Luke 10:25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live
2 Peter 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
1 Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
Hi Grae. I realize you've written to Adam, but if I may, I'll just briefly write this.
You've stated, "(your belief that Jesus is not God is) totally clear to me from my reading of the whole Bible." And you feel frustrated that folk believing as you do are barracked by those who don't. I don't sense that this happens. What I do see is that one side presents their belief & the other side presents their belief & that is up for discussion, as per these Discussion Pages. If you feel that these others are heavy-handed in their presentation, then they have presented Scriptures to show the Deity of Christ & hope that folk will use those Scriptures to argue their case.
I know Adam has presented a long list of references in the past, as I have also shared some. Has anyone even attempted to discuss those verses? One person did try to discuss John 1:1-14 with me, but conveniently changed the meaning that after Jesus was born into the World, God's Word came into Him. I've often presented one particular verse ( John 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." And none have given their understanding of this verse.
So, this can be frustrating to us also. For me, I wonder, 'have folk missed reading this verse altogether; have they read it but have their own understanding or even changed it; or, will it shake their belief, so best avoid discussion? You've read the whole Bible, you write. How do you, one who doesn't believe in the Deity of Jesus, deal with John 17:5? I would really like to know, because if I were in your position, that verse alone would shake my long-held belief severely.
9. And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of customes: and he saith unto to him, Follow me. And he arose,band followed him.
10. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.
11. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?
12. But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
13. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I an not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Please brothers and sisters , next time u read the book of Job , think of Jesus . Apply all the things that happened to Job to Jesus . He had a life before his ministry , a job , a family (as the eldest boy he would have had to help provide for siblings etc ) think about that last temptation of Jobs : touch his flesh and he will curse thee says the devil to God . The book of Job is there for a reason . Job maintains that he has not done anything (sinned ) to deserve these punishments from God , his friends basically say that he must have (sinned ) Jesus says , the cup that God gives me shall I not drink of it ? Even though Jesus didn't sin he accepted his fate from God . Job says shall we only ever receive good things from God ? Think about these things next time u read Job .
Bro. Giannis. I also think of Stephen's dying moments, when he saw the heavens open up and seeing Jesus at the right Hand of God, he called upon Jesus to "receive my spirit" ( Acts 7:56-59). From this, I believe we can understand that Stephen fully expected to die shortly & that his spirit would be taken into God's Presence. And then "he fell asleep": not only a lifeless body remained on Earth, but also a spirit-less body.
Re: parables. My understanding is that a parable needed to conform to a couple of criteria or else it wasn't a parable. The story was to be a simple everyday account of a situation that the people could relate to and the parable would not contain any proper names. I haven't physically checked each of the parables of the Lord to verify this, but from what I can remember, all of them, bar the rich man & Lazarus account, remain faithful to that criteria.
In the Lazarus story, both Abraham & Lazarus are named & conversing with each other, and if only a parable, then Jesus implicated these two men, when in actual fact that none of this actually took place (i.e. Abraham & Lazarus weren't actual characters in this drama, but simply representative of a place of comfort & a person deserving of it). This of course is true, in the OT economy, but naming them demands that we need to understand it as an actual event with actual persons there.
Adam GBU....But i see Jesus being more God then man....He neva did sire any flesh or blood Children.....But he did sire spirits when he breathe on some I believe he was reproducing very Gods as God is Spirit....They were impregnated by his seeds, His Word as his breath was his words and his words are his seeds.....And in John 16:6... He says b/c i have spoken these Words ( his seeds ) sorrows have filled your hearts....Then he describes a woman with sorrows as being with Child.....But after the Child comes her sorrows are turned into Joy....Then he said ye therefore have sorrows but i will see you again then your sorrows will be turned into joy...At Pentacost that mighty rushing wind was the H.G. and it was a spritual birth....He saw them again in the spirit of the H.G. the Children of Promise....Whosoever receiveth one such Child in my name receiveth me...He cd not have refered to the H.G. as the Promise of my Father if the H.G. was not the very multiplication of God....the Original Promise was multiplication of Christ seed.. WHEN GOD SWORE BY HIMSELF....And that is y the woman in Rev 12:5 is giving birth to the Children of Promise the H.G. SPIRITS.....Thus i believe that Jesus is the Father of the H.G...As the H.G. Emanuel cannot be born in humanity without the seed of Christ sown in mans hearts.....Remember what Peter said being bornagain of an incorruptible Seed by the words of our lord....Jesus said that which is BORN of the spirit is spirit...My words are spirit n life....The good seeds of our Lord are able to Reproduce very God....Thats y he is saying To whom the word ( his seed ) came it made them Gods and the scripture cannot be broken....Thus the H.G. IS TRULY THE GRANSON A HEAVENLY JACOB THAT 3 RD PERSON ....That is gonna result in an Israel of God that is gonna be as the Stars of Heaven....Our new heart and new spirit...the new heaven and new earth...But the Book has to be opened 1st as God told Daniel in 12...About the words of wonder th New Covenant.
