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EPHESIANS 6
Ephesians 6:23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 6:24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen. Links to my sites here and the bottom of every post- https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/my-sites.html Stats https://ccoutreach87.com/stats-4-21/ Ephesians 6 videos- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M43BeMlJ2uI&t=3s https://www.dropbox.com/s/xecoai78k9ljdbx/2-15-18%20Ephesians%206.mp4?dl=0 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgSBcVgotin-An03X ON VIDEO .The commandment with promise .Thoughts from a child .Overview of Ephesians .The sovereignty of God .Slavery .Abolitionists .Spiritual armor- warfare .Reductionism- Soteriology https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soteriology .What are those lights in the sky over Texas and New Jersey? .The Reformation and church history .Did Jesus teach the doctrine of justification by faith? .Yes .Balanced spiritual warfare .How do we love Jesus? .I spoke on Melanchthon- Cardinal Cajetan and Eck- and the debates Luther had during the Reformation- I added my past teachings on them below Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations TEACHING [Past posts- Verses below] As we end the Ephesians study- Paul gives more practical instruction- some of it will become controversial some 1800 years after he penned it- Ephesians 6:5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Ephesians 6:6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; Ephesians 6:7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Ephesians 6:8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. Ephesians 6:9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him. There it is- from the bible itself- instruction for slaves to obey their masters. Why is this in the New Testament? There are other bible passages- both in the Old and New Testaments, that speak about slavery- rules given to how it should be applied- And teaching that says slaves should obey their masters. In the 19th century- both in Britain and the states you had an uprising- primarily from White Christian men- against the institution of slavery- we call these men the abolitionists. In the United States- you had a debate- and then a war- over the issue [as well as states rights]- There were good sincere men- Christian men- and yes- some Black men- who simply saw these verses as the bible teaching us that slavery is permitted- and as Christians- you should not seek to rebel against it. Now- I do not agree with their position- but an honest reading of this passage can lead dedicated bible students to take it this way. Overall- God’s will for man was to free him for bondage- all types. And it’s possible that the apostle Paul simply did not want the New Christian movement to be associated with the zealot mindset- People who advocated a violent rising up against their oppressors. So- he- by the anointing of God- wrote what was intended for God’s people to hear. Today there is still application to these verses- employers and employees- yet at the time- it was speaking about slavery. There’s much more to teach on the subject- how the enslaving of Africans by the West was not the same type of slavery spoken about in the bible- But for us today- with a clear conscience we can reject all forms of it- no matter where we find it. Now- the famous armor of God passage- Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; Ephesians 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Ephesians 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Just a few points- the only offensive piece of armor is the word of God. Jesus wielded it in his Temptation in the wilderness- Matthew 4 King James Version (KJV) 4 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. He quoted scripture 3 times- and dispatched the adversary for a season. Paul also talks about the shield of faith quenching [putting out] the flaming arrows of the enemy. In the first century the Roman shields were covered with leather and dipped in water prior to the battle. If a flaming arrow struck one of the shields- the shield would be able to extinguish it. So our faith can also stop the flaming arrows of the enemy- when he shoots accusations against the children of God. On the video I mentioned these last few verses- which are often not seen as part of the spiritual armor- Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; Ephesians 6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, Ephesians 6:20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Yet Paul asked the church to pray for him- that he would be bold in speaking the truth- that he would not step back from the task at hand. I applied this [on the video] to the life of the reformer Martin Luther- and spoke about his own battles while standing firm for truth. Paul the apostle was making known the mysteries of the gospel in the first century- and at the time- the message was radical and revolutionary. Now- it was the unfolding of the mysteries of God which had been hidden for ages- But he was a revolutionary in the proclamation of it. And there were times where he stood alone- where others questioned his motives- and where other believers disagreed with him strongly [the Judaizers]. 2Timothy 4:16 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. 2Timothy 4:17 Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. Yet he realized to truly fulfil the mission- he needed to be bold in the proclamation of the truth. Today we are able to read his letters- which are indeed received as the Canon- we regularly teach them in our church meetings- We make copies of them and send them out to the world- Yes- we are beneficiaries of the apostle’s early ministry work. And as we saw his story this last year as I covered the book of Acts- as we went thru some of his other letters these past few years- We are grateful that Paul remained faithful to the task at hand- he had the boldness of a true apostle. And for that- we are truly grateful- 1I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. 6For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8Henceforth there is laid up for me a 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. 2nd Timothy 4 PAST POSTS- [Past teaching that relates to this post- Verses below] https://ccoutreach87.com/ephesians-links-12-2020/ Ephesians 1 https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/2020/11/ephesians-1-text.html?m=0 https://ccoutreach87.com/2020/11/26/ephesians-1-19/ https://ello.co/ccoutreach87/post/qz9i_imwzxr_4mxuew5zlg https://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/ephesians-1-5 https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/most-recent-posts/ephesians-11493512 https://wt.social/post/rc53k6u5354625913904 https://snacpia.com/link/feed/?idx=232128 https://www.publish0x.com/ccoutreach87/ephesians-1-xqoglgx https://parler.com/post/aa5bd46a3753491e99710c2cd1a8bb2b https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87/posts/105276224624976104 https://johnchiarello.medium.com/ephesians-1-27d0fcaa8880 https://ccoutreach87.mystrikingly.com/blog/ephesians-1-b2a5eb65-04ed-4790-a971-39a6d85e3716 https://www.plurk.com/p/o3wyd2 https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/blog/ephesians-1-4 http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/blog/params/post/2329463/ephesians-1 https://ccoutreach87.jimdofree.com/2020/11/26/ephesians-1-text/ http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/2020/11/ephesians-1.html Ephesians 2 https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/2020/12/ephesians-2-text.html?m=0 https://ccoutreach87.com/2020/12/01/ephesians-2-17/ https://ello.co/ccoutreach87/post/wvybuiudggev3_vm_qhqvg https://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/ephesians-2-5 https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/most-recent-posts/ephesians-25590001 https://snacpia.com/link/feed/?idx=232685 https://www.publish0x.com/ccoutreach87/ephesians-2-xrylnny https://parler.com/post/748c476fba604de689619565135844cc https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87/posts/105304783616871659 https://johnchiarello.medium.com/ephesians-2-280a4c058487 https://ccoutreach87.mystrikingly.com/blog/ephesians-2-2b3690b5-ac98-4e27-b042-8dedf5417278 https://www.plurk.com/p/o46bsx https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/blog/ephesians-2-4 http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/blog/params/post/2334441/ephesians-2 https://ccoutreach87.jimdofree.com/2020/12/01/ephesians-2/ http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/2020/12/ephesians-2.html Ephesians 3 https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/2020/12/ephesians-3-text.html?m=0 https://ccoutreach87.com/2020/12/03/ephesians-3-text-2/ https://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/ephesians-3-5 https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/most-recent-posts/ephesians-35804971 https://wt.social/post/xb2alpy535664270347 https://sharfly.com/Ccoutreach87 https://ello.co/ccoutreach87/post/48qngfcomtgxg84zjc80mg https://www.publish0x.com/ccoutreach87/ephesians-3-xomgkqv https://parler.com/post/14ec497878d44193916500bfdd9f6bf1 https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87/posts/105315874573098603 https://johnchiarello.medium.com/ephesians-3-cac32f21bbed https://ccoutreach87.mystrikingly.com/blog/ephesians-3-a3f56ff4-dde7-4212-acba-cced7c613fc8 https://www.plurk.com/p/o4ab2l https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/blog/ephesians-3-4 http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/blog/params/post/2336606/ephesians-3 http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/2020/12/ephesians-3.html Ephesians 4 https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/2020/12/ephesians-4-text.html?m=0 https://ccoutreach87.com/2020/12/08/ephesians-4-19/ https://ello.co/ccoutreach87/post/1dbdwae4qon9ykeutxvkag https://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/ephesians-4-5 https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/most-recent-posts/ephesians-46736325 https://wt.social/post/qsr5b6m5358090410537 https://www.publish0x.com/ccoutreach87/ephesians-4-xvweolq https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87/posts/105344333614644517 https://johnchiarello.medium.com/ephesians-4-7709862ae153 https://ccoutreach87.mystrikingly.com/blog/ephesians-4-d17bbe53-668a-43ed-9511-6d8ecd38aa72 https://www.plurk.com/p/o4jjjc https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/blog/ephesians-4-4 http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/blog/params/post/2341420/ephesians-4 https://ccoutreach87.jimdofree.com/2020/12/08/ephesians-4/ http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/2020/12/ephesians-4.html Ephesians 5 https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/2020/12/ephesians-5-text.html?m=0 https://ccoutreach87.com/2020/12/10/ephesians-5-text-2/ https://ello.co/ccoutreach87/post/7sfhtu9d4j9srt_qtgugva https://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/ephesians-5-5 https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/most-recent-posts/ephesians-54604702 https://wt.social/post/u1qvl935358653607620 https://www.publish0x.com/ccoutreach87/ephesians-5-xnqevgk https://parler.com/post/fd3dc1e883a34966899a9de9903c37fa https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87/posts/105355410848479534 https://johnchiarello.medium.com/ephesians-5-ce1eef187fef https://ccoutreach87.mystrikingly.com/blog/ephesians-5-44ea5ced-0d91-4488-95af-d4ccc8197932 https://www.plurk.com/p/o4ncmu http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/blog/params/post/2343775/ephesians-5 https://ccoutreach87.jimdofree.com/2020/12/10/ephesians-5/ http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/2020/12/ephesians-5.html Other teachings I did that relate- https://ccoutreach87.com/john-complete-links-added/ https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/protestant-reformation-luther/ https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/justification-by-faith/ https://ccoutreach87.com/acts/ NIGHTINGALE https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/1-19-16-nightingale.zip https://youtu.be/zvNQT1R2p8A Nightingale ON VIDEO- Wilberforce Gas can New trial? Clapham community Britannia NPR news? Jan. 2016- worst 1st 2 weeks for DOW- ever Iran Evangelical movement Slave trade Industrial revolution Emancipation act Cross eyed ‘friend’ NEW STUFF [Past posts- verses below] William Wilberforce [1759-1883] was part of the Clapham community in the late 1700’s- early 1800’s. These were a group of socially minded Christians [Evangelicals] who had influence in the British Parliament. Wilberforce was the most influential of the group- and was called the Nightingale of the House of Commons because he gave passionate speeches on the behalf of social justice Issues. The believers at Clapham [a village about 3 miles outside of London] started Bibles societies- worked for the reform of the prisons in Britain- the ‘betterment of the poor’- And their greatest cause was the outlawing of the slave trade in Britannia. In the 1500’s the British began capturing Blacks in Africa and selling them in the West Indies. The practice grew and at around 1770- there were estimated to have been 100,000 Blacks a year captured and transported by ship. Britain was responsible for about half of the total number of blacks captured and sold. Wilberforce fought to stop the trade- he called it his ‘Holy enterprise’’. Yet- there was much resistance to banning the practice-because it was indeed a profitable venture. In 1807 he finally pushed thru a law that stopped the shipping of the Blacks- and in 1883- the parliament banned slavery altogether under the leadership of Thomas Buxton- an associate of Wilberforce. 4 days before the death of Wilberforce. The Christians at Clapham were called by God- not to abandon their role in government- but to remain in the parliament [there were about 5 in parliament- others were wealthy and had positions of influence- yet they used their voice for social change]. https://youtu.be/lgvUTtj9Bg0 No Nukes? https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/1-12-16-no-nukes.zip ON VIDEO- .North Korea .MLK .Open bed .Civil rights .Abolitionists .Alexander the Great .Proxy wars .Saudi Arabia .Iran .Only time nukes targeted civilians- who? (1360) Lets do a little Catholic/Protestant stuff. First, those of you who have read this site for any period of time know that as a Protestant I am ‘pro Catholic’ that is I read and study Catholic scholars, believe in the ECT statement [Evangelicals and Catholics together] and for the most part am pro Catholic in that sense. I have offended more Protestants because of this stance than Catholics. But sometimes I need to state the differences and be honest about them, true ecumenical unity should never be achieved on the altar of doctrine, we should not sacrifice sincerely held beliefs while seeking unity for Christ’s church. Last night I caught the journey home show with Marcus Grodi as well as Catholic scholar Scott Hahn [EWTN- the Catholic network]. Scott was doing a teaching on the sacraments of the church and shared a common belief in the ‘incarnational’ aspect of matter. Some theologians believe [both Catholic and Protestant] that since God became man in Jesus, that this united/sanctified matter in a way that never occurred before. They will carry this thought into sacramental theology and teach a kind of ‘connection’ with God thru material things; both Baptism and the Eucharist would be major examples. I believe the historic church was well intended when they developed this idea, they were combating the popular Greek/Gnostic belief that matter is inherently evil, not a biblical doctrine. As Scott Hahn made the argument I simply felt that he gave too much weight to the idea that because of the incarnation [God becoming man] that now there is a special ‘sanctity’ to material things when connected with the sacraments. Does the bible teach that there are actual physical things in this world that carry out the truth of the incarnation in a material way? Actually it does, the bible teaches that the bodies of believers have this special aspect because Gods Spirit lives in us. In essence the idea of ‘special matter’ that is often taught by well meaning scholars can be applied to the physical church in the earth, all who believe. I do not totally dismiss sacramental theology, many Protestants who dismiss it out of hand are not aware of the strong beliefs that the reformers held too in these areas. Luther is often misunderstood when it comes to his disagreement with Calvin, many teach and think that he split with Calvin over the doctrine of Predestination, he did not- Luther’s written views on the doctrine were just as strong [if not stronger] on the subject. Calvin never wrote a book dedicated solely to the doctrine, Luther did [bondage of the will]. But they did split on the sacrament of the Eucharist, Luther’s view [consubstantiation] was much closer to the Catholic view than Calvin, and Zwingli [the Swiss reformer] was further away than both Calvin and Luther. Lutheranism would eventually be developed by a protégé of Luther, Philip Melanchthon, and the Lutheran church would bear the image of Melanchthon more than Luther. The point being many good men have held to very strong views on these matters. I believe the biblical doctrine leans more heavily on the ‘material body’ of the believer as being the major material change since the incarnation, I do not hold to the idea that ‘God becoming man’ fundamentally changed the nature of matter when dealing with the sacraments. Matter is not [nor ever was] intrinsically evil, Greek dualism got it wrong from the start- we do not need a strong sacramental theology to refute this, scripture itself will do. . He had a few theological battles in his day. With Pelagianism and Donatism- these were early Christian movements that broke away from the standard teaching of the church- they derive their names form the Bishops/priests who espoused these ideas. Pelagius denied the doctrine of original sin- and he taught that men were indeed capable of obeying Gods law- out of their own moral integrity- and thus ‘save themselves’. Augustine rejected this view and taught that men were saved only by the grace of God- that men were indeed sinful and corrupt- and if left to their own designs would end up in hell. There were various adherents to Pelagius’ view- and his ideas have carried down thru the centuries to varying degrees- sometimes you will hear [read] the term ‘Semi- Pelagian’ this refers to those who have various ideas about man’s ability to save himself through good works. Some in the Reformed church [the original Protestant belief system that came out from the 16th century Reformation] accuse the Catholic Church of this very thing- yet the Catholic Church has made it clear that they do reject Pelagianism- and they agree with Augustine on the matter. The Donatists taught that the Sacraments were dependent upon the ‘holiness’ of the Priest who ministers them. That if you were in a Parish where the priests were bad- lived in sin- rejected a holy life- then if you were Baptized by these men- that the Baptism didn’t ‘stick’. The Donatists formed there own break away church in the 3rd century- and a few very influential men would join the group. A well respected early church father- Tertullian- eventually joined their ranks. Augustine argued against the Donatists teaching- and taught that Gods grace- and the grace given to believers thru the sacraments were not derived from the holiness of any priest or preacher- but if a believer in good conscience received the sacraments- that that’s what really counted. Saint Augustine is one of the titans of church history- he is loved by Protestants and Catholics alike. He is famous for his belief in the doctrine of Predestination [that those who are saved were chosen by God before they were born] and for this reason he is loved by the original protestant theologians [Luther, Calvin, etc.] He also taught a very ‘Catholic’ form of Ecclesiology [church govt.] and is well loved by many Catholics as well. The Catholic Church refers to him as the Doctor of Grace- later on in the 13th century we will meet Saint Thomas Aquinas- who the church refers to as the Angelic Doctor. Both of these men played a major role in the development of western thought and Augustine made an effort to distinguish true Christian thought from the philosophy of Neo Platonism which was very strong in his day. When reading Augustine [he wrote a lot] you need to be careful to distinguish some of his earlier writings from his later ones. Early on you still see forms of Platonic thought in Augustine- but as the years rolled by his thinking [parts] Now- Luther responds to the abuse by writing the famous 95 thesis. This is the act that is often associated with the launching of the Reformation- the act that got the ball rolling. The 95 thesis were simply 95 questions challenging the whole practice of the sale of indulgences- there was no mention of the doctrine of Justification by Faith- which will become the trumpet sound that springs out of the Protestant Reformation. Luther takes these questions- written in Latin- and nails them to the university church door at Wittenberg. Sometimes while reading church history this ‘nailing to the door’ is seen as a sort of vandalism – you know- ‘he nailed them to the door!’ In actuality Luther was simply using the system of the day that one scholar would use in order to bring up an official point of contention with the church- Luther wrote the Thesis in Latin- which was the scholars language- not the language of the common man. But Luther’s students quickly translated the Thesis into the vernacular [German] and it was said that in 2 weeks the paper made it into every village of Germany. The challenge was a spark in the lives of many Christians who also believed the church was off track and that someone needed to rebuke her- and they picked Luther as the man for the job. Now- the Catholic church wanted Luther to go to Rome and discuss the situation there- Luther’s friends warned him not to go- so they agreed to meet- a few times- in Germany. The first meeting was in 1518 at Heidelberg- Luther actually gave a great defense of his argument and convinced some other top Catholic scholars that he was right [as a side note- the church had already scheduled this meeting because of a controversy that rose up between the Augustinian order of monks and the Dominicans. They were debating over which philosophy was more consistent with church teaching- Nominalism or Realism- for those of you who have read the posts this past year- I taught this when doing our posts on philosophy]. One man- Martin Bucer- wrote a stirring account of Luther- Bucer would later influence another young Swiss priest with Reformation teachings- his name is John Calvin. As a side not Calvin will become one of the 3 big heavy hitters of the 16th century Reformation [Ulrich Zwingli is the 3rd]. Luther will meet again in Augsburg- and debate the leading Catholic scholar of the day- Cardinal Cajetan. Then he goes to the city of Leipzig- and debates the leading German scholar- Johann Eck. And his last meeting with the church will be at the famous Diet of Worms [pronounced- Vurmtz] and it will be here that Luther makes his last stand and officially will break with the church and launch the Protestant Reformation. It should be noted that Luther held what we call a High Church position for most of this time- he still saw the church at Rome- and the Pope- as a legitimate expression of true Christianity- his beef was what he saw as an abuse of the system- by the priest Tetzel. As time progressed- the other beliefs of Luther- founded upon the bible- did come into contention with Rome. The main disagreement eventually became the teaching in the bible called Justification by faith. I have written a study on the topic on the blog- I have also written a bible study on the book of Romans and Galatians. For those of you who can- try and read Romans chapters 2-4 and Galatians 2-3- these are the key chapters that cover the teaching. Down the road I will cover the official teaching of both the Protestants and the Catholics on the doctrine of justification- the Catholic Council of Trent- referred to as the Counter Reformation- spells out the official teaching of Rome- and there are a few papers put out by the Reformers that explain their belief. Since the 16th century Reformation there have been efforts made by Protestants and Catholics to bridge the gap as much as possible- to try to come to some common language since the historic split. I like some of the efforts that have been made- and recently both groups put out a statement that jointly said we all believe that we are saved by Gods grace thru Christ- that’s good. But as we get into some of the actual discussion- you will see the points at which the 2 sides disagreed- and the main one was on the act- the actual thing that happens- when a person is declared just- the Reformers said it takes place when a person has faith- believes- the Catholic church said it takes place at baptism- water baptism. This- as well as a few other things- will be a defining distinction between the 2. [parts] Acts 15 POSTED BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ JULY 3, 2017 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT ACTS 15- Amos 9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:Amos 9:12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this. https://youtu.be/rteq0keHKsQ Acts 15 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/6-22-17-acts-15.zip https://ccoutreach87.com/6-22-17-acts-15/ ON VIDEO- .Key chapter .The argument .The agreement .Tabernacle of David .Free in grace- but not a license to sin .Written and oral tradition .Paul and Barnabus have a falling out .1st church council .visions played a role in setting doctrine [Peter and thee sheet vision recounted] .Yet we test the spirits- they are not all of God PAST POSTS [verses below] https://ccoutreach87.com/james-2015/ http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/protestant-reformation-luther-1766-lil_25.html My daughters non profit- https://www.facebook.com/jimwellscountypetsalive/ ACTS- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/18/acts-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/09/acts-4/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/23/acts-5/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/31/acts-6/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/06/acts-7/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/14/acts-8/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/18/acts-9/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/07/acts-10/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/16/acts-11/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/22/acts-12/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/01/acts-13/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/14/acts-14/ (739)ACTS 15- Some brothers from Judea came down to Antioch and taught the believers that they had to be circumcised and keep the law in order to be saved. These are the Pharisees out of Jerusalem who became believers. They tried to put the gentile believers under the yoke of the law. Paul and Barnabas disagree strongly with this teaching. They decide to bring the question before the Apostles and Elders at Jerusalem. This is the first ‘church council’ in history. The ‘Jerusalem council’. At the meeting the dispute arises. Peter speaks up and recounts his experience at Cornelius house. How God showed Peter that he would justify people by faith, without having to become converts to Judaism. James chimes in and quotes a famous verse [famous now!] from the prophet Amos ‘in those days I will rebuild David’s tabernacle and all the gentiles upon whom my name is called will see me’. I want to stop here for a minute. On this blog I wrote a chapter on David’s tabernacle. It is in the booklet ‘The great building of God’ you might want to read it if you are not familiar with David’s tabernacle. I want to note that scholars disagree on what James means here. Some see ‘David’s tabernacle’ as the house or dynasty of David. Like Paul saying ‘house of God’ when speaking of ‘the family of God’. Others say this verse teaches the rebuilding of the Temple. The main reason James is quoting this verse is really not for the ‘rebuilding of David’s tabernacle’ section. It is for ‘all the gentiles who call upon my name’ part! James is agreeing with Peter and taking the side of grace when he says ‘look, even Amos said gentiles would call on Gods name’. Paul does this in Romans, he quotes the Old Testament prophets in context of the gentiles being accepted. So I wanted to just put some context to why James is bringing up this verse. But I also give credence to seeing ‘David’s tabernacle’ as speaking of the New Testament house of God [the Body of Christ] and Gods intent to ‘tabernacle in his people’. Acts does teach that Jesus has ascended and is seated on a throne that includes Israel as well as the whole universe! So in this context Christ can be seen as ‘building the tabernacle of David’ [spiritual temple of believers] that includes all ethnic groups. Yes, gentiles too can call upon his name! The Apostles and Elders and brothers all reach agreement and write a short letter and send Judas and Silas along with Paul’s group back to Antioch to read the final decree. They told the gentile believers they were not under the law and did not have to convert to Judaism to be saved. They did give four simple restrictions. Don’t eat meat with the blood in it, don’t eat food offered to idols or strangled animals. Don’t commit fornication. Basic requirements that later on will lose their emphasis as the church grows in grace [accept for fornication! God does require believers to walk in holiness]. Now this chapter is vital for every believer. The 16th century reformation restored the truth of people being saved freely by grace. Many Christians were lost in the legalistic requirements of religion. Many believers thought they could buy their way out of purgatory with money! Others thought they would be saved by keeping church law. This early church council gave freedom to the church in seeing herself accepted by grace. The church grew in her understanding of Gods grace. As God’s revelation of himself progressed thru out the early church, they saw him as being ‘inclusive’ not exclusive! The more they learned about God, the more they understood him justifying people freely. It is easy to lose the reality of God justifying man freely thru grace. No excuses for living in sin, but true acceptance and forgiveness because of Christ. This is truly the heart of the gospel. The first church council laid the foundation of Gods free grace. The gentiles at Antioch and the other towns were ecstatic over this decision. Truly the gentile churches are experiencing more freedom than the church at Jerusalem, after all they had the ‘Pharisees who believed’ at Jerusalem, and they weren’t willing to give up on their belief of the importance of the law and circumcision. They will haunt Paul thru out his life. After the letter is read, Paul and Barnabas continue to teach at Antioch and the 2 brothers who were out of Jerusalem are free to leave. Judas goes back, but Silas likes the freedom at Antioch and decides to stay. Paul says ‘lets go visit all the brothers in the cities where we preached’ Barnabas says ‘great, lets take John Mark!’ Paul doesn’t want him because he abandoned them on an earlier missionary journey. Paul takes Silas and John goes with Barnabas. The ‘visiting of all the brothers’ is also described as ‘visiting the churches’. Once again, the brothers [and sisters] in the cites are defined as ‘the churches’. They were called out groups of believers who were recognized not because they ‘attended church on Sunday’ but because they were followers of ‘the way’. VERSES- 1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spiritswhether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Acts 15:1 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. Acts 15:2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. Acts 15:3 And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. Acts 15:4 And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. Acts 15:5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. Acts 15:6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. Acts 15:7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. Acts 15:8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; Acts 15:9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Acts 15:10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? Acts 15:11 But we believe that through the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. Acts 15:12 Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. Acts 15:13 And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Acts 15:14 Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. Acts 15:15 And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, Acts 15:16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: Acts 15:17 That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Acts 15:18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. Acts 15:19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: Acts 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. Acts 15:21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. Acts 15:22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas and Silas, chief men among the brethren: Acts 15:23 And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia. Acts 15:24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment: Acts 15:25 It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, align=top> Acts 15:26 Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 15:27 We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. Acts 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; Acts 15:29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. Acts 15:30 So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle: Acts 15:31 Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation. Acts 15:32 And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them. Acts 15:33 And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles. Acts 15:34 Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still. Acts 15:35 Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. Acts 15:36 And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the LORD, and see how they do. Acts 15:37 And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. Acts 15:38 But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. Acts 15:39 And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; Acts 15:40 And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. Acts 15:41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches. http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg VERSES [The verses I quoted or taught on the video- Ephesians 6- Links to all my sites below] Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Ephesians 6:2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; Ephesians 6:3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. Ephesians 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Ephesians 6:5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Ephesians 6:6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; Ephesians 6:7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Ephesians 6:8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. Ephesians 6:9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him. Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; Ephesians 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Ephesians 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; Ephesians 6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, Ephesians 6:20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6:21 But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: Ephesians 6:22 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts. Ephesians 6:23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 6:24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen. Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 15If ye love me, keep my commandments. 23Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. 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those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Copy text- download video links- make complete copies of my books/studies and posts- everything is copyrighted by me- I give permission for all to copy and share as much as you like- I just ask that nothing be sold. We live in an online world- yet- there is only one internet- meaning if it ever goes down- the only access to the teachings are what others have copied or downloaded- so feel free to copy and download as much as you want- it’s all free- Note- I have many web sites- at times some question whether I’m a ‘bot’ because I do post a lot. I am not a ‘bot’- I’m John- so please- if you are on the verge of deleting something- my contact email is [email protected] - contact me first- thank you- John
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SUNDAY SERMON
John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Links to my sites here and the bottom of every post- https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/my-sites.html Stats https://ccoutreach87.com/stats-4-21/ Sunday sermon videos- https://youtu.be/aV_j9qsb2u0 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgg6OxgnO7mfO4KZ7 https://www.dropbox.com/s/su2mbhof3wdcmjr/4-15-18%20Sunday%20sermon%20%5BMass-%20Church%20Unlimited%20verses%5D.mp4?dl=0 ON VIDEO .Unicorn? .The Bread of Life versus the Manna .Church history .Eucharist .Catholic- Protestant views .Table of grace .Thomas Aquinas .Renaissance .Aristotle .Plato .Healing of lame man in Acts 3 https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/ .Yes- they did ‘fly a sign’ in the days of Jesus! .The Bodily resurrection of Jesus is taught in the New Testament .Trials [tests] too NOTE- This Sunday- I want to make a note before I post. I want to build all of you up, my goal is to build the people of God. I post a lot- videos just about every night- and these text posts 3 times a week. I try to edit the posts as best as I can, to remove things that I feel are too harsh or unprofitable. It’s hard for me to do that on the videos because I can not review all of them. I felt the Lord gave me the grace to be active on-line and I have developed a pattern- I see it as a sort of worship time. To dedicate these hours during the day for this purpose. But I also want to be honest and helpful in all that I do. So for this Sunday I want to bless all of you. I encourage you all to attend a good local church- support the church- support the Pastors- let us all honor God thru his Son Jesus Christ and pray for one another as we all walk this journey- I love you all- John This Sunday I spoke on the verses from the Mass and some from Church Unlimited https://churchunlimited.com/ I covered the story of the healing of the crippled man at the gate called beautiful https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/ and also taught the most from John 6 https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/05/john-6/ . Why did Jesus contrast the bread that Moses ‘gave’ with himself- the bread of life? What was the significance of the actual name of the famous bread from Moses? Manna meant ‘what is it’- the Jewish people were sustained by something that they did not recognize- see? Jesus came unto his own- and his own received [recognized] him not- [Some sites see here https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/2021/05/sunday-sermon-text_30.html?m=0 ] John 1:11 EPHESIANS 5
Ephesians 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. Links to my sites here and the bottom of every post- https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/my-sites.html Stats https://ccoutreach87.com/stats-4-21/ Ephesians 5 videos- https://youtu.be/R9hmfExkpwU https://www.dropbox.com/s/1zau14j5ba1728k/2-1-18%20Ephesians%205.mp4?dl=0 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgQ5JYk6RK_I5RvkH ON VIDEO- .The glove test .Partake of the table too- like David .A type of the priest from Judah- the Lord of the Sabbath .Walk in love .1 Spirit in a corporate community .The same Spirit of Christ 1 Corinthians 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. .Not just a symbol .Gnostic/Docetist heresy refuted http://www.dictionary.com/browse/docetism .We are vitally connected to him .What is the great mystery? .The Body of Christ Mark 2:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations TEACHING- [Past posts below] The apostle now gives practical living truth- As believers- we do not walk after the flesh- we are instead to be filled with the Spirit- and walk as new creatures in Christ- Ephesians 5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour. Ephesians 5:3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Ephesians 5:4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. Ephesians 5:5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Ephesians 5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Ephesians 5:7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them. Ephesians 5:8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: Once again- a theme I have hit on the past 2 weeks- we see the death of Christ for us as an example of the love of God- [Some sites see here https://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/ephesians-5-6 ] Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a EPHESIANS 4
