Results 61 - 80 of 350
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Results from: Answers On or After: Thu 12/31/70 Author: Aixen7z4 Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
61 | Who or what is the (s)Spirit? | John 3:34 | Aixen7z4 | 147828 | ||
The question seems to have an extensive background, being linked to #124161, etc. However, I take it as relating to the context of John 3. I take it that you are asking to whom or to what the word “Spirit” (or “spirit”) is referring when the word says “He whom God has sent speaks the words of God: for God gives not the Spirit by measure unto him”. As you have noted elsewhere, the original language does not differentiate between words by means of capitalization. It seems to me then that capitalization infers interpretation. In other words, the translators use capital letters to indicate when they believe the word refers to a person. That is when they use the convention in the English language that the name of a person starts with a capital letter. Therefore it is not in the form of the word but from the context that we gather the meaning. The context is the passage itself and the entire word of God. It should be clear that the person giving the Spirit is the Father, since it is he who sent the son. That idea is all over the Gospel of John. The Father had sent John the Baptist, he had sent Jesus into the world, and he had sent the Holy Spirit to Jesus. Jesus is God, but the word “God” often refers to the Father. Clearly, there are other spirits beside the Holy Spirit. But the context of John 3:34 suggests it is the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, that we are seeing in the life of Jesus here. The Spirit of God is related to the word of God. It is he who moved upon holy men of God to write it (2 Peter 1). The word is referred to as his sword (Ephesians 6). He is the one who brings the word to our remembrance (John 14:26). It is he, then, who is functioning like that, enabling Jesus to remember and speak the word of God. One might wonder why it is that Jesus needs this help, since he is himself God. We must remember that Jesus is here in his humanity, submitting himself to the Father, and, in this case, to the Holy Spirit as well. As he would say, “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” (John 12:49). I do believe it is not capitalization but context that tells us the meaning. As we have said before, there are many spirits (1 John 4, etc.). It has also been noted that the definite article would be referring to one particular spirit. In this case the one that is intimately associated with the word of God, and truth. He is referred to elsewhere as the Spirit of truth (John 14, 15, 16). It is because of his influence we are assured that the man Christ Jesus was always speaking the truth. The fact that Jesus had been given the Spirit without measure assures us he was always full of the Spirit and therefore every word he spoke was truth. Again, Jesus himself is the Truth (John 14:6), but we are speaking of him in his humanity here. It is hard to escape the idea that the passage is referring to the Holy Spirit. If it was another spirit, would it not have been necessary to identify it? It might have said that God had given him the spirit of eloquence or something, but it simply says “the spirit”. It is the same Spirit that God gives to us when we are saved, and it is he who fills us when God sends us. It is the Holy Spirit. He leads us, and reminds us, and enables us, to speak the word of God. |
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62 | how did satan survive the flood? | Gen 7:23 | Aixen7z4 | 147822 | ||
Hello. It has been stated already that Satan is a spirit and as such he is not affected by physical things such as water, even in a flood. I do not know how he is affected by fire either, except that he will be in it, and he will be tormented day and night for ever and ever (Revelation 20:10). In Genesis 1:2 it says that the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the waters. I wonder if Satan would not have done a similar thing in Genesis 7:19. He does tend to mimic God, and he is like God in this one aspect, that he is a spirit. But the word of God does not talk about Satan during the flood. It seems to me that there are many times when the Spirit of God might have talked about Satan and he does not. For example, we are not told in Genesis that Cain was a follower or son of Satan, although he was (1 John 3:12). Indeed, after Genesis 3, and except for the beginning of the book of Job, Satan is hardly mentioned in the Old Testament. In the New Testament he is only mentioned here and there, as if to remind us that he is around. He is, but the focus is not on him. This piece is not intended to raise other issues, but simply to say that the word of God seems to give much less attention to Satan and more to the one to whom he is arch-rival, the Lord Jesus Christ. It does not tell us where Satan was during the flood, or what he was doing. It does tell us, though, that God was with Noah and in the business of saving him and those who had faith to enter the ark. I wonder if, when we are in heaven, if we will wonder where Satan is. I think our focus will be on Jesus, and we will always know where he is. The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him. And they shall see his face. Amen. |
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63 | Pattern of words? | Luke 11:13 | Aixen7z4 | 147819 | ||