Hello Adam . It distresses me that we who don't believe that Jesus is God r unable to say so without be barracked by those who do . We don't say it just to annoy others . We say it because we truly believe it , at least as much as u believe that Jesus is God . I believe that Jesus is the second Adam , a human made without the input from a human male . Made by God in Mary's womb . I believe he had a life before his ministry , a human life . Even then he was sinless . He lived by and obeyed the law of Moses and would have taken sacrifices to the temple like all other Jews . I believe that when God chose to , He filled Jesus with His Holy Spirit more than He had ever filled any other human with it . God is Spirit not flesh , Jesus was flesh . When Jesus says if u have seen me u have seen the Father he's not talking about himself , his body of flesh , he's talking about his works and words that he wouldn't have been able to do himself but was able to do because God had filled him with His Holy Spirit . Jesus states many times , I do nothing of myself . God knew , from the beginning of creation what He was going to do , He talks about Jesus all through the Old Testament , the Jews were aware that God would send them a Messiah .God is beyond all space and time and often speaks of things that haven't happened yet as if they had . I don't despise anyone who believes that Jesus is God , I think they r mistaken . That's all . Don't really want to discuss it or try to justify my beliefs , it genuinely seems totally clear to me from my reading of the whole Bible . I get frustrated that others can't c what I c but I guess that cuts both ways .
Where did Jesus' soul go after He died on the cross? Acts 2:22-35 tell us. Pay attention to verses 27 & 31.
Also in 1 Peter 3:18-20 it is written:
"18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."
1 Peter 4:6 talks about the same thing.
"For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit."
Finally, if the story of the rich man and Lazarus is actually a parable and not a real story, then Jesus made up a story, OK? But a parablet must resemble to reality. It must be respective to the actual facts, it can not be something totally different from the real situation. A parable is actually a story which uses imaginary images to describe the same events of the real story.
It has to do with the person's faith, not with Jesus' power. Initially the blind man's faith was not adequate to get a total healing from Jesus. But after he saw people like trees his faith was lifted up to get a complete healing. It doesn't have to do with Jesus' power but with the person's faith. Jesus used that man to teach us how important is one's faith if they want to get something from God Without faith one gets nothing from God. So have faith in your heart.
Hi Jackie. Yours would be the most unusual question that I've come across, but I'll try to assist by correlating manicure kits to a 'cutting or shaping' action in the Bible.
The verse that is foremost in my mind is from Hebrews 4:12: that of God's Word doing an intrusive, piercing/cutting, yet thorough work in a person's heart. Though a nail clipper/emery board may be useful to cut & shape nails, even flicking out some grit under the nail, God's Word is no mere man-made cutter, but is "quick (alive, active, at work), endued with God's Power & keeness (finely sharpened), that is able to penetrate the impenetrable (dividing the soul & spirit, getting in-between the bone & marrow), and judges & exposes the deepest thoughts & devises of our hearts." Their gifts of manicure kits should accomplish well the tasks they were made for - but God's Word strikes much further than a finger nail, going straight to a person's heart & spirit, to the end that a complete change can occur & not simply a superficial & temporary cut & shape.
