Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
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1Kings 17:7-15
We can aslo see in this passage that the widow was commanded by God even though she appeared to not even know she had been commanded!
So we should be always ready to help, it is likely a command by God and we are sure to be blessed!
In whom [Jesus] also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Co 3:24 (Colossians, Chapter 3 and Verse 24)
Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ
...So what do you have an inheritance of?
1Pe 1:3,4 (1st Peter, Chapter 3 and Verses 3 and 4)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
You are now a son of God because Christ abides in you and you in him!
Ro 8:14
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Ga 4:4-6 (Galatians)
4 But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son [Jesus], made of a woman [Mary], made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son [The Holy Ghost/Spirit] into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Be assured also that now that you have repented (turned from your sin and towards God), accepted that the blood of Jesus is worthy to cleanse you of your past sins, and received the Spirit of God, you now have Jesus as the cornerstone, the foundation of your life.
Trust in him my Brother and he will give you the keys to everlasting life!
Mt 16:19a
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven:
My Brother, your members [everything that makes you you] were written in his book, and in continuance were fashioned [were formed piece by piece in your mothers womb], when as yet there was none of them [God knew you since before you were born] (Ps 139:16).
Ep 1:4
...he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world...
Because of all this you can be sure that he knows what's best for you always!
Remember Brother that you are now brought out of the world and have been sent back into it to carry out an important mission!
Jn 17:9-18
I [Jesus] pray for them [You, Me and the whole Church, that is all who are saved] : I pray not for the world, but for them which thou [God in Heaven] hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
Mt 28:18-20
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Be sure to read the Bible [the Word], and stay in touch with as many other (preferably mature) Christians [The Church] as you possibly can, whilst trying as much as possible to not be around too many non Christians [The World], at least until God guides you to do so, you will know when you are strong enough. And pray as often as you can, this is how you fellowship with Christ through his Holy Spirit!
Be Blessed, stay strong and remain firmly focused on Christ and Heaven!
That was very well put, there definitely must be full repentance (turning from sin and towards God) as well as surrendering all to Jesus and a new birth in the Spirit, to be assured of inheritance as a child of God.
I think one of Georges' problems is that he takes a statement by Jesus like '...Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'(Jn 3:3) and he thinks that Jesus means this is the only thing that you need.
It's like if I say 'Unless you have a passport you cannot travel abroad' Of course you also need a ticket and money and luggage etc...
Jesus meets people at their need, Nicodemus needed to know about being born again (Jn 3), The young man was ready to accept Jesus in Mt 10:17-27, but Jesus realized he needed to know about forsaking his worldly treasures 'It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.'
In all honesty George whilst thinking about a response to your last post I found myself thinking in a similar way to when I used to argue with atheists.
Not a good sign Brother!
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I do have things that I enjoy to do;
I enjoy food, which I thank God for,
I enjoy music, which I thank God for,
I enjoy my work, which I thank God for,
I enjoy sports, which i thank God for.
Do I put any of these things before God? No
And also, notably, I did leave an awful lot of things behind in my old life, which for the most part God gave me a dislike for, other things I had to sacrifice.
Do I sit in a room and do nothing else but eat, read the bible and pray? Of course not! Hopefully I have a good enough and open enough relationship with Jesus, through the church, the Word and his Holy Spirit, for him to rebuke and admonish me when I have the wrong things in my life or when anything starts to take precedence over God.
Of course one must believe in Christ, but as I have pointed out before there are numerous other scriptures even dotted around the new testament and old testament about giving your life - surrendering yourself - to God.
Personally, I've tried to live my life my way, it hasn't worked, now I give God the steering wheel, which means he is in control, which means (simply put) I've surrendered myself to him.
In case you missed the scriptures I gave earlier here are a couple of them again and a new one, with questions as to what you think they mean. Because I'm convinced (and I have to say I'm not exactly alone) they mean essentially what I have said above.
Mt 16:24,25
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
---Please explain to me what you think Jesus means here by 'deny himself'?
---Please explain to me what you think Jesus means when he says 'lose his life for my sake'?
Ro 12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
---What would you say 'living sacrifice' means?
Lk 14:33
So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
If we are to forsake 'all that we have', what is left? Of course nothing, and who are we doing this for, of course Christ; so in summation I ask you, are we not giving ourselves to Christ?
This is something that I think only comes into true focus sometime after being born again, If you notice, Jesus didn't get round to harsh teachings like this until near the end of his ministry.
Even though his disciples had already left all they had to follow him, I guess Jesus knew that in the back of their minds they might have thought they could go back if they wanted, so he had to make it clear, just like eventually any new Christian has to understand that they have left their old lives behind for Jesus.
Please think on this Brother, it is very important for a Christian to accept that they do not belong to themselves any more, that is worldly thinking, and leads to sin.
Firstly, I actually do also consider Love to be a work, a very good one indeed. But I really think these discussions of semantics are ones which only a person who is here to make arguments would wish to pursue.
I would only really wish to discuss one thing with you my Brother, why do you not consider yourself to be surrendered to Christ? If you are not surrendered to Christ, how can you call yourself a Christian? That is a real issue and one which concerns your very soul. Please surrender to the one that matters more than you or any of your translations, Jesus.
Just a question my Brother Shola wishes me to ask, do you believe in the 'literal' death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and that he 'literally' lives now?
It is awesome when we understand all of the great things we can achieve when we've relinquished our lives to Jesus Christ, he is indeed able to clean our hearts, enabling us to produce good fruit in his might name!
Of course you need to completely surrender yourself to Jesus.
Mt 16:24,25
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Pr 3:5,6
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Ro 12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
1 Co 6:20
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
If you 'are BOUGHT' with a price' how can you then say that you are not to 'surrender' yourself to Christ?
Also, if you don't surrender to Christ, how can you dwell in him?
I'm actually quite surprised I'm having to say all this my Brother!
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With regards to the other issue regarding Faith and Works. I really don't see why this is such a problem, Yes we are saved by Grace through Faith, and of course any Works we might do are a denial of the free gift of God. However what I think James is saying is that if we show no fruit, it shows that we were not truly born again in the first place, or that we have backslided.
Mt 3:8
Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
Mt 3:10
And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mt 7:16
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Lk 8:15
But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
Jn 15:8
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
We are supposed to bring forth fruit, not to justify ourselves, but because we are the Body of Christ!
I have to admit that I didn't see it at first, but now our Sister Jude has made mention of it. Your whole mindset regarding how you deal with these mistranslations, to not share what you have learned, does suggest boastfulness. I'm afraid for you to be honest my Brother George, I feel that perhaps you haven't given yourself over completely to the Lord.
Actually George, I think you fail to realise the importance of yourself along with all of us as the body of Christ. We are so privileged right now to have three manifestations of God to edify us; The Word, The Body and The Spirit. If you are right to have found errors in the translation of the Word, is it not important that as a member of the body you should encourage us all with everything that you have found?
1Co 12:21-24
21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
22 Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
23 And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
24 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked.
Do you think Brother that God has given us all the gifts to so ably translate scripture as you seem to have? Perhaps you should humble yourself before the Lord and cleave to the Body instead of trying to puff yourself up with this silliness.
1Co 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up
These words may be difficult to hear, and God knows I myself have problems with haughtiness at times, I am blessed to have someone around me who drops me down a peg or two. I pray that the Lord gives you guidance and strength to grow in him.
Oh and please edify us all with what you have learned!
Sincerely in all the Love of our Saviour Jesus Christ, your Brother, Carl.