Who knows the way of the mind? Who knows the heart? Who knows how it is formed, how it operates, and how it expresses itself? The mind, it seems, can be filled with self, with words, with thoughts, with emotions, or with God. This also fluctuates with time. It is apparent, when we search the Scriptures, that we can be filled with many things. Throughout time people have been filled with fear (Luke 5:26), with wrath (Luke 4:28), with envy (Acts 13:45; Romans 1:29), with the spirit of one thing or the other (Exodus 35:31), and by the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). It is apparent that some have been filled, not only temporarily, but also in some cases habitually, and so they are characterized with those things. The idea of being filled is to have one’s mind saturated. Some say it means to be controlled, but that may not be so, for the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet (1 Corinthians 14:32). It means to be absorbed with, or to have all, and no more, of what one seems to need. But the sense of need, and the measure to which one is filled also varies with time. There is a filling followed by a dissipation, (1 Kings 18, 19) and a subsequent need to be filled again. And one can be filled with the Holy Spirit. This may happen one time, as at the time of the new birth, but it can happen again. The command to be filled with the Spirit suggests that we should remain appropriate and available so that he can fill us again and again as he sees fit and necessary. The Holy Spirit may fill us with love or joy or peace (Galatians 5) or power (Micah 3:8) that we do not ordinarily have (Judges 13,14,15). He may also fill us with wisdom so habitually that we become known for our wisdom (Exodus 28:3; 31:3: etc.). Then it may be said that we have a spirit of wisdom (Deuteronomy 34:9). It is but one of the characteristics that he gives to men. When one is filled with the Spirit, he may be filled with the spirit of many things: counsel, and might, the spirit of knowledge, the fear of the LORD (Isaiah 11:2). It seems foolhardy to think of a way to fill ourselves, as it were automatically, with the Spirit. The command (Ephesians 5:18) is in the passive voice, indicating that it is someone else, in this case the Lord himself, who fills us with the Spirit. The filling is what happens to us, rather than something we do. But we can prepare ourselves for it, by cleansing ourselves and thus becoming vessels fit for the master’s use (2 Timothy 2:21). In order to use us, he fills us. Our Lord Jesus Christ was always filled with the Spirit, for we read (John 3:34) that the Spirit was not given to him by measure. It suggests that the Spirit is given to us by measure. So we always have him, if we are saved, but we are not always filled. Is there a believer who has never been filled with the Spirit? I think not, or we would not know what we were asking for. But we have experienced it, and we want to be filled again. We can ask for that, and meeting the conditions, the Lord will fill us as he sees fit, for the tasks we face. It should be clear from the above, that we are not to seek the filling of the Spirit for its own sake. The Spirit fills us with joy so we can have strength for a task, for the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). He fills us with love (Romans 5:5) so we can love God and each other, with patience and experience and hope. He fills our minds with the word of God (John 14:26) so we can share it with power (Hebrews 4:12). There is so much that we have to do that is not human to do. Therefore the Lord says it is not by might nor by power but by his Spirit. We have to depend on him and wait on him. But when he fills us, it is like a jet with its engines running full speed, and the brakes on. We have the potential of so much power then, but we will be frustrated and overwhelmed within ourselves, and we’d be found making a meaningless noise, unless we went into action, to do the Lord’s will. It seems to me the Lord will fill us when he has a task for us. Within the church, it might be for the purpose of speaking to ourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things. Outside, it might be so we can speak the word of God with boldness in places where it is accepted or not accepted, in season and out of season. May God fill us with his Spirit, and with the spirit of understanding so we can readily relate to these things. And let us not be afraid to think on these things or to experience them. We should stand ready and expect this filling of the Spirit again and again, because there is God's work to be done. And God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. |
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64 | Jesus wept !... did Jesus ever laugh? | Luke 10:21 | Aixen7z4 | 147397 | ||
Scripture is all about our Lord Jesus Christ (John 5:39) but nowhere does it say that Jesus laughed. It says (Isaiah 53) that he was a man of sorrows. Nor is God the Father or the Holy Spirit known to laugh. But some have said that God causes them to laugh; for example, Sarah (Genesis 21): “God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me”. When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, they were like them that dream (Psalm 126). Their mouth was filled with laughter, and their tongue with singing. It that they may be an example for us, because they Lord overturns a captivity for us betimes. But laughter is a curious thing, and people laugh for various reasons. Sarah laughed because she was happy. God had given her a son in her old age. Some would laugh with her, she said. But she lived to see Ishmael, the son of Hagar laughing at her son. That was painful. That was a persecution. “He that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit“ (Galatians 4). And that is the way it was with Jesus. We do not read of him laughing with anyone. But we do read that they laughed at him. In life, they doubted him. They mocked his claims. When they thought he was wrong, they might laugh him to scorn (Matthew 9:24; Mark 5:40; Luke 8:53). As they put him to death, they laughed at him (Psalm 22:7) but it does not say if they were laughing as they mocked him and reviled him (Matthew 27) but it is clear he was not laughing. He has said that his soul was exceedingly sorrowful. In his adversity, they rejoiced, perhaps believing that it proved his claims were false. But he rose again. “Even so it is now”. Some preachers tell us we should laugh more, that it is attractive, etc. Some say it is a good medicine. But is Solomon, in Proverbs 17, referring to a merry heart, or a joyful heart? Jesus says we will laugh later. “Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh” (Luke 6). He will give the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Sometimes it is just plain hard to laugh because of the “manifold temptations”. We are in heaviness (1 Peter 1). James (4:9) tells some of us that we should give up our laughter. And Solomon says it is better to go to the house of mourning. The Psalmist (Psalm 2) says that God will laugh later. He who sits in the heavens shall laugh at those who take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed. In the meantime he takes no pleasure in the death of so many. His countenance is set with a determination to offer them salvation. And we follow him as his dear children. Rejoicing is a different matter. We should rejoice now. At a certain hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit (Matthew 11, Luke 10). And he has told us so many times, that we should rejoice in spite of our unpleasant circumstances, and sometimes because of them. We would do well to sing Habakkuk’s song: “Although the fig tree shall not blossom … yet I will rejoice in the LORD”. Rejoice in the Lord always. Seems that’s what Jesus did. |