We can find examples of this in the Apostle Peter's sermon at Pentecost ( Acts 2:14-41, especially verse 37 'pricked in their hearts') & Stephen's sermon in Acts 7:2-60, especially verse 54 'cut to the heart'). God's Word can either bring people to repentance & faith or cause some to well up in fury against the Truth. Such is the penetrating Power of God's Word with its divisive action that separates those hungering for the Peace of God & His Salvation in their hearts from those whose end is only anger against God & rejection of His Truth.
But Jesus said in John 10:10, "...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Jesus didn't come to just give us a quick cut & shape (a temporary fix to make us feel or look better) - He came to sacrifice His Life for each one of us, so that we might be forgiven of our sins, turn from them & become God's children, receiving an abundant life both now & into eternity.
The message being brought out in Mark Chapter 8 can be understood by what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:12, where he says that now we see through a glass darkly, dimly. Everything is blurred. Obscure. But when we see Him face to face, then we will know all things.
And so it is interesting that Jesus healed him to a point where he could see things in a blurred fashion, and then healed him so that he could see all things clearly. And that's what Messiah does.
When we see Him face-to-face, He's going to make all things clear. And Jesus said I am the one.
In fact, there were many things that the Jews would celebrate, and they said we don't know the meaning of a lot of these things, but when Messiah comes, He's going to show us.
So Jesus is showing them that with my power, you'll be able to see in this life, even though it will be dimly, it will be blurred, but then when you see me face to face, I'll make all things clear to you.
Here's what took place with the healing of this man. In Mark 8:22, Jesus comes to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man to Him and besought Him to touch the man.
Here's another instance where they said we want you to touch him. They can't just trust Him to say it. They want Jesus to touch him. But it was important to them for Jesus to touch him according to a Jewish custom.
In Verse 23, Jesus took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town. You see, Jesus was not a sensationalist. He led him out of town; and when He had spit on his eyes, He put his hands upon him, and asked him if he saw anything.
Now spitting was not just your normal spittoon and tobacco type spitting, but to the Jews, spitting was a sign of extraction. Even in judgment, they would spit on the ground.
But for the blind, it was interesting that they actually spit on their eyes, because the blind person does not know what you are doing. And if you spit on his eyes, he knows that you are going to extract the blindness. So Jesus put His hands on him and asked him if he saw anything.
The man looked up and said, I see men as trees, walking. He had blurred vision. What's going on here? Didn't Jesus heal him correctly? Well, there are some Jewish customs and doctrine that is being presented here.
Mark 8:25 says, "After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly." This makes it seem as it took Jesus two attempts to heal this man, but there's a message being presented here.
The Jews believed that man, the human being, has two kinds of vision. And Paul brought this out in 1 Corinthians 13:12, which was the Jewish version of vision. In 1 Corinthians 13:12, Paul says, now we see through a glass darkly, dimly. Everything is blurred. Obscure.
But when we see Him face to face, then we will know all things.
This section goes from they did not believe (as seen in John 6:64; 8:46 and others) to verse 39 of this chapter which states that they COULD not believe as prophesied in Isaiah 53:1.
Verse 42 serves as a harsh reminder that we can have belief in Christ but we also must CONFESS with our mouths ( Romans 10:9-10) in order to have saving faith. We are reminded here of Luke 16:15 which states that which is honorable among men is an abomination to God.
Here; it was praise of men that was the cause; and being thrown out of the synagogue; not even direct physical persecution.
Verse 48 reminds us of the conviction of the Spirit as mentioned in John 16:8; a few chapters later. Clearly; the whole Godhead works as a unit in tandem in ways mysterious to man.
Verse 40 goes on further to state from Isaiah about God Himself blinding men. Some other verses on that include 2 Thessalonians 2:11 where God Himself sends strong delusion so that they will believe the lie because of the previous verse where they did not LOVE the truth. Also we have Isaiah 66:4 where it says that God will choose their delusions.
All sin stems from self justification; and self love that cannot accept the true state of our souls as fallen man because of Adam and his progeny that makes up natural man. Naked we come into this world and naked we shall go ( Job 1:21); also see Ecclesiastes 5:15. We cannot love anything above God; Jesus uses the word HATE for anything else ( Luke 14:25-26). We see the general sentiment in verse 25 of this chapter. Clearly; Christ Himself showed love in the previous chapter for Lazarus; Mary and Martha as well as John when He said "Behold your mother" to John at the cross so that he could take care of her. ( John 19:26-27).