Psalm 68:18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them. Links to my sites here and the bottom of every post- https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/my-sites.html Stats https://ccoutreach87.com/stats-4-21/ Ephesians 4 Videos- https://youtu.be/uxqSLovL8xk https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMa9oOLIoJHhLVQi8 https://www.dropbox.com/s/lph733qd6gpbz0w/1-18-18%20Ephesians%204.mp4?dl=0 ON VIDEO .Austin [Texas] The Ark .5 [4] fold ministry .Lectio Devina http://ocarm.org/en/content/lectio/what-lectio-divina .Didache http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/didache.html .That bird has my wings’- prison poem .Unity among reconciled people groups .Gifts for the sinner too [rebellious also] .Restoration churches .Church history .The purpose of the gifts- to build you up- for the work of ministry .What does the N.T. teach about giving? .The nature of local church .The intent of seeing ‘new truth’ .What is ‘apostolic’ doctrine? .Jesus- the Christ of God Psalm 90:9 For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. Psalm 90:10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Psalm 90:16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. Psalm 90:17 And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. TEACHING [Past posts below] Paul teaches us about the primary purpose of the gifts that God has deposited in the church- Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: Some refer to these gifts [Apostles- prophets- etc.] as the 5 fold ministry- others see the last 2 offices as one calling [the pastor/teacher] Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; Meaning it would be the ‘4-fold’ ministry gifts. Much has been written the last few years about these various gifted ones- and in some movements of the church they believed that the restoration of these gifts were the answer to the problems in the church. When we read about apostles in the New Testament- and how they functioned [Like my recent study on the book of Acts]- We do not see the emphasis on the people themselves- meaning the apostles in the bible [or prophets] did not focus on their callings- Or view their callings as the primary thing. But the purpose of their callings was to bring the people of God to maturity- and the people of God would do the actual ‘work of the ministry’- Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: If the teachings on the gifts- or any other subject we find in the bible- is used to divide Christians- Then the main purpose of the gifts themselves has been subverted. If the focus on the gifts exalts the personalities of people- Then it is the wrong focus. In the last few chapters I have already taught- we saw the reconciliation of man- with each other- as well as being reconciled [brought back] to God thru Christ. When we read about the unity of the people of God- in this context it is a broader concept than simply the people ‘in my church’- or the people of God in your particular denomination. But the unity we strive for is a unity among all the people that God has redeemed. God’s ultimate Salvation looks forward to the redeeming of all things- in heaven and upon earth. As the apostle stated in this chapter- we are one body- with one God ruling over us- as well as being in us- Ephesians 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; Ephesians 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, Ephesians 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. The development of the church over the centuries has expressed itself in many different church expressions. Some see this as ok- others see it as being divided. Many of these good expressions of the church do see themselves as the only true church. The apostle does speak to this issue here- Ephesians 4:3 Endeavouring to KEEP the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. All the people of God already are united in unity- the outward expression of it is not always seen. But truly there is one God- and one Spirit that unites as the church. God has placed gifted leaders in the church- and when the gifts function properly- they bring the people to maturity in Christ- Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: They do not draw people after their particular gift- no matter how noble the gift might be. It is important that we see that these gifts [5- 4 fold] do indeed exist in the church today. Paul teaches us that these ministers were made after the ascension of Jesus- Ephesians 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Meaning these were not Old testament prophets he was speaking about- Or even the 12 apostles of the Lamb- But these apostles and prophets and pastors were ‘made’ after Jesus ascended to the right hand of God. So yes- these gifts still function in our day. And when they function the right way- the people of God become mature functioning members of the Body of Christ. That was [is] the purpose of these gifts. PAST POSTS [ My past teaching that relates to this post- Ephesians 4- Verses below] https://ccoutreach87.com/ephesians-links-12-2020/ https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/ https://ccoutreach87.com/james-2015/ I mentioned the Didache on the video- I talked about it in this book I wrote years ago- https://ccoutreach87.com/house-of-prayer-or-den-of-thieves/ Mentioned Pentecost- here’s my link to the chapter- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/ Here’s my complete study on Acts https://ccoutreach87.com/acts-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/protestant-reformation-luther/ I talked about the nature of the church and the 5 fold ministry- here’s a book I wrote on the subject- https://ccoutreach87.com/further-talks-on-church-and-ministry/ https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/ EPHESIANS- LINKS Ephesians 1 https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/2020/11/ephesians-1-text.html?m=0 https://ccoutreach87.com/2020/11/26/ephesians-1-19/ https://ello.co/ccoutreach87/post/qz9i_imwzxr_4mxuew5zlg https://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/ephesians-1-5 https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/most-recent-posts/ephesians-11493512 https://wt.social/post/rc53k6u5354625913904 https://snacpia.com/link/feed/?idx=232128 https://www.publish0x.com/ccoutreach87/ephesians-1-xqoglgx https://parler.com/post/aa5bd46a3753491e99710c2cd1a8bb2b https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87/posts/105276224624976104 https://johnchiarello.medium.com/ephesians-1-27d0fcaa8880 https://ccoutreach87.mystrikingly.com/blog/ephesians-1-b2a5eb65-04ed-4790-a971-39a6d85e3716 https://www.plurk.com/p/o3wyd2 https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/blog/ephesians-1-4 http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/blog/params/post/2329463/ephesians-1 https://ccoutreach87.jimdofree.com/2020/11/26/ephesians-1-text/ http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/2020/11/ephesians-1.html Ephesians 2 https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/2020/12/ephesians-2-text.html?m=0 https://ccoutreach87.com/2020/12/01/ephesians-2-17/ https://ello.co/ccoutreach87/post/wvybuiudggev3_vm_qhqvg https://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/ephesians-2-5 https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/most-recent-posts/ephesians-25590001 https://snacpia.com/link/feed/?idx=232685 https://www.publish0x.com/ccoutreach87/ephesians-2-xrylnny https://parler.com/post/748c476fba604de689619565135844cc https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87/posts/105304783616871659 https://johnchiarello.medium.com/ephesians-2-280a4c058487 https://ccoutreach87.mystrikingly.com/blog/ephesians-2-2b3690b5-ac98-4e27-b042-8dedf5417278 https://www.plurk.com/p/o46bsx https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/blog/ephesians-2-4 http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/blog/params/post/2334441/ephesians-2 https://ccoutreach87.jimdofree.com/2020/12/01/ephesians-2/ http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/2020/12/ephesians-2.html Ephesians 3 https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/2020/12/ephesians-3-text.html?m=0 https://ccoutreach87.com/2020/12/03/ephesians-3-text-2/ https://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/ephesians-3-5 https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/most-recent-posts/ephesians-35804971 https://wt.social/post/xb2alpy535664270347 https://sharfly.com/Ccoutreach87 https://ello.co/ccoutreach87/post/48qngfcomtgxg84zjc80mg https://www.publish0x.com/ccoutreach87/ephesians-3-xomgkqv https://parler.com/post/14ec497878d44193916500bfdd9f6bf1 https://gab.com/Ccoutreach87/posts/105315874573098603 https://johnchiarello.medium.com/ephesians-3-cac32f21bbed https://ccoutreach87.mystrikingly.com/blog/ephesians-3-a3f56ff4-dde7-4212-acba-cced7c613fc8 https://www.plurk.com/p/o4ab2l https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/blog/ephesians-3-4 http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/blog/params/post/2336606/ephesians-3 http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/2020/12/ephesians-3.html Ephesians 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; Ephesians 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, Ephesians 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. POSTED BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ JULY 14, 2017 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT MARK 12 Mark 12:25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven. Mark 12:26 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? Mark 12:27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err. https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/7-6-17-mark-12.zip https://ccoutreach87.com/7-6-17-mark-12/ ON VIDEO- .Sandia .Storehouse wisdom .Kingdom to the gentiles [church] .Vineyard- wisdom- tower .Song of the vineyard .Apostles .Leadership .7 dead brothers .Married in heaven? .We are the bride- he is the groom .Burning bush- I AM .Great commandment .Beware of the religious leaders .Jesus has a question too .The common people liked it NEW- Jesus teaches the parable of the vineyard [or tenants]- it comes from the song of Isaiah chapter 5. The parable speaks about the Jewish people- and their rejection of Jesus as the promised Messiah. A landowner plants a vineyard- puts a hedge around it- places a wine-press in it- and sets up a tower. He then leases it out to tenants. The Lord of the vineyard leaves- and over time he sends his men back to collect the fruit. The people who have leased the land refuse to give the fruit. They beat and stone those who are sent. And finally the landowner sends his son- and they kill him. The meaning is clear- God sent his prophets to speak to his people [Israel] they rejected them over time- and finally kill the Son. Remember- Jesus is teaching this- before he is crucified. He predicts his own death in the parable. Yet- at the end- he quotes Psalm 118- Psalm 118:22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. Mark 12:10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: Mark 12:11 This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? He predicts his Resurrection as well. The Son who was rejected and killed- becomes the head of the corner. In this chapter Jesus will also quote Psalm 110- Mark 12:36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. Psalm 110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. He questions the religious leaders- He asks them Mark 12:35 And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David? Yes- Jesus did indeed come from the line of David- but as the eternal logos- he was before David- John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The chapter ends with 2 stories- about widows. It’s important that we see them both. Jesus rebukes the religious teachers for taking advantage of widows- for financial gain Mark 12:38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the market places, Mark 12:39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: Mark 12:40 Which devour widows’ houses, Then he commends the poor widow for giving into the offering- Mark 12:42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. Mark 12:43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: Mark 12:44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. Over the years there have been many examples of religious leaders taking advantage of the poor- many have enriched themselves by abusing their office as teachers of the bible. Jesus strongly condemns those who do this. Yet- he commends the poor widow for giving to God. The rich were giving out of an abundance- it seems as if they actually learned the principle of abundance in their giving to God. Yet- he sees the woman giving out of her poverty- understand- she is still poor at the time she is commended. Yet the others were rich- and giving. Many in today’s church would look at the rich- who had an abundance- and say they prospered because they were giving- and had a lot. And some would condemn the poor widow- because she obviously must be doing something wrong- because she gives- and is yet poor. But Jesus did not see it that way. The woman gave sacrificially because of her love for God. The rich gave- yet they did it out of their wealth. Jesus honors the poor widow- not because she learned some secret of giving to get a harvest- because she had no harvest. But she loved God- she gave for the work of God- as she understood it. Her giving was not based on the return she would get- because as of now- she has not received a return [poor widow]. Yet in the eyes of Jesus- she indeed gave more. There are a few other things in this chapter that I taught on the video. The challenge of the Sadducees- who do not believe in the resurrection. And Jesus rebuke- Mark 12:24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? I have taught this before- and will try and find those past posts and add them below. Jesus also gives us the great commandment in this chapter- Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. Mark 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. When the common people saw Jesus put the religious leaders to silence- the bible says they loved it- Mark 12:37 David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly. The downtrodden of society were rejected by the religious leaders of the day. Their outward religion caused them to neglect true justice- true love of fellow man. The same things that the song of Isaiah- which Jesus used in the parable- were being rebuked for- Isaiah 5:7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. The fruit the land owner wanted- was not simply religious works- It was what the other man in this chapter saw- Mark 12:32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: Mark 12:33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. The animal sacrifices and outward religion were the things that Jesus rebuked them for. Those who seemed to use religion in order to have an abundant wealthy life- were not seen in a good light by Jesus. The tenants wanted an inheritance and their lust for the wealth of the vineyard [financial harvest] caused them to reject the actual Son of God himself- Mark 12:6 Having yet therefore one son, his well beloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. Mark 12:7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be our’s. Yes- many in the modern church have tried to seize on some material inheritance and given out of an abundance and implemented many of the principles of the bible in order to prosper. But in doing this- they have had to reject many of the plain things Jesus taught- New International Version “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matt. 6:24 Yes- in a way- they have killed the Son- and seized the wealth. But Jesus saw the widow- the poor widow- the woman who seemed to have never gotten a hold of the wealth building principles of those who gave out of their abundance. Yes Jesus saw her- And in the wisdom of God- She gave more than all the others combined- And thus the chapter ends. PAST POSTS- http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/john-complete-links-added.html http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/romans-2015-video-links-included-romans.html http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/2015-video-linksincluded-hebrews-1-3.html https://ccoutreach87.com/further-talks-on-church-and-ministry/ https://ccoutreach87.com/house-of-prayer-or-den-of-thieves/ MARK- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/28/jersey-city-ride-mark-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/02/mark-2-north-bergen/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/04/mark-3-isaiah-61/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/14/mark-4/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/27/mark-5/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/05/mark-6/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/16/mark-7/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/04/30/mark-8/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/05/14/mark-9/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/07/mark-10/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/06/22/mark-11/ I mentioned Bultmann and the Herodians on today’s video- below are some past teachings I did on them- During the time of Jesus you had a divided people. In 1st century Palestine the Jewish people split into 4 basic sects. 2 of them are pretty well known- the Pharisees and Sadducees- they are mentioned often in scripture. The other 2 are less well known- the Zealots and the Essenes. The Zealots are named in the bible- but only in passing. We have no references to the Essenes. The Pharisees were sticklers for the Torah [Jewish bible] and the Sadducees centered their life around the Temple- they were more of a political/religious type group. They stuck to the Torah alone. That is they only received the actual first 5 books of the Old Testament- which is the Torah [also the term is used to speak of the entire Old Testament] and that’s why the Sadducees rejected miracles and angels and stuff. Most of those stories are found in the other O.T. books. The Zealots were a group of people who hated compromise- they were actually a 1st century ‘terrorist’ group- who carried out assassinations. Not on Rome- but on their own people! The zealots hated those who compromised with Rome- and if they felt a leader was too chummy- they killed him. The Essenes were a separatist group who lived in ‘the hills’ [Qumran community] they simply gave up completely on any political solutions for the day- and went and lived in the hills. These are the ones responsible for hiding the Dead Sea scrolls [old bible books found in the last century] in a cave. It’s interesting to note that Jesus had both a Zealot on his team [Simon- not Peter who also went by that name] and Matthew- a Tax collector. Tax collectors were considered the biggest sell outs of all- they actually worked for Rome and scammed their own people- it must have been hard for Jesus to lead this group [the 12 disciples] who came from such opposite ends of the political spectrum. Yet Jesus did lead them- he was even offered earthly rule a few times [once from satan- and once from the people who heard him] he rejected it both times. His kingdom was not ‘of this world’. In the New Testament book of Philippians- the bible says that though Jesus was in the form of God [deity] yet he became a man and humbled himself to the death of the Cross- a shameful way to die. We have one letter written in the N.T. by a ‘family’ member of Jesus- that’s the epistle of James. Protestants believe that Mary had other kids after Jesus was born- our Catholic friends teach that she remained a Virgin her whole life. My purpose right now is not to get into that. James was considered the ‘half brother’ of Jesus [Mary was the mom of both boys- Joseph was the dad of James- Jesus’ father was God]. Okay- James was slow to believe in his brother- but over time as Jesus was declaring himself to be the Messiah- I’m sure James had to wonder- you know- think back ‘gee- come to think of it- I can’t’ remember a time where my brother got in trouble’. Wait- now I remember- yeah- that time when Jesus was 12- we all went to Jerusalem for the big feast- and Jesus stayed behind while we started the trip home. Yeah- we went 3 days before we realized he was gone. Boy was mom mad that day. So we went all the way back to get him- and when we found him- he was sitting in the temple- asking these questions- I mean questions that only theologians knew- Jesus was still a kid. Mom said to him ‘son- why did you stay behind- we were worried’! Yeah- she was mad- if there was ever a time my brother came close to getting in trouble- this was it. But Jesus said ‘why were you worried- didn’t you know I would be doing my Fathers business’ yeah- he sure seemed different- but the Messiah- come on. So as the ministry years of Jesus role by- there are all these reports of miracles and healings- blind people seeing- dead people coming back from the grave. Yeah- James has got to be wondering now- but no- he could not accept that his own brother was the promised Son of God- no- too much. Then the day came- that terrible day where mom had to watch Jesus die on that rugged Cross- on Golgotha- man the hill looked like a skull. Yeah- it was a strange site- I mean the sky got dark- an earthquake shook the place- and even the Roman soldier who witnessed my brother die said ‘surely this was the son of God’. Wow- too much- my bother has carried this thing too far- even in his death he won’t let this obsession go. Then James hears some disturbing reports- his friends are saying that Jesus has come back- that he pulled it off- the greatest miracle ever- the one Houdini himself couldn’t do. But are the reports true? I mean if anyone could tell if this guy walking around is really Jesus- James would know. We don’t read of the account- but all we know is James became a believer- a believer that his brother was indeed the Messiah- the Son of God. I guess it went something like this- Jesus sitting there with his men- James shows up and sees his brother- the perfect one- not a spot on his record. Maybe Jesus looked up- maybe he said ‘brother- do you now see’ and yeah- he saw. James would go on to be one of the leaders/Pastors of the church at Jerusalem- we read about him in Acts chapter 15. Most scholars believe this was the same James who penned the short letter we find in the N.T. that bears his name. One thing James hits on a lot in his letter- is he defends the poor- the downtrodden- and he rips into the rich- the elite of the day. He warns us not to be biased- not to use ‘uneven scales’ when dealing with people. James hit on social justice issues- he picked them up from his brother. We need to be concerned about the world- if a raped woman is forced to marry her rapist- then we ought not say ‘she was pardoned’. When we critique one person for past failures- then we must do that to all. But at the end of the day- Jesus never took the earthly crown- he did not see the solution to be a political one- he brought Simon and Matthew together on the same team- and he showed them what it means to lay your life down for others- to live without the praise of men- the earthly standard of success- he chose another way- and he left that path for us. http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [1622] ARE THE JAPANESE DISPROVING FREUD? One of the narratives coming from the Japan disaster is the response of the Japanese people. In contrast to our Katrina tragedy the Japanese are very self reliant. Jack Cafferty [CNN] read an email from some elderly lady who contrasted the 2 responses. She called the Louisiana residents who looted, killed, complained and wined- she said ‘those scumbags’ [ouch!] What are we seeing in the Japanese people? The media are referring to them as Stoic’s- the philosophy [ancient Greek- one of only 2 philosophies mentioned by name in the bible- Acts chapter 17 mentions the Stoic’s and Epicureanism] that said the secret to life is living on an even plane. Don’t get too ‘up’ or too down- just ride the wave of life as moderately as you can. The other side of the coin is Hedonism- the philosophy of men like Freud- who taught that the problem with man is that he is taught to restrain himself [by religion] and that this restraint is itself a product of neurosis. Freud was a strange fellow, the father of modern Psychoanalysis; his ideas were actually quite weird. As a Jew [non practicing] he embraced the higher criticism of his day [a way of interpreting the bible as not being actually true- just good stories] and he sought to come up with an explanation for mans religious bent. So he came up with the idea of the Oedipal Complex- a strange view of man that said the real problems of man are they have this view of love and hate for the father figure- and the ‘real’ story of Moses and the children of Israel was the Jews killed Moses in the wilderness [hatred for the father figure] they then felt guilty about it- and out of this guilt they would eventually develop a ‘religion of the Son’ [Christianity] and Walla- that’s the real story. You would be surprised how many people hear silly stuff like this in life [or college!] and they never give it a second thought. Like Pope Benedict says in ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ [1st book of a trilogy on the life of Christ] he mentions the theories of the critics [men like Bultmann] and he then responds ‘and how do you know this’? Bultmann [one of the famous liberal theologians of the day] would come up with ideas like this- and he would just espouse them. The funny thing about these critics was they were trying to challenge the historical accuracy of the bible- are the gospels true- stuff like that. And in their challenge they would ‘make up’ their own stuff [Oedipal complex] and simply expect everyone to believe it. So Freud taught that we need to free man from this neurosis of religion- this thing in society that says ‘restrain yourself’ and if we teach man to do and be all that he feels like doing- then we will have healed him of this destructive religious belief that developed out of a secret love/hate relationship of father. Wow. I can think of no greater philosophy to not live your life by than that. How did the Freudian experiment turn out? It was/is a disaster- I’m not just saying this as a Christian who rejects Freud’s atheism- but many of his ideas have also been roundly rejected by the psychologists of the modern day. Freud actually taught that when you counsel a person [yes- he was the originator of the idea of the patient lying on the couch while the counselor listens] that the patient is ‘transmitting’ psychic energy from himself to the doctor- and that’s what makes him better. Freud wrote Moses and Monotheism [his fictional account of the origins of Judaism/Christianity] Totem and Taboo- the fictional idea of the primitive religion of man- and Civilization and it’s Discontents, his explanation of the conflict between mans psychic life and the demands of society. The basic view of Freud [Hedonism] is a failed system that does not work in the real world. To live your life based on the philosophy of ‘if it feels good- do it’ does not work in any area of life- for the long term. In food, shopping, family life, marriage, sexual expression- the basic principle of self restraint and discipline [the Japanese response] is in great contrast to the ‘unrestrained’ view of life [as seen in some of the Katrina response- many of the looters and rioters were raised with a welfare mentality- they were dependant on the state/govt. to do things for them. When things went bad- they blamed the govt. for it]. In the end of the day- the society that practices self discipline- that teaches their children to be self reliant- those are the ones who have the most successful lives. Those who practice Hedonism blame stuff on everyone else. http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com VERSES- New International Version As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. John 8:40 10 We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. 11 For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. 12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. Heb. 13 KJ21 “Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel” (which being interpreted is, “God with us”). Matt. 1:23 Proverbs 21:20 There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 Peter 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: 8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. 9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. Heb. 6 Mark 12:1 And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. Mark 12:2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. Mark 12:3 And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. Mark 12:4 And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. Mark 12:5 And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. Mark 12:6 Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. Mark 12:7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be our’s. Mark 12:8 And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. Mark 12:9 What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. Mark 12:10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: Mark 12:11 This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Mark 12:12 And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way. Mark 12:13 And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. Mark 12:14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Mark 12:15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. Mark 12:16 And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar’s. Mark 12:17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him. Mark 12:18 Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying, Mark 12:19 Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man’s brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Mark 12:20 Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed. Mark 12:21 And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise. Mark 12:22 And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also. Mark 12:23 In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife. Mark 12:24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? Mark 12:25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven. Mark 12:26 And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? Mark 12:27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err. Mark 12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. Mark 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: Mark 12:33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. Mark 12:34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question. Mark 12:35 And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David? Mark 12:36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. Mark 12:37 David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly. Mark 12:38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, Mark 12:39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: Mark 12:40 Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation. Mark 12:41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. Mark 12:42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. Mark 12:43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: Mark 12:44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. Isaiah 5:1 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: Isaiah 5:2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. Isaiah 5:3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. Isaiah 5:4 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? Isaiah 5:5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: Isaiah 5:6 And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. Isaiah 5:7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg 1010)CORINTHIANS 15:1-19 Paul will deal with the greatest threat yet to the Corinthian church, their doubt over the physical resurrection of the body. Various ‘Christian’ groups over the years have doubted the physical resurrection. Now, some have done this out of a sincere attempt at trying to defend the faith! [their view of it] In the 1900’s you had one of the most popular theologians by the name of Rudolf Bultman [most of his career was spent at the University of Marburg, Germany. Much of the higher criticism of the day originated from Germany] He wrote a book called ‘Kerygma and Myth’. What he tried to say was that any modern man living in the 20th century, with all the breakthroughs in science and knowledge, could not ‘literally’ believe the miraculous stories in scripture. Or even the way scripture spoke of heaven and hell and used limited terms to describe spiritual truths. He used the bibles terminology on Cosmology as an example. How could man believe in a Cosmos where ‘heaven is up there, with the stars and all’ and he felt that enlightened man needed to ‘re-tool’ the bible and cleanse it from all these mythical images, but yet keep the spiritual aspects of it. The moral teachings of Christ and stuff like that. So you have had sincere men doubt the truth claims of scripture. The problem with this attempt [higher criticism] is it throws out the baby with the bathwater. The resurrection of Jesus is presented by the apostles as a real event. The fact of this resurrection can also be attested to by examining the historical events of the day. Simply put, there is a ton of proof for the real resurrection of Christ. Bultman and others meant well, but some of the ‘facts’ that they were using were later proven to be false. Bultman used a model of cosmology that would later be rejected by science. Yet the testimony from scripture would remain sure. Paul told the Corinthian’s that they needed to reject any attempts at spiritualizing the resurrection of Christ. Sometimes believers grasp hold of limited proof’s for certain doctrines. For instance, the New Testament does speak of a spiritual resurrection. In Ephesians Paul says we are presently raised with Christ. In Romans chapter 6 we have all ready been raised with Jesus. This reality does not mean there will be no future resurrection of the saints. In Johns gospel Jesus speaks of the resurrection as being a future real event, as well as a present reality. Those in the graves will hear his voice and be raised from the dead. And those who were presently ‘dead in sins’ would ‘come alive’ [spiritually] when they heard and believed the testimony of Jesus. It is important for the believer to be familiar with the various theories and ideas that theologians and believers have grasped over the years. It is a mistake to simply see all higher learning as ‘liberalism’. There are some very important things that we have learned thru the great intellectuals of the church. But we also need to stick with the ancient traditions as seen in the creeds, as well as the plain testimony of scripture. If Christ ‘be not raised from the dead, then we are of all men most miserable’. (1011)CORINTHIANS 15:20-28 here we see the guarantee of mans resurrection based on Christ’s resurrection. ‘As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall ALL be made alive’. Is Paul teaching a form of universalism [all being saved]? He is showing us that all men will someday be raised from the dead. Now, does Paul leave room here for a type of Pre-millennial resurrection? A ‘raising’ of the dead prior to a thousand year literal reign of Jesus. Then another resurrection at the end? Yes he does. If you read Revelation you will see this type of scenario play out. Also Jesus speaks of the resurrection of the just and the unjust. Historically the church has held 3 basic views on this. Pre-millennialism says Jesus returns first [pre] before the literal thousand year rule occurs. ‘Post’ says the thousand year rule is literal, and after that Jesus comes back. Those who held to this view were excited at the turn of the first millennium [1000 ad] they thought it possible for Jesus to have returned after the first thousand years since his death and resurrection. And then you have A-millennial, they spiritualize the thousand year reign spoken of in the book of Revelation as being a symbol of Christ’s present rule and kingdom. Now, today’s most popular form of Pre-millennialism is not historic, it dates back to the 19th century. Today’s form is called ‘Pre-tribulational, Pre-millennial’ this teaching [dispensationalism] says Jesus comes back 2 more times. One is called ‘the rapture’ the other is the second coming [revealing]. The proponents of this form find little [or no] early Christians who believed this. There is one early writing by a Syrian brother who speaks very clearly about a rapture type event. Some think he speaks a little too clearly! The writing is believed to have been a fake. Either way we do have Paul teaching stages involved with the coming of the Lord and the kingdom. It is possible to have 2 future resurrections, this would not mean you need two future ‘second comings’. The first resurrection takes place at Christ’s return. He rules a literal thousand years and ‘the dead are raised again’ at the end of the literal rule on earth [ a literal reading of Revelation]. Also Paul does use the language of Jesus submitting to the Father at the end so ‘God will be all in all’. I feel believers have been confused and at times contradictory while trying to explain the nature of God and the Trinity. I recently read a teaching on the Trinity that tried to compare the Trinity to the nature of the organic church. It seemed confusing to me, they tried to say that just like in the Trinity you have no one ‘being’ having authority over the other, but instead you see all three persons equally submitting to one another [Father, Son and Spirit] so in the church you have equality. Now, I do believe that there is equality in the church, but I felt the example was way off. The New Testament clearly teaches the willful ‘submission’ of the Son to the Father. God [the father] is clearly the one ‘in charge’. Now, I admit it’s difficult and brothers have spent years trying to explain all the ins and outs of this. Here Paul shows us that the Son has willingly submitted to the Father so the father can put all things under him. Then once again at the culmination of the kingdom the Son submits to the father and God receives the glory. We will praise and worship Jesus thru out all eternity, it is his willful submission to the father’s plan that makes this happen. NOTE- Some believers spiritualize the first resurrection spoken of in Revelation, they relate it to those who have been ‘born again’ spiritually. Modern ‘Preterism’ holds to this view. (1013)CORINTHIANS 15:29-49 the resurrection body is a real ‘spiritual’ body. Paul describes the natural body [us now] as fleshly and like Adams body. He then describes the promised resurrection body as being like Jesus in his raised state. These verses can be a little confusing. When Paul says the resurrection body is ‘spiritual’ as compared to earthy, is he saying it is not real? No. But you can see how some early sects could use these verses and teach a ‘phantom’ type resurrection [Gnostic, Docetist type groups]. I was once asked by a Catholic believer if the church taught the physical resurrection. I assured the person that both Catholic and Protestant [and Orthodox] expressions of Christianity embrace the real future resurrection of the body. Now, is it the same body? Well, the way Paul describes it is by comparing the planting of seeds. When you plant a seed you don’t simply get a bigger seed! But you get various types of growth, whether it’s a tree or plant or whatever. So Paul says our future bodies will be new and glorious in this way, but if it weren’t really you, then it wouldn’t be a resurrection! So you will come back, but it will be a ‘new you’. Over the years I have studied various theologians [Christian ones] and I have seen the penchant for various groups to focus in on a certain doctrine and to stray somewhat from the faith. Now, they aren’t always cults, some of them are highly knowledgeable Christians who seem to be testing the boundaries of orthodoxy. I like N.T. Wright, the famous Bishop of Durham [Church of England] but you need to be grounded in what you believe before you can really read him. I feel at times he is helpful in bringing new perspectives to things, I have seen some of the things he teaches myself. But there is also a danger of ‘re-thinking’ stuff a little too much. By the way Wright has written on the resurrection and has done a great job at defending the historic churches position. He’s in somewhat of a theological controversy at the moment, some of the strong reformed brothers have come out and challenged his view on Justification. Wright teaches that the historic reformers kind of missed what Paul was saying. Wright ‘extends’ the doctrine to mean ‘a sign/badge of those who are already in Gods covenant community’. The historic reformers taught a more forensic meaning of the doctrine. That justification is primarily saying that God imputes the righteousness of Jesus to the believer. That Jesus took our sins, and we get his righteousness. Now, I feel there is some truth to Wrights view. But I would be careful to throw out the reformed view all together. There certainly is much truth to the reformed view. John Piper [a reformed Baptist] just released a book on the reformed view, Wright has one coming out pretty soon [Wrights is already published overseas, but the states wont get it for a few months]. So, the point is I believe the historic church and the ancient creeds ‘got it right’ on the resurrection. It is real, it will happen to all people some day. Those who have ‘done good’ [wow- these are Jesus actual words when describing the final judgment!] will be ‘raised to life’. Those who have done evil will be raised to face judgment. We can all escape the coming judgment, Jesus died for us. If we believe and accept his death, burial and resurrection, then we will be raised to a new life some day. 378- (I stuck this entry in here because it deals with the ‘baptism for the dead’, I didn’t want you to think that I just skipped over the verse) Let me give a little example of the ‘overriding act of redemption’ trumping any little verse or experience. Paul actually tells the Corinthians ‘if the dead are not raised, then why are you baptizing people in ‘proxy’ for the dead?’ This is tough stuff. Let me give you one way to see this. The ‘baptism for the dead’ seems to have been a real cultural thing that took place in a specific time and setting [like the slavery verses I mentioned earlier]. There seems to have been a concern specifically to the 1st century church that said ‘this new doctrine of Jesus is great, but being its only been around a few years, and you are telling us [Paul] that you must embrace it to be saved. Then we have a problem. A lot of our loved ones never got a chance to hear. How do you expect us to quell these concerns?’ And it’s possible that the ‘baptism’ by proxy [like a father or son getting baptized in the place of the loved one who died] was a 1stcentury cultural thing that grew out of this. The fact that they were doing this does not mean that Paul the Apostle was condoning it. Paul was simply saying ‘if you guys really don’t believe in life after death, then why are you bothering with this rite?’ Its like Paul was using their own cultural thing to show them the inconsistency of their thinking. He wasn’t really teaching the baptism for the dead. [This is my view, Mormons believe different. They do practice this today and they use this verse as justification]. (1014)CORINTHIANS 15:50-58 Okay, let’s wrap up this chapter. ‘Flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom’ Paul speaks a little on the nature of the resurrected body. It is real, but not mortal [flesh and blood] without getting lost in the technical aspects of the actual body, Paul does make a distinction between the natural life of man [blood gives life to the mortal man] and the supernatural life of the resurrected body [spiritual life]. Then Paul shows us a mystery [something that was hidden up until the time God reveals it- here thru Paul!] that ‘we shall not all experience death, but we shall all get new bodies’. Paul teaches that some believers will not face natural death, they will be the generation that is alive at Christ’s coming. Paul says this happens at the ‘last trumpet’. For those of you not familiar with some of the silly stuff that passes under the heading of ‘theology’, let me explain some stuff. In the world of ‘dispensationalism’ there is an entire body of teaching that deals with the trumpets in scripture. Basically if Paul is teaching that this event, getting raised from the dead and being transformed, if this takes place at ‘the last trump’ then it is pretty clear that this event is not some type of rapture that takes place 7 years prior to Gods ‘last trump’ [last day, when God wraps things up]. But if you read the portions of scripture that speak about Christ’s return and the resurrection [Thessalonians 4, John 14, Matthew 25] you will see that all these scriptures teach that the resurrection takes place at the end, when Christ returns. So anyway a whole lotta time is spent by the rapture guys to explain that when you are in school, you might say ‘hey, that’s the last bell [trump] before class starts’ and that ‘last bell’ doesn’t mean ‘last bell’, but it means the ‘last bell for now’. It’s kind of silly stuff that preachers do in order to back up their theories. If scriptures ‘last trump’ isn’t really the ‘last trump’ then you can fit the rapture in as a separate event from the second coming. I think doing doctrine like this is silly and hairsplitting. The first century believers who were reading these letters [not all at once, but as they were slowly being penned and sent] simply saw all of the references on the second coming as one event. It’s silly to try and make two separate lists of the New testament verses on Christ’s coming and then place some verses under a rapture heading, and others under a ‘second coming’ heading, especially when the rapture brothers themselves cant agree on which ones belong to which list! Well any way we have a glorious promise of a future resurrection body, the last enemy that Jesus destroys is death. Revelation says ‘death and hell are cast into the lake of fire’ Jesus has power over death, hell and the grave. He will totally eradicate all death some day, Jesus tasted death for every man [Hebrews] so that man does not have to be in bondage under its fear any more. (1019)CORINTHIANS 16:1-4 ‘When you come together on the first day of the week, let every one of you put some money aside as God has provided for you. So when I come we won’t have to waste any time taking offerings. And we will use this money for the purpose of meeting the needs of the poor saints at Jerusalem. Whoever you approve to take the money to Jerusalem can do it, I might also go with them if the Lord permits. I gave this same order to all the churches in the Galatian province’ [my own paraphrase]. These verses are usually used to justify the Sunday morning offering. They are also used to teach ‘Sunday as the Lords special day’. Let’s talk a little. Paul gave these instructions to at least this church and all the churches of Galatia. We have no idea if all the first century churches actually did this. But let’s say they did. What exactly are they doing? They are taking a Sunday offering and using it 100 percent for charitable purposes. Remember how I have taught in the past that the main teaching from Jesus on giving dealt with the poor? So if we want to use this text to command believers to give on Sunday, then we need to use ALL THE MONEY for helping poor people. Paul also says ‘do it before I arrive, I don’t want to have to spend time messing around with collections’. I find it interesting that it is common today to spend a good portion of the Sunday service [any church U.S.A.] to kind of do a celebratory offering thing. Lots of time to stop and emphasize the importance of worshiping God with our money. The point I would make is Paul did none of this. He actually said he did not want to have to set aside time for the collecting of money when he arrived, and for this very reason he said take up the offering on Sunday! One more thing; it is obvious that the early believers began a tradition of meeting on Sunday. Jesus appeared to the disciples after his resurrection on 2 consecutive Sundays. Acts 20 has believers meeting on Sunday. Jesus of course rose from the dead on Sunday. But there is no indication from scripture that believers are under some type of New Testament Sabbath law. Sort of like Sunday is now the ‘special day’ just like Saturday for Judaism. Various groups argue over this issue, I have taught on it before. In the New Covenant we have tremendous freedom to meet or not meet on Sunday. Or to meet or not meet on Saturday for that matter! But doctrinally we are free from the law and all of its observances. I appreciate the work that has been done by various scholars [Especially some catholic ones] on showing how Sunday became the special day of observance for believers. But we need to be careful when we read what the believers did in the New Testament and then proclaim it as law. I believe its fine to meet on Sunday, to take offerings and to do all of these types of things. But when we grasp hold of limited ideas, and then exalt them to a place of law, we err. Paul was simply telling this church to collect some money on the first day of the week for the sole purpose of charity. If modern day believers want to apply these scriptures literally, then we should use all of the Sunday offering for charity. If we apply them literally, then there is absolutely no sense of a tithe system to pay for salaries, building upkeep, insurance, on and on. For modern day believers to engage in such things is fine. If these expenses seem needed for the overall purpose of Gods work, then fine. But to use these verses and actually tell believers they are robbing God if they don’t tithe on Sunday is absolutely not true. I have written a lot about these things over the years [you can find stuff on my ‘statement of faith’ section and ‘what in the world is the church’ section] I do not condemn all the churches who practice these things, it’s just we need to be careful when we take examples from scripture, lift them out of context, add a few verses from Malachi and then teach some air tight system that if not obeyed brings the curse of God on someone. Do all things in grace, remember THE POOR, and you will do well. I talked about unity in the church- here’s my past teaching on the prayer of Jesus in John 17- John 17 POSTED BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ SEPTEMBER 24, 2016 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT JOHN 17 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. https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/9-15-16john-17.zip ON VIDEO- .Hooch grows .Stop draining the lake .Lord’s prayer .Deity of Christ .You see me- you see the Father .Trinity is not Tritheism .Oikos .Pastors .Unity is vital NEW- Jesus prays for his core community ‘that they would be one’- then- he prays for those who will later believe thru ‘their word’. John 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. The church is a light in the world- just like Jesus. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Matt 5:14 Paul calls us the ‘Body of Christ’. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. 1st Cor. 12:27 We often think that when the church is powerful- she will reach the world. If we have the gifts functioning – that will do it. Or how about when ‘we all become rich and grasp the prosperity promises’. Surely that will get the work done. But Jesus says when we are one- unified- then the world will know he has sent us. John 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. I apply [on video] some practical application to the verse I posted at the top- ‘Glorify me with the glory we had- before the world was’. Now- to God be the glory- forever. Yet we share in the glory of Christ. John 17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I like the way John’s gospel says Jesus ‘knew he came from God- all things were given to him from God- and he was going back to God’. The apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians that we too ‘came from God’ he planned us before he made the world- yes- the bible teaches that. Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: So- before any of us were involved in the things we are doing- Pastors- your church Preachers- you’re calling Whatever ‘world’ God has allowed you to play a part in- your sphere of influence. Before ‘that world’ ever existed- you had this this aloneness with God. Where he revealed his purpose for your life- and you took hold of it- despite what others said. You prevailed by faith to see this ‘world’ come to pass. Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. You learned that ‘all things were given to you by God’. Now- after these things are built- after you saw God use you to build the church- or ministry. Then there comes a time where you say ‘Father- let me not forget the way all this started- it was just me and you- and let me now return to the ‘glory’ that we had- before these things were’. All of us need to know what it’s like to simply walk with God. These last few years I learned to spend whole days- just with God. No ministry- no outreach- no human contact for that day. And it was not easy to learn this. But at the start of the Christian walk- there was indeed this sense that it was just me and him. Then we get involved in all types of kingdom things- good things- ‘world’ things. And we have to come back to the start again- we have to pray ‘Father- let me experience once again- that one on one relationship that we had at the beginning- before all these things were’. And trust that the word that you have deposited in the people you have had influence with- that it will continue- even after you are gone. When you learn to be alone with God again- you will realize you are not alone- but the Father is with you in a very real way- Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. Jn. 16:32 See? PAST POSTS [verses below] JOHNS GOSPEL LINKS- https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/14/amos-5/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/15/jesus-christ/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/17/father-abraham/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/21/the-flood/ John 3 https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/25/the-well-john-4/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/30/john-5/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/05/john-6/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/09/john-7/ https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/8-10-15-john-14.zip https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/16/john-8/ https://youtu.be/f8VpxlYM_kU John 8- ‘who the Son sets free’ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/25/john-9/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/31/john-10/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/05/john-11-the-8th-sign/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/10/i-found-a-verse/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/13/john-12/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/19/samuel-john-hebrews-review/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/22/john-13/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/26/john-14/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/09/04/john-15/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/09/15/john-16/ . [1486] ARIUS- a priest from Egypt who would challenge the deity of Jesus in the 4th century. Arius taught that Jesus was the Son of God, but not eternally the Son. He said Jesus was a created being whom the father ‘bestowed’ son ship upon. He taught that Jesus was ‘like God’ but not God. The emperor Constantine would call the famous council of Nicaea in 325 a.d. and the council would agree with Athanasius and say that the Son and the Father were of ‘the same substance’ [homoousios] and Arius’s belief would be rejected. The debate would still rage on thru out the century as Constantine would die and the new emperor from the east would hold to ‘Arian’ views. Eventually Orthodoxy would win out and Arianism would be rejected by the majority of believers. I should note that many of the oriental churches would go the way of Arianism till this day; some of these churches are not like the modern cults that we would automatically reject, but they do hold to beliefs that Orthodox Christianity has rejected. As I have written about before, it’s easy to see how various believers have struggled with these issues over the years, some of the ways people express things can be deemed heresy a little too quickly in my view. There are believers who express the deity of Jesus in ways that some Arians express it, and they are not full Arians! The point being, yes- Arian went too far in his belief that Jesus was a created being, Johns gospel refutes this belief strongly [as well as many other portions of scripture] but too say that Jesus was/is the full expression of the father, because he ‘came out from God’ is also in keeping with scripture. Today we should be familiar with the issues and also use much grace when labeling different groups of believers; and we should strive for a unity in the Spirit as much as possible. As believers we accept the full deity of Christ, one who is of the ‘same substance’ of the father- true God from true God. He who has seen the Son has seen the father- Jesus said to Phillip ‘I have been with you a long time, if you see and know me, you have seen and known my father’ Jesus is God come down in the flesh to dwell among men, the true Immanuel, God with us. [1484] ‘This is why I Paul am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so called. I take it that you are familiar with the part I was given in God’s plan for including everybody… none of our ancestors understood this, only in our time has it been made clear thru God’s Spirit… this is my life work, helping people understand and respond to God’s message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details’ Ephesians 3, message bible. As I said earlier in this study, the ‘mystery’ that God revealed to Paul was the reality that thru Christ all ethnic groups would be on the same footing with God. This specifically related to the religious belief of the day that the ethnic nation of Israel were the only ones with special access to God. For Paul to have been preaching this message in his day would be like us teaching that God’s plan for all people today- Jews, Arabs, Palestinians, Iranians, etc., it would be like saying Gods purpose for our day is to accept all of these ethnic groups as one group thru Christ. To be frank about it, I believe many evangelicals today are not fully seeing the reality of the Cross when they exalt the natural heritage of Israel as Gods special people. Though I realize many of these teachings mean well [end time scenarios and stuff] yet in practice they deny the equal footing that all people have in Christ. Paul was preaching the great news that your ethnic/cultural background no longer made any difference- thru Christ we are all Gods special people. This does not mean that we are all accepted whether or not we believe in Christ, a sort of religious syncretism, but it does mean that the offer of Jesus is available to all. [parts] (1226) 2ND CORINTHIANS 4- In chapter 3 Paul said we are beholding/seeing God in an open way as compared to the old covenant. In this chapter he shows us how we ‘see God’. We see him in his Son. God has chosen to reveal himself to us thru his Son. One of the first Christian councils [after the one at Jerusalem in Acts 15!] was held in the 4th century under the Roman emperor Constantine. The reason was to bring unity to the church on the issue of Christ’s divinity. These councils played political roles as well as theological. After Constantine became emperor he established the great city in the eastern empire called Constantinople. This city [named after him] became both the theological and political seat in the eastern half of the empire. So you had both a religious and political competition going on in the empire. Rome, situated in the west, was feeling like she would lose her position if the eastern half started gaining too much influence. So you had differing reasons for these councils. But you also had sincere men who held to various beliefs at the time. The bishop Arius came to teach that Jesus was the Son of God, but not God himself. This created a stir in the empire and Constantine called a council to settle the question. The debates went forth, both views were discussed and classic Orthodoxy came down on the side of Jesus being God. Now, there would be more councils dealing with Gods nature and Christ’s role, but this was a defining moment in Christian history. The church [and the scriptures] teach that God became man [incarnation] and thru Jesus we ‘see God’. Paul also relates the many sufferings and trials he was going thru. He says he tastes death and bears in his body the death of Jesus. He simply does not give a picture of the Christian life that is common in today’s world. Many believers are taught that these types of difficulties and sufferings are a result of their lack of faith, or their inability to rightfully ‘access their covenant rights’. Paul refutes this doctrine strongly. Paul has already mentioned those who ‘peddle Gods word’ or who twist the scriptures for their own benefit. It always amazes me to see well meaning believers/teachers go thru the entire corpus of the New Testament and never see these things. It’s so easy for preachers/teachers to read the scriptures with blinders on. Here Paul taught that the many sufferings [both physical and spiritual] were an honorable thing, they were his way of sharing in the sufferings and death of Christ. They were ‘death in him, but life in you’ he saw his difficulties thru a redemptive lens. He says the present sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us. The first verse of this chapter says seeing we have received this great ministry, we don’t faint. I like Eugene Petersons Message version, he says ‘just because times get hard, we don’t throw up our hands and walk off the job’ I like that. (1227) 2ND CORITNHIANS 5- Paul speaks of the Christian hope- resurrection! This chapter can be confusing if not taken in context. You could think that Paul is saying when we die we have a house/room in heaven ‘waiting for us’ and this seems true enough. But he is really saying something more along the lines of ‘in heaven [Gods realm] we have a promise of a new body. The Spirit in us is the down payment, but full redemption will be complete when we are raised from the dead’ the hope is a new body, not our souls living some type of disembodied existence in a heavenly [parts] JAMES 1 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/5-28-15-james-intro-chapter-1.zip Try and watch this video- I cover lots of stuff that place this letter in context for this study. [ Read acts 10,11,15, Galatians 1-2] Intro- This letter was written by James- the brother of Jesus. He was one of the main church leaders at the church in Jerusalem- we read about him in Acts chapter 15. This [Acts 15] was the first church council in the history of Christianity. I already taught the book of Romans written by the apostle Paul. And as we read the New Testament in context- we can see the reason why James penned this letter- and addressed it to Jewish believers. Paul was the most influential missionary in the early church- he established most of the gentile churches we read about in the bible [Rome being the exception]. He also wrote most of the letters that make up our New Testament. His main teaching was Justification by faith. There was a division we read about in the bible- between some of the Jewish believers at Jerusalem- and the churches Paul was planting [the church council mentioned above- was convened over this issue]. This division was based on the teaching of Paul- and some Jewish believers in Jerusalem accused Paul of rejecting the Mosaic Law. Paul defended himself in the letters of the New Testament [Romans/Galatians] and even talks about his visits to the leaders at the church in Jerusalem. Now- in this context- it seems fitting for James- the main church leader of the Jewish brothers- to ‘set the record straight’. And to write his own letter- showing the importance of GOOD WORKS- and even saying ‘see how a man is justified/saved by works- and not by faith alone’. The higher critics of Christianity [who you have heard me talk about in recent videos] will teach that James and Paul ‘taught different theologies’. I do not agree with them. But- our bibles are an early collection of the Real Time things that were taking place in the early church. At the time these men were writing these letters- they were not writing them as a complete canon [book] – but were writing them as you or I would write a letter to another person. In the wisdom of God- I think it is possible for these men to have seen different aspects of the manifold wisdom of God- and maybe they were not fully seeing the other writer’s point of view. To me- this would not be a criticism of the canon of scripture- but it would show us that God used these men- thru their experiences- and yes- even disagreements- to write the letters that make up our bibles- And in time- they would indeed become the official teaching of the church- Embracing a broad range of Divine Revelation- that in the end- does NOT CONTRADICT itself- but instead makes a complete work- which we call the bible. This letter is short- and packed with short verses of great wisdom. It is the only New Testament letter that falls into the category of Wisdom Literature- Meaning a particular genre’ of writing- like Proverbs in the Old Testament. Because of this- I am going to post each chapter of the letter during this teaching- for those of you who have never read the bible all the way thru- I want to challenge you to read these short chapters over the next few weeks. I will comment and add historical stuff in this teaching- like I did in the other recent studies. But most of all- read each chapter for yourself- ask God to give you wisdom- and apply the instruction of this letter to your life. It is a very practical- straight forward teaching that comes to us from the brother of Jesus himself. As I have been commenting on the other writings that did not make it into our bibles- like the Gnostic gospels- One of the reasons these extra biblical writings have so much appeal- Is because they claim to have other teachings- from/about Jesus- that are not in the bible. For those of us who reject these other writings- as canon- The letter of James kind of fills the void of ‘we want to know more about what Jesus taught’. This would be the letter to read- because James grew up with Jesus- in the same home. He was the oldest sibling of the Holy Family- And he was not a follower of Jesus until after the resurrection of Christ. He was one of the witnesses Jesus appeared to after his resurrection [Paul told us this in Corinthians]. So- if anyone has any ‘secret insight’ into the other stuff Jesus taught- it would be James. James 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. James 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. James 1:9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: James 1:10 But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass [parts] END NOTES OF POST- WHAT ARE THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS? OCTAVIAN- A GOD? CICERO- MARK ANTONY [or Anthony if you like]. WHO WERE THE ESSENES? DID THE CHURCH ENGAGE IN A GRAND CONSPIRACY? END NOTES [I posted the video for this portion a few days ago- it goes along with Hebrews 7-9 video/post] The past few weeks I had a few friends ask me about the Dead Sea Scrolls- and a few other questions about the ‘lost books of the bible’ and some other common- and mistaken ideas [like the original sin being Eve had sex with the serpent]. So- I figured I would cover a little Jewish history- which would help in this study of Hebrews- And also hit on a few of these subjects. As we read Hebrews- it helps to also understand some of the history that we don’t have in our bibles [though the Catholic bibles do have some of it in the Apocrypha]. Ok- the ruling empire at the time of Christ was Rome- just prior to the appearance of Jesus- the Roman Emperor- Caesar Augustus- consolidated the Roman Empire under his rule- Rome was ruled by a senate- some famous names from history were in it- Cicero being one. Caesar Augustus was the nephew of Julius Caesar- his real name was Octavian [Octavius]. After the death of Julius Caesar- there were some power struggles that took place- between some other famous people. Marc Antony being one of them [Cleopatra too- he was in love with the girl for sure]. Now- we read about Augustus in the New Testament- and we read in the book of Revelation about the Mark of the Beast- and that those who don’t worship- give homage to the Beast- they will be killed. So- Many Christians would be killed because they would refuse to give homage to Caesar Augustus [meaning son of the Divine]. ‘Wow- how did he get a name like that’ [there was more than one Caesar by the way- as well as more than one Herod- who did play a part in these power struggles- it can get confusing- even to me]. When Octavian defeated Marc Antony at Actium [32 BC]. Herod [The Great] had a problem- he had previously sided with Antony and found himself on the losing side. Yet he was smart- did some ‘brown nosing’ as we say-and patched things up. Herod had 3 sons- who would eventually take positions of authority in the Roman government at the time of Christ. Herod Antipas was over the region that we read about in the New Testament where Jesus did most of his ministry- Galilee. Ok- Octavian claimed deity because of a heavenly sign associated with his rise to power- and this is how he became called ‘Caesar Augustus’. He sort of saw himself as a ‘re-incarnate’- of his great uncle Julius Caesar. ‘John- what in the heck does this have to do with the Dead Sea Scrolls’. Ok- good question. The Jews had various responses to the empires that ruled over them during various times. Alexander the Great instituted Hellenization- a sort of cultural compromise over the people he conquered. They could keep their religious/cultural roots- but would be subservient to Alexander and Greek rule. Some Jewish people rejected any compromise- we call them the Essenes- they moved out of town- so to speak, and lived in what we refer to as the Qumran community. This was a few centuries before the time of Christ- and this was where the Dead Seas Scrolls were found in the 20th century. A Bedouin boy was looking for his goats- threw a rock in a cave right off the Dead Sea- and that’s how we found the scrolls. The scrolls might have been hidden there by the Essenes- Now- when my friends asked me about them- I told them that it’s been a while since I read up on any of this- but to the best of my memory the thing that made them significant was the fact that they were very old manuscripts- from the bible- and they backed up what we had had all along. I did read up this week- and basically had it right. The earliest Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament we had previously dated back to around 900- 1000 A.D. These manuscripts went back about 1000 years earlier- and they contained portions from almost every book of the Old testament- and some complete books. The only book missing was Esther. So- this was indeed a very significant find for scholars. But the Scrolls also contain some of the writings from the Essenes themselves- things we never had before- so this too was significant. There were Jews at the time of the first century who tried to ‘get along’ with Rome- and with the person in charge of their region [one of the sons of Herod the Great at the time of Christ]. These are referred to as Herodian’s in the bible. Some wanted a revolution to rid Rome from Jerusalem- these were the Zealots [one of Jesus disciples was in this group]. Some thought if they returned to a legalistic obeisance of the law- that this would bring in a deliverer- like the stories we read about in the Old testament- these were the Pharisees. And some took more of a political compromise- these were the Sadducees. Eventually a war with Rome would be fought [By the way- Josephus- the famous 1st century historian- fought on the side of the Jews in the war- and after Jerusalem was sacked in A.D. 70- he went to Rome and wrote his great works- thinking he would make a case for the Jewish people with the Romans. This is why we have his works today- which are very valuable to scholars]. NOTE- In time I’ll try and cover how we ‘got our bibles’ [called the Canon- meaning Rule/ Measurement]. Frankly- there is a lot of confusion in the general public about conspiracies [like the Catholic Church had some type of plot to keep certain books out]. Or stories about how the Church taught Mary Magdalene was a prostitute so they could discredit her. Actually- we read in the gospels that Jesus cast out ‘spirits’ from a woman who was probably living this type of life- And Jesus had a ministry to the down and out- it is indeed possible that Mary was one of these women- And if true- it would not demean her in any way- That’s how this tradition more than likely developed- But- we don’t know for sure. So a few years back the Church officially said ‘we don’t know’. Ok- Plot? No- just being careful. So there are other misguided beliefs like this- that sincere people have- and over time I hope to get to them. I’ll do one more in keeping with this post. I mentioned above that Caesar Augustus did indeed take the title of ‘son of God’. And some critics of the Church say ‘see- there were all types of religions that had Sons of God’. I watched one show a few years back- and it stated that these religions had ’12 disciples- a leader named Lord and Savior- and he healed and claimed to be God’s Son- and rose from the dead’. Ok- that show was ‘fibbing’ to put it lightly- they went too far [historically speaking] in trying to diminish the Christians claim of Christ by doing this. Now- is there some truth to this at all? Yes- like I just mentioned above- Octavian did indeed claim deity- a ‘son of god’. So- how do we explain this? In the book of Galatians the bible says ‘in the FULLNESS of times God sent forth his Son’. Jesus came at a set time in history- in fulfilment of the Jewish Prophets- to be who he was- and to do what he did. Now- this is not special pleading here- but I find it a masterpiece that God’s Son came at a time when the Roman Empire had one sitting on the throne- who too claimed deity. Yet Jesus was in a region of the lower class- his men were not highly educated- and his followers were people under oppression. Augustus lived in the wealthy and influential capital of ‘the world’- he had all you could ever ask for- he was worshiped as a god. Yet in 3 short centuries- one of the heirs of the empire- Constantine- would have an experience – not with a former Caesar- but with a vison of a Cross- He would convert to Christianity- and declare Christianity to be the religion of the realm. He would then ‘convert’ the pagan temples- into churches for these followers of Christ. So I don’t see the fact that Augustus claimed to be a son of god right before Christ- as some type of discredit to the claims of Christ. No- I see it as God’s way of pulling the rug out from the oppressor- see? [Oh- by the way- only one of them rose from the dead- can you guess?] [parts] [1740] THE UNEXAMINED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING- PLATO. I caught a show the other night on Link TV. It was a spin off from this famous Platonic quote- it was called ‘The examined life’. They interviewed some of the most prominent philosophers of our day. Cornell West, Peter Singer- a few others [I think the name is Singer?] I found it interesting that Singer- who specializes in Ethics- tried to make the case that you really don’t need religion/God in order to do ethics- all you need is to work from the basic principle that says ‘try to treat others like you too want to be treated- and then you will have a foundation for morals’. Now- I caught the contradiction right away- do you see it? Who is he quoting? This is the great moral principle- given to us by Jesus himself- called the Golden Rule. This actual principle- in Theology [the study of God] we call Natural/Moral law. The Argument is based on the reality that all people [not animals- Singer- get to it in a moment] have within them this moral compass [Romans 1] and that this in itself is proof that there must be a higher moral being- a transcendent being- who has put it in man. I just found it funny that Singer- who is supposed to be a prominent atheist/agnostic thinker- would fall flat on his face like this. Singer advocates for legal Rights for animals- and has also argued that viability of the new born baby should determine its personhood- he says that we should be able to abort babies up until around the age of 1- because they can’t really survive on their own until that age. Sad. Okay- why do Philosophy- or Physics- or any other of a number of schools of thought? Because too often Christians abandon these fields- and then when someone from that field says ‘this is why we don’t need God’ we usually have no answer. When we think about philosophy- most of us think about the 3 great big shots- Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. While it is true that these guys were the major guys at right around the 5th century B.C.- yet we actually date the beginning point to the early 6TH Century B.C. to a man by the name of Thales. Thales accurately predicted a solar eclipse in the year 585 B.C. and he gained notoriety because of this. Thales was the first Greek thinker to grapple with the idea that there must be one reality that makes up all things. He would argue that Water was this element- that contained being and Motion and life. Many of these pre Socratic thinkers were obsessed with the idea of motion- where did it come from? Thales observed that streams and rivers- and all types of water sources flow- so to him this was a logical source of motion. This idea- that only one element makes up all reality- is called Monism. Monism is not be confused with Monotheism- the belief in one God- Monism actually leads to another religious view- called Pantheism- the belief that God is everything- and everything is God. This is not the historic Christian view. Now- the pre Socratic guys- Parmenides, Zeno, Heraclitus- these guys would challenge Thales view that water was the main thing. Some said ‘maybe it’s Air’ another said ‘Earth’ and some Fire. These 4 elements [Earth, Air [wind] Fire and Water- are the 4 basic elements of the early Greek philosophers. We see these things in the naming of musical groups [Earth Wind and Fire] as well as the themes in movies [fantastic 4- based on 4 basic elements- powers]. Now- one of the thinkers said ‘wait- maybe the reality behind all things is not any one of these elements- maybe there is a 5th dimension [another musical name- and also the famous Bruce Willis flick- called the 5th Element] a Boundless being- outside of time and matter- maybe this 5ht element is the foundation for all things. Of course this view would lead to the more developed view of God that Socrates and his followers would embrace- an early view of God- much like the later Christian view [absent the Trinity]. By the way- the view that 2 or more elements make up all reality is called Pluralism- not to be confused with religious Pluralism [that all religions lead to the same God]. The most common form of Pluralism is Dualism [2 realities equally true] but all non Monists who embrace more than one reality are Pluralists. Okay- maybe a bit much with the 10 dollar words- but it might spark the interest of some. The church has debated for centuries on whether or not Philosophy should be taught to Christians. One of the early church fathers- Tertullian- said no- his famous quote is ‘what does Jerusalem have to do with Athens’. Meaning what does Philosophy have in common with Christianity [Athens- Greece was the seat of philosophy in Jesus’ day]. For the most part- the early church fathers would embrace the study of philosophy- and try to make arguments for the Christian faith by presenting Christianity as ‘thee’ philosophy that best answers the questions of man. These early Christian thinkers are called Apologists- men like Justin Martyr are in this class. Apologist is a word we use to describe those who defend the faith- it comes from the Apostle Peter’s letter in the N.T. where Peter says ‘give an answer to those who ask you about the faith’. In the Greek language- the original language the N.T. was written in- this phrase is talking about a defense- an ‘apology’ in the sense of ‘making the case’ not in the common sense of apologizing. In the book of Acts- chapter 17- we read the famous sermon of the apostle Paul- given at Mars Hill. He was in Athens at the time- and he was debating with all the philosophers of the day. He tells them ‘as I was looking around town- I saw that one of your altars is addressed to The Unknown God’. He would go on and declare unto them that this Jesus is the true God- the one raised from the dead. Paul also said ‘in Him we live and MOVE and have our being’. Kind of a popular verse quoted by preacher’s today- but we often overlook the significance of the MOVE part. I mean- why say we MOVE in him too? Paul was a smart guy- he knew these children of Socrates questioned where motion came from [Remember Thales?] So he was basically saying ‘I am declaring to you the one true reality- the true 5th Element- the missing God particle from your system’ and he went on and preached Christ- being raised from the dead. Paul knew that you can’t really do true philosophy- to grapple with the questions of life and being and ‘motion’ without realizing that God is indeed the ultimate answer to all things. Even Peter Singer- who claimed that you don’t need God or religion in order to do Ethics- even he unknowingly quoted Jesus in attempting to give a basis for his Philosophy- yes- he quoted a God- one unknown to him- just like the altar at Athens- but a God never the less. An inescapable 5th element- the missing part to the whole puzzle. VERSES- John 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: John 17:2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. John 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 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. John 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. John 17:7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. John 17:8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. John 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. John 17:10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. John 17:11 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. John 17:12 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. John 17:13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. John 17:14 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. John 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. John 17:16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. John 17:18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. John 17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. John 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; John 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. John 17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: John 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. John 17:24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. John 17:25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. John 17:26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. 9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Ephesians 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. Tim. 3:16 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God. http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com facebook.com/john.chiarello.5 https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg VERSES- [These are the verses I either quoted or taught on the video- Ephesians 4- Links to all my sites below] Hebrews 13:14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Psalm 27:13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Acts 14:14 Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, 1 Corinthians 4:9 For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Hebrews 13:9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Galatians 4:19 My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations John 15:13 [Full Chapter] Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Mark 12:13 And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. Mark 12:14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Mark 12:15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. Mark 12:16 And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar’s. Mark 12:17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him. Mark 12:35 And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David? Mark 12:36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. Mark 12:37 David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly. Mark 12:38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, Mark 12:39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: Mark 12:40 Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation. Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, Ephesians 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Ephesians 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; Ephesians 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, Ephesians 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Ephesians 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. Ephesians 4:9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? Ephesians 4:10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: Ephesians 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. Ephesians 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Ephesians 4:18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Ephesians 4:19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. Ephesians 4:20 But ye have not so learned Christ; Ephesians 4:21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; Ephesians 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; Ephesians 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Ephesians 4:25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Ephesians 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Ephesians 4:27 Neither give place to the devil. Ephesians 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Ephesians 4:29 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. Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. 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My name is John Chiarello, I am a retired firefighter living in Texas, Born in Hoboken New Jersey- raised in North Bergen. I post original content [all videos and text are by me]. I post 7 videos a night to many of my sites, and text posts 3 times a week. I NEVER take money- or ask for money- ever. Everything is free- I sell nothing- to some sites this makes a difference- so I wanted to say that here. There are no buildings- staff- salary- anything. Just me teaching- doing outreach- and reaching out thru my sites. All my teachings- videos- studies are free to download from all my sites. Make as many copies as you want- they are there for you to use. Thank You- John. 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you read them on- Copy text- download video links- make complete copies of my books/studies and posts- everything is copyrighted by me- I give permission for all to copy and share as much as you like- I just ask that nothing be sold. We live in an online world- yet- there is only one internet- meaning if it ever goes down- the only access to the teachings are what others have copied or downloaded- so feel free to copy and download as much as you want- it’s all free- Note- I have many web sites- at times some question whether I’m a ‘bot’ because I do post a lot. I am not a ‘bot’- I’m John- so please- if you are on the verge of deleting something- my contact email is [email protected] - contact me first- thank you- John SUNDAY SERMON
John 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. Links to my sites here and the bottom of every post- https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/my-sites.html Stats https://ccoutreach87.com/stats-4-21/ Sunday sermon videos- https://youtu.be/xU4tyfHpP6M https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhXU4LeybMp2imYyu https://www.dropbox.com/s/6w7qpaojwyy7ief/4-8-18%20Sunday%20sermon-%20Mass%20and%20Real%20Life%20church.mp4?dl=0 ON VIDEO .Hebrews in 1st century context .What do we mean when we say ‘Proof text’ ? .New Testament church as community https://ccoutreach87.com/further-talks-on-church-and-ministry/ .How do we give? .The ownership mentality .Karl Marx .Plato .Machiavelli .JESUS .The witness of God .How do we ‘know’ things? .Primarily thru the testimony of others- down thru history .The man who is the Branch .The flood .Catholic- Protestant views of ‘remission of sin’- .Petrine view .Upon this Rock Acts 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. Teaching- ]Past posts below] This Sunday I spoke on the verses from the Mass and Real Life church http://myreallife.org/corpus/ From the Mass we read- Acts 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. Acts 4:33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Acts 4:34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, Acts 4:35 And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. I focused on this section- neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed WAS HIS OWN; but they had all things common. The believers gave sacrificially- and yet the things that they owned- still were not considered ‘their stuff’. Many good Christians give out of the mindset of ‘I am making an investment- and I see it as an investment that will bring a return to me’- Yet even the ‘return’ was not considered their own. I spoke some on the various ways believers give- but wanted to challenge our present mindset- we really do not ‘own’ anything. On the video I went further down into chapter 5- and yes- showed how this type of giving was not forced- it was not actually a forced communism- Peter himself will tell the couple ‘While it was yours- you could have done with it what you wanted’- Acts 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, Acts 5:2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. Acts 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Acts 5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not THINS OWN? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. Thus showing us it was a voluntary form of ‘commune- ism’ if you will. I also finished John 20- and spoke on the disciples as being witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus. I talked about why the physical witnesses of the Resurrection were important- because these who witnessed Christ Bodily after he rose- would now declare the testimony of what they had seen. And there would be a greater blessing to those who had not seen- yet believed- John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. I also quoted- Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Often times this is used as a ‘proof text’- I tried to put it in context- and I’ll add my links and studies on the other chapters below. I covered more than I wanted [Planned] and went for over 50 minutes. I also talked about a verse one of the homeless guys brought up- Zechariah 6:12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: He came across it while reading the bible the other day- and I told him it was indeed a messianic prophecy of Christ himself. All in all- I think this brief intro will do- if you want to go deeper into the subjects- just follow my links and read the PAST POSTS section below. Thanks- John R. Alleluia, alleluia. You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord; Blessed are those who have not seen me, but still believe! R. Alleluia, alleluia. PAST POSTS These are my complete studies [Bible letters] of the verses I taught or quoted on the video- Sunday Sermon - as well as my other studies that relate- I only post sections of my past posts that I think are relevant, that’s why you might read a part- and not the whole past post. In some past posts you might see old news and politics- just ignore those- my main purpose is to capture the past teaching and add them here. Verses and other videos below. https://ccoutreach87.com/2018/04/08/easter-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/acts-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/john-complete-links-added/ https://ccoutreach87.com/atheism-apologetics-links-added/ https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/overview-of-philosophy/ https://ccoutreach87.com/ephesians-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/protestant-reformation-luther/ POSTED BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ FEBRUARY 9, 2017 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT ACTS 4- Acts 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. Acts 4:11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. https://youtu.be/JoqX5RLJmpI Acts 4 https://ccoutreach87.com/2-2-17-acts-4/ ON VIDEO- .Alexander the Great .5000 believe .Jail for a night .How was he healed again? .In Jesus name .O.K. – stop preaching Christ! .No way! .Civil disobedience .MLK .They shared their wealth .Question brought up- Trump .Muslim ban? .Media bias .Glen Greenwald NEW [Past teaching I did below] As I sit here debating on whether or not to add some new commentary to this Acts study- I just read an article from USA today [2-2-17]. It talked about our ‘war’ to ‘liberate’ Mosul [an Iraqi city]. I have commented on this before- this was an action initiated by the Obama administration just weeks before the general election [in the U.S.]. It was done purely for political reasons [as I explained before] – and it was top coverage on U.S. media every night- as a success. Instead of ‘flying off the handle’ on a spur of the moment video- I’ll write. Why am I mad? Because the article stated how there are 750,000 civilians now trapped in Mosul- Many orphans- as young as 8- have joined ISIS because they need money for food. And the latest bombing action- by U.S. planes- killed many of these young children. This entire action was mishandled terribly- and the reality that our good pilots were behind such an atrocity—is an utter failure of a political action by the U.S.- right before the election. Yes- we should all be mad about the fact that we bombed 8 years old kids- whether ISIS or not- it’s a disaster. Many in this country are outraged about many things- but hardly anyone is outraged about this. And because the election is past- the mainline media have barely even mentioned it [except this article I happened to stumble upon]. I do not blame our soldiers [pilots] But I blame the previous administration for engaging in a military action that was purely political. I’ll skip new comments on Acts 4- and just post my previous commentary below. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/01/31/iraqis-trapped-western-mosul-starvation-executions/97253566/ PAST TEACHING- https://ccoutreach87.com/acts/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/18/acts-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/ I talked about how the promise of Jesus to meet the needs of the disciples was fulfilled in the sharing of their wealth- not in making each believer independently wealthy- here is a link to a little book I wrote years ago that deals with this subject- https://ccoutreach87.com/house-of-prayer-or-den-of-thieves/ Quoted from Romans- here’s my complete study- https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ This is from I commentary I wrote years ago- (739) ACTS 4- The religious leadership at Jerusalem bring the Apostles in for questioning. The reality of the lame man being healed and the fact that Peter was doing it in the name of Jesus was an offence to them. Part of the group were called Sadducees. We often think of them as simple Pharisees who disbelieved in the resurrection of the body. While this is true, we must not overlook the demonic strategy behind the rise of a religious group, just prior to the resurrection of Jesus, who would imbed doubt in the minds of people concerning resurrection. Peter and John are questioned concerning the healing of the lame man. The leaders really had no problem with the healing, they did not want them doing this stuff in Jesus name! Why? Once again we see the fact of mighty works being done in Jesus name as proof of his resurrection. If the resurrection is true then Jesus must be the Messiah. If Jesus is the Messiah then this first century group of religious leaders killed the only Messiah that they will ever have! Peter actually tells them this in the chapter ‘you rejected the chief cornerstone’. Jesus was not simply one religious figure in a religion of many religious figures. Let’s see, we have Mary the mother of Jesus, a great woman to be sure. What about old John the Baptist, man was he a firebrand! And don’t forget Moses and the prophets. But Jesus stands out because he is the cornerstone. He alone is the mediator. Peter says ‘neither is there salvation in any other, there is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved’. These religious leaders killed the main person! Once again we see the church practice ‘communal giving’. They sell their lands and houses and bring the money and lay it at the apostle’s feet. The money is used 100 percent for distribution to the communities needs. Why is this so important to see? As you read all my writings you will see me teach over and again this basic Christian principle, that giving in the New Testament churches was primarily focused on meeting the needs of people. There was no sense of tithing to the storehouse as being a practice of ‘giving to the church meeting on Sunday or you are under a curse’. Now, it’s fine to give 10 percent on Sunday, it’s just we shouldn’t by pass the actual documented practice of giving as seen in the New Testament. Now, we do have the advantage of hind sight. Paul will continue to write the epistles of the New Testament and never once stray from this principle. In every single case, bar none, is New Testament giving taught as a voluntary free will offering. It is radical, taught in proportionality [as God has blessed you lay by you in store- Paul] but never once is it taught as a compulsory tithe that if not obeyed will bring the curse of the law upon the believer. Now, in the very next chapter we will see 2 people die because of lying in the area of giving. But it’s not because they didn’t tithe. Nor is it because they didn’t give all the price of the land. It was because they were lying to the Holy Spirit, they were introducing a deadly poison into the fledgling church. Jesus warned them in the gospels to avoid this cancer. He told them ‘beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy’. He wasn’t saying ‘beware of their doctrine’ in the sense of don’t listen to what they teach. He was saying ‘beware of actual hypocrisy’! The leaven of trying to present an image of yourself contrary to truth. Faking it so you look good. Now the leadership will warn the Apostles not to speak or teach in Jesus name. Peter says ‘we ought to obey God more than you’. Was he being rebellious against God ordained authority? Jesus did teach in the gospels ‘they sit in Moses seat, do what they say, not what they do’. Paul will respond later ‘I didn’t know I was speaking against the high Priest, I know he should be treated with respect’ as he defends himself before this same group. Some believe Luther and the reformers and even people like me are rebelling against authority when we question the system. To be sure Peter was ‘rebelling’ against an authority system that actually served God to a degree. This religious system [Judaism] did preserve the writings of the prophets. Peter was quoting the Psalms and prophets and utilizing the actual writings the scribes passed on to him. But there comes a point in time where ‘we ought to move on with God, rather than man’ a radical break from past well meaning systems, and a moving forward with God and the working of his Spirit. We end the chapter with the Apostles and believers rejoicing over the fact that Jesus movement is winning and Gods word is being fulfilled ‘of a truth the kings of the earth and its rulers are coming against God and his holy Son Jesus’. They knew they were in some rough waters but heck, Jesus has been raised from the dead! What can they really do to us? We will soon see. We also see another description of early church life. The term ‘church’ is referencing a corporate group of people who are meeting daily, both at the temple and from house to house. They are sharing their material things with one another. The Apostles are testifying of the resurrection of Jesus and his Messiahship every where they go. A believer named Barnabus sells some land and brings the money for distribution. Another couple will make the mistake of trying to ‘be like the Joneses’ they will pretend to do the same, Peter will judge them severely! I talked about Galatians 3- here’s my past teaching on it- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/10/galatians-3/ [parts] [1564] DRUNK WITH THE BLOOD OF THE SAINTS- Wasn’t sure which way to go today? It’s strange that I have been thinking about covering the sad story of the Christians in Iraq; since the war they have been persecuted severely- a few months back one of their main churches was attacked, many have fled to the northern region of the country [Kurdish area] and many are seeking asylum in our country. Saddam Hussein protected the Christian church in Iraq- he was not considered to be a radical Muslim leader- like the Mullahs in Iran. So it’s sad to see the Christian church possibly being eliminated from this ancient country. The church in Iraq dates back to the 1st century- they still speak Aramaic [some of them] which was the actual language Jesus spoke. Anyway- the thing that seems strange is I felt like I should read Revelation chapter 17 this morning- and in the chapter the apostle John has this vision of Babylon [which is Iraq- geographically. In the chapter it’s a symbol of the Roman Empire] and as he sees Babylon he says ‘she is drunk with the blood of the saints’- yes indeed, much Christian blood has been spilt in Iraq. Okay- the other day I was watching some show about a group of people picked from all over the world who were chosen to participate in a sort of round table discussion where each person would spend so many months just sharing in conversation with these other people. Some were from the U.S., others from Muslim/Arab countries- some were from Israel. The conversation they had was really revealing- they were not scholars, but they showed you the point of view from other perspectives. One of the questions they asked was what should happen to Iran? Should the U.S. intervene in their desire to obtain nuclear weapons? One of the Americans said we should- because they might be a danger to world peace [a common ideology among many Americans] then one of the students from a Muslim country said ‘then why do you not feel it is also wrong for the U.S. to have nuclear weapons’ and the American gave some type of simple answer. Why does the Muslim world have a problem with the U.S. seeming to play the role of arbiter- who can have- or not have a nuclear arsenal? Are there any Muslim/Arab countries that have them today? What about other countries who are also unstable? Let’s see- Pakistan [the most unstable of the bunch right now] India [Pakistan’s rival, also a major reason why Pakistan will not eliminate the Taliban from the mountainous region of her nation- they see the Taliban as playing a major role in the future govt. of Afghanistan and they need some ties to the Taliban in order to balance out any power play between India and Afghanistan] Egypt, Israel, North Korea, Saudi Arabia- well as you can see there are a bunch of nations who already posses nuclear weapons- or are on the road to getting them. So when the average Muslim sees our attempt to intervene in who gets nukes, they see it as a hypocritical game. What is the world history on nuclear attacks? How many countries have actually used nukes to attack/respond to other attacks? One. Who dropped the first Atomic bomb in the history of the world on another country? We did. Okay- let’s give this another shot. Who dropped the second Atomic bomb? Okay- us again. One more time- who dropped number 3? No one. So let’s see this from the perspective of the Muslim student who questioned the reasoning of why the U.S. has nukes- but doesn’t want other nations to have them. The student was told that if other nations [Iran] has them- they might use them. Yet they see us as the only country that has ever actually used them. Look- I know why we used them- and many have questioned the morality of what we did in WW2. Were we just in dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? We killed around 200 thousand people- civilians- not military [not counting the many who died in the following years from radiation sickness]. One of the definitions of terrorism is the purposeful targeting of civilians for a political/military goal. To the Muslim world- we targeted these civilian cites [they were not collateral damage- the civilians were the target] for a political/military goal- to end the war. The point is we [Americans] have a tendency to view things from one perspective- we rarely see the end result of our actions. Who would have thought that our war in ancient Babylon [Iraq] would have contributed to one of the fulfillments of John’s prophecy ‘Babylon- you are drunk with the blood of the saints’. Because our bibles were written in Greek [which shows you how strong the Greek influence effected the early church- our first New Testaments were written in Greek- though the Roman Empire was the world Empire of the day. But Alexander the Great- the famed Greek conqueror who came a few centuries before Christ- he instituted what we refer to as Helenization. A form of conquering where you let the people you conquer keep their culture- but you also use parts of your culture [in this case the Greek language] to permeate the vanquished. So- the Roman Empire of Jesus day [who at one time were under the rule of the Greek Empire] continued to write in Greek. It wasn’t until around a few centuries after the time of Christ that the first Latin bible was written [by Saint Jerome]. But even his bible [the Latin Vulgate] used the Greek Old Testament [called the Septuagint] instead of the Hebrew- for his Latin translation. Ok- the point being- the Greek world did indeed have a strong influence on the early church. And the church had to refute the belief that all matter was evil. The Christian doctrine of creation [developed under saint Augustine- the 4th-5th century bishop of Hippo- North Africa]. Was the teaching that matter was good- that God created the material realm- so it is not inherently evil. But- after the fall of man [Genesis 1-3] a curse did indeed come upon the earth [some times when the bible says ‘the world’ it is speaking of the earth- but other times it is speaking of the fallen order- the sinful realm of man. That’s why there is some confusion- till this day- among Christians. They might read verses like this- and think the bible is saying the earth itself- the planet- is wicked. Actually in those verses it is speaking about the fallen order of sinful men. See? ‘For all that is in THE WORLD- the lust of the flesh- the lust of the eyes and the pride of life- is not of the father- but is of the WORLD- and the WORLD is passing away’- this is one example from the epistle of John- here the World is not saying the planet- but the world of sinful man- a fallen ‘world’ order.] So- in conclusion [if I ever get there!] we- as believers- reject the belief that all matter is evil. No- man was created in the image of God- and God is the creator of all things- both visible [earth- man- etc] and invisible [mentioned in the above chapter]. The evil we see in the ‘world’ today is simply a result of mans sin- mans choice to live in rebellion against God. We can’t escape ‘this world of sin’ by simply denying ourselves [though that is one aspect of the Christian life]. But God sent his Son into the world to redeem man- Christ died for all men- and this is the Divine act of Salvation. When we as humans partake of this Salvation- we are then free- free to enjoy this life- that God gave us- and we don’t have to have the mindset of a Socrates- who saw this natural life as evil. The apostle Paul says in his letter to the Romans; ‘Present your bodies as a living sacrifice- HOLY and acceptable to God’. See? Our bodies- the actual flesh we live in- can be Holy- sanctified- when submitted to the will of God. This is from my Romans teaching I did a few years ago- ROMANS 11-13 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/3-12-15-romans-11-13.zip [note- there’s much more on the video than the post] .ROMANS 11 .ROMANS 12 .ROMANS 13 [parts] St. Thomas and Augustine. I mean these are 2 of my favorite Catholic scholars. Augustine- the 4/5th century Bishop of North Africa- and Thomas- the great 13th century Doctor Angelicas [Angelic Doctor]. Yes- these are some big players in Theology and Philosophy. So why have the media reported that the pres used them in his war strategy? They are also famous for the development of the Just war Theory. Yeah- people for centuries have appealed to these great thinkers in their justification for war. But Obama- how does he find the time to read these guys? I mean- unless their names are on the golf balls [he just played his 100th round!] I don’t see him having time to read them. So why mention it? Because he fumbled the ball with our Catholic friends [who just began a 2 week prayer and fast against the repression of religious liberty- because of the presidents demands that they provide birth control thru their institutions]. And he needs to make amends- so lo and behold- he loves reading the Catholic scholars! If you put all this together- the ongoing scandals- not just one. The actual lies- the ones they have been caught in- on paper. I mean even a mainline reporter could not believe that the revealing of this was ‘no big deal’. And now- the fact that the pres came out the other day and addressed the nation ‘me and my Whitehouse have not released any CLASSIFIED information’. ‘It’s an insult to think this’. Then- one week later- on Friday- they sent a letter to congress- declassifying the drone war in Yemen. They were basically saying ‘yeah- we were behind the releasing of all the info- it’s just we ‘declassified it’ first’. He is going to say when he released the info- his office first ‘declassified it’. But when he addressed you- and me- he was outraged- he made it sound like he was not aware of the leaks. And 99 % of the public took it this way. Look- when you get caught doing this- over and over and over- I mean this is not a one time affair. Then it does make the public wonder about everything else. And when the public asks for answers- and you respond by playing the race card- then it’s time for some people to resign. [parts] AN UNJUST LAW https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/4-20-16-an-unjust-law-is-no-law-at-all.zip https://youtu.be/oQMmaWERTYk An unjust law is no law at all ON VIDEO- .MLK .Kennedy .Andrew Snowden .USSR .Saudi Arabia .911 hijackers- who were they? .Release the 28 pages .Dow 18,000- sell! [remember- the video was made last week] .Iran- Yemen- Libya- Ukraine- Russia .How did we bail out the banks again? .NATO .Cuban Missile crisis .Did Russia have [parts] VERSES- Acts 4:1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, Acts 4:2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. Acts 4:3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. Acts 4:4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand. Acts 4:5 And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, Acts 4:6 And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. Acts 4:7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Acts 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, Acts 4:9 If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Acts 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. Acts 4:11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:14 And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. Acts 4:15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, Acts 4:16 Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it. Acts 4:17 But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. Acts 4:18 And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. Acts 4:19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. Acts 4:20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. Acts 4:21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done. Acts 4:22 For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed. Acts 4:23 And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. Acts 4:24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Acts 4:25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? Acts 4:26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. Acts 4:27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, Acts 4:28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. Acts 4:29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, Acts 4:30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. Acts 4:33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Acts 4:34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, Acts 4:35 And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. Acts 4:36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, Acts 4:37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. Psalm 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? Psalm 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Psalm 2:3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. Psalm 2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision. Psalm 2:5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Psalm 2:6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. Psalm 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Psalm 2:8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Psalm 2:9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Psalm 2:10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Psalm 2:11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Psalm 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. Matthew 21:42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Mark 12:10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Luke 20:17 And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. 23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! 25 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. 26 And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? 27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. 28 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. 29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, 30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. 31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first. http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts https://vimeo.com/user37400385 john chiarello POSTED BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ MARCH 23, 2017 ⋅ 1 COMMENT ACTS 5 Acts 5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: Acts 5:39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. https://youtu.be/e3_HgRrIVis Acts 5 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/3-16-17-acts-5.zip ON VIDEO- .Mark Scott . Carolyn Vaughn .Sandusky- Innocent? .Church as community .Some sold all .Solomon’s porch .Why Deacons? .Why lie? .CNN special- on Jesus- yeah- ‘fake news’ .Gift of miracles break forth- again .Stop preaching Jesus! .No way! .Angels on assignment .2nd Mile? [I think] .Trump tweet .Nixon- Watergate .Media .4ht estate . ‘Judges can do no wrong’! .Really? .They once ruled Black people are ‘less than’ White people NEW [past links- verses below. I also added a note at the end of the entire post- about Trump] Just a few notes- I’ll add my commentary on this chapter below. By this time in the early Christian movement- we have seen how Peter and the apostles have already been warned not to preach anymore in the name of Jesus. And Peter continues to practice ‘civil disobedience’ and obeys God- rather than men. The council throws Peter into jail- and the angel of the Lord sets him free- Acts 5:17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, Acts 5:18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. Acts 5:19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, He is told to go ‘preach the words of this life’. Acts 5:20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. And sure enough- Peter goes back to the temple and preaches Christ- Acts 5:25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. When the religious leaders get word- they go and bring Peter- gently- before their court- Acts 5:26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. Peter once again preaches strongly ‘Jesus has been ordained of God- he is the Messiah- and you killed him’- Acts 5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Acts 5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. Yes- Peter’s pattern is rough. But in previous experiences- the people ask ‘what shall we do’? This time they want to kill him- Acts 5:33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them. Why the difference now? They also say ‘are you trying to hold us accountable for this man’s Blood’- Acts 5:28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. The Sadducees were the ruling sect at this time- the high priest was a Sadducee- Acts 5:17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, Despite the miracles and wonders still being done in the name of Jesus- they are now worried about the actual injustice itself- done in the criminal proceeding- that executed Christ. We must remember that from the simple standpoint of the law- there was corruption and criminality in the execution of Christ on the Cross. We read in the gospels how they had false witnesses- and even Pilate himself said Jesus was an innocent man- 59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; 60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, Matt. 26 Now- imagine the pressure on those who were a part of this. The Sadducees are actually worried about this preacher- this simple fisherman- going around in the power of the Spirt- healing the sick- raising the dead [later on in Acts] and then telling everyone ‘you killed an innocent man’. Yes- we as believers understand why this happened- he died for us. But from the religious leaders standpoint- they are thinking ‘yeah- we killed an innocent man- unjustly- and we hoped it would fade from the scene- but if Peter keeps bringing it up- we too might be held accountable’. I think that might be why these ‘hearers’ wanted to kill Peter. As the chapter closes- Gamaliel- a respected teacher of the law- and having a famous student under him by the name of Saul- stands up and saves the lives of Peter and his men. The Pharisees did believe in the supernatural elements of God. The Sadducees did not. And in the midst of this whole debate- they are not too willing to side with the Sadducees- in the attack against this new sect- Especially being this ‘new sect’ seems to be operating in all of these supernatural gifts- which the Pharisees themselves believe in. So yes- just like in our day- there are bias’s involved. So Gamaliel tells the council ‘wait- before we do something to these men that we might later regret- remember- there have been other movements- and followers of those men. Yet- they came to nothing in the end’- Acts 5:34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space; Acts 5:35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. Acts 5:36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. Acts 5:37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. ‘Therefore- if we simply leave this new movement alone- if it’s not of God- it too will fail. But if it is of God- well we don’t want to find ourselves fighting against God- do we’? Acts 5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: Acts 5:39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. Wise advice indeed. At the end of the chapter- they beat them- and let them go- Acts 5:40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And the apostles praise God that they were found ‘worthy to suffer shame for his name’- Acts 5:41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. Ok- Those are some of the high points I hit on in today’s video. My old commentary on this chapter will cover the rest [Below] I encourage you to read thru the book of Acts- as well as the other studies I’m currently doing. And mediate on the Word of God. Try and enter into the context of the time- see how there were real dynamics going on- things that people today also deal with. There were many things at play- that caused people to not want to admit that Jesus was alive- and his disciples were going around proving it by the miraculous signs that were being done. Do we too have ulterior motives for why we- in our day- also look for reasons to deny the message of Christ? Are all atheists sincere in their unbelief? Or are there other reasons why the deniers of Jesus- actually deny him? Is it because they also do want to give an account for their actions? [sins] Yes- for the Sadducees- if this Jesus was really alive- then indeed- Peter was ‘bringing upon them the Blood of this innocent man’- In more ways than one. PAST LINKS [verses below] Here are my past teachings that relate to today’s video ‘Acts 5’. https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/03/14/mark-4/ https://ccoutreach87.com/acts/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/18/acts-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/02/acts-3/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/02/09/acts-4/ News link [stuff I mentioned about local politics] http://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2017/02/28/council-votes-disqualify-scott-mayoral-candidate/98479374/ (739) ACTS 5 – As the word spreads rapidly, all the surrounding towns bring the sick and vexed to lie in the streets. Even the possibility of Peters shadow passing over them for healing is hoped for. Notice the charismatic reality of this early church. I do realize the many reasoning’s that intelligent people use to explain the miracles as limited to the Apostolic period, but for the most part we see a supernatural church in Acts as well as thru out the epistles and well into the first few centuries of Christianity. The 20th century story of Pentecostalism and the awakenings just prior, seem to show the reality of a supernatural church existing alongside a theological one! There is much proof to the orthodoxy and giftings of the church all thru out scripture and church history. Peters shadow healed people, how can we explain this away? [p.s. Phillip, who is not an Apostle, will also perform miracles. Just thru this in for those who teach the Apostles were the only miracle workers!] Now, the immediate response of the high priest and religious leaders was ‘if we don’t do something about this, their movement will gain momentum’. They imprison Peter and the Apostles. An angel appears and frees them and tells them ‘go back to the temple and speak the words of this life’. When the authorities realize what has happened they once again warn them about using Jesus name in their ministry. They even say ‘do you intend to bring this mans blood upon us’. Basically Peter says ‘yes’. Peter has been ‘putting it in their face’ ever since Pentecost. He has blamed BOTH the nation of Israel and her leadership for the death of Christ. He does not worry about offending them! During this time some priests become believers. The majority of them do not. Why? What has happened is common among movements. When an initial movement starts up, there is always the question of ‘is it from God or not’? A few years back the church went thru a renewal movement. Some referred to it as ‘the Toronto blessing’ ‘the laughing revival’ and other names. You had those who were 100 % against it and those 100 % for it. Who was right? Well, to a degree both of them! The point is there were some things that were needing rebuke, but to throw it all out was wrong. The defenders appealed to Jonathan Edwards’s writings and how during the first great awakening he experienced many of the same manifestations as the Toronto movement. Edwards left quite a bit of room for God being present in the religious emotions of the people. The critics were offended that the revival guys were appealing to Edwards and they would appeal to other stuff Edwards wrote in concern over the religious affections. You also had the same manifestations a century later under the second great awakening. The revivals in Kentucky had laughter and ‘strange barking’ and other weird stuff. The point is you always have a response to a religious movement. Once the battle lines are drawn, it is very hard to switch sides. In this chapter we see Gamaliel, a very respected Pharisee, stand up for the Apostles and say ‘lets give them some room, others before them rose up and gained a following, they all passed on. If this work is of God you can’t stop it, if it’s of men it will fail’. There was some breaking thru to the religious mind that was taking place in the elite religious thinkers of the day. After all, Peter has been quoting Psalms and Joel in ways that were confounding the religious thinkers. Don’t forget, Peter is an uneducated fisherman. Jesus deposited some stuff in his men that was way beyond the basic understanding of the day. Some ‘thinkers’ and intellectuals were humble enough to listen, most were not! [parts] SUNDAY- 2-19-17 Fatima [2nd mile] https://youtu.be/YcfnxpqOOo4 Fatima [2nd mile] https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/2-19-17-fatima-2nd-mile.zip NOTE- I’m not sure if I will keep doing a daily journal type post. As of today I hit most of the spots I wanted to catch on video. I hope to do at least one more post walking over the G.W. bridge. But I did journal every day for one week- and I’ll see how it goes from here. ON VIDEO- .Herodians .2nd mile .Sin unto death I went to the Mass at Our Lady of Fatima- The church I went to as a kid. Turned the camera on right at the end- then walked down Kennedy Blvd. – a walk I did many times as a kid. I talked about some of the verses that the Priest shared- and elaborated a bit on ‘the 2nd mile’. I always liked that scripture- and compared it to the law versus grace. I also mentioned the passage from Corinthians about the body being the temple of the Holy Spirit. All stuff I taught before- but felt it was good to mention them again [past teaching- verses below] PAST TEACHING [Stuff I taught before that relates- verses below] https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/ . The Jews had various responses to the empires that ruled over them during various times. Alexander the Great instituted Hellenization- a sort of cultural compromise over the people he conquered. They could keep their religious/cultural roots- but would be subservient to Alexander and Greek rule. Some Jewish people rejected any compromise- we call them the Essenes- they moved out of town- so to speak, and lived in what we refer to as the Qumran community. This was a few centuries before the time of Christ- and this was where the Dead Seas Scrolls were found in the 20th century. A Bedouin boy was looking for his goats- threw a rock in a cave right off the Dead Sea- and that’s how we found the scrolls. The scrolls might have been hidden there by the Essenes- Now- when my friends asked me about them- I told them that it’s been a while since I read up on any of this- but to the best of my memory the thing that made them significant was the fact that they were very old manuscripts- from the bible- and they backed up what we had had all along. I did read up this week- and basically had it right. The earliest Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament we had previously dated back to around 900- 1000 A.D. These manuscripts went back about 1000 years earlier- and they contained portions from almost every book of the Old testament- and some complete books. The only book missing was Esther. So- this was indeed a very significant find for scholars. But the Scrolls also contain some of the writings from the Essenes themselves- things we never had before- so this too was significant. There were Jews at the time of the first century who tried to ‘get along’ with Rome- and with the person in charge of their region [one of the sons of Herod the Great at the time of Christ]. These are referred to as Herodian’s in the bible. Some wanted a revolution to rid Rome from Jerusalem- these were the Zealots [one of Jesus disciples was in this group]. Some thought if they returned to a legalistic obeisance of the law- that this would bring in a deliverer- like the stories we read about in the Old testament- these were the Pharisees. And some took more of a political compromise- these were the Sadducees. Eventually a war with Rome would be fought [By the way- Josephus- the famous 1st century historian- fought on the side of the Jews in the war- and after Jerusalem was sacked in A.D. 70- he went to Rome and wrote his great works- thinking he would make a case for the Jewish people with the Romans. This is why we have his works today- which are very valuable to scholars]. NOTE- In time I’ll try and cover how we ‘got our bibles’ [called the Canon- meaning Rule/ Measurement]. Frankly- there is a lot of confusion in the general public about conspiracies [like the Catholic Church had some type of plot to keep certain books out]. Or stories about how the Church taught Mary Magdalene was a prostitute so they could discredit her. Actually- we read in the gospels that Jesus cast out ‘spirits’ from a woman who was probably living this type of life- And Jesus had a ministry to the down and out- it is indeed possible that Mary was one of these women- And if true- it would not demean her in any way- That’s how this tradition more than likely developed- But- we don’t know for sure. So a few years back the Church officially said ‘we don’t know’. Ok- Plot? [parts] VERSES- Acts 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, Acts 5:2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. Acts 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Acts 5:4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. Acts 5:5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. Acts 5:6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. Acts 5:7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. Acts 5:8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Acts 5:9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Acts 5:10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. Acts 5:11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things. Acts 5:12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch. Acts 5:13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them. Acts 5:14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.) Acts 5:15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. Acts 5:16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one. Acts 5:17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, Acts 5:18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison. Acts 5:19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Acts 5:20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. Acts 5:21 And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. Acts 5:22 But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned and told, Acts 5:23 Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within. Acts 5:24 Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow. Acts 5:25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. Acts 5:26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. Acts 5:27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Acts 5:28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. Acts 5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Acts 5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. Acts 5:33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them. Acts 5:34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space; Acts 5:35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. Acts 5:36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. Acts 5:37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. Acts 5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: Acts 5:39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. Acts 5:40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Acts 5:41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. Matthew 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Luke 12:1 In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations LATE NOTE- I made the video- post- the other day. As I type this- the news broke that there were indeed trump associates [campaign folk] who were ‘tapped’. Now- to some this is a surprise- even in the media [though they are now saying ‘But Obama did not do it’!]. Why should it no be a surprise? Because the media already ‘leaked’ this fact. How? The reason General Flynn stepped down- was because the media reported on an actual fact- that he had contact with the Russians- and they knew this because our intelligence agencies leaked the fact that they had actual surveillance on it. Which is simply the fact they did it- at least with Flynn. It’s also possible that they actually ‘surveilled’ Trump. Ok- if this is true [which today some reports in the media say it is] then Trump was partiality right. I only get into this issue to simply show how we are manipulated. For instance- if the congressional committee now has actual evidence that Trump- an/or- his team were ‘surveilled’ then that’s the opposite of what the media has been reporting. When director Comey [FBI] says ‘I have not seen any evidence’ that’s actually political speak- meaning- it might be there- but I personally have not ‘seen it’. Now- I actually do not care about it- but this is a classic example of media manipulation. Months ago- the media told us themselves- that Trump associates were picked up thru surveillance [Flynn]. Probably thru FISA warrants on Russians. But the head of the committee looking at it [Nunes] said today that some of what he has now seen seems to show that some of the surveillance had nothing to do with Russia- and it ‘puzzles’ him. Why should it ‘puzzle’ anyone to think that intelligence people [CIA- FBI] could ‘do wrong’? Why should it puzzle anyone that judges could do ‘wrong things’? Why should anyone that reads/watches the news be surprised that Trump associates were possibly ‘wire tapped’? Because the media themselves broke the story- when they reported the leaks from the intelligence agencies months ago- that told us this. The New York Times ran an article a few weeks ago that said people who work for the intelligence agencies gathered- and purposefully leaked information about this. Yes- the New York Times reported this. The main story is this- if in fact former intelligence people both gathered- and leaked information on American citizens- info they obtained- even if it was ‘incidental’- that is a crime. There are now questions about ‘incidental’- meaning- did people basically target Trump and his campaign – because they had the power to do so? It’s possible that they did. Do our intelligence people ever lie about this? Yes- James Clapper lied to congress- in public about NSA data collection. Yes- he lied- to congress- under oath. How do we know this? Because he later admitted it. Part of ‘intelligence’ involves the collecting of data- secretly. And part of those who collect it- lie. Because that’s part of so called ‘intelligence’ [I’m referring to our agencies]. We find corruption in all humans- whether they be presidents- media- Republicans- Democrats- it’s in ‘their nature’. I see the ‘spin’- I just heard Susan Rice say ‘to my knowledge no ORDERS were ever given to do this’ [ break the law]. Of course- no ORDERS are ever given [officially]. In the end- there probably were indeed former ‘Obama’ people- working for the agencies- that did wrong- illegal stuff. That’s what trump said at the start. Politics is brutal- and to think that intelligence officials would never lie about it- Well just ask James Clapper- he was the ‘head’- and he lied- to congress. As I watch the evening news [3-22-17] The ‘new spin’ is ‘How dare the chairman [Nunes] reveal this to Trump’- Huh? Yes- the story is not ‘wow- we found out that Trump- and his people were surveilled’. No- the story is ‘Trump is in collusion with the republican chairman of the committee- yes- because the chairman told Trump about the surveillance that was collected on him- incidentally’. The spin never stops. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/22/trump-team-communications-captured-by-intelligence-community-surveillance-nunes-says.html http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/22/politics/devin-nunes-trump-communications/ http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/devin-nunes-donald-trump-surveillance-obama-236366 http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg POSTED BY CCOUTREACH87 ⋅ OCTOBER 26, 2016 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT JOHN 20 Romans 4:23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; Romans 4:24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Romans 4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. https://youtu.be/2Xsj00Qhd8g John 20 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/10-20-16-john-20.zip ON VIDEO- .Who was the 1st witness? .Why? .Peter’s 2nd chance .Why did Thomas doubt? .My Father AND Your Father .The car inspection- and Tattoo NEW- Mary is the 1st witness of the resurrected Christ- significance? For those who doubt the bible- Christians use arguments for the Christian faith- we call this Apologetics. In the 1st century- the testimony of women was not valid in official documents. Sad- but true. Now- if John were making up a story about Jesus- and he wanted everyone to believe it. He would never say Mary Magdalene was the 1st witness- because right off the bat- no one would believe it. So- why did John say this? Because it was true- see? Ok- we also have the occurrence of Thomas doubting that the other disciples saw Jesus. Jesus appeared to them first- Thomas was absent. So- they tell Thomas- and he says ‘unless I see the wounds- and touch them- I won’t believe’. Jesus shows up a week later- and tells the doubter ‘go ahead- touch them’. John is combating Docetism- an early belief that Jesus was simply a phantom- and he was not really raised from the dead [or really born a man]. So- the account is true- and yes- God controlled the situation in a way that we have the actual record- that Jesus was indeed really- physically- raised [‘go ahead- touch me’]. At the end of the account- Jesus sends his men out- Remember- they are looking at him- wounds evident on his Body- They saw his passion- the things he went thru- and he says ‘Just like the Father sent me- I send you’. Yes- they were aware of the cost- they realized they would have a tough road ahead. All of the apostles get martyred- accept for John. He got boiled in Oil- it didn’t kill him- and he was banned to the Ilse of Patmos- He gave us his visionary experience of the triumphant Christ- in his apocalyptic work- Called the book of Revelation. One of the great visons John had on the Ilse- Was a lamb- as it had been slain- now standing as a victor and the glorious head of the church. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. Rev. 5:6 Amen. PAST LINKS [verses below] HISTORY OF EVERYTHING- IN 1 HOUR And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. … 2nd Thes. 2:10-13 https://youtu.be/uwDi82SICXo History of everything in 1 hour [part 1] https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/6-16-16-history-of-everything.zip ON VIDEO- .Did my ‘prophecy’ come true? Watch and see .They said a rocket hit the plane .What did Patience say? .Update on detention center .Bishop Mulvey .I was right about Devon Anderson- planned parenthood- the judge said she broke the law .Where did the animals come from? .Is the story true? Mesopotamia .Palestine .Aristotle .They were looking for the ‘LOGOS’ .Ptolemy .Copernicus .Cosmology .Scientific/Industrial revolution .Sir Ramsey and documentary evidence .Luke/Acts as historical evidence .Phenomenological language .Aquinas- Anselm and Augustine .Richard Dawkins alien creator .Einstein and the big bang .C.S. Lewis .Everything is proof of God MY LINKS- https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/overview-of-philosophy/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/protestant-reformation-luther/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/qm/ PAST POSTS- [verses and news links below] 1895- BUYER BEWARE! We bought the Rocu thing the other day. That’s the device that lets you watch movies on line. You get a lot of real good stuff- I was surprised. I was also surprised to see all the documentaries about religion and Christianity. The ones from Netflix looked interesting- so I watched a couple. Yikes!! All of the ones I saw were done from a skeptic’s point of view. Now- as someone who writes on apologetics [the defense of the faith] I am familiar with these arguments against the faith. But- if you are not familiar- these doc’s will shake your faith- for sure. Why? They are done from the perspective that Christianity basically copied the Greek myths of God and religion- they focus on the ‘similarities’ between Christianity and Greek [and other cultures] religions. Okay- what was wrong- or deceptive? First- this entire school of thought was popularized in the 19th century- from the Christian universities in Germany. Yes- some good men- well meaning men [others not so good! Freud- etc] believed that in order for the faith to survive in this ‘brave new world’ [modernity- and the whole humanistic advance of man since the enlightenment]. That they had to re-fashion the faith and sort of bring it up to date with the times. Men like Rudolph Bultman introduced the idea of ‘de mythologizing’ the bible. So- these guys rejected all the supernatural elements of the bible- no more miracles- angels- demons- or resurrection! Many people embraced this ‘new’ bold approach to the faith- and basically became theological liberals. One of the reasons some of these men went down this road were covered in the above documentaries. Okay- as I watched a couple of them- they had similar themes- and were also wrong in the same way. They compared about 25 other religious myths- from other cultures- and they said these other religious myths all had a savior- a son of god- who had 12 disciples. They said this Lamb of God died- was buried- and on the 3rd day rose again. They said he did miracles- was born of a virgin- was called Lord and savior. And they made it sound like this ‘story’- in complete form- was repeated many times before the Christians ‘picked it up’. Wow- double wow. Why are these documentaries dangerous? First- I actually have read/studied in this field. The similarities that they described in the doc’s were way overdone- they simply are not true. That’s the first problem. But- they did mix in some truth- with the false stuff. Both of the documentaries I saw [it seems like there is one person- producer- behind the 2 I saw] did give an actual quote from a 2nd century Christian leader- Justin Martyr. The quote is indeed real- Justin is known as one of the first Apologists of the church. He defended the faith during a time when many enemies of the faith slandered the religion. In one defense [out of many] he said that those who reject Christianity because we believe that a Divine son rose from the dead- that others also held the same type of belief in the pagan world. He was referring to the god Jupiter and the stories that surround those who believed in him. You also do find this same type of thing in the myth of Hercules. Okay- so the skeptic was right then? No. In the documentary- the skeptic actually gives the quote from Justin- and Justin says that just because these similarities did exist in other religions- before Christ- that this in no way means the Christian faith is false. How so? Justin said it was possible for satan to have ‘imitated’ what was really going to happen. The skeptic mocked this argument from Justin- and went on to challenge the faith. A few things. First- it is possible that Justin was right. 2nd. This whole line of attack is not new [unless you never heard of it before- which is why I’m kinda surprised that Netflix has them in their lineup]. It goes all the way back to the writings of Gilgamesh. These are writings that also have similarities to the things we find in the bible- yet they are not coming from the Christian perspective. They contain a story about a flood [like the one in Genesis]. So- over time- skeptics have said ‘see- the bible must have copied these flood stories- because we find them in other cultures’. I actually covered this before. Let me give you the short version. We- as Christians- do indeed believe the story of Noah [the flood]. Some debate whether it was a global event or local- I don’t want to get into that now. But- if there was a huge event- say like a 911 plane attack on the world trade center. Would you not expect to find that event- recorded in more than one culture? Of course you would. So the fact that other cultures have a flood event recorded too- this does not mean the Christians plagiarized the flood- no- it would be evidence that the flood really did happen. See? Now- the similarities between a divine son who rose from the dead. First- there ARE NOT 25 or so stories like this- with 12 disciples- raised on the 3rd day- and so on. The producer of the doc was simply mislead- or outright lying. 2nd. We must remember that anything we find in Greek culture- which predated Christian ‘culture’ was also predated by Jewish culture. That is to say that the story of Judaism comes before the Greek philosophers. Are there any themes in the Jewish religion that speak about a Messiah who would come- die- and be the Messiah of all mankind? Yes! So- you could argue that any similarities between Greek myth- and Christianity- are actually ‘copies’ taken from the Old Testament story. That is- God himself gave us clues about the story of redemption- and these clues might have very well ‘seeped’ into the Greek culture- before Christ- and that’s why you might find similarities between the 2. See? Okay- I could go on- but I think I made the point. I was not mad that these documentaries were on net flix. But I saw the danger in presenting one side like this- without giving the other view [which I just gave]. All in all- the Christian faith has more historical backing [like the many thousands of bible manuscripts that survived the early days] than any other religion or writings of any kind. The documentaries made a couple of good points- things that were indeed true- but they had way too much mis information in them to be playing on such a huge venue. Buyer [or watcher] beware! http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read ATHEISM- APOLOGETICS [links added- long version] https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/18/history-of-everything-1/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/history-of-everything-2/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/qm/ MY RADIO LINKS- http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-7R Kant, Hume, Sartre http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-6E Apologetics- Kant, Hume http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-62 Apologetics http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-6F DaVinci code http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-7Q Something from nothing- Quantum Leap http://wp.me/a4V5qQ-7O Multiverse MY VIDEOS https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/10-18-15-nietzsches-twilight-of-the-idols.zip https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/10-28-15-jean-paul-sartre.zip On today’s video- I attempted the impossible- to tell the story of ‘everything’ in 1 hour. Ok I bit off more than I could chew. It took 2 hours [the next video ‘history of the world- part 2’ will finish it]. But- to sum up today’s video. Is the biblical account of creation accurate? We read that God made everything- by speaking. Is this even possible- or some silly fable? Over the history of time we read the story of the Jewish people- their trials and failures. That’s the majority of the history of the Old Testament. They believed the story in Genesis- while others questioned whether or not all things actually had a beginning point. In time- we see the rise of the Greek philosophers- during what we call the intertestamental period [the 400 years between Malachi and Matthew]. These thinkers were looking for the answer to these questions- and the Greek word they used to describe this answer- was LOGOS- which is the Geek word- for WORD. Then we had the appearing of Christ in the 1st century- and the apostle John calls him the LOGOS. Hmm? That’s the same word that the Greeks were looking for- John says ‘we have found him’. Remember- this is Jesus Christ- the living Word. Ok- over time we had the great movements of history- the Renaissance- the Reformation- the Enlightenment- the scientific revolution- the industrial revolution. Most scientists believed that all creation was eternal- so- for them- the answer to ‘everything’ was- it was always there. In the 20th century we had the great breakthroughs of Einstein- and we call one of them the Big Bang theory- meaning- all things did not always exist. They had a beginning point- which we call the point of singularity. Ahh- now we are back to ‘where did it all come from- if at the start- there was nothing’. Yes- ‘In the beginning God spoke’. So- at the end of the story- of everything- we find the answer at the beginning. In the beginning God spoke-Yes- the early followers of Jesus called him by this name- THE WORD. And science and logic show us that all events need a cause [even the ‘event’ of creation]. So- this history of the world- recorded in the scripture- was true all along! Surprised? 1946 JEWS TEACHING SCIENCE- WHAT IS THIS? I want to try and cover a little bit more on Einstein. But just a few quick notes. The last few days- as I have watched some of the post election coverage- I find it funny how the ‘4th estate’ has tried to rise above their own ignorance. This past year- as I have both read- viewed- listened to many media sources- all sides of the various debates that go on in the country. There was a conscious decision made- by some on the left- to ‘suppress the vote’. What? I thought it was the Repubs that were trying to do this? Yes- there were efforts made- whether noble or not- to suppress some of the minority vote [noble – some say they were just trying to stop voter fraud- others said they were trying to suppress the minority vote]. But- how did the left do this? Once again- yes- hailing from the great state of N.J. [ the headquarters of many media outlets- it is sad that the most grievous offenders come from my hometown area! – Fort Lee- Secaucus- spots right where I grew up]. MSNBC spent an entire year mocking the faith of Romney. I saw Martin Bashir- actually say- on air- that Christians should not vote for Romney because he denies the Trinity. Can you imagine him saying this about a Muslim candidate? Chris Matthews- he spoke about Romney and his religion as weird- a cult- and other interesting terms [Matthews says he was taken out of context- but simply using the word accomplishes the task]. Now- after a year of this- it is true that some White evangelicals [their target audience of suppression] did indeed not vote for Romney. In media lingo they call this ‘failed to get out his base- the White vote’. Mission accomplished. They see what they did as a noble cause- a good thing. When you convince yourself that those who don’t embrace your ideas are racist nuts- then it justifies this double standard. There was an article on Hillary Clinton seeing the Broadway play the Book of Mormon [yeah- Bloomberg manages to keep the lights on Broadway on- but watch out if you’re from Staten island or the Rockaway’s!] When she came out of the theater she said it was so funny- she couldn’t stop laughing. What was she laughing at? The play is an open mockery of the Mormon faith. Yet- this same state dept official- she was outraged over the release of some on line movie clip that depicted the prophet Muhammad in a negative light. They just sentenced the maker of the movie to a year in jail- over some probation thing. Yes- that’s the double standard of the media- politicians- it is quite obvious. Okay- Einstein. As I read a few chapters every few days- I want to comment on the important- relevant stuff. One of them being the very word Relativity. Now- I am tempted to go back and review all the posts we did on physics [you long time blog readers might remember?]. But this book is not a physics book per se’- but a biography. Yet a quick review might help. Einstein became famous for a few things- most of us know the famous equation E=mc2. Simply a conversion of mass into energy formula- it works for all things- not just Nuclear. His theory of Relativity shook up the world of physics- and Einstein is indeed the father of what we call modern physics [and Quantum theory]. Okay- what he did was he took the centuries old ideas of Newton [the father of classical physics] and he said that time and space were not absolutes. That’s is- that depending on the observer [and his speed] time actually changes. Some in the scientific community could not fathom what he was saying. The book has actual headlines from the NY times- they openly doubted some of Einstein’s work I remember reading this years ago- but this time I saw the real headlines. They said stuff like ‘what is this new theory- that space might be limited- this defies the actual definition of space’. Now- it would take too long to tell you what they were covering- but it is one of the various theories of the universe. In actuality- the times might have been right in this one case [it’s a theory that the universe is curved- has no detectable edge- if so- you can than argue for an infinite universe in a closed space- because there is no edge- or end]. As a side note- logically- the times was correct. Just because you can’t find a ‘sharp edge’ to a thing- that does not mean the thing is ‘endless’. I covered this years ago in our apologetics posts- it was interesting to have re –read this from this author [Isaacson]. He is a good author- and explains stuff well. Okay what was the other stuff that some objected to? Some associated- wrongly- the theory of Relativity- with the modernist philosophy called Relativism. Relativism [remember the philosophy stuff?] said that there was really nothing as objective truth- that what you see might be just as true as what someone else sees. You might both be looking at the same thing [morally- murder- etc.] yet to one it might be wrong- to the other- right. This idea- Relativism- was strongly rejected by many philosophers- especially those with a Christians/Theist background. Even today this is one of the major debates going on in the world of the philosophy. But- some confused what Einstein was saying- and they thought [or used it] to back up the ‘moral’ philosophy of Relativism. This was a mistake. Einstein himself- as I mentioned in an earlier post- was not a relativist at all- that is when speaking about moral absolutes. So some began to associate him- as one of the new ‘Jew’ scientists- who were introducing dangerous doctrines to the world. Yes- some of the objectors to Einstein objected on the basis of this new ‘Jewish science’ that was breaking away from the moors of Christian science- whose father was Isaac Newton. See how both anti Semitism- and religious belief played a role in this? I’ll end with a quote from a famous man of the time- an up and coming politician- I mean he could awe his audience like no other. Obama- Clinton- even the great communicator- Reagan- were no match for this man when it came to giving a speech. He said ‘Science- once our greatest pride- is today being taught by Hebrews’. Who said this? The future leader of Germany- Adolph Hitler. http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [Facebook] – I have posted lots. 1942 POLITICS AND EINSTEIN Let’s start with the big story of the day. The election. Just a few things before I get back to Einstein. As I have followed the news on this- over the past few weeks there has been some question on whether or not the media have manipulated any of the numbers. How? Going in to today’s election- if the media are correct- Obama will no doubt win. Why? They have shown polls that have the president winning in enough states [battle ground states] that he should win [parts] https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/romans-updated-2015/ JOHNS GOSPEL LINKS- https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/14/amos-5/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/15/jesus-christ/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/17/father-abraham/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/21/the-flood/ John 3 https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/25/the-well-john-4/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/06/30/john-5/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/05/john-6/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/09/john-7/ https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/8-10-15-john-14.zip https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/16/john-8/ https://youtu.be/f8VpxlYM_kU John 8- ‘who the Son sets free’ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/25/john-9/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/07/31/john-10/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/05/john-11-the-8th-sign/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/10/i-found-a-verse/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/13/john-12/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/19/samuel-john-hebrews-review/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/22/john-13/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/08/26/john-14/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/09/04/john-15/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/09/15/john-16/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/09/24/john-17/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/10/04/john-18/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/2016/10/18/john-19/ I give an example on recovery/relapse on today’s video- here’s my teaching- https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/christian-recovery-from-addiction-long-version/ VERSES- For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Rom.5:10 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. Col. 1:18 John 20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. John 20:2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the LORD out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. John 20:3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. John 20:4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. John 20:5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. John 20:6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, John 20:7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. John 20:8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. John 20:9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. John 20:10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. John 20:11 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, John 20:12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. John 20:13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my LORD, and I know not where they have laid him. John 20:14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. John 20:15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. John 20:16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. John 20:18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the LORD, and that he had spoken these things unto her. John 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. John 20:20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD. John 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: John 20:23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. John 20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the LORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. John 20:26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. John 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. John 20:28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God. John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. John 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Ps.16:10 22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. 25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. 29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. 32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. Acts 2 55 And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them. 56 But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him. 57 And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. 58 And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. 59 And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilaean. 60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew. 61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. 62 And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. Luke 1Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 1Corinthians 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 1Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 1Corinthians 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2dn Cor. 5:21 http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg HEBREWS 10-13 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/5-17-15-aristotle-and-the-city-of-god-real-windy.zip END NOTES OF POST- Masada. Hadrian. Judaism in transition. Did they ‘move on’ ? Who was Elazar ben Yair? End notes of chapter- IS THERE MEANING TO THE ACTUAL ORDER OF BIBLE VERSES? HOW DID THE SPIRIT ‘TESTIFY’ TO THE FINAL SACRIFICE? WHY DOES THE WRITER CONTINUE TO SAY THE NEW COVENANT IS HARSHER? CHAPTER 10: ‘For the law having a SHADOW of good things to come, AND NOT the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? Because that the worshipers once purged should have no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year’. Paul shows how the simple fact of ongoing sacrifices in and of itself testifies of the insufficiency of the law. The on going sacrifices were a reminder that the peoples sins were still there. If the sacrifices really worked, then why do it over and over again every year? He will contrast this with the singular sacrifice of Christ. The fact that Jesus did it once shows the superiority of his sacrifice over the law. ‘Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. THEN SAID HE, lo, I come to do thy will O God. ABOVE WHEN HE SAID sacrifice and offering…THEN HE SAID, lo, I come to do thy will O God. He taketh away the first that he may establish the second’ Here Paul uses the actual order of the verses in Psalms to prove that the Old law will pass away and a New covenant will replace it. The fact that David [Psalms] says ‘sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared for me’ in this order shows that God always planned on taking away the sacrificial system and replacing it with Christ [or fulfilling it!] So even in the simple prophetic order of these statements Paul sees the Old law passing away and a new one being instituted. Wow again! ‘By the which will we are sanctified thru the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every high priest STANDETH daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, SAT DOWN on the right hand of God’ The comparison here is that the priests under the law stood, showing their sacrifices were never sufficient, they could never say ‘it is finished’. The fact that they stood while offering sacrifices showed the incompleteness of the system. Jesus sat down. This showed that his sacrifice was once and for all. Now, no where does scripture teach this concept between ‘sitting and standing’. Where does Paul get this stuff from? From ‘revelation’, that is God is supernaturally showing this stuff to Paul as he writes. This is the prophetic element of scripture. While we don’t ‘write scripture’ any more today, there are still lots of hidden meanings that we don’t fully see yet. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to ‘bring to our remembrance all the things that Jesus taught us’ [also all the things about Jesus!] So when you read the Old Testament, look for Jesus! He is there in more ways than you realize. ‘For by ONE offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us [of what? Of the singularity of Christ’s offering. The fact that the Holy Spirit thru Jeremiah prophesied that God would never remember our sins any more speaks to the truth of the one offering of Christ, we will read ‘if there is no more remembrance, then there is no more sacrifice’] this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin’. Do you see the point Paul is making? It is common for preachers and Christians to read these letters and to simply glean practical truths from them. That’s OK. But like I said in the introduction, when you see these things in context, then you can still make practical application, plus you are seeing the relevance behind the teaching. The practical part of this is ‘wow, God will not bring my sins back up into remembrance before his face!’ Now that’s practical! ‘Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest [true holy place, that is Gods presence in the throne room] by the BLOOD OF JESUS, by a new and living way[ the early Christians were at times called ‘the way’] which he hath consecrated for us, thru the veil, that is to say his flesh’ We now have total access to the Father thru the Son. This is the ONLY WAY man can have this access! It is common today to teach a type of pluralism that says ‘all religions will eventually lead us to God’ some will lead straight to hell! Sorry. The only way to the Father is thru the Son. God ordained it to be so. Don’t fight over it, God says ‘come freely’ those who don’t come, they will never GET THERE! Jesus flesh is called the ‘veil’. During the crucifixion the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom. Most believers know the significance of this. I would submit to you that when the scripture says ‘the veil was ripped’ that it was not only speaking of the actual veil that was in the temple on that day, but it was also prophetically speaking of the true veil, Jesus Body, that was being torn apart on the Cross. The veil of the temple not only restricted access for man coming to God, but it also separated God from the true community of people. The tearing of the veil [Jesus body] not only allowed man to have access to Gods presence in heaven, but it also opened the door for the Spirit of God to tabernacle with men on the day of Pentecost. After the tearing of Jesus flesh [which Jesus is also called the door] it is like a door opened, both letting man into the presence of God, as well as ‘letting’ God tabernacle with men [note- Jesus ‘Emmanuel’ was ‘God with us’ so in a sense God was already tabernacling among men thru Christ, but at Pentecost God ‘spread’ this ‘tabernacling’ to a community with worldwide potential, as Christians would increase thru out the ages, so would Gods presence increase as he dwells in men. Thus the Kingdom starts small, like a little leaven, and before you know it the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord. It culminates at the second coming of Christ]. ‘And having an high priest over the house of God [remember, even though in Hebrews Paul speaks of heaven itself as the tabernacle, yet he also told the Jews ‘who’s house are we, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end’] let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water [baptism]. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering [for he is faithful that promised] and let us provoke one another to love and good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another…’ A few things here. First, Paul is exhorting them to ‘get washed in pure water’ [baptism]. Remember, some of the recipients of this letter were believing in the message as Paul preached it as he traveled thru their cities, others were still on the edge. In this chapter it seems as if he is saying ‘some of you who have heard and seen all of these things, it’s time to make the decision to go all the way. Others have made a good profession, you too need to stick with the message’. Now, to those who would ‘revert’ back to the law, after they ‘received’ the truth, Paul says there is only judgment down the road. Even though they heard and the message reached them. Even though Paul presents the gospel in a way that says ‘you are all sanctified’ yet there was always the danger of apostasy. Those who believe you can lose your salvation [Arminians] take these verses and say ‘see, those who were once sanctified, if they sin, they face judgment’. I have actually viewed this chapter in different ways in the past. I never saw it as the Arminians, but I have debated over whether or not Paul was saying ‘now that you are believers, don’t think you can get away with sin, remember there is only one sacrifice, if you keep sinning God will judge you’ [not hell, but chastening]. But I have come to view it more along the lines of ‘those of you who are still in transition, you have made a good profession, Jesus blood has sanctified everyone [in a sense] so if you continue to sin [go back to the old system that taught that continual sin was part of the plan. Remember, the law made provision for continual sinning. This worldview of sin and judgment was unique to the Jewish community of the day. It really should have been easier to convert Israel, they already had a ‘Jewish’ world view. But one of the dangers of this world view was they had provision for ongoing sin. The idea of ‘continuing to sin’ was engrained in their culture. Paul is warning them that in Christ the fact that there is only one sacrifice means you cant still live with the worldview of ‘I will continue to sin’] In essence Paul seems to be saying ‘if you continue to sin, and think that the Cross is like the old system, then you are fooling yourselves. The fact that the Cross happened only once means that it is sufficient to truly cleanse you once and for all from your sin’ to those who wanted to keep sinning, because it was fun, Paul says ‘watch out, judgment awaits’. So in keeping with what I showed you in chapter 6, I see this chapter continuing to appeal to Jews, some who have even made an initial profession, but he still had to warn them about going back to their old way of continuing to sin. Remember, there were many who were preaching that the law was still necessary for salvation, Paul is telling them it isn’t. ‘For if we sin willfully [something that was expected under the law, that’s why they had all the sacrifices!] after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses law died without mercy under 2 or 3 witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?’ Once again Paul contrasts the severity of the law to the New Covenant. Remember how earlier Paul showed that those who ‘neglect so great a salvation’ have more to worry about than those who rejected ‘the word of angels’ [law] Here Paul again says ‘Those who disrespected the old system died without mercy, how much worse shall it be for those who disrespect the blood of the everlasting covenant’ I see this being directed at those who never fully convert to Christ. While Gods discipline is also harsh on believers who continue to live in rebellion [Corinthians] this language is never used of believers. So Paul is saying ‘beware, if you decide to walk away from all that has been presented to you, you will bear a much harsher punishment than those who sinned under the law’. What was the punishment of those who sinned under law? They died. What is the punishment of those who reject so great salvation? Eternal judgment. Let me add a note about ‘not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together’. It is common to use this verse to defend ‘Sunday church’ a lot of times it is used in this way to fight against the house church movement. What is the context here? The Jews already met together regularly before they believed in Christ. They had both temple and synagogue. Paul is simply saying ‘after you convert, keep getting together’ this is not a verse for defending Sunday church! [It is OK to go to church on Sunday]. ‘For we know him that hath said, vengeance belongeth unto me…the Lord shall judge his people’ In context, remember how I already showed you that ‘his people’ and ‘holy brethren’ and other terms like this in Hebrews can be speaking of 1st century Israel in transition? They were still considered ‘his people’ at the time the gospel was presented to them. Ultimately when they rejected Christ they would lose that designation, but many of the terms in this letter speak to Israel this way. So ‘his people’ can most definitely describe believers. But in context in this letter it more than likely is saying ‘don’t forget Israel, God does judge his people. So don’t think that your natural heritage of ‘being his people’ will get you out of the crunch this time!’ The Jews were always appealing to their privileged position with God ‘we have Abraham as our father’ they would always appeal to their ‘pure’ orthodox heritage, here Paul says ‘God will judge all of us based on what we do with his Son, even ‘his people’! ‘For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods’ many of the Jews who were embracing Paul’s message did suffer persecution. Historically we know many of them were plundered. They lost their goods! It’s funny, Paul doesn’t say ‘get back what the enemy stole from you’ [though you can!] but he says ‘don’t worry about the loss of your wealth and stuff, you have a better inheritance of eternal things in heaven’. Most modern preaching doesn’t even think about this. We are so consumed with preaching a gospel that says ‘come to Jesus and you will be rich’ that we never even give a second thought to these verses. We will read in the next chapter how Moses ‘forsook the pleasures of Egypt so he could bear reproach with Gods people’. Now I know that when they fled God gave ‘the treasures back’ but the point was Moses went thru a period of leaving all of it behind for a higher calling. Don’t always tell people [to you preachers!] that the wealth of the world is waiting at your doorstep if you receive Christ. They might be on the verge of ‘getting their goods spoiled’ for a season knowing that in heaven they have a better and enduring substance. ‘NOW THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him’. In the original bible you didn’t have chapter divisions. Sometimes the divisions interfere with the meaning of the text. It is important to see that right before Hebrews 11, Paul makes this famous statement on justification by faith! He will go into chapter 11 with this theme in mind. We often read chapter 11 as believers and see the great stories in it of the heroes of the faith, but this is not the primary reason for the chapter. The main reason is for Paul to make the case of law versus grace. He has just spent 10 chapters explaining the superiority of grace over law. Now he will show Israel that all of the great heroes of the faith PLEASED GOD BY FAITH! He will be laying out a grand overview of the great Old Testament figures and be saying THEY ALL RECEIVED A GOOD REPORT [JUSTIFIED] BY FAITH. It is real important for you to see this as we head into the chapter. When you read it with this in mind, then you begin to focus in on the statements of faith in a different way. While chapter 11 will give all believers a great boost in faith, the primary reason behind it is to say to Israel ‘look, all of our great forefathers [and fore mothers!] pleased God by faith, not the works of the law. Some of them were even law breakers! [Rahab, Samson] yet they were JUSTIFED [pleased God] by faith!’ Well, lets get into the chapter before I preach the whole thing right here. END NOTES- IS THERE MEANING TO THE ACTUAL ORDER OF BIBLE VERSES? HOW DID THE SPIRIT ‘TESTIFY’ TO THE FINAL SACRIFICE? WHY DOES THE WRITER CONTINUE TO SAY THE NEW COVENANT IS HARSHER? If the sacrifices under the law were sufficient- then why did the priests keep offering them? The writer says that’s proof they ‘didn’t really work’. But Jesus offered himself once- for all- and that shows us that his death was the final one. He quotes Psalms 40- and once again- like we saw earlier- he sees the actual order of the verses in this Psalm as having meaning. ‘Sacrifice and offering you do not want’ first ‘But a body you have prepared for me’ second. He then says ‘see- God took away the first’ [meaning the Old Law covenant is ending] ‘Then- he established the 2nd’ [meaning the Body of Christ being offered]. He then says ‘the Holy Spirit also testifies to this” How? He quotes Jeremiah 31- ‘I will make a new deal with the people- not like the old one- in this deal [covenant] I will not REMEMBER their sins any more’- See? If God had some new covenant- in which HE would not remember the sins of the people- that shows that in the new deal- there would be no more sacrifices. Now- he exhorts the reader ‘let us have faith- draw near to God with a clear conscience- having our bodies WASHED WITH PURE WATER’. Huh? See- this is an exhortation to COME INTO this covenant- he’s saying ‘believe- and be baptized’. This letter is not speaking to ALREADY BAPTIZED PERSONS. We also see- once again- the writer saying that this New Covenant is MUCH HARSHER than the Old. ‘If those under the law disobeyed- and died under 2 or 3 witnesses- how much worse will it be for those who have the light [thru their Old Law- Christ was indeed in there- thru types and images] and reject it.’ ‘for if we/you continue to sin- after having these truths revealed- there is no more sacrifice left- but a fearful waiting for judgment’. In time I’ll develop this more- but in the New Testament letters- written to the Gentile churches- you don’t read stuff like this. You do see God judging his people [in those letters- meaning Christians]. But you don’t see the New Covenant compared to the Old Covenant in this way- saying ‘it’s much harsher than the old’. But- to those outside of the covenant- to the ‘unbaptized- unbeliever’ then yes- this warning holds true. The theme thru out Hebrews is ‘if the first century Jew does not BELIEVE in Christ as the Messiah- then he in effect does disgrace to the Blood of Jesus’- He will not find repentance any more [under the old system]- And he will face a stricter punishment then those who rebelled under the law- [They died physically- but in this new covenant- if you reject Christ- you suffer spiritual death- and the ultimate judgment of God]. One last note- as we study the letters of the New Testament down the road- we see a theme- yes- about how we should view earthly riches/wealth. Here we read ‘you suffered the loss of your earthly goods- knowing that in heaven you have a more enduring substance’. The theme is never ‘claim your covenant rights to wealth’. But ‘the things in this life- material wealth- are nothing to be compared to the spiritual riches we have in Christ’. And yes- this is true. Psalm 40:6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Psalm 40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, Psalm 40:8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Jeremiah 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: Jeremiah 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. Jeremiah 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. CHAPTER 11: [see commentary on Acts 21] END NOTES- JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. TORTURED- BY FAITH? REJECTED MONEY- BY FAITH? THEY ALL WAITED FOR THE CITY- THE CHURCH. ‘Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, FOR BY IT THE ELDERS OBTAINED A GOOD REPORT [JUSTIFIED]’ This is the key verse to the chapter. Paul will go on to prove that all the Old Testament figures that ‘pleased God’ did it by faith, and not by works! ‘Through faith WE UNDERSTAND that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear’ Faith is not ‘blind’. It informs and gives understanding. This understanding is real! Let me show you what I mean. All of the universe and creation had a beginning point. Science did not always know or believe this. Today science teaches this. It is called ‘the point of singularity/density’. Science has traced back the origins of all things and has found scientific evidence to prove that all things had a ‘beginning point’. Now if you were to ask science ‘what did you have right before the beginning point’? They are stumped. Some of course believe in God and will boldly proclaim him at this point. To the others they can not answer this question. Why? Because they realize, thru science, that matter is not infinite. Some have theorized that either all things always existed [which science has now disproved] or that at one point nothing existed [which science also teaches that if this were true then you would have nothing today. You can not get something from nothing!] So all true science has gone back to this ‘point of singularity’ and can not see what is right before ‘the point’. The Christian ‘sees’ God at this point! He ‘understands’ that by necessity there has to have been something that existed before creation, science teaches this. This something can not have been created also, because then where did the ‘being’ who created ‘it’ come from? So science teaches us that whoever got the ball rolling [Saint Thomas Aquinas calls this the ‘prime mover’] had to have been preexistent/ self existent in order to have done it. And we know that creation couldn’t have done it by itself, so therefore all reasoning and understanding leave us at the philosophical point of ‘there had to have been something/someone who existed forever in order for anything to be today’. So now you see how ‘by faith we understand that all things that now exist were brought into existence by someone who we can not see’. FAITH UNDERSTANDS! As we go thru the rest of this chapter I want you to focus in on all the references of justification by faith. You will be surprised [I think?] on how many examples Paul gives to Israel from their own history [his too!] on God justifying people by faith. I will also try and show you [if I remember] how this chapter links the division between Paul’s epistles to the gentiles [Romans, Galatians] with James letter to the Jews. James was one of the lead Apostles at Jerusalem [Acts 15] and the Judaizers who were always accusing Paul of preaching grace in a way that justified sin, they came out of Jerusalem. James and Paul were rivals in a sense. James had the difficult job of overseeing the Church at Jerusalem, who had all the Pharisees who believed, while Paul was preaching this radical message of grace. This is why James’s letter [book of James] focused so much on faith and works. James was seeing the Genesis 22 account of Abraham’s justification when he offered Isaac on the altar. James will say ‘see how Abraham was justified by his works’. While in Paul’s letters he focuses on the Genesis 15 account of Abraham believing God and being made righteous. James was not contradicting Paul; he was showing the actual outcome of the life of a person who was previously justified by faith. James was saying ‘When God made Abraham righteous [Gen 15] he later actually became what God made him!’ [Gen. 22]. Now when Abraham would later do righteous things, he only did them because he previously had faith in Gods promise. But the fact still remains that when Abraham did a righteous act, God still justified him [in a sense, God has the prerogative to say ‘good job son, I am pleased with you’ so this can be described as an act/function of justification]. Well, now that I already showed you all this, I guess I wont have to remember telling it to you later. The point is in this chapter Paul will go down and show all these examples of Jewish leaders acting by faith and doing righteous deeds. This sort of bridges the gap between the strong emphasis on faith in Paul’s letters, with the strong emphasis on works in James letter. Paul is telling Israel ‘yes, all the old saints did do good works that pleased God, but they did them by faith!’ ‘Faith without works is dead’ [James]. So in a sense this single chapter bridges one of the key divisions in the early church between Jerusalem and Antioch [Acts 13 and 15]. Note; I believe all the chapter references above are correct, I write all this from memory so you might want to go back and double check the references. I know all the stories are right. ‘By FAITH Able offered …by which he obtained witness that he was RIGHTEOUS…by FAITH Enoch was translated…he had this testimony that he PLEASED GOD…without FAITH it is impossible to PLEASE HIM [all these ‘please him’ references are like saying ‘being justified’ when a person is justified by God, God sees him as acceptable, pleasing. ‘Thou art my beloved son in whom I am well PLEASED’ God to Jesus!] By faith Noah… prepared an ark to the SAVING of his house…and became heir to the RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH IS BY FAITH [wow, he makes this one real plain] By faith Abraham…went out into a strange land…and sojourned’ interesting, both the aspect of ‘going out to a new land’ and ‘staying in it when you get there’ are both functions of faith. Let me throw in some practical stuff here. Over the years of ‘doing ministry’ I have seen and been a partaker of both of these experiences. Sometimes it takes an act of faith to uproot us from familiar territory and move on to the next level. And do you know what can happen next? The enemy will try to intimidate you once you get in the land of promise, and tell you ‘you cant stay here, look at all the people who hate you. Look at all the mistakes you made’ and it often takes an act of faith to STAY IN THE LAND. Don’t leave the land of your destiny; all true leaders will go thru both of these dealings. ‘For he looked for a city which hath foundations [Jesus is the foundation of this city!] whose builder and maker is God’ All of these great heroes of the faith were looking forward towards a future promise of being in Gods true church, the ‘City of God’ the Bride, the Lambs wife. Paul shows Israel that this 1st century appearing of Messiah was for the purpose of Israel coming into the ‘new land’ the Body of Christ. It is important to see this. There are many preachers today who are treating natural Israel as in if everything is just fine. It isn’t! They need Christ as much as the Muslim does. God was telling Israel ‘come into this new city’ [New Jerusalem versus Old Jerusalem] he wasn’t appealing for them to stay in ‘old Jerusalem’ and be a ‘completed Jew’. [I know this sounds harsh, but I want to emphasize to all my evangelical friends that Jews need Jesus, they play a special role in Gods plan, but ultimately they need Christ!] ‘Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed’ it takes faith to produce spiritual offspring! It might look impossible, but with God all things are possible. ‘Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky and the sand by the shore’ sometimes God will allow you to bring forth one ‘seed’ [person or act of ministry] and you will be surprised how much fruit can come forth from this singular effort. This is why it’s so important to simply hear and obey God. Often times in ministry we do tons of ‘leg work’ which is OK. But when God gives you an idea or mode of function that you weren’t even thinking of, go with it. These are usually the ‘little seeds’ that produce the great harvest! ‘THESE ALL DIED IN FAITH, NOT HAVING RECEIVED THE PROMISES’ I want to emphasize here that it is possible to live your whole life in faith without actually seeing the fulfillment of all that God has told you. Now faith does obtain promises [verse 33] but sometimes we also see things many years down the road and we must realize that the measurement of faith is not whether or not you are currently getting the actual promise. In the above [and below] verse’s we see Abraham and Sara being told that their offspring would number in the millions. They believed these promises, but it is obvious that they didn’t live to see it fulfilled, but they sure knew that after they were gone it would come to pass. So I want to exhort you to believe to see certain things fulfilled in your life time, but have some greater goals that you initiate while here on earth, knowing that after you depart they will be fulfilled. ‘And truly if they had been MINDFUL of the country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned’ what is Paul saying here? The greatest threat to the gospel taking root in the Hebrew community was the desire to go back to old law and culture. How many believers ‘revert’ back to an older form of church simply because they missed the old culture and ‘feelings’ that they had when they were younger? Many of the Jews would not go all the way with the gospel because they were ‘mindful’ of the good old days of law and sacrifice. I just watched a show the other day that told how even some gentile believers began celebrating certain feasts of Israel with their Jewish neighbors. While it is good to understand and see the significance of the feasts, yet we know Paul wrote the early believers and said ‘you observe days and times and feasts, and I am concerned about it’. So when we [or 1st century Israel] are ‘mindful’ of the ‘good old days’ then there is always a danger of going back! ‘By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac…of whom it was said in Isaac shall thy seed be called. Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure’ Abraham exhibited characteristics of the Father [God] as well as Isaac being a type of the Son [Jesus]. It’s interesting that these verses show that Abraham knew for a fact that God was going to give Isaac millions of children, Abraham also knew the voice of God so well that when he ‘thought’ he heard God say ‘offer up this boy’ that in the mind of Abraham, the only way these 2 things could be reconciled, is he came to the conclusion ‘I guess God will have to raise him up, being he has told me this boy will have millions of children, plus he is telling me to kill him’. Most of us would not have come to this conclusion! We would have doubted either the original promise, or said ‘surely this can’t be God telling me to offer Isaac’ [most likely we would have doubted the latter!]. There is a real important reason for Abraham to have been a real man of faith. God wanted this ‘picture’ of the offering up of Isaac for a type of the Cross and Resurrection. The only way he could have shown this example was to have had someone so radically filled with faith, that he would have come to this conclusion of ‘well, I guess God will just raise him’. It was necessary for the figure to have been truly fulfilled. It took Abraham many years of hearing and believing God before he would get to this stage. The part of Abraham’s mind that said ‘God will just have to raise him up’ was important for the figure to truly work. God knew he could only bring someone to this conclusion by arranging the whole scenario around a person of faith. It truly took a real person of faith to have come to the conclusion of resurrection as being inevitable! [For Abraham to fulfill the type of God, he had to have been convinced beyond all doubt that after he offered up his son, that he would be raised again. This is exactly what the Father [God] believed and knew about his own Sons death. So not only did Isaac fulfill the type of Jesus in this story, but Abraham also fulfilled a type of God!] [NOTE; Today is September 22, 2007. Israel’s Day of Atonement. I just heard a brother preach on the feasts of the Lord [I have done this also] but he preached it in a way that said ‘because God said you were to observe these feasts perpetually, therefore all gentile believers need to start observing these days’ he added ‘I know Paul taught the law passed and all, but these feasts are supposed to be forever because God said so’. How are the feasts ‘perpetual’? Thru the fulfilling of them in Christ! Paul makes this plain all thru the New Testament [as well as this letter!] I was surprised to hear the brother preach that the first 2 feasts [out of the 3 main ones] were fulfilled and memorialized, but the 3rd one [Atonement/tabernacles] has yet to be fulfilled! What? Jesus fulfilled Passover and Pentecost for sure, and they are still being ‘fulfilled’ God is still bringing people in thru the blood of Christ and the Spirit is continually being poured out on people, and of course the ultimate reality of our atonement thru our high priest is a daily reality [he ever lives to make intercession] that is ‘fulfilled’ all the time[ I understand what the brother meant, that both Passover and Pentecost were fulfilled at the Cross and the day of Pentecost, and Tabernacles still has a future fulfillment. That Jesus will ‘ingather’ all peoples to himself at the end. The way he said it was in a way that he said Atonement, the beginning of Tabernacles/booths, still has to be fulfilled. It really came out badly!] I just thought it worth noting that today is natural Israel’s feast day, and we hold this feast in reality 24/7!] ‘By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of pharaohs daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward…by faith the harlot Rahab perished not…’ I want you to see that faith in Moses situation caused him to forsake great riches and leave a successful future. This is in keeping with all the times Jesus called people in the Gospels ‘forsake all and follow me’ mentality. We too often equate the ‘treasures of Egypt’ with following Jesus; the scripture puts a different spin on it! Also Rahab ‘perished not’ because she ‘believed’. Paul teaches in Corinthians that those who believe are ‘being saved’ and those who don’t believe are ‘perishing’. I want you to see that Paul is really making a theological argument for ‘being saved by faith’ in this chapter. Even a harlot can be saved! Wow. The law seemed to have no mercy on someone like that! ‘Who thru faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, stopped the mouths of lions…women received their dead raised to life…others were TORTURED not accepting deliverance…others had mocking and scourging and bonds and imprisonment, they were stoned, cut in half, were slain with the sword… being destitute, afflicted, tormented…they wandered in deserts and mountains and dens and caves of the earth, ALL THESE [both the ones who shut the mouths of lions as well as the one’s who were tortured without deliverance] OBTAINED A GOOD REPORT THRU FAITH, AND RECEIVED NOT THE PROMISE’ Faith does not always cause you to be better off in this life. I am very familiar with all the verses of God blessing us and providing for us ‘the blessing of the Lord it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow to it’. I believe and claim these verses just like the next guy. I also don’t want to tell people ‘give your life to Christ and all will go well’ did it go well for the ones who were tortured not getting delivered? Sure did. It went well the moment they saw the face of God. The same for those who were cut in half. It also went well for the women who received their dead raised to life. The point is ‘going well’ is not always defined by your outward circumstance. We must see the overall biblical worldview of all things here being temporary, while all true spiritual riches are eternal. Moses actually was ‘less rich’ by the choice to follow Christ. But he was ‘more rich’ in that he fulfilled Gods purpose. It is important to see that many of these great heroes of the faith died without fully seeing the promise in this life. Now the last verse does say ‘that they without us should not be made perfect’ and this does show that the promise is now fulfilled thru Christ. We have all become recipients of eternal salvation thru Christ. The Old Testament patriarchs have ‘found that city’ in that we are all now members of the great ‘City that comes down from God out of heaven’ we are all in Christ today, even our Old Testament brothers who had faith. The point is don’t always measure a persons faith by their outward wealth and condition. James rebuked this idea in his epistle, he taught us not to show partiality to people who were rich while despising the poor. When believers see faith only from the standpoint of outward things, they are missing the true riches. Jesus taught that all these outward things were not the true riches; I am surprised how many believers spend so much time hoarding and storing things that will all pass away some day. Let’s close this chapter on a good note. Paul has offered Israel all of their Old Testament heroes as an example of being justified by faith. He is saying ‘look, all the great fathers of the faith pleased God, just like you have said and taught for ages. I am declaring unto you they were all ‘justified/pleasing to God’ by faith, not law’. Therefore if you want to follow the example of Abraham and Moses and all the other wonderful fathers, then you too MUST BELIEVE! END NOTES- JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. TORTURED- BY FAITH? REJECTED MONEY- BY FAITH? THEY ALL WAITED FOR THE CITY- THE CHURCH. This chapter is loaded with the history of the Jewish people- I could teach on each story- but that would be a bit much- So I pasted the verses below to show that the writer is saying ‘see- all of our forefathers were justified- received a GOOD REPORT- by faith’. Wait a minute- they DID THINGS- in these stories- Isn’t that WORKS? If you read the letter of James- and the letters of Paul- some scholars says there is a disagreement- Paul says a man is justified by faith- and not by works. James says ‘see how a man is justified by works- and not faith only’. If this letter [Hebrews] was written by Paul- then it’s a true masterpiece- because he is combining the examples that James uses [Rahab- and Abrahams Genesis 22 experience- which James uses to say ‘see how works justifies’]. So- to me- Paul would be saying ‘no- I’m not contradicting James- we both believe/teach the same thing’. If the letter was written by Barnabus- then it also is a masterpiece- because Barnabus might be trying to bridge the gap between Paul and James. We read about this tension in Acts chapters 13 and 15. This chapter is certainly not showing us how to obtain stuff [money- etc.] thru faith- because look at the examples- ‘Moses chose to suffer- and reject the wealth of Egypt- BY FAITH’- ‘SOME WERE TORTURED- SUFFERED- CUT IN HALF- by faith’- ‘CHOOSING TO not be delivered- because they had faith’. We also see the heavenly city- as the goal of the patriarchs- they were all waiting for THE CHURCH- the city that the apostle John spoke about in the book of revelation. The writer says ‘if they were mindful of the city they came out of [a reference to the law covenant- meaning if the Jews kept clinging to the law- the ‘city they came out from’- they will have a hard time moving on- into the New Covenant revelation of Messiah]. I didn’t quote verse 2- but we could teach modern physics from that one [the bible says all things were made from something invisible- modern physics has come to that reality in the 20th century- yet this verse was penned 2 millennia ago]! By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. So yeah- lots of good stuff in this chapter- but the main point is these ancients were justified by faith- the example of Noah and Abraham actually use that very language- salvation/righteousness [it’s a bit clearer in the King James Version- the above verses are from the NIV]. Yes- the writer is saying ‘everything is based on faith- and even our ancestors were justified by faith- they did all these things because they believed God- and God saw their faith- in action- and they too were made righteous- by faith’. By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning;[e] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. ROMANS 11-13 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/3-12-15-romans-11-13.zip [note- there’s much more on the video than the post] .ROMANS 11 .ROMANS 12 .ROMANS 13 END NOTES- .What effect did the Renaissance have on the Reformation? .How did Erasmus differ from Luther? .Do Catholics exalt Tradition over Scripture? .Renaissance artists. .Do Catholics believe in Justification by Faith? .Catholic teaching on Civil Authorities [Romans 13]. .What does ‘AdFontes’ mean- and how does it relate to the Renaissance/Reformation? Romans 11 .Was Paul a full time preacher- paid? .Is he teaching universalism here? .Elijah was not alone. (861)Romans 11:13- ‘For I speak to you Gentiles, in as much as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my office’. Let me just make a few comments today. How is Paul ‘exercising’ his apostolic authority over the Gentiles in Rome? We know he hasn’t been there yet [since becoming a follower of Jesus]. He did not have some type of relationship with them where they contributed to him. He was holding no ‘church services’. He exercised it by speaking into their lives and caring for their welfare. He did this by WRITING THIS LETTER! Recently there has been some discussion on ‘Gods government’ and the apostles ‘bringing things into alignment’ [dealing with the mistakes at Lakeland]. Lots of talk that I am familiar with. What is Gods government? In the world we have 2 competing ‘world views’- systems or modes of operation. You have God’s kingdom, and then the worlds system. When the apostle John said ‘love not the world, neither the things that are in the world’ he was referring to this system of lies and pride and sin. In Gods kingdom you operate under his laws ‘love the Lord thy God with all thy heart… and your neighbor as yourself’. In this family [children of God] you have different types of ‘gifts’. Some are apostles, others prophets, etc. All these gifted ones are given for the singular purpose of building you up so you can have a mature faith grounded in Christ and be the ‘glorious temple’ of God in the earth. Paul was playing his part by communicating Jesus to these Roman Gentiles. He did not have some type of a corporate relationship with them where he said ‘commit to my authority over you. Either I will be your ‘covering’ or someone else!’ These are mans ideas. Now, we often say ‘Paul didn’t receive money from the Corinthians, but he did from the other churches’. I have said this myself. Paul did receive support from the Philippians, but that was support for his traveling ministry. To get him to the next place. If you read carefully you will see Paul telling the Thessalonians ‘when I was with you I did not eat, or take stuff for free. My hands ministered to both me and those that were with me’ I think he even said he worked night and day. When he spoke to the Ephesians elders in the book of Acts, he also said ‘I labored when I was with you, I did not take support from you when I was there. I did this to leave you ELDERS an example’. Now, the point I want to make is it seems as if Paul did not take money when he was actually living among the saints. It seems he took it only for traveling expenses [and of course for his ministry to the poor saints at Jerusalem]. Now, I believe and teach that it is scriptural to meet the needs, financially, of laboring elders. The reason I mention this is to show you that being an ‘apostle’ or any other gifted minister in the church simply means you bear extra responsibility to bring Gods people to maturity. It was not some type of office where you were a ‘professional minister’. When I hear all the talk of ‘Gods apostles are bringing Gods government back into alignment’ for the most part these are men’s ideas being applied to an American corporate 501c3 ministry. Gods ‘government’ operates along different lines. So in this example Paul said ‘I magnify my office’ he was simply imparting some truth to them for the purpose of their own edification. Paul did not see them coming under ‘his covering’. (862)ROMANS 11- let me make a note on the previous entry. Over the last few years, as well as many years of experience with ‘ministry/church’, I have seen how easy it is to fall into the well meaning mindset of ‘I am going into the ministry, this is my career choice. My responsibility is to do ‘Christian stuff’ and the people’s role is to support me’[ I am not taking a shot at well meaning Pastors, I am basically speaking of the many friends I have met over the years who seemed to think ministry was a way to get financial support]. In the previous entry I mentioned how Paul seemed to have a mode of operation that said ‘when I am residing with a community of believers, I refuse to allow them to support me. I will work with my own hands to give them an example, not only to the general saints, but also to the elders. I am showing you that leadership is not a means to get gain’. It does seem ‘strange’ for us to see this. Of course we know Paul also taught the churches that it was proper and right to support those who ‘labor among you’. I have taught all this in the past and I don’t want to ‘re-teach’ it all again. The point I want to make is we ‘in ministry’ really need to rethink what we do. How many web-sites have I gone to that actually have icons that say ‘pay me here’. The average person going to these sites must think ‘pay you for what’? Paul did not teach the mindset of ‘pay me here, now’. Also in this letter to the Romans we are reading Paul’s correspondence to the believers at Rome. He often used this mode of ‘authority’ [writing letters] to exercise his apostolic office. Of course he also traveled to these areas [Acts] and spent time with them. And as I just showed you he supported himself on purpose when he was with the saints. Basically Paul is carrying out the single most effective apostolic ministry of all time [except for Jesus] and he is doing it without all the modern techniques of getting paid. He actually is doing all this writing and laboring at his own expense. He told the Corinthians ‘the fathers [apostles] spend for the children, not the children for the fathers’. So in todays talk on ‘apostles’ being restored. God ‘bringing back into alignment apostolic government’ we need to tone down all the quoting of verses [even the things Paul said!] that seem to say to the average saint ‘how do you expect us to reach the world if you do not ‘bring all the tithes into the storehouse’! When we put this guilt trip on the people of God we are violating very fundamental principles of scripture. Now, let’s try and finish up chapter 11. Paul is basically telling Israel and the Gentiles that God’s dealings are beyond our understanding [last few verses]. God is using the ‘unbelief’ of Israel as an open door to the Gentiles. He is also using the mercy that he is showing to the Gentiles as an ‘open door’ to Israel! He will ‘provoke them to jealousy’. There are a few difficult verses that would be unfair for me to skip over. ‘All Israel shall be saved’. Paul uses this to show that God’s dealings with natural Israel as a nation are not finished. Who are ‘all Israel’? Some say ‘the Israel of God’ [the church]. I don’t think this fits the text. Some say ‘all Israel that will be alive at the second coming’ I think this is closer. To be honest I think this can simply mean ‘all Israel’ all those who are alive and also raised at the return of the Lord. Now, this would be a form of universalism [all people eventually being saved]. I am not a Universalist, but I don’t want any ‘preconceived’ mindset [even my own!] to taint the text. I think God has the ability to reveal himself to the whole nation of Israel in such a way that ‘they all will be saved’. If I were a Jewish person I wouldn’t wait for this to happen! Just like the Calvinists argument of ‘why witness’? Because God commands it. So even though you can make an argument here for a type of universal redemption at Christ’s revealing of himself to Israel at the second coming [which is in keeping with this chapter, as well as other areas in scripture; ‘they will look upon him whom they have pierced’ ‘God will pour out the spirit of mourning and supplication on Israel at his appearing’. Which by the way would fit in with ‘whoever calls on the Lord will be saved’ which I taught in chapter 10. This is a futurist text implying a time of future judgment and wrath’]. So God’s dealings with Israel are not finished. Paul also warns the Gentiles ‘don’t boast, if God cut out the true branches [Israel] to graft you in. He can just as quickly cut you out too’! It would be dishonest for me [a Calvinist] to simply not comment on this. You certainly can take this verse in an Arminian way. Or you can see Paul speaking in a ‘nationalistic sense’. Sort of like saying ‘if Germany walks away from the faith, they will be ‘cut out’. [France would have been a better example! Speaking of the so called ‘enlightenment’ and the French Revolution]. In essence ‘you Gentiles, don’t think “wow, look at us. God left Israel and we are now special!”’ Paul is saying ‘you Gentiles [as a whole group] stand by faith. God could just as quickly ‘cut you out’ and replace you with another group’. I also think the Arminians could use this type of argument for the previous predestination chapter [9]. But to be honest I needed to give you my view. One more thing, Paul quotes Elijah ‘lord, I am the only one left’. He uses this in context of God having a remnant from Israel who remained faithful to the true God. God told Elijah ‘there are 7 thousand that have not bowed the knee to baal’. Paul uses this to show that even in his day there were a remnant Of Jews [himself included] who received the Messiah. An interesting side note. The prophetic ministry [Elijah] seems to function at a ‘popular level’. Now, I don’t mean ‘fame’, but Elijah was giving voice to a large undercurrent that was running thru the nation. If you read the story of Elijah you would have never known that there were ‘7 thousand’ who never bowed the knee! Often times God will use prophetic people to ‘give voice’ or popularize a general truth that is presently existing in the ‘underground church’ at large. Sort of like if Elijah had a web site, the 7 thousand would have been secretly reading it and saying ‘right on brother, that’s exactly what we believe too’! ROMANS 12 .ARE SOME GIFTS BETTER THAN OTHERS? .HOW SHOULD THEY FUNCTION IN THE ‘BODY’? . HOW SHOUD WE GIVE OFFERINGS- DID PAUL TEAHC TITHING? .HOT COALS ON THEIR HEADS- HUH? (864)ROMANS 12:1-8 ‘I beseech you by the mercies of God to present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service [spiritual worship]’. Most times we see ‘by the mercies of God’ as a recap of all that Paul has taught from chapters 1 thru 12. This is true to a degree. I think Paul is honing in on the previous chapters that dealt with the purpose of God specifically seen in the resurrection of the body. As we read earlier ‘for we are saved by hope’ [the hope of the resurrection]. Basically I see Paul saying ‘because of what I showed you concerning Gods redemptive purpose for your body, therefore present your body now, in anticipation of it’s future glorious purpose, as a living sacrifice ‘holy and acceptable unto God’. Why? Because you are going to have that thing [body] forever! [in a new glorified state] Paul exhorts us to be changed by the renewing of our mind, the way we think. I have mentioned in the past that this renewing is not some type of legalistic function of ‘memorizing, muttering the do’s and don’ts all day long’. But a reorganizing of our thoughts according to this new covenant of grace. Seeing things thru this ‘new world’ perspective. A kingdom view based upon grace and the resurrection of Jesus. This resurrection that is assured to us because we have the deposit of the Spirit which is our guarantee that God will complete the work that he has begun in us. And Paul will jump into one of his ‘Body of Christ’ analogies which he uses often to describe the people of God. Because we are all one body, we should think soberly about our different gifts and purposes. God gave some ‘better’ [or more noticeable] gifts for the overall edifying of the body. So don’t boast about it. All have varying gifts, freely given. Administrate them with much grace. Do it with humility and cheerfulness. We are simply children thru whom Gods Spirit manifests himself in different ways. Don’t boast that ‘Wow, daddy gave me a bike’. Or look, I got a more expensive Christmas present than you. Daddy distributes the gifts freely as he wills. They are for everyone’s benefit. Don’t use this grace gift as a means of self importance or prestige. It would be like ‘prostituting’ a gift for self-aggrandizement. People have done it, but it displeases the giver of the gift. (865)ROMANS 12: 13 Paul continues to give some basic guidelines on practical Christian living. Notice his teaching on financial giving ‘distribute to the necessity of the saints’. This basic Christian doctrine from Jesus teachings has become the premier act of giving for the New Testament saint. The reason I have stressed this teaching as opposed to the more popular view of tithing, is because the scriptures place such a high priority on Christian charity. As I have mentioned before, Jesus even uses this basic description to describe those who ‘are righteous’ or ‘unrighteous’. He teaches the final judgment will be based on this outward identifier of ‘what we did to the least of these’. If you read carefully the New Testament epistles you will see a picture of ‘local church’ as a caring community of people who show their love for one another thru these acts of kindness and compassion. None of the New Testament letters teach a type of financial giving that focuses on ‘support the ministry/institution’ as being ‘the new testament church’ that replaced the ‘old testament temple’. For example a tithe system that supports the ‘pastor/priest’ in the same way the Levitical priests were supported under the law. It’s so vital for us to see and understand this. Because the average believer is taught thru out his life that his primary expression of giving is to ‘bring the tithe into the storehouse’ in such a way that it violates the actual primacy of giving as taught in the New Testament. Which is to regularly give to meet the needs of those around you. The fact that there were instances in the book of Acts or the letter to the Corinthians where believers gave an offering in a corporate way [the collection for the poor saints- 1st Cor. 15, or the laying of the money at the apostles feet in Acts] does not excuse the believer from the teaching that we should all regularly give to meet the needs of those around us. This is flatly taught as a regular part of the Christian experience. The other fact that Paul never once teaches the tithe as a function of giving for the Gentile churches should cause us all to take another look at the way we teach giving in the church today. (866)ROMANS 12:14-21 Notice how Paul puts such a high priority on the principles of Jesus. He exhorts the saints to live by the precepts of the great ‘sermon on the mount’. Often times believers try and make a division between Paul’s revelation of justification by faith and the ‘liberal moral teachings of Jesus’. I see no division here. Paul actually quotes Jesus ‘if you’re treated badly, respond in love. By not getting even you heap “coals of fire on your enemies head”’. Actually, I remember how a few years back, when everybody was coming up with their ‘new revelation knowledge’ ideas on scripture. Things like ‘the camel going thru the eye of the needle’. Some taught Jesus was not really rebuking wealth, he was simply talking about a ‘low gate’ thru the wall of the city that was called the ‘eye of the needle’ and the camels had to crouch a little to get thru, true silliness! This verse ‘coals on the head’ was taught as saying Jesus was simply saying you were helping your enemy on cold nights by ‘keeping his head warm’! Sad. Jesus said don’t avenge yourselves, God will avenge you. Doesn’t sound like the lord is talking about ‘head warmers’! Look at these verses carefully. Paul incorporates the teachings of Christ as having a very high priority for the believer. We are often inundated with modern concepts of ministry. How to raise funds [or amass wealth]. Paul ‘locates’ the important thing as being centered on Christ. He knew if the churches [believing communities] of the first few centuries would follow this idea, that they would truly turn their world upside down for the cause. [I talked about Marx- Machiavelli and Plato’s republic on the video- S-Sermon 4-8-18- below are my past posts that relate [I noticed I had some past stuff on Russia in the post- felt it was relevant too]] https://youtu.be/NiQdGyM6mjk History of everything- 2 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/6-17-16-2-history-of-everything.zip MY LINKS- https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/russia-u-s-world-events/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/atheism-apologetics/ https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/overview-of-philosophy/ ON VIDEO- .I hit the jackpot! .A.A. .Renaissance .Erasmus .Copernicus .Spontaneous Generation? .Darwin .Aquinas Locke .Kant .Latin Vulgate- Jerome Luther .Church fathers .Henry the 8th .Marx .Freud .Einstein .Law of cause and effect .Fossil record? .Scientific method ‘invented’ by the Catholic church- true [Jesuits] .The $200 dollar sign to AA .Recovery .You all have your own TV channel- for free .Social media- use it for good NEW- [past posts- versus below] On today’s video I fill in some blanks- As time progressed- and man advanced in knowledge- he also thought we would arrive at a time where advanced civilization would ‘through off’ the harmful effects of the church. Yet- they struggled with the idea of how a society could regulate itself [moral aw] without ‘God’s law’. So- some thinkers like Kant- Locke talked about ‘natural law’ which actually is one of the ‘proofs’ of God. Because where did man- on his own- have this innate understanding of morality? It’s not simply what they came up with- but it’s imbedded in his conscience [which is another proof of God- why do humans have this conscience? – or self-awareness- where did that come from? Why can’t we really create a computer with this characteristic? A.I.] This is the period of the Enlightenment- and the Philosophers on the rise. Men Like Freud [later] would do a grand experiment- saying ‘actually the cause for man’s problems- is this very thing- him trying to deal with the guilt of sin’ [which he denied] and said man should act out on his desires- which we refer to as the philosophy of Hedonism. He taught the idea of sexual revolution- and died as a victim of his own thinking. Eventually man came to the end of his new journey- without God in his thoughts- and wound up back at the beginning. God indeed was the creator- and his laws are the only possible way for society to regulate itself. Jesus Christ came to redeem man- from the very thing he could not do for himself. Through the death and resurrection of ‘the Logos’ we are now brought back into right relationship with God- and all the pieces of the puzzle come together [Overblog- see the rest here- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/26/acts-2/ ] Not that hard- is it? RUSSIA- 2 days ago- Russia bombed- killed many of the troops we raised up in Syria. Our planes were flying overhead- to guarantee their protection. Russia has not been bluffing- they flew 2 planes- right next to ours- and bombed them. Defense secretary Carter was livid- because Russia [like I said recently] is ready to have a real- HOT WAR- with the U.S. Both on their border with the NTAO states- as well as over Syria. I’ll add the news link on this or the next post. It didn’t get a lot of play in the media- because it is what Russia said all along- they are not ONLY going to kill ISIS fighters- but all the rebel/terrorists on the ground. A great majority of those groups are backed by the U.S. Carter- in an interview makes it sound like ‘what are they up to- they are deceiving the world because they said they would only bomb ISIS’. THAT’S A LIE- Lavrov [the defense guy from Russia] said from day one- we will bomb them all- even the terrorists the U.S. is backing [news link at bottom [parts] Okay- I am skipping a bunch of stuff to jump into the thinkers who represent the most popular forms of atheism- Marx, Nietzsche and Freud. But first we need to take a look at Ludwig Feuerbach. L.F. [Ludwig Feuerbach] laid the groundwork for these other more famous rejecters of God and Christianity. During the enlightenment period it was rare for the critics of religion to hold an outright atheistic view- men like Hume and Voltaire- though true critics of the church- did not come out openly and deny the existence of God. It was also difficult [impossible?] to hold professorships in the universities if you were a doubter of God. Both Hume and Voltaire did not hold positions. F.S. was Hegelian in a way [he followed Hegel’s idea that ‘God’ comes to self consciousness thru the development of humanity] but F.S. was a Materialist- Hegel was an Idealist. Remember- idealism is the philosophical system that sees reality existing in forms/ideas first- then later comes the material thing. The great ancient philosophers- Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were all Idealists. F.S. espoused the idea that reality starts with the material existence of man first- and thru religion man ‘projects’ the idea of God/spirit into society- and as man and [parts] NEW STUFF- Sartre is one of the most famous 20th century philosophers- also described as the father of existentialism. I say ‘also’ because when we covered Kierkegaard- I said the same of him. How can this be? Well- Kierkegaard was a Christian- Sartre an atheist. So you can divide existentialism between ‘Christian existentialists- and atheistic’. Ok- it would be a lot to try and cover all of his ideas- but what I want to do is sort of contrast the thinkers who trended away from God with those who continued to believe in a creator- while at the same time engage in the intellectual world [many I could name- Descartes- Kant- etc.]. Though Sartre- like Camus- was indeed an intelligent man- when they tried to develop philosophies- ways to explain man- his purpose- what ‘it’s’ all about. They have difficulty giving any real purpose or meaning to man. Why? Because if you believe [and teach] that man is really some sort of a cosmic accident- with no creator who made him- then how do you teach ‘that man’ that he has a purpose? This would apply to all the great thinkers- who rejected God. In the end- if you were born without a preceding purpose [which Christians teach is to glorify God] and when you die- there is no after life- then it’s common sense to see your life ‘without purpose’. Sartre’s most famous work ‘being and nothingness’ says it all in the title. Some of his most famous ideas are ‘no essence before existence’. Now- Christians usually criticize him for this [which I just did in a way]. But he sort of tried to apply this idea- and say ‘because we are not predetermined- then we are indeed responsible for our actions- we are ‘left alone- without excuse’. When you study Philosophy- along with Theology [the study of God]. A big thing that is debated is predestination. Many misunderstand the historic reformation doctrine of Predestination –and they see it as a form of fatalism- meaning ‘whatever will be- was meant to be’. You can do a whole debate on this subject- in studying theology alone. Yet it also ‘bleeds’ into philosophy- because many thinkers were trying to figure out the problems of man- and some thought the doctrine of original sin taught a form of fatalism. Actually- it does not. But that’s why you see these ideas pop up – that we can act without our past having power over us. So- in a sense- though Sartre was an atheist- this was an attempt [I think] to try and give man the ‘freedom’ to act on his own will. But without belief in God- there really is no grounding authority to values- ethics. Where would they come from? [that’s a long debate- but if in effect ethics- right and wrong- were simply some sort of value system that was majority rule- then when the majority gets it wrong- slavery- abortion- etc.- then these values do not really ‘mean’ anything]. From the Christian view [they do debate between predestination by the way] Values- worth- purpose- do indeed ‘precede’ existence. God had a purpose for us before we were born- and values are the revealed ‘rules’ that God gave to man. The Nihilistic thinkers [those who admit that there really is no purpose] in the end have a hard time teaching their ideas- and at the same time instilling self-worth in people. Camus summed it up when he said-“There is only one really serious philosophical question, and that is suicide” (MS, 3).Oct 27, 2011 Sartre [like Kierkegaard] wrote plays- poetry- etc. One of Sartre’s dramas was called ‘NO EXIT’ He depicted Hell as a place where people are forever ‘observing’ one another- with no way out [obviously he did not really believe in Hell]. But why would he see it this way? Sartre had a unique insight [though an atheist- he was indeed smart]. One of the things that Sartre believed- was subjectivity- he taught that if man were to be truly Free- he could not be an Object [lots has been said in the last few years on objectifying people- seeing them as objects degrades them]. So in Sartre’s mind- belief in God objectifies people. How? If there is an ‘all seeing’ creator who is always looking/seeing into people’s lives [and intents- hearts] then they are not truly free. All the thinkers who rejected God- did not do so for the same reasons. Freud- and those who taught Hedonism- said it was the moral constraints on man [from God and the church] that was the problem. So in Freud’s mind- we should deny God- and man should live out all of his most base desires. It was a failed idea for sure- but that was the Hedonists view. Sartre did not espouse unrestrained passion- actually even though he was an atheist- he believed that men should live with some type of ethic. So his rejection of God was based on the idea that God is always ‘watching you’ and a man cannot truly be free- if someone is always watching him. It was an interesting idea [and yes- God is always watching- but from the Christian view he is not watching as some type of cosmic voyeur- but as a Father watches over his children. Or- as the bible says ‘as a mother hen watches over her chicks’. So Sartre was right about God always seeing us- but he disagreed with the Christian view of omniscience [all knowing God] and said this ‘constant watching’ makes us an object- and to Sartre- the basic attribute of human character is subjectivity- if he is not a subject- with no previous ‘essence’ [remember- his other famous idea was ‘existence precedes essence’] he is not truly free. So to Sartre- man and reality are simply things- and we develop life from this materialistic view. He rejected universals- there is not a universal category of ‘mankind’ but simply individual people. Another famous atheist thinker was Camus [‘there is only one really serious question left- suicide’]. Even though some of the atheistic thinkers ‘meant well’ yet- in the end- as Kant said- if there is no God- then society cannot function without the basic understanding that we are all accountable- and will someday give an account. In Kant’s view- he rejected the classical idea that you could ‘prove God’ from reason and nature. But some said he ‘let God in the back door’. Because for Kant- if you reject God outright- then society cannot function. For instance- if there is some type of injustice- maybe framed for murder and you sit in jail your whole life- never being vindicated. For Kant- the person can survive- because he knows- in the end- the truth will come out [if there is a God]. And not only will it come out- but those who wronged the man will give an account. So Kant saw the need for there not only to be an ‘all seeing God/judge’. But that Judge had to also have all power- so he could carry out justice in the end. But for Sartre- and Camus- and the other atheists- they grappled with the problem of where moral laws come from [or if there is even such a thing]. How can we really define ethics if there is no real meaning to our existence? If ‘nothing matters’ [no essence before existence] then in the end- WE don’t matter. And you come to the same conclusion as Camus. The question of suicide has been pondered for centuries- it has made it into the plays of Shakespeare [below] Many are familiar with this famous line- but read it carefully- it’s Hamlet’s struggle- whether it’s nobler to ‘go thru stuff’ or- end it. That’s why I think the Camus’ and Sartres of the world don’t help- in the end. To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep, No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to: ’tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there’s the rub: For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause—there’s the respect That makes calamity of so long life. For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th’oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, The pangs of dispriz’d love, the law’s delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th’unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscovere’d country, from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pitch and moment With this regard their currents turn awry And lose the name of action. Hamlet PAST POSTS I WROTE THAT RELATE- . TELOS [What’s your purpose?] https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/7-3-15-telos-or-jack-nichols-n-the-3-dollar-tip.zip A telos (from the Greek τέλος for “end”, “purpose”, or “goal”) is an end or purpose, in a fairly constrained sense used by philosophers such as Aristotle. It is the root of the term “teleology,” roughly the study of purposiveness, or the study of objects with a view to their aims, purposes, or intentions. Teleology figures centrally in Aristotle’s biology and in his theory of causes. It is central to nearly all philosophical theories of history, such as those of Hegel and Marx. One running debate in contemporary philosophy of biology is to what extent teleological language (as in the “purposes” of various organs or life-processes) is unavoidable, or is simply a shorthand for ideas that can ultimately be spelled out nonteleologically. Philosophy of action also makes essential use of teleological vocabulary: on Davidson’s account, an action is just something an agent does with an intention–that is, looking forward to some end to be achieved by the action. In contrast to telos, techne is the rational method involved in producing an object or accomplishing a goal or objective; however, the two methods are not mutually exclusive in principle. Q. 1. What is the chief end of man? A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God,[1] and to enjoy him forever.[2] (696)ACTS 23- Paul continues his defense before the council and chief priests. He realizes that the council is divided ‘politically/religiously’ along the lines of the Pharisees versus the Sadducees. Though these were both religious groups who were Jewish, yet they had major disagreements. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection or spirit or angels [why in the heck would you even want to be religious if you rejected these things? ‘Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you die’! The philosophies that rose out of the enlightenment era and the French revolution were based on ‘nihilism’ the idea of having no moral compass. The rise of Marxism and other communist expressions of Government had good intentions at times! The problem was they espoused the atheistic philosophies of the time and ultimately this leads to a total loss of purpose and meaning. Though these philosophers tried to say that religion and the ‘God delusion’ were the cause of all the ills of society, there grand scheme would ultimately lead to forms of human government that disrespected human life. Hitler of course was an extreme example. He did embrace eugenics, the idea that the stronger races will eventually win and the weaker races/classes will die off. He simply thought he was speeding up the process by exterminating Jews. Though the philosophers of the enlightenment fall into different groups. Some for example did believe in deism and they felt God could be proved from natural means. Others saw religion as the ‘opiate of the people’ and ultimately did disgrace unto the human race!] The Pharisees believed in resurrection. So good old Paul stands up and says ‘I am a Pharisee, and the very reason I am in trouble is because I believe in the hope of the resurrection’ Paul knew how to ‘triangulate’ [politically]. Well of course the Pharisees say ‘well, we see nothing wrong with this man. If an angel or spirit appeared to him, then Gods will be done’. So the group splits. Paul is put under guard and eventually appeals to the next step. The authorities send him to Governor Felix in Caesarea for the next appeal. Why is it important to see the legal maneuverings of Paul? Jesus even appears to him again and says ‘you will testify of me in Rome’. The religious leaders of the 1st century did all they could to not report the facts of the early followers of Christ. The gospels tell us that they even resorted to outright lying to cover up the fact of the resurrection. Paul’s interjection into the legal arena caused there to be a written record of these events! The historians of the day were covering the legal events of the day. The record of Jesus and his followers would be forever imbedded in the historic records of the time. God wanted Paul in this system as a sure testimony of the witness of Christ’s resurrection. We end the chapter with Paul waiting at Caesarea for the accusers to come and make their case. FAKE CLOCK? https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/9-29-15-fake-clock.zip ON VIDEO- .Was it a fake clock? .Joan of Arc .Montanism .Russia, Syria and U.S. .Eugenics .Agincourt .Planned parenthood JOAN OF ARC- I mentioned her on the video- and did a document search of my past teaching- and realized I never wrote about her. So- Joan was part of what we call the mystics- these were Christians who had supernatural experiences with God. The common life movement was big into this- the most famous being Thomas A Kempis. I have his famous book ‘the Imitation of Christ’- a classic. So- Joan was a young Catholic girl who had visions and related some of the things I’m teaching in revelation to what she felt God showed her. She claimed Michael the archangel appeared to her. She convinced a prince from France that God told her to fight the English [they raided northern France]. And to everyone’s surprise- she won! She actually dressed in White armor and road a White horse into battle [all images we see in the book of Revelation]. Joan was tried for witchcraft and heresy and burned at the stake in 1431- at the age of 19. Yet she remained a popular figure- and the Catholic Church canonized her as a saint in 1920. BATTLE OF ANGICOURT- One of the more famous battles of the 100 years’ war- Henry the 5th defeated the French in Northern France against great odds. The use of the Longbow by the English played a major factor giving the reality that the French outnumbered the English. Yet when it was all said and done England took ground from the French and France lost around 6,000 men- English troops about 400. The battle took place on October 25th- 1415. https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/8-12-15-machiavelli-n-jesus.zip https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/8-12-15-machiavelli-n-jesus.zip Machiavelli or Jesus? Cast the crown. In this chapter we see God on the throne- and 24 leaders ruling with him- in ‘white robes’ and having crowns on their heads. If you remember- these are the promises that were made to the believers who overcome [letters I covered already in chapters 2-3]. So- we see believers [24 could be representative of the Jewish people- 12 tribes- and the apostles- 12. Showing in Christ that God made out of 2 peoples- one new man [Ephesians]. The rulers/elders now have the authority promised to them- and what do they do with it? They give it away [cast their crowns]. This theme I have been covering in the gospel of John- Jesus gave us the example himself- in Philippians we read he had the same authority and glory that the Father had- Yet he laid it down [cast the crown] and became a man- and humbled himself unto the death of the Cross. Because of this- he regained his authority- rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of God. So- as opposed to the world’s way of exercising power [that’s how I fit Machiavelli in] thru brute force and ruthlessness- We gain authority in the kingdom thru serving- and not using our rights for our own welfare. Paul wrote the Corinthians [who were taking each other to court] and said ‘take the wrong- don’t demand your rights’. So when we exercise leadership in the church- we have to purposely avoid the slippery path of it all being about us. It’s easy for believers to become enamored with gifted people [those who have crowns]- And it is a temptation for the gifted people to ‘keep their crowns’ [draw attention to themselves]. But the crown /authority given to us- is for the benefit of others- and your gift will only benefit them- when in the end- you cast it down. NOTE on Machiavelli- he was a political thinker during the time of the Renaissance- which I taught in the past. He lived in the 15/16th centuries- and resided in Florence- the city where the Medici family ruled for years. They were a political family with much influence- and very corrupt. At this time in history the city states battled the Holy Roman Empire and the influence of the Pope- and wanted independence. This led some political thinkers [Hobbes- Locke] to try and strike a balance between being ruled by Rome- or ruled by their own ‘sovereign’. Some advocated for their own king to have complete control over their state- in both political and religious decisions. The king should decide the religion of the people type thing. Today we of course reject this thinking- but at the time there were actual wars fought over these things- The Protestant Reformation caused states to have to take sides. So- Machiavelli took a strong stand for a strong ruler [his famous work- The Prince talks about a ruthless type ruler] as a ‘safety’ measure against anarchy among the states that were breaking away from Rome. I heard this quote from Machiavelli the other day while watching a course on Political Theory from a Yale professor- I’ll paste it here- thought it was good. When evening comes, I go back home, and go to my study. On the threshold, I take off my work clothes, covered in mud and filth, and I put on the clothes an ambassador would wear. Decently dressed, I enter the ancient courts of rulers who have long since died. There, I am warmly welcomed, and I feed on the only food I find nourishing and was born to savor. I am not ashamed to talk to them and ask them to explain their actions and they, out of kindness, answer me. Four hours go by without my feeling any anxiety. I forget every worry. I am no longer afraid of poverty or frightened of death. I live entirely through them.[7] He lived in a day where it was hard to obtain good books for your own personal study- yet many of the great thinkers managed to develop their own studies/libraries. We live in a day where you can access all of it- in a moment- thru the Web- Yet we often don’t see the value of the good stuff all around us [like the free Yale courses I’m viewing thru the internet]. Proverbs says wisdom is on every corner- calling to the simple ones- yet they pass by- He taught that ‘the ends justify the means’ and that leaders at times should act unjustly- in order to establish rule. He was critical of the ‘ideal’ society that former political theorists spoke about [Aristotle- Plato] and he did not believe that morality and religion were a foundation for rule. In some ways he was a realist- he rejected the underlying ideas of ethics and said we should simply look at ‘reality’ and do what it takes to get the job done. In the Yale course- the teacher gave a list of other rulers that Machiavelli admired- he had Moses on the list- but not Jesus. I found it interesting that the teacher- who is not teaching a course on religion- said that Jesus established a rule- based on non-violence and ethics- and it worked. Revelation 4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. Revelation 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. Revelation 4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. Revelation 4:4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. Revelation 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. Revelation 4:6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. Revelation 4:7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. Revelation 4:8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. Revelation 4:9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, Revelation 4:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. PLATO Plato was born in 427 BC- he was the most famous student of Socrates. He is best known for his theory of Ideas/Forms. He believed that the material world was an imperfect copy of the Idea world. That is he believed that Ideas exist apart from the construct of the human mind- that they were the perfect forms of the things we see in the material realm. He could also be referred to as a Realist- because he believed these Ideas actually existed [for real]. Where did he get this from? As we study Philosophy- each one that comes down the line has been influenced in some way by those that preceded them. There was a famous thinker- Pythagoras [his followers were the Pythagoreans] who taught a concept called the Transmigration of the Soul [a sort of Reincarnation]. They believed that the soul of man went thru various stages- and existed independently of the body. In Greek thought the soul is immortal- it exists before the body. In Christian teaching the Soul [mind- Spirit] comes into existence when God creates man [the bible says ‘and man BECAME a living soul’- referring to the creation of Adam]. The Greeks saw the soul as preexisting before the natural life. In the mind of Plato- the body was a receptacle- in this life we recollect the knowledge that comes from the Idea world. He ascribed Ontological status to ideas themselves. In Philosophy there are 2 basic ways knowledge comes [we study this in Epistemology- an offshoot of Philosophy- which deals with how we know things]. A Priori knowledge is knowledge obtained independent of experience. A Posteriori is knowledge obtained thru the senses- what we call Empirical evidence. In Plato’s schema he believed that the knowledge that comes to us from the Formal world [ideas- forms] was A Priori knowledge- that the human mind recalls- and in the present material world- knowledge comes to us from the perfect idea world. The Greeks believed that all matter was flawed- that the Body was an imperfect vessel- and after death we are released into the perfect world- and free from the material realm. Christian Tradition does not hold to this view. The Church teaches that the created world is good- not evil. Among Christians there is some confusion about this- because the older versions of the bible [King James] seem to teach that matter [world, flesh] is evil. Why? Paul the apostle talks about no good thing being in The Flesh- he talks about the Carnal mind- the apostle John says ‘all that is in the World- the lust of the flesh- the pride of life- is not of the Father but is of the world’. There are many references like this in the bible- but they are speaking about the sinful nature of man [the flesh] and not about the human body itself [For instance Paul says in Romans ‘present your BODIES as living sacrifices unto God- Holy and acceptable’ in Corinthians ‘your BODY is the temple of the Holy Spirit’- there are many references in scripture that speak of the Body as Holy. When the bible says ‘satan is the god of this world’ it is not speaking of the earth- which God created- and calls GOOD- but it is speaking of the ‘world’ system- an age of wickedness. So- at times Christians have confused this- and have held a sort of Dualistic view of matter- that is not the biblical view- but a Gnostic view- that all matter is evil. Plato saw the unseen world of Ideas as the perfect- pure world. He taught that in this life we obtain the knowledge of the pure- by reason of recollection- that these pure ideas come to us ‘are recalled’ in this life. He is famous for founding the first Philosophical school- it was called The Academy- named after a man by the name of Academus. The land was donated for the school- it was previously used as an Olive Grove- and in honor of the donation- Plato named the school after the donor. This is why we use the phrase ‘The Groves of Academia’ today. Plato was actually a nick name- he wrestled in Athens- in a sort of precursor to what would later become the Olympic games- and he was broad shouldered- that’s where his name comes from- Plato means broad shouldered. So- to sum up- Plato believed that Forms [ideas] were eternal, the cause of all that is. He believed we are born with innate ideas- these are not learned thru sense experience- but exist independently of the mind- and in this bodily life we retrieve [the body is a receptacle] these ideas. Does the bible teach anything along these lines? Not exactly. Christians believe that God himself is infinite- without beginning or end. That wisdom- ideas- ‘forms’ of things do indeed exist- prior to our own life. But these ideas are not without a Mind- God is Spirit- and he is everywhere [Omnipresent] he knows all tings [Omniscient] – so- in a way- there are indeed ideas- forms- but they come from the ultimate Mind of God. A good example would be the building of the Tabernacle- and later the Temple- under Moses and King David [his son Solomon actually built it]. God told Moses ‘see that you build it after the Pattern shown to thee in the mount’. In the book of Hebrews we read that the earthly Tabernacle [Temple] was simply an image- a symbol- of heavenly realities. That God himself had the ‘form’ in his mind- indeed- like Plato taught- the heavenly form is perfect- the earthly expression imperfect. But these patterns- forms- ideas- are from the Mind of God- they are not Innate in the soul of man- nor does the soul of man exist before his birth. In the past few months I have had several Christian friends tell me that they feel like they existed before this life- a type of reincarnation. I explained to them that in the Christian faith we do not hold to this view. But- the bible does tell us that God had a purpose for us- Predetermined- before the ‘foundation of the world’. Meaning that yes- in the Mind of God- in a way- we did exist- but we did not have actual being [called Ontological status in the field of Philosophy] until we were created by God. God’s purpose for us was already in the Mind of God before our birth. The bible says that Christ is made unto us wisdom- we are not Receptacles in the sense that Plato taught. But yes- in time God reveals to us this Hidden Wisdom- about his love and purpose for us. And in this life we act out- we fulfil this eternal purpose. Man [or woman] can never find true happiness- true meaning- until they tap into this purpose. We were created by the hand of God- to bring glory and honor to him- and we in this life can ever find true fulfilment- until we make it back to God. VERSES [These are the verses I talked about on the video- Sunday sermon- Other videos below] Isaiah 43:18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. Matt. 25 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matt. 22 April 8, 2018 « April 7 | April 9 » Second Sunday of Easter (Or Sunday of Divine Mercy) Lectionary: 44 Reading 1ACTS 4:32-35 The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need. Responsorial Psalm PS 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24 R. (1) Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting. or: R. Alleluia. Let the house of Israel say, “His mercy endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say, “His mercy endures forever.” Let those who fear the LORD say, “His mercy endures forever.” R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting. or: R. Alleluia. I was hard pressed and was falling, but the LORD helped me. My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior. The joyful shout of victory in the tents of the just: R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting. or: R. Alleluia. The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. By the LORD has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it. R. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love is everlasting. or: R. Alleluia. Reading 21 JN 5:1-6 Beloved: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the Father loves also the one begotten by him. In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood. The Spirit is the one that testifies, and the Spirit is truth. AlleluiaJN 20:29 R. Alleluia, alleluia. You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord; Blessed are those who have not seen me, but still believe! R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelJN 20:19-31 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name. OTHER VIDEOS- Below are the videos I post nightly to my sites- Links to all my sites below. Teaching https://youtu.be/DnZF6wn2Yyw 9-16-18 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/1vvmeh3rc5t0cys/9-16-18%20Sunday%20sermon.mp4?dl=0 7-15-18 Sunday sermon https://www.instagram.com/tv/CLTxc8IlGmf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Acts 5 https://ok.ru/video/1907781143095 True Vine https://www.dropbox.com/s/rtvgwku0poi1pou/8-14-15%20I%20am%20the%20True%20Vine.mp4?dl=0 Friends https://youtu.be/UBpY0qr9oMo Battle is the Lord’s https://www.dropbox.com/s/ya1jifiectl39is/4-2-17%20Battle%20is%20the%20Lords.mp4?dl=0 Some said it was thunder https://youtu.be/1h0_ygeQekc https://fb.watch/5B0gY9YNb_/ Samuel 15 https://youtu.be/x7TIqEaBpe8 Mystics and snow https://youtu.be/QeUajiWGj_w Teaching https://www.instagram.com/tv/CLMN6hylYc6/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link The Idol https://ok.ru/video/1907780946487 8-13-17 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/z708gslzuuyzg9n/8-13-17%20Sunday%20sermon.mp4?dl=0 Homeless friends https://youtu.be/i4Z3uqmfmCg The table https://www.dropbox.com/s/7tlygyyd3zu16jo/4-20-18%20Real%20time%20update-%20the%20table.mp4?dl=0 Homeless friend https://youtu.be/9GgqxXc8tdg Sons of God https://youtu.be/Fqaa-Ust2tI The Idol https://business.facebook.com/ccoutreach1/videos/415274192929341/ 9-16-18 Sunday sermon https://dai.ly/x727pnn Review https://www.dropbox.com/s/ofpvugovw87tmqo/8-13-16%20Samuel%2C%20John%20n%20Hebrews%20%5Breview%5D.mp4?dl=0 Homeless friends https://youtu.be/SvGsGwXD8oM Kings 4 https://www.dropbox.com/s/rk6n2skefuy3ea3/4-18-17%20Kings%204%20%5BZech3-4%5D.mp4?dl=0 John 12 https://youtu.be/Kr88cCjY-Hc 7-29-18 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/tbm03l75peg7fmq/7-29-18%20Sunday%20sermon.mp4?dl=0 Pirate Scotty https://www.instagram.com/tv/CLG-1aCl5Zx/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Colossians 1 https://ok.ru/video/1904409971255 Teaching https://www.dropbox.com/s/1udsaga8qngclql/8-12-15%20Machiavelli%20n%20Jesus.mp4?dl=0 Homeless friends https://youtu.be/qZ-3CuEF9xI Fire starter https://www.dropbox.com/s/4x6hvszfnqgnrcu/4-18-16%20I%20have%20come%20to%20start%20a%20fire.mp4?dl=0 A verse https://youtu.be/2OBdpswI5w0 Easter https://www.dropbox.com/s/synraurg0yshfr2/4-16-17%20Easter.mp4?dl=0 New Jersey https://youtu.be/gyvpkJ3DVGE Mark 14 https://www.dropbox.com/s/1wcs44z643na6fu/8-1-17%20Mark%2014.mp4?dl=0 Volume of the book https://dai.ly/x7mx52t 7-29-18 Sunday sermon https://flic.kr/p/28r64Ka Homeless friends https://business.facebook.com/ccoutreach1/videos/240499310921056/ My Testimony https://youtu.be/8RUmgV8tJbI 4-11-18 Friends n Song- Albert on guitar https://youtu.be/QqHcCj8GJMw 4-11-18 walk thru Harlem? [The story] https://youtu.be/JnrTHkWgPWY The real Moses https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgRr4wp5HU_eOSTno These are from my trip to New Jersey- NYC- North Bergen Bob- White Castle [North Bergen trip] https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgRt-e-eHNZThmOLG Jesus n Tolstoy- North Bergen N.J.- leaving the Mass from Our Lady of Fatima church- https://youtu.be/fgPa8nCXo7s Hudson county park [North Bergen trip- snow too] https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgRzepohnYbl1Xy6D 10-30-19 Update https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10206286019987608/ https://youtu.be/EH3yXW84aoE Samuel 25 https://youtu.be/5fYqiPxxZj0 Pops https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMiShyz4k2-hiKKc_8 Acts 22 https://youtu.be/rUV-gp_WDY0 Homeless friends https://www.dropbox.com/s/meha328kx3yamo3/9-6-18%20Friends%20n%20teaching%20%5BRick-%20John-%20Charlie%5D.mp4?dl=0 Isaiah 61 https://www.bitchute.com/video/pkUroT74D3ym/ Teaching https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhimc0sgDx1PNeFxB Homeless friends https://www.instagram.com/tv/By-My6cHups/?utm_source=ig_web_options_share_sheet 9-10-17 Sunday sermon https://youtu.be/UWD62pvnvaI 12-30-18 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMikDBK_ojwYY4GOqs Galatians 1 https://www.dropbox.com/s/840brei12jiowq2/12-20-16%20Galatians%201.mp4?dl=0 Sons of thunder https://www.dropbox.com/s/yt42um3qdexwkfb/9-4-18%20Sons%20of%20Thunder-%20a%20teaching.mp4?dl=0 Mark 11 https://dai.ly/x7bsgc2 Acts 1 https://flic.kr/p/2hqpPTV 4-1-18 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhUSNCZq8_1_ZYKLX 10-16-16 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/ftpsf0x1efya2s9/10-16-16%20cccf-%201st%20Jn..mp4?dl=0 Galatians 4 https://youtu.be/9HyckXRkq0I Amos 1-4 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhio4yaw_TKPv_bbc House of prayer https://youtu.be/uUK7ZGIMi_c 9-4-16 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/0s917ziir37jz6u/9-4-16%20Talking%20Church%20%5BReal%20Life%20outline%5D.mp4?dl=0 Mark 3 https://www.bitchute.com/video/vcOKckkZyVs2/ 1st Peter https://youtu.be/hKB_bQbmiNo Homeless friends https://www.instagram.com/tv/By5GFPfnkX6/?utm_source=ig_web_options_share_sheet 12-23-18 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMiAorylDLvJ2sh_Nz 1-15-17 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/kejm8vhbd92vx74/1-15-17%20Christian-%20Muslim%20dialogue.mp4?dl=0 2nd Coming/Rapture https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhiYsBsLoNTA3pqAx Acts 21 https://youtu.be/Yi1v7scIEYs Hebrews 12 https://www.dropbox.com/s/uq7djjxsksa3fmx/9-3-16%20Hebrews%2012.mp4?dl=0 Father Abraham https://dai.ly/x7bsgc3 Ephesians 1 https://flic.kr/p/2hpYSuT 9-14-19 Teaching https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjCvzvCQvXp6YbzvG 1-8-17 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/97ze9tfz65brah3/1-8-17%20Apologetics-%20Philosophy-%20Prophets.mp4?dl=0 Samuel 21 https://youtu.be/psCMQgX_7v4 Homeless friends https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhiNs9dwqOkLQ7eXE Kings 11 https://youtu.be/GtTRfebK1wI John 18 https://www.dropbox.com/s/jumves40mb605xi/9-29-16%20John%2018.mp4?dl=0 Letter kills- Spirit gives life https://dai.ly/x7boqiv Teaching at Lexington https://flic.kr/p/2hp6sar 9-2-19 Teaching https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjBIwyQLwrbThmg6e 9-4-16 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/0s917ziir37jz6u/9-4-16%20Talking%20Church%20%5BReal%20Life%20outline%5D.mp4?dl=0 Acts 1 https://youtu.be/22KiJEN-pCE Jephthah https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhh8liVsMMPKfYwlZ N. J. 2014 https://youtu.be/gyvpkJ3DVGE Acts 23 https://www.dropbox.com/s/kaffzjf68v490ex/9-26-17%20Acts%2023.mp4?dl=0 Jesus Christ https://dai.ly/x7bmqfr Recovery https://flic.kr/p/2ho4hx7 Ezra 9 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjBMBDsTk8Chg4i1T 1-1-17 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/akkowwr43zfeig3/1-1-17%202nd%20Samuel%206-7%20%5BC.U.%5D.mp4?dl=0 MY SITES- Blog- [Post nightly] https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/ Site- [Post nightly] https://ccoutreach87.com/ Site- https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 Site- https://ccoutreachministries.wordpress.com/ Site- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 Site- https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/ Site- http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite Site- https://www.quora.com/profile/John-Chiarello-1 Site- http://ccoutreach87.strikingly.com/ [Please Like, Share, Connect, Follow and Subscribe to the sites below- as well as all my sites linked at the bottom of each post-Thanks] Follow us on Facebook- 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My name is John Chiarello, I am a retired firefighter living in Texas, Born in Hoboken New Jersey- raised in North Bergen. I post original content [all videos and text are by me]. I post 7 videos a night to many of my sites, and text posts 3 times a week. I NEVER take money- or ask for money- ever. Everything is free- I sell nothing- to some sites this makes a difference- so I wanted to say that here. There are no buildings- staff- salary- anything. Just me teaching- doing outreach- and reaching out thru my sites. All my teachings- videos- studies are free to download from all my sites. Make as many copies as you want- they are there for you to use. Thank You- John. 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you read them on- Copy text- download video links- make complete copies of my books/studies and posts- everything is copyrighted by me- I give permission for all to copy and share as much as you like- I just ask that nothing be sold. We live in an online world- yet- there is only one internet- meaning if it ever goes down- the only access to the teachings are what others have copied or downloaded- so feel free to copy and download as much as you want- it’s all free- Note- I have many web sites- at times some question whether I’m a ‘bot’ because I do post a lot. I am not a ‘bot’- I’m John- so please- if you are on the verge of deleting something- my contact email is [email protected] - contact me first- thank you- John EPHESIANS 3
Ephesians 3:7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.Ephesians 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; Links to my sites here and the bottom of every post- https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/my-sites.html Stats https://ccoutreach87.com/stats-4-21/ Ephesians 3 videos- https://youtu.be/4F9ud-CbJ8o https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMbmJ7N-LFNKVN2n0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/iv9uxkj7s25q1sb/1-2-18%20Ephesians%203.mp4?dl=0 ON VIDEO- .One star only .Paul the prisoner .What mystery? .Abraham and the stars .Did the prophets know [fully] what they were saying? .What does all this mean for our day? .Not an ethnic gospel .Apostles and Prophets .The gift of prophecy .Silence- the movie .Nagasaki .Syncretism .Church history .Franciscans and Dominicans .The Logos .Redemption history .Higher critics got it wrong .Mysteries still revealed thru the body of Christ- Incarnation principle .God has done this .The Divine romance TEACHING- [Past posts below] Paul speaks about the gift of grace given to him- how God revealed the ‘mystery’ to him about both Jews and Gentiles being part of one Body [community] in Christ- Ephesians 3:2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: Ephesians 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Ephesians 3:4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) How how it is thru this body- the church- that God’s wisdom is being revealed- even to the angels and powers in the heavens- Ephesians 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, The principle is the incarnation- how we as living members of the Church are continuing to walk on the earth- as redeemed humans- and because the Spirit of revelation- the Spirit of God chose to reside in us- then we are the instrument where God’s wisdom and truth are being revealed. Even the prophets of old see in into this church- they are indeed ‘living’ with God right now- they await the day when we will all be physically raised from the dead- But as of now- they too look into the wisdom of God being revealed thru the church- Ephesians 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; [note- on the video I explained how here Paul is talking about New testament Apostles and Prophets- but I also spoke on how even the Old Testament prophets have now seen the unfolding of the mystery- thru the church] The great mystery of both Jew and Gentile being brought together in Christ might not seem as ‘big of a deal’ to us living in the 21st century- But to the first century mind- it was a big deal. For us today- we see how in order for God to truly reveal himself to others- it requires a community of people joined together in Christ- who have broken down the racial and ethnic barriers that we see in the world. The fact that God joined groups who were opposed to one another [Jew and Gentile] and thru this reconciling of man he than revealed his wisdom to others- was an offence to the natural mind. Remember- the mysteries Paul is speaking about were indeed contained in the writings of the prophets. Yet the religious mind of the 1st century simply could not see them. The truths contained in scripture are only revealed thru a unified community of people. Paul himself was a trained teacher of the law- yet it took a Divine intervention to reveal the mystery of Christ to him [Acts 9]. And as he embarked on his great purpose- to reveal the love of God to those who felt rejected- he too began to experience the same rejection from his former community. Yet it was the calling of God upon him- God’s grace that was doing it thru him- Ephesians 3:7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. He learned how to embrace the calling- and all that went along with it. Though an educated man- he would come to see that the love of Christ went beyond an intellectual pursuit of truth- Ephesians 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. It is in the Divine romance of Christ and the bride that enables the unfolding of the mysteries of God. The wisdom of God is a product of God being with man- God living and communing inside of this people- the church. We live in a day where many well meaning teachers- who have the skills to communicate truth- often do not see the need for the truth of God to come from a Body of people who display what reconciliation actually is. The 1st century church consisted of people who were once divided- people who held strong religious convictions. Their beliefs came from the sincere study of the Old Testament scriptures- It was from their dedication to these Scriptures that they felt it their duty to oppress the ‘other’- Paul’s own experience shows us this. But after his experience with Jesus himself on the road to Damascus- he began to see how it was thru these Old Testament Scriptures that God had already spoken about the redemption of all people- Paul himself began to see that what he thought was right [the persecuting of the church] was actually opposed to the pre planned purpose of God from the start. And this indeed was a great mystery- something hidden from the beginning of time- 1 Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations We as the people of God- who come from all different backgrounds and ethnicities, we reveal the manifold wisdom of God to others- because we show how people who were separated from one another have not come together to form a unified community. The walls have not only been broken down between us and God- but between us and our fellow man. Yes- Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law- he took away the barrier that separated man from his brother- Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations And he brought peace on earth- good will to men- 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Yes- the powers in the heavens- the angels themselves began seeing it at the time of the incarnation- And it is in this Divine romance between unified men- and God himself- that the angels still desire to learn from- New International Version It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. Peter 1:12 PAST POSTS- [ Teaching I did that relates to this post- Ephesians 3- Verses below] https://ccoutreach87.com/ephesians-links-12-2020/ EPHESIANS- LINKS https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/30/ephesians-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/12/13/ephesians-2/ More- https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/acts-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-johns-gospel/ https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/ [Accidentally posted more here- but the section I wanted is right below] ·1ST, 2ND CORINTHIANS ·1ST- 2ND SAMUEL ·1ST- 2ND SAMUEL [LINKS- UPDATED 3-17] ·1ST-2ND KINGS ·ABOUT ·ACTS ·ACTS [LINKS] ·ATHEISM- APOLOGETICS [LINKS ADDED] ·CHRISTIAN RECOVERY FROM ADDICTION [LONG VERSION] ·CLASSICS OF WESTERN LITERATURE ·DEUTERONOMY, JOSHUA ·EPHESIANS [HIGHLIGHTS] ·FURTHER TALKS ON CHURCH AND MINISTRY ·GALATIANS [LINKS] ·GALATIANS- JOHN’S GOSPEL ·GENESIS ·HAGGAI ·HEBREWS- UPDATED 2015 ·HISTORICAL FIGURES FROM CHURCH HISTORY ·HOUSE OF PRAYER OR DEN OF THIEVES ·HURRICANE HARVEY ·INSIGHTS FROM A REVOLUTION ·ISLAM ·JAMES- 2015 ·JOHN [COMPLETE- LINKS ADDED] ·JONAH [LINKS] ·JUDGES- RUTH [VIDEO LINKS INCLUDED] ·JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH ·LINK TO PAST POSTS- UP TO 12-2017 ·LINKS TO STUDIES ·MARK [LINKS] ·MY BIBLE COMMENTARIES [OTHER LINKS] ·MY OTHER SITES ·N.J./NYC- 2017 ·NEHEMIAH, ISAIAH ·NYC-NEW JERSEY TRIP- 2015 ·ONE LINK ·OVERVIEW OF PHILOSOPHY ·OVERVIEW OF THE BIBLE ·PROTESTANT REFORMATION- LUTHER ·QM ·RADIO CATALOG ·RAPTURE- 2ND COMING- 2 EVENTS? ·ROMANS-UPDATED 2015 ·RUSSIA- U.S.- WORLD EVENTS ·THE GREAT BUILDING OF GOD ·WESTERN INTELLECTUAL TRADITION // galatians- john’s gospel [STUDY] GALATIANS/JOHNS GOSPEL (1327) GALATIANS; INTRO- Okay, finally made it, been wanting to teach this letter for a while. Let me overview some church history that I feel would be helpful in understanding the book. During the 16th century Reformation you had an explosion take place within Christianity, though the official ‘schism’ dates back to the year 1054 between the western [Catholic] and eastern [Orthodox] expressions of the church, yet in reality it was the 16th century upheaval that really split the church. A few centuries before [14-15th century] you had rumblings within the church that had well taught Catholic men challenging many of the institutional concepts of the church; men like John Huss, Wycliffe and others. These men were extremely influential and had an effect on the church. Then in the 16th century you had Catholic writers who remained within the Catholic Church, but they too challenged the status quoi. Men like Erasmus of Rotterdam, these intellectuals would call for the idea of going back to the original sources of study [Greek New Testament and also other renaissance ideas] and this too would lead to the historic Reformation. But without a doubt Martin Luther [the Catholic monk out of Wittenberg, Germany] would be the firebrand of the movement. Martin was a well trained Augustinian monk who struggled with the guilt of sin for many years. Not normal guilt, but extreme. A fellow Catholic leader would encourage Luther to trust in the grace of God for his forgiveness. While reading the book of Romans [whose themes relate strongly to Galatians] he would come along the famous passage ‘the just shall live by faith’ and in Luther’s mind this was a total release from the bondage of trying to appease God thru all the religious works that he was going thru. In essence Luther discovered the historic gospel of grace thru the reading of Romans and was set free. Now Luther had no intention of leaving the Catholic Church, but as a very influential teacher/scholar out of the university city in Germany, he had lots of influence. The Catholic church at the time was worldwide and you had differing views of the church in various states. Many saw the state of the church in Rome as having given in to materialism and become too worldly. Rome was at the time trying to raise money for the restoring of the religious buildings at Rome and one of the priests going around selling indulgences was named Tetzel. The abuse of selling these ‘get out of purgatory early’ things was offensive to many Catholics, and Luther had ‘no small stir’ when Tetzel reached his area. These things would lead to the famous nailing of the 95 questions on the door of Catholic academia and would be the beginnings of the historic split. While it would take way too much time to go into all the theological differences between the Protestants and the Catholics, one of the main issues deals with how we as Christians view ‘being saved’. The historic Protestant position is called ‘justification by faith alone’ [Sola Fide] the Catholics counter with ‘the only time ‘faith alone’ is mentioned is in the book of James, where it says a man is not saved/justified by ‘faith alone’. Ouch! The main point I want to make is this letter deals with the early church’s belief that man is accepted with God based on the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Paul will challenge the ‘Judaisers’ [those who believed you needed to keep the law in order to be saved] and will argue that the law itself [Old Testament books] teaches that men are justified/accepted with God based on believing in the free gift of God thru Christ. Make no mistake about it, the New Testament clearly teaches this doctrine. Catholic and Protestant theologians BOTH agree that man is freely saved by the grace of God in Christ. But at the time of Luther’s day these glorious truths were lost in the morass of religious tradition and works. As we read thru this letter in the next few days, I want all of our readers to see the argument Paul is making from this basic theological view point. Is man saved by works [keeping Gods law] or grace? The bible teaches grace. Now I don’t have the time to also introduce the modern controversy between the ‘new view’ of Paul between Protestants [called new perspective]. There is an ongoing debate over whether or not the historic Reformation view of Paul is correct [men like N.T. Wright and John Piper are hashing it out] and I do think there are some merits to this discussion, but before we can delve into that aspect, we first need to see the historic question of works versus faith, and this letter is one of the best to deal with the issue. (1328) GALATIANS 1- Mark Twain said ‘the classics are books that everyone loves to praise, but nobody wants to read’. As we begin this study I can’t emphasize enough the need for Christians to read the bible! Many of the current problems in Christianity would be solved if we simply got back to reading the bible in context. Okay, in chapter one Paul defends his authority as being one who was sent by God, not man. He explains how after his conversion he spent years receiving direct revelation from God; he was not taught the gospel of grace by consulting with man. Paul was in a unique situation compared to the other apostles, Paul was the first apostle to have had a strong intellectual background in both Judaism and philosophy; he knew his stuff. This ‘allowed’ God to reveal things to Paul FROM THE SCRIPTURES that revealed Gods grace and the reality of how men are justified by faith and not thru the law. In essence Paul wasn’t out in left field receiving Divine revelations about things that nobody ever heard about. They were new things in the sense that they were hidden in God until the time that God chose to reveal them [Ephesians 3]. Paul rebukes them for forsaking the true gospel and being drawn to another gospel ‘which is not another’. Okay, what’s the true gospel Paul is speaking about? It’s not only the definition given by Paul in 1st Corinthians 15 [the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus] but it includes being justified by faith and not by the law. The Judaisers did believe in Jesus, but they were rejecting justification by faith alone. The false gospel that Paul is refuting is the gospel that said the Gentiles must ‘keep the law in order to be saved’ [see Acts 13 and 15]. In no uncertain terms Paul condemns this message; there was no compromising the reality of Gods free grace given to the elect. The actual faith itself that is deposited in the elect is a divine act of God [Ephesians 2] the unbeliever is dead in sins with no ability to ‘resurrect himself’ and the new birth is Gods sovereign act of raising a person from the dead [spiritually] and giving them faith. This is the gospel of grace. Paul was adamant about rejecting false gospels! In our day there are so many ‘gospels’ going around it’s not funny. I caught a few minutes of a TV evangelist the other day quoting verses from all over the bible in order to entice people to vow money to him; yes he used these words in no uncertain terms. He told the people they must quickly pick up the phone and dedicate the money to him, because it was this act of faith that would release the harvest. Now I don’t know how much longer God is going to allow stuff like this to go on, how much longer networks will continue to air this stuff, but we as believers/preachers need to condemn these false gospels in no uncertain terms. Paul will use strong language when defending the gospel; we need to get back to defending it too. (1329) GALATIANS 2- Paul recounts his meeting with the apostles at Jerusalem; some feel he is talking about his first visit [Acts 11- before AD 50] others think he is discussing his Acts 15 meeting [right at around AD 50] I’m in the latter camp. Paul is basically telling the churches of Galatia that he already went thru this whole discussion with the main apostles at Jerusalem [Peter, James and John] and that they had already agreed that the Gentile believers did not need to get circumcised and come under the law in order to be saved. I do find it interesting that out of the 4 decrees that were made [read Acts 15] that the only one Paul recounts here is ‘to remember the poor’. The only decree worthy enough for Paul to recount is the one on charitable giving; those of you who have followed this blog for a while know how much I emphasize this point. If the early church was teaching tithing to the Gentile churches, surely it would have come up at the Jerusalem meeting, but it didn’t. This chapter has some important verses that all believers should commit to memory ‘if righteousness come by the law, then Christ died in vain’ ‘the life that I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me’ etc. I really want all my Catholic/Protestant readers to pay attention to the verse’s that I just quoted; the bible clearly teaches that if men could ‘be saved’ by keeping Gods law, then Christ died in vain. Paul will go on to teach [chapter 3] that if there had been a law given that could have given men eternal life, then ‘being saved’ would come that way; but he then goes on to say that there never was a law given that men could keep in order to be saved. Paul always gives the caveat ‘does this mean we go out and break the 10 commandments’? And his answer is always a big NO! The point of this chapter is we as believers are saved because Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sin; the proof that the penalty was completely paid is in the fact that Jesus rose again [Romans 5]. All who believe in this reality are now the children of God, indeed ‘we are all the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ’. (1330) GALATIANS 3- The main point of this chapter is God made a promise to Abraham that he would ‘bless’ all nations thru one of his kids someday [Genesis 12). This promise was given to Abraham 430 years before God gave the 10 commandments to Moses. Therefore the promise that men would be justified/saved by faith cannot be ‘undone’ by a later act of giving the law to Moses. The point being that Paul is arguing with the Galatians that their new view that they need to keep the law in order to ‘be saved’ [the blessing of Abraham IN CONTEXT!] is false because God already told Abraham it would be by faith in the coming Messiah. Paul then asks ‘is the law then against Gods promise’? No, it was given to man [Israel] until the time came for the promised child to be born [1st century], but now that the promised child is here we are no longer under the ‘schoolmaster’. The schoolmaster term can be confusing; the word in Greek means the person who walked the kids to school [truth] and then dropped them off AND LEFT. Paul is saying the law period served its purpose; it revealed mans sinful nature to him and then ‘dropped him off at the Cross’. Paul is saying the law fulfilled its purpose and we are now under grace. As new creatures in Christ we walk in love and fulfill the righteousness of the law by our new nature, it’s not a legalistic thing. There is some confusion today on this chapter; some were taught that ‘the blessing of Abraham’ was speaking of the promises in Deuteronomy on financial blessings. And that the curse is speaking about the curse of ‘poverty’. Though it is true that the bible does speak about this in the Old Testament, in context Paul is not saying this here. Paul explains what he means about the ‘curse of the law’. He says it’s the curse of never being able to do enough to appease God, the man that is under the law puts himself under this mindset of perfectionism and lives under this constant feeling of never being able to do enough. This was Paul’s previous experience as a Pharisee. When Paul teaches that we are delivered from ‘the curse’ so the ‘blessing of Abraham might come on the gentiles, that we might receive THE PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT BY FAITH’ he is not saying Jesus died to make us financially rich, he is saying Jesus delivered us from the old law mindset of legalism and we now have forgiveness and acceptance as a free gift- ‘being now justified by faith we have peace with God thru our Lord Jesus Christ’ [Romans 5]. This post deals with the faulty understanding expounded by many Evangelical/Protestant ministers [end times scenarios, Tim Lahaye type books] that exalt ethnic/racial elements into the gospel, and contribute to the many present tensions between Muslims/Jews/Christians. (1331) GALATIANS 4- Paul says there was a time period before the promise would be fulfilled thru Christ; that time has come to an end [the law] and we are now in ‘the fullness of times’. When we were under the law we were no different than servants, but now in grace we are mature sons, people able to inherit the promise. Paul says why do you desire to go back under the ‘restraint’ phase, the time of discipline and legalism, we are now in a fullness stage thru the New Covenant and we don’t need the old mentality anymore. Once again Paul really ‘spiritualizes’ the Old Testament in his teaching, he says that the law [Old Testament] taught this difference between law and grace. He uses the story of Abraham having 2 sons [Ishmael, Isaac] and he says ‘cant you hear what the law is saying’? One son was born by promise [Isaac] the other thru the works of the flesh [law]. And just like it was back then, the one born after the flesh persecuted the one born after the Spirit, so today [1st century] those after the flesh/law are persecuting those born after the Spirit. It’s important to see that Paul DOES NOT use this analogy to describe Jewish/Muslim [Arab] relations; he actually refers to natural Israel as ‘Ishmael’! He says the Judaisers [Jews zealous of the law] were fulfilling the type/symbol by persecuting Gentile believers. We need to keep these distinctions in our minds, because when we don’t rightfully discern the truth we do damage to the non ethnic testimony of the gospel. Paul says the law relates to natural Israel/Jerusalem who is under bondage with her children, but the ‘New Jerusalem’ which is above is the mother of us all, and this Jerusalem relates to the church. The New Jerusalem is not referring to a physical city that will ‘hover over the earth during the millennium rule’ [EEK!] But it refers to the new community people of God, the church. I have written on this before and these references in the New Testament [Revelation, Hebrews- us being the new Zion, etc.] are speaking of the church, the people of God. Paul once again speaks of ‘natural Jerusalem’ in a negative light, in the sense that he teaches those who are under the law are not walking in the fullness of the promises of God as come in the Messiah. The New Testament spends no time engaging in the glorying of any ethnic group [whether it be Israel, Gentile, etc.] It’s not that the apostles were being anti Semitic, it’s just the emphasis is on the new kingdom of God and the new people of God [the church made up of both Jew and Gentile]. Its striking to compare the writings of the first Jewish believers to the current trends amongst many evangelical preachers, the two don’t mesh well. ROMANS 4-7 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/2-11-15-romans-4-7.zip Video https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/700-galatians.wav?