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65 | what is salvation and how does it work ? | Eph 2:8 | Aixen7z4 | 146506 | ||
Good that the question was asked: “What is salvation?” To be saved means many things, including being forgiven, being adopted into God’s family, becoming God’s possession by the process of redemption, being sealed with the Holy Spirit, and such other things as are mentioned in Ephesians 1. It means to be washed, and sanctified, and justified, as in 1 Corinthians 6. It means to become dead to sin, as in Romans 6. But in relation to the question of possibly losing one’s salvation, we might consider that salvation means to be changed. We are born again, as in John 3. We have become new creatures, as in 2 Corinthians 5. In answering the question whether we can lose our salvation, then, we are considering whether that process, that change, can be reversed. With all the encouragement to continue, with all the warnings of the consequences if we don’t, is there anything in Scripture to suggest that the process of being born again can be reversed? We do not save ourselves. According to John 1, and in relation to the question of how it works, it is God who saves us. According to 1 Peter 5, it is God who keeps us. But also, in light of the aspect of salvation noted here for emphasis, it is God’s nature that has been imparted to us (2 Peter 1). John says that God’s seed is in us, and it remains (1 John 3). Can our new nature then be changed? To ask the question another way, one may borrow the words from Jeremiah 13: Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? They would have to change their genes! And we are speaking of a person’s nature here. It is appropriate that we keep the focus on the nature of salvation. And keep in mind that in salvation, God changes our nature. A person who has done this and that may stop doing this or that. But if God has changed my nature, and he has, then I cannot reverse the process. Let me hasten to admit that our behavior can change. In a saved person, it should continually change for the better. But people who are saved can do wrong things, and they do, sometimes. Even the apostles sinned (1 John 1). But sin is contrary to our new nature, and we do not make it a practice. John says that we cannot (1 John 3:9). People who practice sin should question themselves whether they are saved. The lifestyle should suggest to them that they are not. People who are saved and know it find it impossible to imagine becoming unsaved again. Scripture encourages us to live in accordance with our new nature, but it does not teach us to fear losing it. If any of us thinks we can lose our salvation, then we should ask ourselves if we really understand what salvation is, a change in nature, and whether we know God has engendered it in us. |
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66 | who is the holy spirit | Gen 1:26 | Aixen7z4 | 145941 | ||
The Holy Spirit is, as the Father and the Son, one of the trinity revealed to us as God (John 14, Galatians 4). He is the one who was hovering over the waters of the unshapen world in Genesis 1. He is the one who inspired the writing of the Scriptures (2 Peter 1) and who helps us to understand it (1 Corinthians 2). He is the one who convicts the world of sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16), leads us to Christ, and effectuates the new birth in us (John 3). He guides the lives of those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8). It is the Holy Spirit that is most active in the world today, prompting us to ask questions about spiritual things and to receive answers from the word of God. Be aware, therefore, that he is with some of us and in some of us (John 14). | ||||||
67 | Big deal that Jesus died when he is God? | 1 Tim 3:16 | Aixen7z4 | 145939 | ||
The Almighty God can do anything. But let us face it: 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. If I understand your question, you are saying that since God can do anything we should not be surprised or overly impressed by anything that he does. But if that were the case, we would not worship him. We bow before him because we are appropriately impressed with his power, his holiness, his love, his death and resurrection, and by the share number and scope of his attributes. In addition to the facts of what he has done, we might consider how he might have done it and also why he would have done it. How he was able to lay down his life and take it up again, we do not understand. ’Tis mystery all: th’Immortal dies: Who can explore His strange design? In vain the firstborn seraph tries To sound the depths of love divine. ’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore, Let angel minds inquire no more. Some of it he tells us. His death was not simply an expiration. It involved rejection and humiliation and suffering. He suffered in his soul and in his body, and in his spirit he experienced separation from the Father. Whereas sin was anathema to his soul, he became sin for us. If you consider how he died, it seems impossible for anyone to shrug it off because it was within his ability. The other question is “Why?” Why would he do these things for us? The ancients marveled at it. “What is man, that you are mindful of him? and the son of man, that you visit him?” (Psalm 8). Why would he love us when we hated him? Why would he want to be our friend, when we had chosen to be his enemy? And how could anyone love that much? When we consider these things, and if we are not impressed, we may well wonder at our own ability to ask: “What’s the big thing?” The biggest thing of all is not that he could do it but that he would do it. |