There were times when they sought Him out when He stated the more important principle that those who followed Him were brothers; sisters; etc. ( Luke 8:21).
The blueprint for being a child of God or not is in John 12.
I'd like to ask a question directed at anyone who believes Jesus isn't God the Son or a part of any Godhead and may be open to responding. I come in peace to ask a question for my own understanding and I won't respond to this thread as I know how passionate the discussions on this topic can become.
The regular brothers and sisters here probably know that I believe Jesus is God the Son, because of what it says in John 1:1, 1 John 5:7, etc. I feel lead to defend Jesus when I sometimes see comments denying His divinity, especially if to influence newer believers, but I won't post again here.
My question is: do you believe Jesus as the Son of God has any % of God the Father in Him? If so, what %?
In human terms, most of us understand that when a father has a son that about 50% of his DNA and genes will come from the father, and 50% from the mother. Because there is no mention of the Son of God having a mother, one may presume that most of any inherited traits may have come from God the Father through some kind of miraculous act.
Basically, if you don't believe Jesus is God, do you believe that any % of God-ness may have been inherited from God the Father (and what scripture says)?
Mark 8:22-26, this seems to be the same account witnessed by John: John 9, whole chapter, note: Exodus 4:11, & John 9:1,3,32,33,39,
Matthew 9:27-31, notice: Mark 10:47-52, this guys "faith, immediately" Luke 18:35-43, notice, the situation you referred to: John 9:35-39,
Psalms 146:8, Isaiah 29:18, Isaiah 35:5,6, Isaiah 42:1-21, here in: Matthew 11:5, Luke 7:22, Jesus pointed out the fulfilled prophecy in those ancient scriptures. Matthew 15:31,
Mark 6:1-6,
The mind is a powerful thing, Mark 9:23, Mark 11:23,24, Mark 16:17,
Luke 8:49-50, even death Jesus said "fear not: believe only" ._.
Was it the man's doubt?
Was it an example to not give up, keep trying, keep seeking the miraculous, healings? To encourage us to press on, keep believing, keep trying. (?) or all the above._.
Where did Jesus' soul go after He died on the cross? Acts 2:22-35 tell us. Pay attention to verses 27 & 31.
Also in 1 Peter 3:18-20 it is written:
"18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."
1 Peter 4:6 talks about the same thing.
"For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit."
Finally, if the story of the rich man and Lazarus is actually a parable and not a real story, then Jesus made up a story, OK? But a parablet must resemble to reality. It must be respective to the actual facts, it can not be something totally different from the real situation. A parable is actually a story which uses imaginary images to describe the same events of the real story.
I, too, extend my condolences to you and your family. May the Lord bless your heart and touch the lives of each person in your family as you all grieve and remember your sister. I am happy to keep praying for you!
Brother Mishael, so sorry to get that news of your sister. I continue to remember you, your son & family before the One Who does all things well, even when our understanding fails to comprehend His Love & His Works. May you all know the Peace of Jesus in a special way at this time.
Sach. I'm not sure what congregation would not allow those in occupational fields of risks and personal safety (police officers and military personnel) to be a part of their fellowship. Is there a biblical reference for this standard to be applied? Do you or your fellowship consider these and the others in your post (prison officers, debt collectors or politicians) lost causes? I'm not trying to pick a fight, just wondering where the biblical narrative is that would support such a position. Have a good day...
It's a sad commentary on the fickleness of mankind. Seeking to preserve the line of David, Jehoshabeath (the wife of Jehoida the priest) took Joash (Jehoash) and saved him to become Judah's next king. While Joash did start out well, it's important to note in chapter 24, verse 2, ( 2 Kings 12:2) that he did this only during Jehoida's lifetime. Upon the priest's death, at 130, Joash gave up serving the Lord at the prompting of wicked leaders within Judah and turned back to paganism. Jehoida's son, Zechariah, then spoke God's warning to Joash and the Judean nation and was subsequently stoned to death. The Lord had forsaken Joash and conspirators took his life in return for the killing of Zechariah and others.
