God's~Jesus' Name(s).
Someone just getting saved today, could get very confused and feel guilt for not using the so-called "proper Names" and that is very sad, as the Names of God and Jesus are not what matters. Every language on earth call Him by their native tongue and He still hears them.
Anyone who casts guilt on new or old converts or makes them feel "inferior" in any way, should consider that, every nation has their own tongue and if they want to be Jewish, when they are not by birth, they should also consider the division/confusion/false guilt, that all of this questiong over 'His Name' could bring.

"....I become all things to all men...."not stumbling blocks to others" .... "unity of spirit".

[u]Excerpt[/u] from Mike Oppenheimer on His Name.[/b]

Someone spelling and pronouncing his name Yashua with an "a" as the second letter, reveals they have little knowledge about the Hebrew language. So they shouldn't be claiming linguistic knowledge about the name! The vowel sound after the letter yud is a shwaw sound (written in English as an upside-down "e"). Since we don't do that in normal English writing, we can use a right-side-up "e" or use an apostrophe after the "Y." So it can be Yeshua, or Y'shua, but its NOT YAshua. Nor does it make sense to say that Yeshua is pronounced the same in "every language" as they insist.

You would only be talking about the SYLLABLES, not the name itself or the meaning of the name. In other words, how do you say Yeshua in English? You say " Salvation." His name means God is Salvation. As the Scripture explains, "and you shall call His name Salvation (Yeshua), for it is He who will SAVE His people from their sins" (Mt. 1:21).
Likewise "and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." If we look carefully, the Bible explains the meaning of the name and that is exactly what is meant. When Paul wrote those who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. We call upon Him the person for salvation. The name in itself does not save but the person who the name belongs to. The Messiah when he was a mere baby was brought to Simeon and he said "For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel." (Luke 2:30-32). Simeon did not say or see a name! He saw salvation, salvation is in the person, not in a pronunciation of a name. You can say his eyes saw Yeshua.

If you follow the migration of the SYLLABLES of the Hebrew name Yeshua to Greek and to Latin, and then to English -- you'll end up with Jesus. In Greek, the "Y" changes to an "I" and the "sh" to a hard "s" so it comes out Iesous. From there it goes to Latin, Iesus, and then in Germanic languages, the "y" SOUND is spelled with a "j", so we arrive with Jesus in English. Do any of these languages pronounce his name the "same"? No, of course not. Greek doesn't even HAVE a "sh" sound at all! The point is that one cannot do a direct translation of Yashua into the Greek language. This is why it is a different word or it would not make sense in its meaning. You can call something in its original language name and have others in another language pronounce it, but if they do not understand its meaning its meaningless. For example what if the translators kept all the word pronunciations from the Hebrew into the Greek then it would not make sense. Neither would his name. If one translates the name the way it is equally pronounced in certain other languages it would not have no meaning at all.

The Hebrew language is dependent on roots called the shorash. When any two words have the same roots they are connected theologically. Hosea= Hoshea, Isaiah= yeshayahu , Joshua= is yahooshua, Jesus is Yeshua, the sh sound often has something to do with salvation in the Hebrew language. When the Bible is translated to another language this may not always be transferred over.

Even the Orthodox Jews aren't sure any more how to pronounce the name Yahweh correctly. So how could anybody else claim something about the pronunciation of this Hebrew name in OTHER languages? The only thing you can do is to say it in your own language. How do you say Yahweh in English? The closest we can come to it is "I Am."

The name Yahweh (Tetragrammaton) is used 7000 times in the bible sometimes referring to the Messiah in Jer. 23:5, and Zech. 14.
The personality, the nature of God is not known in a pronunciation of his name. It is revealed in all His Holy Word not just his name. Psalms 138:2: “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” Quite the opposite of what the sacred name movement is saying. This does not men we dispense with his name but we need to speak it in whatever language it is written in. Whether its Hebrew, Greek, Russian etc. So if God’s word is written in different languages and it is exalted even above His name, doesn’t this diffuse any argument from the Sacred name position of speaking His name in the original language only.

How strict is God about his name being on Yahweh? Some say the Jews substituted speaking His name with the Hebrew title "Adonai" the Hebrew word for “lord or master.”