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68 | Big deal that Jesus died when he is God? | 1 Tim 3:16 | Aixen7z4 | 145937 | ||
The Almighty God can do anything. But let us face it: 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. If I understand your question, you are saying that since God can do anything we should not be surprised or overly impressed by anything that he does. But if that were the case, we would not worship him. We bow before him because we are appropriately impressed with his power, his holiness, his love, his death and resurrection, and by the share number and scope of his attributes. In addition to the facts of what he has done, we might consider how he might have done it and also why he would have done it. How he was able to lay down his life and take it up again, we do not understand. ’Tis mystery all: th’Immortal dies: Who can explore His strange design? In vain the firstborn seraph tries To sound the depths of love divine. ’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore, Let angel minds inquire no more. Some of it he tells us. His death was not simply an expiration. It involved rejection and humiliation and suffering. He suffered in his soul and in his body, and in his spirit he experienced separation from the Father. Whereas sin was anathema to his soul, he became sin for us. If you consider how he died, it seems impossible for anyone to shrug it off because it was within his ability. The other question is “Why?” Why would he do these things for us? The ancients marveled at it. “What is man, that you are mindful of him? and the son of man, that you visit him?” (Psalm 8). Why would he love us when we hated him? Why would he want to be our friend, when we had chosen to be his enemy? And how could anyone love that much? When we consider these things, and if we are not impressed, we may well wonder at our own ability to ask: “What’s the big thing?” The biggest thing of all is not that he could do it but that he would do it. |
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69 | how do you think god search your heart | Ps 139:23 | Aixen7z4 | 145881 | ||
God tests our hearts by putting us through trying circumstances. See Deuteronomy 8:2. Consider also Deuteronomy 8:16; Deuteronomy 13:3; Genesis 22:1; Exodus 15:25, Exodus 16:4; 2 Chronicles 32:31; Psalm 81:7; Proverbs 17:3; Malachi 3:2,3; James 1:3; 1Peter 1:7. We do not know our own hearts, and we must judge ourselves by our behavior. Interestingly, God also needs to see our actions. God does not need to know what kind of creatures we are. As Jesus showed, he knows what is in man (John 2). He knows our thoughts (Psalm 139). And yet , it is our behavior that he wants to see. God searches our hearts, not to judge us or condemn us, but to reveal it to us so we can change our minds if necessary, and reconcile our behavior to his will. Knowing these things, we are not bothered by the fact God searches us. We are glad for it. We pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting”. When God tested the Israelites (Deuteronomy 8) it was to make them know that man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. And it seems to be the same for us. |
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70 | I don't understand when people say seek | John 3:3 | Aixen7z4 | 145840 | ||
Jesus said (in Matthew 6) that we should seek the kingdom of God. From that context we can see what the kingdom of God is not. He was speaking about the temptation to focus on material things. We need to turn away from those things in order to seek the kingdom of God. Paul says the same thing in Romans 14, that the kingdom of God is not meat and drink. So the person who is seeking the kingdom of God does not place physical and material things at the top of his priorities. He does not live for those things. So, he does not trust in riches. He sets his affection on things above, not on things on the earth. He does not lay treasures upon earth. We cannot look for the kingdom of God with our physical eyes either. It is a matter of the heart. Jesus said (Luke 17) that “the kingdom of God does not come with observation”. It is within us. If we have an idea what the kingdom of God is not, we may be ready to look then at what it is. The kingdom of God is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14). That is what we should seek. We should hunger and thirst after righteousness. We should let the peace of God rule in our hearts (Colossians 3). We should lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven (Matthew 6). We should seek those things which are above (Colossians 3). We should set our affection on things above. That is what it means to seek the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is in us, and among us. But it is the realm in which he rules. It is apparent then, that God wants to establish his kingdom in our hearts and in our midst. We should want that. We should sanctify the Lord in our hearts (1 Peter 3). We should recognize him as Lord of our lives and of the church. We should submit ourselves to his will in our personal lives and in our fellowships. We should pray, “Your will be done” (Matthew 6). The person who is not saved may well feel left out of all this. He needs to enter into the kingdom of God. As Jesus says (John 3), “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”. “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God”. We need to be born again. We should humble ourselves and exercise childlike faith in him. We cannot enter on our own merits. The religious leaders like Nicodemus were righteous in their own eyes. But Jesus says, “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven”. Salvation. Righteousness. Peace. All of these things are spiritual. These are the kinds of things that constitute the kingdom of God. We should seek to be ruled by him. And these are the things we should seek, first of all. |
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71 | Is wife equally obligate to leave parent | Gen 2:24 | Aixen7z4 | 145745 | ||