Starting out well is not unusual for most of us. It's just the finishing well that can cause us the most difficulty. I pray to God that my life reflects a Jehoida mindset and not a shallow Joash. Let God help us to steer the course thru this life!
26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live
2 Peter 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
1 Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
You've stated, "(your belief that Jesus is not God is) totally clear to me from my reading of the whole Bible." And you feel frustrated that folk believing as you do are barracked by those who don't. I don't sense that this happens. What I do see is that one side presents their belief & the other side presents their belief & that is up for discussion, as per these Discussion Pages. If you feel that these others are heavy-handed in their presentation, then they have presented Scriptures to show the Deity of Christ & hope that folk will use those Scriptures to argue their case.
I know Adam has presented a long list of references in the past, as I have also shared some. Has anyone even attempted to discuss those verses? One person did try to discuss John 1:1-14 with me, but conveniently changed the meaning that after Jesus was born into the World, God's Word came into Him. I've often presented one particular verse ( John 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." And none have given their understanding of this verse.
So, this can be frustrating to us also. For me, I wonder, 'have folk missed reading this verse altogether; have they read it but have their own understanding or even changed it; or, will it shake their belief, so best avoid discussion? You've read the whole Bible, you write. How do you, one who doesn't believe in the Deity of Jesus, deal with John 17:5? I would really like to know, because if I were in your position, that verse alone would shake my long-held belief severely.
Matthew 9-9-13
9. And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of customes: and he saith unto to him, Follow me. And he arose,band followed him.
10. And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.
11. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?
12. But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
13. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I an not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Re: parables. My understanding is that a parable needed to conform to a couple of criteria or else it wasn't a parable. The story was to be a simple everyday account of a situation that the people could relate to and the parable would not contain any proper names. I haven't physically checked each of the parables of the Lord to verify this, but from what I can remember, all of them, bar the rich man & Lazarus account, remain faithful to that criteria.
In the Lazarus story, both Abraham & Lazarus are named & conversing with each other, and if only a parable, then Jesus implicated these two men, when in actual fact that none of this actually took place (i.e. Abraham & Lazarus weren't actual characters in this drama, but simply representative of a place of comfort & a person deserving of it). This of course is true, in the OT economy, but naming them demands that we need to understand it as an actual event with actual persons there.
Where did Jesus' soul go after He died on the cross? Acts 2:22-35 tell us. Pay attention to verses 27 & 31.
Also in 1 Peter 3:18-20 it is written:
"18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."
1 Peter 4:6 talks about the same thing.
"For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit."
Finally, if the story of the rich man and Lazarus is actually a parable and not a real story, then Jesus made up a story, OK? But a parablet must resemble to reality. It must be respective to the actual facts, it can not be something totally different from the real situation. A parable is actually a story which uses imaginary images to describe the same events of the real story.
God Blessings
The verse that is foremost in my mind is from Hebrews 4:12: that of God's Word doing an intrusive, piercing/cutting, yet thorough work in a person's heart. Though a nail clipper/emery board may be useful to cut & shape nails, even flicking out some grit under the nail, God's Word is no mere man-made cutter, but is "quick (alive, active, at work), endued with God's Power & keeness (finely sharpened), that is able to penetrate the impenetrable (dividing the soul & spirit, getting in-between the bone & marrow), and judges & exposes the deepest thoughts & devises of our hearts." Their gifts of manicure kits should accomplish well the tasks they were made for - but God's Word strikes much further than a finger nail, going straight to a person's heart & spirit, to the end that a complete change can occur & not simply a superficial & temporary cut & shape.
We can find examples of this in the Apostle Peter's sermon at Pentecost ( Acts 2:14-41, especially verse 37 'pricked in their hearts') & Stephen's sermon in Acts 7:2-60, especially verse 54 'cut to the heart'). God's Word can either bring people to repentance & faith or cause some to well up in fury against the Truth. Such is the penetrating Power of God's Word with its divisive action that separates those hungering for the Peace of God & His Salvation in their hearts from those whose end is only anger against God & rejection of His Truth.