But Daniel calls God adonai in Dan.9:7,9,17 Job also in 28:28 adonay also Ps.2:4. Was he not saved for doing this? This is in the Scripture which is God breathed. Who then should we believe? Obadiah uses both adonai Yahweh together for His name.

In Isa.38:11 yah. The fact is that the word for Lord is pronounced many different ways and he, God (elohim) is not known by one name only. Elohim is used of God just as many times as Yahweh is (sometimes combined). The name can be pronounced Yehovaw, yehovee Ez.11:16; Deut.9:6,3:24 - Yehovih (yeh-ho-vee'); a variation of Strongs Concordance #3068 [used after 136, and pronounced by Jews as 430, in order to prevent the repetition of the same sound, since they elsewhere pronounce # 3068 as 136]:

The use of Iesous (Jesus) for Joshua was common long before the birth of our Savior which is found in the Greek Septuagint translation. The form was identical in the Old Testament Greek Septuagint (the precise transliteration is Iesous) to that of the New Testament text. The book of Yahoshua (Joshua) in the Greek Septuagint is Called Iseous naus meaning Joshua Son of Nun. So it was the Hebrews themselves that used this name in Greek before Jesus' time. Certainly they weren’t calling Joshua Zeus as some claim is Iseous for Jesus in the NT.

Before one trashes the name Jesus they need to look a little more carefully at what the bible actually has written. Instead of being God approved they just may be bringing division and destruction upon themselves for being zealous without the correct knowledge.[End Excerpt. See -
http://www.letusreason.org/sacna%202.htm]

[b]GOD looks at THE HEART of the one 'calling' upon HIM.[/b]

psalm1 wrote:
Oh....btw if you look closely you will see me a few horses back of Jesus.

I am riding next to the apostle Paul. We are the ones that look like maniacs.

David

But yes, we'll be there - by the grace of God...

I haven't followed this thread very closely but there have been some great posts here.

Who is Jesus? He is King of Kings, lord of Lords, highest of kings on the earth, far above all powers, thrones and authorities. His kingdom has no end, and goes on increasing for ever (Isaiah9:7) [color=990000] Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end... [/color]

He is the Beloved of the Father, always with the Father from eternity, through whom the worlds were made.

He is God become man, emptying Himself of the power and the glory, humbling Himself as only God can, (Philippians 2). Yet as God He remained and remains with the Father, sharing the rule and authority, at the same time.

Thus Jesus, God's salvation, Emmanuel, God with us, came to us - from infinite greatness to a "helpless", hated, despised, abused victim of His own creation, His great work made even harder by the taunts, "If you are the Son of God come down from the cross...save yourself and us".

Little did they know that saving us was exactly what He was doing by [i]not[/i] coming down from the Cross!

Do we imagine that "mere" omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence are the key, "defining characteristics" of God (those which [i]make[/i] Him God, those which make Him far above His creation)? No, for He is even greater than that. His love and humility are even greater than His power, though His power is infinite!

1Cor 1:25
[color=990000]For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.[/color]

By this He defeated Satan; through the "foolishness and weakness" of God He conquered! Only God Himself had the [i]power[/i] to become so foolish and weak! Man is too proud, too lacking in love and moral strength, too full of self...

Jesus not only wears the "many diadems" as King over the whole universe, but He now wears the victor's crown also (Greek "Stephanos" - the wreath given to a triumphant conqueror in battle, or a winner in the Games.)

And to Him, at the end, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that He is Lord of all.

AMEN and AMEN!

Jeannette

Who is Jesus?

He is the poor, the maimed, the broken and downhearted.

He's the fatherless, the widow.

He's the one's that nobody wants.

He's the hungry, the thirsty, the naked.

He's the sick, and the one thats in prison.

He's you and me.

LittleGift, I've wanted to Thank you for bringing a reverent spirit to this Topic.

I've read your posts within the past so many days about Christ Jesus and have been deeply touched by them - deeply.

I'm sorry I couldn't acknowledge them sooner.

Thank you!

And you also Compliments. Amen. Matt 25

His Love for you.