One can only imagine why the woman in this case would want to remain with here parents after she gets married. It may be that she needs some help in sorting out her emotions and thoughts. But we may give her credit for seeking guidance from Scripture. Let us ay that we cannot determine God’s will through logic, but we can by searching the Scriptures. A wife has been heard to say she is not supposed to love her husband because the Scripture says it is the husband who is to love his wife. She was referring to the command in Ephesians 5 and encouraged by the fact it is repeated in Colossians 3. With a little more help in searching she found in Titus 2 that women should not only love their husbands, the older ones should teach that duty to the younger wives. Likewise, Genesis 2 seems to address only the need for the man to leave his parents when he gets married. But there are other scriptures addressing the wife’s side. Please refer her to Psalm 45. There the word to the woman is this: “Listen, daughter, consider, and turn your ear. Forget your own people, and also your father's house”. The next verse reminds her that her husband will desire her beauty, and she is to honor him. Of course there are deeper meanings in Psalm 45, just as there are in the Song of Solomon. But the appeal given in that statement is not a new revelation of God’s will for women but an affirmation and use of what had been understood and practiced. In fact it seems to indicate the most exemplary situation. It seems to make the woman’s leaving her parents even more complete than the man’s. As someone has said, the man is to leave his parents; the woman is to forget hers. The Lord teaches us indirectly sometimes by giving us examples, and them commending them. And he shows us Rebecca in Genesis 24. They called Rebecca, and said unto her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go”. And they sent away Rebecca their sister. In Genesis 31, Rachel and Leah considered themselves strangers from their father’s house and took their place with Jacob. Other examples can be given, and in every case the indication is that it was the Lord’s way. It is a picture of our relationship with the Lord as well, as we turn, “hating” father and mother (Luke 14) to devote ourselves to him. We must be careful of human reasoning, I think, and with that I can hardly say what I think. The word says the man is the leave father and mother. It does not say he is to leave brother and sister. Is he then free to bring them into the home with his new bride? Genesis 2 does not say the man is to leave his friends. Let us stop there. We are not to add or subtract or extrapolate or perform any such human operation on the word of God. Please encourage the sister to turn her heart away from her old home, though not completely, (I hope everyone understands) and to devote herself to her husband and the formation of a new home, their home. Scripture seems to show women more willing to leave the nest than the men, and the sisters should see that they are to be commended for it an emulated in it. All of us should follow their example in changing our priority from earthly relationships to that with the Lord, and in maturing from a position of dependency to one of nurturing. |
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72 | explain: I Corinthians 9:24 | Heb 12:1 | Aixen7z4 | 145586 | ||
Hebrews 12:1 sheds light on it. In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul is comparing the Christian life to that of an athlete. But an analogy is never perfect in every respect, and one must look for the essentials. The Christian life is like a race, and we must run to win. But it is not a race in which only one receives the prize. There is a certain crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing (2 Timothy 4). It may be useful for us to think of our lives as bleievers in Christ as a relay race (See Hebrews 11 to 12). Many men and women of faith have gone before us and they have passed on a baton to us. They have not received the prize as yet. They are waiting for us, and we will all receive the prize together. “These all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect”. This should discourage competition and division among us. Rather, it should teach us to value the lives of the saints who went before us, and to think of those who come behind us. It should remind us also to appreciate those around us, whose faith we can follow (as in Hebrews 13) and those who need our help (as in 2 Timothy 2). We can accept a baton and pass on a baton, and together we will win the race. I do not know if there were relay races in Paul’s time, or if he would have preferred that analogy. He seems to be searching for the best picture to illustrate the need for discipline and determination. In other letters he uses the farmer and the soldier as examples, and here he uses the athlete. But in the context of the passage, he is emphasizing togetherness, and devotion to the welfare of others (See 1 Corinthians 9:19-23). He is not encouraging selfishness or lonely individuality. Rather, he is focusing on the dedication shown by the athlete. He is asking us all of us together to run like that, to fight like that. The idea, as in Philippians 3, is to keep our eyes on the prize and to go for it. It is not to be the only one that wins. If we are following Jesus, we will all win this race. |
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73 | A Fear of the Lord encompasses what? | Prov 22:4 | Aixen7z4 | 145555 | ||
It is good to see that question. It may cause us to reflect on a most important topic. We need to know what it means to fear God, and we need to fear God (Ecclesiastes 12). It is chilling to realize that there are some around us and more so some among us who do not fear God. David says (Psalm 36) it is the reason people sin, and why some do it with impunity. They do not know God well enough to respect him. They do not apprehend his power to afflict us, or knowing it, they take advantage of his love and patience. But we should respect God because he is Creator and Sovereign and the Judge of all the earth. God is love, but God is also a consuming fire. If we are wise, the first order of business is to be sure we have a healthy fear of God. Like modern Pharaohs (Exodus 5) some show a lack of the fear of God by disobeying or ignoring God with apparent disregard for the consequences. They may profess that they do not believe there is a place called hell, or they say that God would never send people there. That is an attitude they may live again to regret for a long time. Jesus taught us that we should fear God because he has the power to cast both body and soul into hell. And there are some who know God and yet fail to glorify him (Romans 1). In effect they make themselves out to be God, in that they are wise enough to make life decisions without him. And there are some among us who know God personally and yet fail to tremble at his word. We too, may try to take advantage of his mercy and dabble in sin while believing that his grace will abound to cover it. We may play fast and loose with his word and carelessly teach false doctrines. God has warned us about that (Jeremiah 2, 3, 10, 12, Matthew 5, etc.) but some of us do it anyway. We should fear the Lord, all of us, and be careful and humble before him. We should respect him to the nth degree, and in a real sense be afraid of him. God is love but also, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. So let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him (Psalm 33:8). |