But Jesus said in John 10:10, "...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Jesus didn't come to just give us a quick cut & shape (a temporary fix to make us feel or look better) - He came to sacrifice His Life for each one of us, so that we might be forgiven of our sins, turn from them & become God's children, receiving an abundant life both now & into eternity.
John,
The message being brought out in Mark Chapter 8 can be understood by what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:12, where he says that now we see through a glass darkly, dimly. Everything is blurred. Obscure. But when we see Him face to face, then we will know all things.
And so it is interesting that Jesus healed him to a point where he could see things in a blurred fashion, and then healed him so that he could see all things clearly. And that's what Messiah does.
When we see Him face-to-face, He's going to make all things clear. And Jesus said I am the one.
In fact, there were many things that the Jews would celebrate, and they said we don't know the meaning of a lot of these things, but when Messiah comes, He's going to show us.
So Jesus is showing them that with my power, you'll be able to see in this life, even though it will be dimly, it will be blurred, but then when you see me face to face, I'll make all things clear to you.
Here's what took place with the healing of this man. In Mark 8:22, Jesus comes to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man to Him and besought Him to touch the man.
Here's another instance where they said we want you to touch him. They can't just trust Him to say it. They want Jesus to touch him. But it was important to them for Jesus to touch him according to a Jewish custom.
In Verse 23, Jesus took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town. You see, Jesus was not a sensationalist. He led him out of town; and when He had spit on his eyes, He put his hands upon him, and asked him if he saw anything.
Now spitting was not just your normal spittoon and tobacco type spitting, but to the Jews, spitting was a sign of extraction. Even in judgment, they would spit on the ground.
But for the blind, it was interesting that they actually spit on their eyes, because the blind person does not know what you are doing. And if you spit on his eyes, he knows that you are going to extract the blindness. So Jesus put His hands on him and asked him if he saw anything.
The man looked up and said, I see men as trees, walking. He had blurred vision. What's going on here? Didn't Jesus heal him correctly? Well, there are some Jewish customs and doctrine that is being presented here.
Mark 8:25 says, "After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly." This makes it seem as it took Jesus two attempts to heal this man, but there's a message being presented here.
The Jews believed that man, the human being, has two kinds of vision. And Paul brought this out in 1 Corinthians 13:12, which was the Jewish version of vision. In 1 Corinthians 13:12, Paul says, now we see through a glass darkly, dimly. Everything is blurred. Obscure.
But when we see Him face to face, then we will know all things.
I need more space so I will send a part 2.
I also am sorry to hear this. My prayers go out to you. Please remain strong in Christ Jesus knowing that He is your strength!
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Jesus was spirit. Earth was created only for humans. He set aside his God status
To become human. To die for humans. He retrieved authority and dominion Adam lost. Gen 3:15
He did no miracles until Luke 4:18
The Holy Spirit is the spirit of Christ
Galatians 1:8,9, no, Angel given another gospel not ok.
Revelation 14, 144,000, seem to be clearly defined in: Revelation 7:3-4, broken down by tribe: Revelation 7:3-8,
Not just the Laterdaysaints: Revelation 7:9-17,
don't add to word, or take away from: Revelation 22:18,19
Matthew 25:31-46,
Women prophets Judges 4:4, Luke 2:36, Exodus 15:20,
Acts 4:12, John 14:6, John 3:16,
Hopefully these are helpful
Jesus Christ is the BODY of his Father; therefore he is 100 % God.
John 17:23 ...Thou in me ....
John 17:21 ...as thou Father art in me, and I in thee ....
God Bless YOU!
"The VOICE of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:"
John 1:20-23
20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
23 He said, I am the VOICE of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias (Isaiah)
This section goes from they did not believe (as seen in John 6:64; 8:46 and others) to verse 39 of this chapter which states that they COULD not believe as prophesied in Isaiah 53:1.
Verse 42 serves as a harsh reminder that we can have belief in Christ but we also must CONFESS with our mouths ( Romans 10:9-10) in order to have saving faith. We are reminded here of Luke 16:15 which states that which is honorable among men is an abomination to God.
Here; it was praise of men that was the cause; and being thrown out of the synagogue; not even direct physical persecution.
