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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | verse explains nonChrist knowing savior | 2 Cor 5:15 | brother paul | 178304 | ||
Hello Jeff, Thank you for your reply. I do seem to have a problem conveying my thoughts.... I apologize. For many yeas I have preached and taught, pontificating on the right and wrong, good and evil, saved and unsaved. Now I am not so sure. The black and white has faded and a kaleidescopic picture of God's totality is slowly emerging. (1 Cor 15:28) May I share some of the questions that I take to higher authority in prayer and meditation? It may help. If Jesus is the 'lamb slain from the founding of the world' (Rev 13:8) then the predicted fall of man was known from the conception of creation. To proceed with creation while knowing man would fall implies somehow it is part of God's will. I feel Genesis 2:17 is prophetic, 'when (not 'if') thou eatest.' Without Judas would we be Christian? Having played so vital a role in our redemption, is he saved? Jesus said 'I do nothing except that, that I see my Father do.' and again 'I have chosen twelve and one is a devil.' (John 5:19 and 6:70) Was Jesus copying his Father because he did nothing but imitate Him. Therefore if Jesus needs a devil to complete his ministry, did God need a satan to fulfill His plan? Is Pharaoh God's agent or enemy? Does a loving God harden his heart and then condemn him? Did not God create evil, (Isaiah 47:7) put evil spirits into Saul, (1 Sam 16:14,15) put evil in a city, (Amos 3:6) and uses a lying spirit. (1 Kings 22:22) Without David becoming a murderer and adulterer and Judah consorting with someone he thought to be a prostitute, we would not have the lineage of Christ. Have such 'sins' been part of His will? To summarize, I feel that there is something about this process of separation followed by reunion that performs a part of the divine design. Eve is separated from Adam before marriage, Christ leaves the Church to return for his bride, Israel is rejected for 'all Israel to be saved' later. (Rom 14:11) Paul speaks of the sin becoming exceedingly sinful that we might be 'concluded' in sin. This principle seems to be repeated at 1 Cor 5:5, 'deliver such a one unto satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.' This is not condoing unrighteousness, 'God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things that are not convienient.' (Rom 1:28) There is a price to be paid and lessons to be learnt, but it is permitted by Him for a eason in His divine will. The world becomes the compost heap of rotting decaying flesh, but it is a great place to grow seed. His blessing is with you, yours and His, Paul |
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2 | verse explains nonChrist knowing savior | 2 Cor 5:15 | jlhetrick | 178306 | ||
Dear brother Paul, While your post was not extremely lengthy, the several points you ponder would take some time and space to address fully. The overall theme appears to be apparent in your questions: " Is Pharaoh God's agent or enemy? Does a loving God harden his heart and then condemn him? Did not God create evil, (Isaiah 47:7) put evil spirits into Saul, (1 Sam 16:14,15) put evil in a city, (Amos 3:6) and uses a lying spirit. (1 Kings 22:22" My first response is to remind that the only way to understand these things is through the lense of Scripture itself. As I am sure you know, when a verse or passage doesn't make sense to us, we have to compare it to the teachings of Scripture as a whole in order to gain the understanding. An understanding of doctrine plainly taught in Scripture usually solves these kinds of questions in our minds. Doctrines such as the foreknowledge of God, God's sovereignty, His righteousness, free will, etc. Was Pharaoh God's agent or enemy? I believe Sripture teaches that he was both. As Pharaoh, the man was believed to be a god, sent by the gods to rule earth. Easily understood, he was God's enemy. A type of Satan if you will. God is sovereign; He has the absolute right to do all things according to His own good pleasure. When we study the captivity of God's people in Egypt, we see that God not only fulfilled His plan in spite of Pharaoh, but used Pharaoh and what he represented to reveal Himself, His glory, and His sovereignty. In this sense, Pharaoh might be seen as God's agent. Begin reading in Ezek 36:16 for a good understanding of how God uses the circumstances of men to glorify Himself and work sanctification in His own. "did not God create evil..." Absolutely not. Nowhere in Scripture will we find such a teaching. And He did not "put" evil Spirits in Saul. He departed from Saul and allowed the evil spirit to terroize Saul. The best Scriptural explanation I can think of to help understand this would be Job's story. Begin at Job 1:1. Finally, you wrote: "Without David becoming a murderer and adulterer and Judah consorting with someone he thought to be a prostitute, we would not have the lineage of Christ. Have such 'sins' been part of His will?" Not how I Understand it. Again, God is sovereign. The Bible says that He is Holy (Joshua 24:19) He is just (Isa. 45:21). He is neither the creator of sin nor does He tempt any many to sin (James 1:13) God's sovereign plan to redeem mankind did not depend on the sin of David or any other man. Rather, the plan was worked out in spite of their sin. God could have worked out the lineage of Christ through any number of events. Exactly why He chose, for example, to allow David's sin a role only God knows. But what we learn over and over again through Scripture is this. When we see God's plan work out in spite of man's sins and failures, we are left with no doubt that it was and is God, and only God that is in control. What would be the alternative? If God's plan work from start to finish through apparently perfect men, who would receive the glory for that? Just my thoughts and understanding. I believe if I would have attempted to address every point you made, this post would have been too long that much more and would have been repetitive. God bless, Jeff |
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3 | verse explains nonChrist knowing savior | 2 Cor 5:15 | brother paul | 178309 | ||
Thanks Jeff for your work Have to take it to higher authority, I will take a little time to consider and seek, but thank you again, I will come back, speak soon, Yours, in Him, Paul |
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