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74 | Why do people believe jesus is god | John 8:58 | Aixen7z4 | 145283 | ||
Or why do we believe God became a man? Those who reason backwards find it hard to see that the man, Jesus Christ, is God. Those who accept the direct revelation see that God came to earth in the form of a man, and took the name Jesus. He was in the beginning. He was the creator. He became flesh (John 1). But we have to admit it is an amazing fact we are being told here: 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 (1 Timothy 3). Nevertheless, we must insist that this is the message. The prophets long ago predicted that he would come here, and according to his promise, he would be called the Christ. John the Baptist closely preceded him and he saw the signs and bare record that that one is the Son of God. John the apostle and the other apostles walked with him, and after they had seen him with their own eyes, and looked upon him, and touched him with their hands, they recognized him as the Word of life. People believed on him after they had heard him for themselves, and they knew that he was indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world. He proved by his words and his deeds that he was God. No mere human could speak like him or do the things that he did. Among the things that he did was to forgive sins. And as he himself asked: Who can forgive sins but God alone? |
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75 | please explain proberbs 18:21 | Gen 1:1 | Aixen7z4 | 145271 | ||
It is helpful to look at the previous verse, and to see the way that the topic is treated in the rest of Proverbs and the rest of the Bible. It may also help to look at the verse in another translation. Those who love to talk will experience the consequences, for the tongue can kill or nourish life (NLT). A man may do a great deal of good, or a great deal of hurt, both to others and to himself, according to the use he makes of his tongue (Matthew Henry). Our words can destroy others or build them up, and those who love to talk will see those results (Aixen). This passage does not encourage the strange idea that we can speak things into existence. (Take Job 29:18 into chapter 30. Read Luke 12:19,20). Rather it is an encouragement for us to speak words that are helpful, and a warning to be careful how we speak to each other, because words can also hurt. In context, it goes with the previous verse: Words satisfy the soul (just) as food satisfies the stomach (NLT). Therefore, Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Sometimes a man can feel that his soul is among lions: that he is among beasts that are set on fire; even though they are actually people, their teeth may appear as spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword (Psalm 57:4). And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell (James). There are some who speak like the piercings of a sword. A lying tongue reveals hate toward those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth works ruin (Solomon). The mouth and the tongue can wreak havoc on a person’s spirit. On the other hand, the tongue of the just is as choice silver, and a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. The lips of the righteous feed many, and the tongue of the wise brings health (to the spirit). A wholesome tongue is a tree of life. How much good we can bring to the inner man of another man by the things that we say! With our mouth and our tongue we can bring blessings. By looking at other verses that talk about the tongue, we can see all these things. I know that whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from distresses, and one always takes a chance in that way when one speaks. It is therefore often wise to be silent. But one may also dare to speak and to try to be a blessing. If we are careful with our words, we can bring life instead of death, with our tongue. |
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76 | DENOMINATION | Eph 4:4 | Aixen7z4 | 144724 | ||
We can only imagine the grief that it brings to the Lord’s heart, to see division in the body, the church. What does he think about it? In his eyes, we who belong to him are one. He said, “There shall be one fold, and one shepherd” (John 10). Of course, Jesus knew all things, including the future, and he foresaw the state of the church of today. Yet he prayed to the Father that we should be one (John 17). We believe the apostle Paul was speaking for him when he said there should be no division in the body (1 Corinthians 12). Now this I say, that every one of you says, “I am of Paul”; and “I of Apollos”; and “I of Cephas”; (and "I of Luther” and “I of Wesley” and I of “Menno Simons”) and “I of Christ”. Is Christ divided? Many will be motivated to justify the tradition that has nurtured them. Some will say that their sect is not a sect. But we should answer the question: Is Christ divided? And then, we should refrain from trying to justify wrong and endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Where then does the Bible support the idea of denominationism? Or can it do so without contradicting itself? |
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77 | request for money is a false teacher? | 2 John 1:10 | Aixen7z4 | 143552 | ||