Verse 48 reminds us of the conviction of the Spirit as mentioned in John 16:8; a few chapters later. Clearly; the whole Godhead works as a unit in tandem in ways mysterious to man.
Verse 40 goes on further to state from Isaiah about God Himself blinding men. Some other verses on that include 2 Thessalonians 2:11 where God Himself sends strong delusion so that they will believe the lie because of the previous verse where they did not LOVE the truth. Also we have Isaiah 66:4 where it says that God will choose their delusions.
All sin stems from self justification; and self love that cannot accept the true state of our souls as fallen man because of Adam and his progeny that makes up natural man. Naked we come into this world and naked we shall go ( Job 1:21); also see Ecclesiastes 5:15. We cannot love anything above God; Jesus uses the word HATE for anything else ( Luke 14:25-26). We see the general sentiment in verse 25 of this chapter. Clearly; Christ Himself showed love in the previous chapter for Lazarus; Mary and Martha as well as John when He said "Behold your mother" to John at the cross so that he could take care of her. ( John 19:26-27).
There were times when they sought Him out when He stated the more important principle that those who followed Him were brothers; sisters; etc. ( Luke 8:21).
The blueprint for being a child of God or not is in John 12.
Matthew 25:31-46, 1Peter 4, Matthew 12:36, Romans 2, James 2, 2Peter 3:7, Jude 1, Revelation 20,
2Peter 2:9, 1John 4:17,
Hopefully these are helpful in your learning
The regular brothers and sisters here probably know that I believe Jesus is God the Son, because of what it says in John 1:1, 1 John 5:7, etc. I feel lead to defend Jesus when I sometimes see comments denying His divinity, especially if to influence newer believers, but I won't post again here.
My question is: do you believe Jesus as the Son of God has any % of God the Father in Him? If so, what %?
In human terms, most of us understand that when a father has a son that about 50% of his DNA and genes will come from the father, and 50% from the mother. Because there is no mention of the Son of God having a mother, one may presume that most of any inherited traits may have come from God the Father through some kind of miraculous act.
Basically, if you don't believe Jesus is God, do you believe that any % of God-ness may have been inherited from God the Father (and what scripture says)?
God bless.
Psalms 144:5,6, see: Exodus 19:10-20,
Psalms 144:7, many times GOD parted the waters, rivers, even a Sea, to deliver HIS children: Exodus 14:21-31, Joshua 3:13-17,
Psalms 144:11-15, could be reference to many battles David faced in: 1Samuel, 2Samuel, 1Chronicles,
Hopefully these are helpful
Matthew 9:27-31, notice: Mark 10:47-52, this guys "faith, immediately" Luke 18:35-43, notice, the situation you referred to: John 9:35-39,
Psalms 146:8, Isaiah 29:18, Isaiah 35:5,6, Isaiah 42:1-21, here in: Matthew 11:5, Luke 7:22, Jesus pointed out the fulfilled prophecy in those ancient scriptures. Matthew 15:31,
Mark 6:1-6,
The mind is a powerful thing, Mark 9:23, Mark 11:23,24, Mark 16:17,
Luke 8:49-50, even death Jesus said "fear not: believe only" ._.
Was it the man's doubt?
Was it an example to not give up, keep trying, keep seeking the miraculous, healings? To encourage us to press on, keep believing, keep trying. (?) or all the above._.
Where did Jesus' soul go after He died on the cross? Acts 2:22-35 tell us. Pay attention to verses 27 & 31.
Also in 1 Peter 3:18-20 it is written:
"18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."
1 Peter 4:6 talks about the same thing.
"For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit."
Finally, if the story of the rich man and Lazarus is actually a parable and not a real story, then Jesus made up a story, OK? But a parablet must resemble to reality. It must be respective to the actual facts, it can not be something totally different from the real situation. A parable is actually a story which uses imaginary images to describe the same events of the real story.
God Blessings
I, too, extend my condolences to you and your family. May the Lord bless your heart and touch the lives of each person in your family as you all grieve and remember your sister. I am happy to keep praying for you!
Starting out well is not unusual for most of us. It's just the finishing well that can cause us the most difficulty. I pray to God that my life reflects a Jehoida mindset and not a shallow Joash. Let God help us to steer the course thru this life!