I do believe you may be thinking about a passage in the third epistle of John. The message seems to be positive, that we should support those who preach the Gospel. The reason is that they do not accept anything from unbelievers, and it is the place and privilege of the believers to give them hospitality and support. The passage says (3 John vv. 5-8 NLT): "Dear friend, you are doing a good work for God when you take care of the traveling teachers who are passing through, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church here of your friendship and your loving deeds. You do well to send them on their way in a manner that pleases God. For they are traveling for the Lord and accept nothing from those who are not Christians. So we ourselves should support them so that we may become partners with them for the truth". I wonder if that is what you are remembering. |
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78 | Never did a Man speak...? | John 7:46 | Aixen7z4 | 142196 | ||
The translators of the Bible use capital letters when they wish to show respect to Lord in the names that refer to him. But I wonder what those soldiers would have written had they made a written report to their commanders rather than a verbal report. It is my impression that they would have been at a loss to know what to write in the second case. They had heard many someone speak, but they were thinking now, based on what they had heard, that Jesus was not a mere man. Comes to mind what some said about Herod when he had made his great speech (Acts 12). “The people gave a shout, saying, ‘It is the voice of a god, and not of a man’”. And yet, this was so different. It was not the mindless shout of a groveling crowd before a tyrant. This was a report from trained professionals, sent to make an arrest. And what had they heard from him? Jesus had said unto them, “Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come”. He had also stood and cried, saying, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water”. Many others had marveled at his words before. Some had said that he spoke with authority, and not as the Scribes. Some had recognized his authority to speak to unclean spirits and to the winds and the waves, and the wonder of it, and the authority seen in it, was in the fact that they obeyed him. Some had wondered at the graciousness of his words. What was the effect of his words on those officers? Had they actually come to believe on him? We do not know. They seem to have reported that Jesus was unlike any other man, or maybe, that he did not seem to be a man at all. And now I would like to venture a statement, that Jesus should not be thought of as a man. He was God inhabiting a human body. This I say, aware that there have been many debates on the nature of Christ, where his humanity stops and his divinity starts, etc. I do not believe this is what you want to get into at this time. I think how Peter refused worship because he was only a man. Jesus received worship because he was more than a man. Paul refers to him in Acts 13:38 as a man and then says in 2 Corinthians 5 that he no longer regards him as a man. Jesus himself refers to himself as the son of man but never as a man. When his opponents said (in John 10) he was a mere man, Jesus responded that he was in fact the Son of God. His disciples did not refer to him as a man but as “that which was from the beginning”, “the Word”, “the life”, “the Word of life”, etc. (See 1 John 1). The rules of capitalization I have never understood, so I do not know the difference between a Man and a man. Again I would wonder whether such capitalization should represent the attitude of the speaker(s), in this case, the officers, or the person transcribing or translating what they had said. Could the listener(s), in this case, the chief priests and Pharisees, tell whether the speakers were reflecting the capitalized form in their speech? Should the word “Fellow” (in John 9:29) be capitalized. A quick look shows that one translation uses the word “One” and does capitalize it. I do not know about those things. So my answer here is to say that Jesus is not a man. God was found in fashion as a man and they called him Jesus. I know to capitalize his names and his titles. Lord. God. Jesus. Christ. Whether to capitalize “man”, especially in a phrase spoken by others, a phrase such as “never man spake as this man”, I cannot tell. |
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79 | Does anyone still beleive that God talks | Acts 9:4 | Aixen7z4 | 142188 | ||
The fact that we are discussing the subject says a lot. The fact is the Lord does talk to us, or John 10:27 is not true. But there are also people who talk to us, and we find it important to consider what they say. Any believer may know that God talks to them. He has not left us alone. He walks with us and he talks with us. But it is also important to us to know what others people say. The fact is, other people are always talking to us. Our task is often to decide whether or when to listen. Some of what we hear is solidly true, but very short on substance. The word of God is true, they say, and we agree. But what does it say? Some try to add substance and utility and they say, “God told me to go to …” and they lose us then because we have no basis for judging whether it was God. We also know of cases where it was apparently not God because the action in question was contrary to (our understanding of) the written word of God. There is, somewhere on this forum, the question whether Satan talks to us, and it might be interesting to review that. We know at least that he has ministers (2 Corinthians 11) and they are not reticent to talk. They may say that they have heard from God, but then they do not tell the truth. There is also a question as to whether true prophets always tell the truth. See 1 Kings 22. The truth is not always what we want to hear. The story of Micaiah is one that we can learn from (Romans 15:4). Even if we speak the truth, there are still those who would say, “Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return in peace”. But we can know when God is speaking. For one thing, it is in the word of . For the other thing, God what God says will happen will happen. So, when a preacher says, “I have a message from the Lord” and the message is: “Look to Jesus now and live”. The Lord is speaking, the message is true, and those who accept it know it from past or present experience. One can very well report: “I heard the voice of Jesus say, ‘Come unto Me and rest;…” I came to Jesus as I was, … I found in Him a resting place, … I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Behold, I freely give The living water; ...” I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life giving stream; My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in Him. “I heard the voice of Jesus say, ‘I am this dark world’s Light;…’ I looked to Jesus, and I found in Him my Star, my Sun; And in that light of life I’ll walk, till traveling days are done”. Many references have been made to Hebrews 1:2 where it says that God has spoken through his Son. Now we might ask ourselves, what have we heard the Son to say? And are we giving earnest heed to those things (Hebrews 2:1)? It may be that some of us are listening for other messages such as “Go to Chicago” or “Buy this car”. Now, since neither “Chicago” not “car” is in the Bible, we cannot detect the voice of God in such utterances. And since neither good ourcomes nor bad show that God directed we cannot tell even in hindsight whether God had spoken. What this piece means to say is that God spoken so loudly on so many things! God is light and we should walk in the light. We should worship God. We should preach the Gospel. We should love one another, not in word but in deed. Are we listening to those, or are we looking for other messages? It may be that we are looking for something secret and personal, spoken in our own individual ears. But isn’t God saying the same thing to all of us? We look at his Son. We look at his word. The Holy Spirit touches the word of God and it roars to life in us. When we read John 3:16, don’t we “hear” God saying, “I love you”? When we read Deuteronomy 6;5 or Matthew 22:37, don’t we “hear” God saying we should love him? When we read 1 John 3:16, don’t we “hear” God saying, “Love one another”? Or are we looking for something more mysterious and personally satisfying or just something more selfishly personal? Two passages of Scripture have meant so much to me in times when it seemed God was not speaking. “And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, ‘This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left’” from Isaiah 30, and “I being in the way, the LORD led me” from Genesis 24. Blessed are those who can hear the voice of God in the word of God, even a paraphrased version of it, and who find no need for an audible, possibly counterfeit voice. When there was no written Bible to go by, a man such as Samuel was blessed to hear the audible voice of God. But now, now that we have his word in writing, blessed instead are those who hear no audible disembodied voices, but who “hear” the word of God and do it. |
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80 | Where is God? | 1 John | Aixen7z4 | 142008 | ||
It is perhaps the most important question. God complained when his people did not ask it (Jeremiah 2:6,8) and he responded positively when Elisha asked it (2 Kings 2:14). It is his desire that we seek after him and find him (Acts 17:27). He asks directly that we seek him (Isaiah 55:6). We understand that the Lord is someone we will find when we seek him (as in Matthew 7:7). But you seem to need some more information, since you have been seeking and not finding. God says that you will find him only when you search for him with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). It is evident that some of us seek God while neglecting to deal with the question of sin. Sin is like a cloud (Isaiah 44:22) that separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). God hides his face at the sight of sin (Deuteronomy 31, Ezekiel 39, etc.). But we cannot get rid of sin by ourselves. We need forgiveness. And we should know that in Jesus Christ we are offered forgiveness of sins (Acts 13:38). Now, in regards to the steps you have taken is seeking God, you have mentioned reading the Bible, attending church, and baptism. Some churches place a strong emphasis on baptism, even suggesting that our sins are taken away in the water. They wrestle with passages like Acts 22:16 and 1 Peter 3:21 which seem to say or not say that. But in this case it seems clear that baptism did not take away sin, which is the thing that separates us from God. And why would baptism take away sin? What if the person has not repented? How could baptism take away sin if the person has not believed on the Lord Jesus Christ? What we find is that a person draws nigh to God when he turns his back on sin (Isaiah 55:7). When he turns to God like that and he will have mercy upon him, and he will abundantly pardon him. This pardon is necessary in order for us to have fellowship with a holy God. And again, this pardon is possible because of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. When we repent of sin and come to God through him. That is when we find him. There are many people in church who feel the way that you do, that they are seeking and not finding God. They may try then to create the feeling of nearness to God by being with the people of God and doing many things for God. One can hear them crying out with words such as “I’m desperate for you”. But God says he is not far from any one of us. But to find him we must come to hate sin, and we must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism comes after that. Now, who among us will say that they found God in a pool of water? The statistics say that most people find him and get saved in a place other than church. We tend to find him in some quiet place, on our knees, with the help of one friend or family member who knows him, and sometimes alone. But it does seem, when you get to know God, that he leaves no doubt about it as he floods your life with his presence. In your place I would seek the Lord in his prescribed way. But those of us who know him must seek him yet, just to see him. “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple”. For protection: “For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock”. He invites us to seek him. He says, “Seek ye my face”, and we accept. Our heart says, “Thy face, LORD, will I seek” (Psalm 27). For direction: He will show us the path of life. For the joy of it, because “in his presence is fullness of joy; at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16). |
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