_=1 This is an old radio show I made years ago- thought it fit well with what I’m teaching now- you’ll need to use Internet Explorer browser to hear it. The apostle Paul quotes a lot of Old Testament scriptures in this letter- I hope to cover some of them on the video- but as you read these chapters- it would be helpful to read Genesis 12- 13- 15-and 17- these are the main chapters Paul uses in the life of Abraham to show Abrahams faith- and how he was justified by faith- before he was circumcised [Gen 15]. He will describe the faith of Abraham by using the story of Abraham and Sarah having a son in their old age [Gen. 17] – and talk about how the heirs of the promise- that Abraham would be ‘heir of the world’ was made to ALL THE SEED- meaning not just to his Jewish brothers who would believe- but also to the Gentiles- who were never granted the ‘right of the covenant’ [circumcision]. Paul explains that Abraham was justified BEFORE he was circumcised- so- he is the father of all the kids- even the Gentile believers who were never circumcised- but had the faith of Abraham. Now- there’s’ a lot I am trying to cover in this Romans study- for those who watch the videos- you will see that I’m also covering the divisions within Christianity- primarily those that arose out of the 16th century Protestant Reformation. I quote the book of James- and show how James says ‘was not Abraham our father JUSTIFIED BY WORKS when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar’. It’s important to see- that these words JUSTIFIED BY WORKS- are indeed used in our New Testament- in the videos I’m explaining this- but the point I’m making is James uses the account of Abraham- in Genesis 22- and shows us that the progressive work of ‘Justification’ can- and is- applied to the act of Abrahams obedience- and when God saw Abraham DO A JUST THING [a work] James says ‘he was then justified’- the same word used in the initial act of our Justification- seen in Genesis 15- ok- this might be a bit much to take in now- but over time when we get a better grasp on this- I believe it will help to foster unity in the Body of Christ. James 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? James 2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. James 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. NOTE- As I do this study- I’m copying/pasting an old commentary I wrote years ago- I guess I should read the commentary first- after I penned the above- I read it- I basically covered the same thing- at least I’m consistent! ROMANS 4: 1-12 Now, Paul will use one of his most frequent arguments to prove that all men, both Jews and Gentiles, need to be justified by faith and not ‘by works’. The most famous singular figure that natural Israel looked to as the ‘identifier’ of them being a special people was ‘Father Abraham’. Paul does a masterful job at showing how Abraham was indeed justified by faith and not by works. The ‘work’ of circumcision came before the law. It would later become synonymous with law keeping [Ten Commandments] and Paul can certainly use it here as implying ‘the whole law’. But to be accurate this work of circumcision was a national identifying factor that Israel looked to as saying ‘we are better than you [Gentiles]’. Paul is showing Israel that God in fact ‘made Abraham righteous’ before he circumcised him! [Gen. 15] And the sign of this righteousness was circumcision. This meaning that Abrahams faith in Gods promise [a purely ‘passive’ act! This is very important to see. Later on as we deal with the famous ‘conversion texts’ we need to keep this in mind] justified him without respect to the law. God simply took Abraham outside and said ‘look at the stars, your children will be this abundant’ and Abraham simply believed this promise to be true. Much like the passive belief of Cornelius house at their conversion [Acts 10]. The simple belief in the promise of Jesus justifies the sinner! Now this fact of Abraham believing and being made righteous, before being circumcised, is proof [according to Paul] that Abraham is the father of ‘many nations’ not just natural Israel. All ethnic groups who HAVE THE SAME FAITH AS ABRAHAM are qualified to be ‘sons of Abraham/ heirs of God’. The fact that Abraham carried this justification along with him as he became circumcised, shows that all Jewish people as well can partake of this ‘righteousness by faith’ if they have the same faith as Abraham had. Jesus did say ‘Abraham rejoiced to see my day’[ John’s gospel]. In Gods promise to Abraham of a future dynasty of children, this included the promised Messiah. So indirectly Abraham’s belief in the promise of being the father of ‘many nations’ included belief in the coming Messiah. So according to Paul, all ethnic groups who have faith in Jesus are justified/made righteous. The very example Israel used to justify ‘ethnic/national pride’ [Father Abraham] was taught in a way that showed the truth of the gospel and how God is no respecter of persons. (820)ROMANS 4:13-14 ‘Now the promise that Abraham would become the inheritor of the world was not going to be fulfilled thru the law [natural Israel] but thru faith [all who believe, both Jew and Gentile]’. I have spoken on this before [see note at bottom] and will hit on it a little now. The historic church can be defined for the most part as ‘a-millennial’, that is they interpreted the parables on the Kingdom of God and the promise of ‘inheriting the world [which includes the Promised Land]’ as being fulfilled thru the church. That Jesus established Gods kingdom and the church basically fulfills these promises by expanding Christ’s ‘rule’ thru the earth. Some historians saw the 4th century ‘marriage’ of Rome and Christianity as a fulfillment of this. During the 19th and 20th century you had the rise of Dispensationalism, a ‘new/different’ way of interpreting these land promises. Many good men showed the reality of Christ’s literal coming and pointed to a future time where Jesus literally sits on a throne in Jerusalem and rules all nations. These brothers are called ‘Pre-millennial’, they believe that Jesus comes back first [pre] and then establishes his ‘millennial rule’ on earth. The Premillennialists would see the Amillennialists as ‘replacement theologians’. They said that these brothers were taking the actual promises that God made to Israel and ‘replacing’ Israel with the church. In essence they accused the Amillennialists of spiritualizing the promises to Israel and saying the church would be the recipients of the promises. Now, both sides have truth to them, I personally believe the Amillennialists have a lot more truth! But I do see some of the good points that the Premillenialists made. I want you to simply read these verses [Romans 4:13-14, Galatians 3:18] and see for yourself how Paul does teach the reality that the promises to Abraham are to be fulfilled thru the church [spiritual Israel]. This does not mean that there is no future physical return of Jesus. But the body of scripture leans heavily on the Amillinnialists side. [see entry 703] NOTE- To be fair, some historic thinkers held to the Premillennial position. The majority were Amillennial. (821)ROMANS 4:15-25 ‘For the law worketh wrath, for where there is no law there is no transgression’. I simply want to touch on the concept of ‘wrath’ being a very real part of judgment. One of the ways the gospel ‘saves us’ is by promising a future [and present!] deliverance from wrath. While death ‘reigned’ before the law was given, it wasn’t until the law where you had a clear picture of transgression and atonement. We will deal with this later in Romans. Now Paul once again hits on the theme of Abraham being the ‘spiritual father’ of many nations [all who believe] and how the promises of God to Abraham were to be fulfilled thru this ‘new race of people’ [the church]. Paul is careful to not demean Israel; he couches his terms in a way that says ‘God will fulfill these things thru the circumcision who believes [Jews] and the un-circumcision who believe’ [Gentiles]. I want to stress the very plain language Paul uses to show us that we should not be seeing Gods ‘covenant promises’ thru a natural lens. Christians need to be careful when they support [exalt!] natural Israel in a way that the New Testament doesn’t do. ‘To the end that the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is the faith of Abraham’. Now Paul tells us that when God made promises to Abraham that Abraham believed against hope. When all things looked really bad, he still believed. When he was 100 years old and Sarah around 90, he held to the promise [read my commentaries on Genesis 15-18 and Hebrews 11] and therefore God imputed righteousness to him. How closely are you paying attention to Paul’s free use of Abraham and Genesis? If you carefully read this chapter you see Paul ‘intermingle’ the story of Abraham being ‘made righteous upon initial belief’ [Gen. 15] and the later story of Sarah having Isaac [Gen. 17]. I think Paul was simply using the description of Abrahams faith, as seen in the Gen. 17 [and 22!] accounts of his life, to show the type of faith he initially ‘exercised’ [I don’t like using this term to be honest. God actually imputes faith to the believer at the initial act of regeneration]. The important chapters from Genesis that we all need to have a ‘working knowledge’ of are Chapters 12 [the initial promise], 15 [the oft mentioned ‘imputed righteousness’ verse], 17 [the receiving of the promised seed- Isaac], and 22 [the ultimate act of obedience that Abraham showed in offering up Isaac. This will be described in James epistle as ‘righteousness being fulfilled’. James, who is concerned about ‘works’, will say that when Abraham offered Isaac he was fulfilling the ‘imputed righteousness’ that God gave him earlier. James actually describes this as ‘being justified by works’{James 2:21} and James says ‘the scripture was fulfilled that saith Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness’… ‘see how that by works a man is justified and not by faith only’. The classic view taken by many confuses the ‘justified’ part with the initial act of justification that Paul centers on. James uses ‘see how he was justified by works’ in a future ‘judicial decree’ sense; that is God having the ongoing ‘freedom’ to continually say ‘good job son, you did well’. The word justification is used in a fluid sense much like salvation. Christians need to be more ‘secure’ in their own assurance to be able to see these truths. When we approach all these seemingly ‘difficult passages’ in a defensive mode, then we never arrive at the actual meaning]. When we see the overall work of God in Abraham’s life we see the purpose of God in ‘declaring people just’ [initially ‘getting saved’]. The purpose is for them to eventually ‘act just’ [obey!] ‘Jesus was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification’ thank God that this process is dependant on the work of the Cross! [see # 758] (822)Romans 5:1-9 ‘Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God thru our Lord Jesus Christ’. There are certain benefits ‘results’ of being ‘made righteous by faith’, peace being one of them. Paul goes on and says we glory in hope and also trials, because we realize that thru the difficulties we gain experience and patience. Things that are needed for the journey, we can’t substitute talent and motivation and ‘success principles’ for them. We need maturity and God produces it this way. Those who teach otherwise have a ‘self inflicted wound’ their teachings are very immature! That is there was a ‘strain’ of teaching in the church that said ‘we don’t learn thru difficulty and suffering, we learn only thru Gods word!’ [that is reading it]. Those who grasped onto this false idea have produced some of the most unbalanced teaching in the church, stuff that even the younger generation is saying ‘what in the heck are these guys preaching’? If you by pass the difficult road, you will be shallow. Now Paul says ‘God commended his love toward us, that when we were sinners Christ died for us’ ‘being now justified by his death, we shall be saved thru his life’ [saved from wrath thru him]. Once again this theme pops up; ‘since we are justified, made righteous by believing with the heart, we shall be saved [continual, future deliverance] from wrath thru him’. I don’t know if you ever realized what a major theme this is in Romans? The ongoing, future ‘being saved’ is a result of ‘being made righteous’. Later on in chapter 10, when we read that the righteous call for salvation, we need to understand this context. Remember, when the two are linked together in the same verse, it is not saying ‘saved’ in the sense of some sinner’s prayer. It is speaking of the ongoing, promised deliverance [from many things, not just wrath!] to the ‘justified caller’. We have access ‘by faith into this grace wherein we stand’. Wow! That’s some good stuff, Jesus ever lives so that those who come to him are ‘being saved’ to the uttermost. This grace we are in is available to us all of the time, are we availing ourselves of it? (823)ROMANS 5:10-21 ‘For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to him by the death of his Son… much more we shall be saved by his life’. Now, some have ‘divided’ the role of Jesus death and resurrection in salvation. I heard a radio preacher teach that all the people who think they are ‘saved’ because Jesus died for them were deceived. He used this verse to say they need to believe in his ‘life’ [resurrection] to ‘be saved by his life’. Well I get the point, but he was missing the meaning of the verse. Why? Because once again we see ‘saved’ as initially ‘getting saved’ while here it is in a continual sense. Paul is saying ‘if God reconciled us [justification] while we were deadly enemies, how much more shall the actual ministry and life of Jesus at Gods right hand do for us!’ The New Testament teachers that we have actually entered into an eternal covenant with God thru his Son. Jesus ‘ever lives’ to make intercession for us [Hebrews]. Therefore he is able to ‘save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him’. The bible teaches an ongoing ‘saving’ relationship that believers have with the Messiah. This ‘relationship’ would not be possible if he were dead. Now we ‘joy in God thru Jesus Christ from whom we have received the atonement’ good stuff! Isaiah says God will meet with those who ‘rejoice and do what is right’. We have both of these ‘abilities’ because of the atonement. The rest of the chapter teaches the Pauline doctrine of original sin. That because Adam sinned, death and sin passed to all men. So likewise the ‘righteousness’ of one man [Jesus- the last Adam] has passed upon all men [those who receive of the abundance of grace and the gift of life]. This is an interesting angle that Paul uses to teach redemption. He shows the reality that there are only 2 ‘federal heads’ of mankind. You are either in the first or last Adam. The ‘righteous act’ is speaking of the Cross [Philippians says Jesus was ‘obedient unto death’. The singular act of obedience that allows this righteousness to pass to all who believe is the Cross. Some have misunderstood this chapter to teach that the obedient life of Christ, his sinless life, saves us. I feel this is a wrong reading of the chapter. The sinless life of Jesus, pre Cross, made him the true candidate to be the substitute for man. He was able to die in our place [obedience unto death] because he was the sinless Son of God. We are now ‘saved by his life’ because he ever lives to make intercession for us]. All who believe in Jesus can now trace their lineage to the ‘last Adam’ [Jesus] and be free from ‘original sin’. (824)ROMANS 6- Lets talk about baptism. To start off I believe that the baptism spoken about in this chapter is primarily referring to ‘the baptism of the Spirit’, that is the work of the Holy Spirit placing a believer in the Body of Christ. The Catholic and Orthodox [and Reformed!] brothers believe that Paul is speaking about water baptism. The MAJORITY VIEW of Christians today believe this chapter is referring to water baptism. Why? First, the text itself does not indicate either way. You could take this baptism and see it either way! You are not a heretic if you believe in it referring to Spirit or water. You are not a heretic if you believe in Paedo baptism [infant baptism]. ‘What are you saying? Now you lost me.’ Infant baptism developed as a Christian rite over the course of church history. The church struggled with how to ‘dedicate’ new babies to Christ. Though the scriptures give no examples of infant baptism, some felt that the reason was because the scriptures primarily show us the conversion of the first century believers. There really aren’t a whole lot of stories of ‘generations’ of believers passing on the faith to other generations. So some felt that the idea of dedicating babies to the Lord through infant baptism was all right. The examples they used were the circumcision of babies in the Old Testament. Infants were circumcised [a rite that placed you under the terms of the Old Covenant] though they weren’t old enough to really understand what they were doing! This example was carried over into the Christian church and applied to infant baptism. Now, I do not believe in infant baptism. But I can certainly understand this line of reasoning. As Christian theology developed thru the early centuries, particularly thru the patristic period, you had very intellectual scholars grapple with many different themes and ideas. Some that we just studied in chapter 5. Some theologians came to see infant baptism as dealing with original sin. They applied the concept of infant baptism as a rite that washes away original sin. The church did not teach that this meant you did not have to later believe and follow Christ. They simply developed a way of seeing baptism as ‘sanctifying’ the new members of Christian households. This basic belief made it all the way to the Reformation. The Reformers themselves still practiced infant baptism. It was the Anabaptists [re-baptizers] who saw the truth of adult baptism and suffered for it, at the hands of the reformers! Ulrich Zwingli, the Swiss reformer, would have them drowned for their belief. Some Protestants stuck with the infant rite, while others [the Restorationists] would reject it. Today most Evangelicals do not practice infant baptism, the majority of Christians world wide do. Now, the reason I did a little history is because Evangelicals [of which I am one] have a tendency to simply look at other believers who practice this rite as ‘deceived’. Many are unaware of the history I just showed you. The reasons the historic church developed this doctrine are not heretical! They used scripture and tradition to pass it down to future generations. I do not believe or practice infant baptism, many good believers do. (825)ROMANS 6: 1-11 ‘shall we continue to sin, so grace may abound? God forbid! How shall we, who are dead to sin, live any longer therein?’ Now begins the ‘actual part’ the result, if you will, of being ‘made righteous by faith’. One of the main accusations against Paul, by the Jewish believers, was that he taught ‘sin a lot, because you are no longer under the law’. Paul spends time defending himself against this accusation thru out the New Testament. Here Paul teaches that the believer has been joined unto Christ [baptized, immersed into him] and this ‘joining’ identifies him with Christ’s death. So how can ‘we, who are dead to sin, live any longer in sin’? Paul’s argument for righteous living comes from the fact that we have died with Christ unto sin. ‘We have died with him, and we have also been raised with him to new life’. In Ephesians chapter 2, Paul says we who were dead in sins have been made alive in Christ. Now, we live a new life, free from sin [practically speaking- not absolute sinless-ness!] because we are identified with Jesus in his new life, we are ‘alive with and in him’. ‘Since we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection’! Jesus died once, and now he lives forever unto God ‘likewise count yourselves dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God thru Jesus Christ our Lord’. Paul’s basis for the transformed life is Grace and being ‘in him’. Paul does not appeal to the law to try and effect holiness in the believer, he appeals to Christ ‘in him you have died to legalistic practices, trying to earn salvation and acceptance; and now because of this new position [placement] you too have died to the old man [lifestyle] and are alive unto God’. Paul obviously did not teach ‘sin hardily’ to the contrary he taught ‘live unto God’. (834)Romans 6:12-23 ‘Let not sin therefore rule in your mortal body’ if we have died with Jesus, we are ‘dead with him to sin’. If we are risen with Jesus ‘we are alive unto God thru him’ for this reason don’t sin! Paul makes sure his readers understand him, he in no way was teaching a sinful gospel. He encourages the believers to renew their minds to this truth. ‘For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace’ Paul clearly saw the dangers of legalism [living under strict ‘do this, don’t do this’ guidelines] he saw that the law actually quickens the fleshly nature and brings to the surface mans sin. Now, because we are under grace, does this mean we get to keep on sinning? ‘God forbid!’ Paul launches into the explanation of sin and bondage. Remember, sin was in the world before the law. Men were dying ever since Adam sinned. So for Paul, this means even though we are not under the restraints of law, yet the reality of sin, bondage and punishment still exist. Paul says ‘if you yield to sin and allow it to rule you, you will become its slave’. There will be a penalty and price to pay ‘the wages of sin is death’. But because you are identified with Jesus ‘sin shall not have dominion over you… you have been made free from sin’. Paul teaches the victorious Christian life. He does not deny the struggle [next chapter!] but he shows the reality of redemption. He obviously never taught the concept of ‘sin more, so grace can abound’. He understood the dangers of preaching ‘we are not under the law’ but he also understood the reality of ‘being under grace’ he figured it was worth the risk of being misunderstood if he could truly imbed the gospel into the believing community. (739)ACTS 2- The Apostles are gathered together in the upper room. As they continue in unity and prayer the Spirit of God comes upon them like a rushing wind. There appear ‘cloven tongues’ like fire above each of them. Why this image? Why not ‘ears’ or some other sanctified body part? God is going to give supernatural power to the words that they will speak. In a few chapters we will read how an angel will supernaturally deliver Peter from prison and say ‘go, speak the words of this life’. These tongues are a precursor to the tremendous fire that will be loosed from their lips. James says the tongue is a little member but boasteth great things, it has the ability to start fires. Jesus said he came to earth to ‘start a fire’ and how he wished it were already burning. Here he gets his wish! Now the Apostles and early believers experience the gift of tongues. They begin speaking and prophesying in the unknown languages of all those who are gathered together to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost. God ordained this event to be strategically done at this time. All the surrounding regions heard the believers speak the ‘wondrous works of God’ in their native tongue. Peter stands up and delivers a scathing message! He basically tells Israel ‘this is that which the prophet Joel spoke about’ he goes on and says this outpouring is part of Gods predetermined plan to pour out his Spirit on all flesh in the last days. He speaks of divine manifestations [dreams, visions] and carries the prophecy right to the end of the age. He then speaks the gospel of Christ and tells Israel ‘this is the Jesus you killed’. Wow, these guys are bold. Peter leads them to faith in Christ, their public baptism is the immediate sign of their willingness to be identified with Jesus and 3 thousand Jews become believers this day. Now, what is the church? This corporate group of first time followers do 4 basic things. They ‘continue in the Apostles doctrine and breaking of bread and prayers and share their goods with all in need’[true fellowship]. This early community was a brotherhood who actually gave priority to the teachings of Jesus passed on to them from the Apostles. Don’t miss this! Many will develop all sorts of practices and beliefs that ‘make up church’. Some will justify extra biblical beliefs under the guise of ‘the Apostles doctrine’ as in if it were something totally contrary or not known thru the gospels or the writing of scripture. Paul will tell Timothy to stay true to the traditions he passed on to him. But I want to focus on the fact that the Apostles doctrine was not something different then the basic instructions Jesus left us in the gospels. Paul will add to this basic body of Christian doctrine thru his letters to the churches, as well as the whole New Testament. But we do not see a bunch of strange or unknown doctrines that come from this time period. The basics are mentioned above. I do want to stress the fact that this early expression of church life had no ‘Pastor’ in the sense of their gatherings being a time where a singular authority figure had oversight of the entire community. They had strong leaders to be sure, but would avoid the Protestant idea of Pastor. They had no church building or belief in a strong liturgy. The ‘breaking of bread’ was a common meal where they all shared together in a real life setting. And of course their giving was radical, it was not ‘a tithe’ and it was done to meet the real needs of the community around them. All these elements are basic to what the New Testament church is. A functioning society of people in whom Christ Spirit dwells and who see themselves as a real spiritual community of people. As we progress thru out the history of the church as seen in Acts we will never lose this basic mindset. It will be carried into the epistles of the New Testament and remain the best idea of ‘local church’ as found in the first century. There is a trend going on right now in Evangelicalism that says ‘lets return to the ancient practices of the church and see what we can find’. As an avid reader of church history I am not totally against this movement, but I do see a danger in thinking ‘the ancient practices’ are the 2nd or 3rd century development of liturgy and Eucharist and other early ideas, and by passing the ‘real ancient’ story in the book of Acts. To put it simply, some of the Protestant and Evangelical ‘practices and beliefs’ that have developed since the reformation are ‘ancient’. I believe we all have a long way to go, but the ‘low view’ of the Lords Table [low as opposed to ‘high church view’. Though I personally believe in the Lords table as a memorial, not as the actual Body and Blood of Jesus. Yet I personally don’t like referring to such an important practice as low!] seems to be the true ancient practice as seen in Acts. The absence of the Priest officiating over the altar is no where to be seen in the actual ‘church’ setting. This ancient church is really a simple brotherhood of believers having all things common and having the resurrection of the Son of God as the central organizing principle of their lives. (740)ACTS 3- Peter and John go up to the temple and heal the lame man. This stirs up a commotion and gives opportunity for Peter to preach Christ. I want you to see something here. The miracles of healing thru out this book testify of something specific. They do not simply prove the existence of God. These first century people were not ‘post moderns’ they had no pre enlightenment era that affected their minds. For the most part they were highly religious! Paul will tell them this later in Acts ‘you are too superstitious’ [religious]. The miracles are testifying to the fact that Jesus is alive, he really rose from the grave! Peter’s sermons are centered around the reality of Christ being the fulfillment of all that the prophets have spoken about! The church must not be ashamed of the gospel. Recently the ‘church world’ was up in arms over the Popes recent reinstating of the Tridentine Mass [the Latin Mass]. After Vatican 2 the Mass was done solely in the language of the hearers. Many old time Catholics were wanting the Latin too. So Pope Benedict said fine, you have the option to practice it either way. Now, this ancient Mass had a prayer that simply prayed for the Jewish people to come to know Jesus. Well, this upset the Jewish groups and they demanded a change in the prayer. At first the Pope re wrote it but it still asked for prayer for the Jews to come to Jesus. This still offended them. So finally the church produced some prayer less offensive. We should not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ and his resurrection! Peter was preaching the reality of the resurrection and was in their face about it! Jesus has proven himself to be alive, we are not just witnesses of the existence of God, we are witnesses that Jesus is the way to him. The only way! Now Peter ends this chapter in a unique way. He invokes the ‘blessing of Abraham’ and says it means ‘the blessing of Jesus in turning you away from sin’. We just finished a study in Genesis. I emphasized how the New testament apostles viewed the Abrahamic blessing thru the lens of redemption. They did not teach it in a materialistic way. Peter also quotes Moses [as well as David] and says ‘Moses said the Lord would raise up a prophet like myself, whoever doesn’t hear him will be destroyed’. Peter sees the fulfillment of ‘the Moses type prophet’ in Christ. Peter has a great gift of taking the old testament prophets and proving Christ from them. There is a young hearer in this early church. He will eventually become one of the first Deacons. His name is Stephen, boy he must be drinking everything in. He is seeing and hearing the testimony of Jesus straight from those who walked with him. He hears Peter’s teachings on Christ. He becomes familiar with the way Peter associates the ‘Moses prophet’ with Jesus. This young man will testify in Acts 7 of the reality of Jesus being the fulfillment of the Moses prophecy. He will give the longest recorded sermon in scripture. He will brilliantly trace the roots of Israel and show how Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophets. He will be accused of going against the law and the temple. He has the first grasp of ‘Pauline theology’ [actually Paul got it from him!] and does such a convincing job of proving Jesus to be Messiah that they stone him to death. He becomes the first martyr in the book of Acts. At his death he says ‘forgive them; don’t hold this sin against them’. A witness named Saul is sitting by. God answers Stephens’s prayer and Saul will become one of the greatest fire starters known to man. (741)ACTS 9- Paul gets permission from the high priest to go to Damascus and arrest the believers. On his way the Lord appears to him and Paul is told to go to Damascus and wait for instructions. He is blind for 3 days. God gives a vision to Ananias and tells him to go to Paul in Judas house, because he too had a vision of a man coming to him and laying hands on him. Ananias is afraid but does it at the Lords insistence. I want you to see the role of visions and divine guidance in this event. The purpose of the visions and supernatural events has nothing to do with the canon of scripture. Some teach that the only reason you had supernatural guidance in the early days was because the canon was not complete. But after its completion you no longer had these types of things. First, no where is this doctrine taught in scripture. Second, you did not have total agreement on ‘the canon’ [all the books that make up our bibles] until the 4th century! Now you did have a basic group of letters and writings that were accepted as authoritative, but there was not total agreement. Many early believers had the epistles of Barnabas and a few other letters that were accepted. Some did not include Revelation at all. Others questioned Hebrews and James. You also did not have a workable, readable ‘bible’ in actual book form until the 12th-13th century! That’s right, the actual form of our modern books was not invented until that late date. Plus the availability of books on a mass scale did not appear until the Guttenberg printing press of the 16th century. Just in time for Luther’s Reformation! The first book printed on his press was the Guttenberg bible. So the point is, the idea that somehow right after the early Apostles died off you had all believers going to ‘their bibles for direction’ as opposed to having dreams or visions or other divine guidance, really isn’t a workable solution. In this chapter God needed to get orders to his people, he gave them visions! Now Paul immediately preaches Christ as the Son of God and Messiah. He stirs up the waters and they sneak him out of town and send him to Jerusalem. The church at Jerusalem are leery of him, Barnabas vouches for him and he is received. He starts preaching there and once again they want to kill him. He eventually is sent back to his area of Tarsus. Now Peter is still on the road preaching Christ. He heals a man at Lydda and many come to the Lord. A woman named Tabitha dies at Joppa, a town close to Lydda. They call for Peter to come and he does and raises her from the dead. What are we seeing here? An early church [community of believers] preaching the gospel and doing miracles and affecting large regions without lots of money. Without hardly any organization. Without setting up ‘local churches’ in the sense that each area has separate ‘places’ they see as ‘local churches’ with salaried pastors running the ‘churches’. You are seeing a radical movement of Christ followers who are sacrificially giving there lives away for the gospel. No prayer meetings on ‘how in the world are we going to reach the region for the Lord. We need tons of cash’! They believed the simple instructions Jesus gave to them on going into all the world and preaching the gospel. Sure there will be times where support is sent to help them make it to the next location. But the whole concept of needing tons of cash and to build huge ‘church buildings/organizations’ and to set up salaried ministers is not seen in this story. I do not think the development of these things over the centuries means ‘all the churches are deceived’ type of a thing. All ‘the churches’ [groups of believers who are presently identifying themselves this way] are great people of God. They are doing the works of Jesus and functioning to a degree in the paradigm that they were given [either thru their upbringing or training]. But today we are seeing a rethinking of the ‘wineskin’ [that which contains the new wine] on a mass scale. As we read this story in Acts I want to challenge your mindset. Don’t fit the story into your present understanding of ‘local church’. But let your understanding of ‘Local Church’ be formed thru scripture. This chapter said ‘the churches had rest and were edified and were walking in the fear of the Lord’. The ‘churches’ are defined as all the communities of believers living in these various locations! I talked about Nagasaki on the video- Eph. 3- below are my past posts where the word popped up- I think some are from New York/New jersey? THURSDAY 2-16-17 Matthew 26:56 But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled. https://youtu.be/kH6QifEBXsw Scriptures fulfilled https://youtu.be/ypFQT-R_tcM Trump press conference ON VIDEOS- Video 1 .This happened so God’s purpose would come to pass Video 2- .Ukraine .Crimea .NATO .Syria .Fake news .Media frenzy .Trump ‘took the words right out of my mouth’ NEW- [past links- verses below] SCRIPTUTE FULFILLED When they came to take Jesus- he asked them ‘why didn’t you get me when I was teaching daily in the temple’? ‘You come out and get me- like a common criminal’? The bible says they took Jesus so the scriptures might be fulfilled. Specifically the scripture that said all his men would forsake him. Jesus was arrested in a remote place- so his men would fear- and run away. In the broader context- things happen in our lives- so the ‘scriptures might be fulfilled’. The bible says God had plans for us- before we were even born. Yet- in time- thru various processes- God brings us to a place- where ‘the scriptures- promises- purposes of God for your life- might be fulfilled’. So- I talked a bit about this principle on the video ‘scriptures fulfilled’ and got some video from my hometown. Hope you enjoy. TRUMP [News conference] I commented on the press conference. The present state of the media- and the poison they have created in the political environment. One note- the last few days I thought ‘I bet Putin is looking at the fake media story of Trump and his team having illegal contacts with Russia- and he [Putin] might be thinking there is no way we will ever be able to have any cooperation with the U.S. now’. Then I heard Trump say the exact same thing. So- I talked a bit about it on the 2nd video- And why it is actually dangerous. I hate to add this link [below]- or at least I did not get any of my info. From this site. But I googled ‘Obama immigration’ and this link has video of Obama and Clinton saying things that Trump says. So- you can hear it for yourself. The purpose here is NOT to defend Trump- but to show how many people are outraged about things that Obama and Clinton [Bill] also said. It simply is video of them speaking about immigrants- how they are ‘stealing our jobs’ Obama even says his executive order- against immigrants- should never be challenged. I mean the words they use- are the same words Trump has used- which have caused outrage among many Democrats. It shows us how we are so divided. I personally am ‘pro-immigrant’- and do not want to deport kids who came over when they were younger- have lived in the country- went to school- etc. I am not for deporting mothers who have lived here for years. I am against the words Obama spoke on the video- Clinton spoke- and also not for Trumps hard stand against Mexican immigrants. But I don’t ‘pick and choose’- I’m against- or for- a policy- not because they happen to be Democrat or Republican. But because of policy- that’s how it should me- at least in my mind. http://www.infowars.com/watch-barack-obama-and-bill-clinton-call-for-muslim-ban/ PAST LINKS [my past teaching- more below] https://ccoutreach87.com/russia-u-s-world-events/ I did not form my views from these news links below- I actually read them after I made the post. But I thought they fit- so I linked them. http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/demonization_of_putin_as_personally_behind_clinton_hack_20161216/ http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/whats_going_on_in_aleppo_isnt_as_black_white_political_masters_20161214/ On today’s video I talked about ‘power’ authority- kingdoms- mindsets. I mentioned our current situation in the U.S.- not to take sides [politically] but to see how the things we allow for ourselves [the West] we disallow for others. The situation over Russian hacking in the U.S. election- what’s it about? Hackers- more than likely from Russia- hacked into the DNC [political democratic arm] and released true information [emails- texts- etc.] that made Hillary Clinton look bad. There is some evidence that they also had hacked into the Republican side- yet did not release that. This would show that the Russians involved themselves in our election. Ok- is this bad? A few points- the U.S. also does the same- president Obama actively campaigned against Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel- because he felt it was in the best interest of the U.S. to do so. The U.S. also engages in hacking- cyber warfare- and all of the things we are accusing Russia of doing. The U.S. has actively backed up armed overthrows of other leaders [Gadhafi of Libya being one]. We do these things for our own interests- even if that interest goes against the will of other nations. We accuse Russia of illegally taking Crimea- the people of Crimea overwhelmingly voted to join Russia. The vote was more than 90%- yet because it was not in the U.S. best interest- we still accuse them of illegally annexing Crimea [they broke away from Ukraine]. The will of the people was to do that- yet the U.S. did not want the will of the people- so we accuse Russia today of an illegal act. In Syria- rebels- and terrorists- have been fighting Assad. Trying to overthrow him. Assad- with Russian help- has been fighting back. The rebels- and some who are indeed terrorists- have been armed by the U.S. – and we use our resources to back them. Yet- when Assad fights to take back a city- Aleppo- we accuse him and Russia of war crimes. Why? Because sadly innocents have been killed- by both Syrian forces- and U.S. backed rebels. Russia has not targeted women and children- yet I heard a U.S. representative say they were purposely executing kids and women. Russia and Syria gave notice to the civilian population in Aleppo- and also have done various cease fires- for civilians to leave. In reality- all civilians never leave their home town- even when warned. Yet- we have said the civilians who have died- were executed- on purpose by Russia. When the U.S. dropped pamphlets over Hiroshima and Nagasaki- warning the women and children to leave- many stayed. But- because we warned them- we do not deem it the execution of women and kids. Yet- we killed [numbers vary] around 150 thousand people initially- and possibly up to a million over the years by radiation sickness. Did we execute them? We knew they were there. Many historians believe the bombing of the Japanese cities did not have to happen. At that point in the war [WW2] the Russians under Stalin agreed to turn their massive army against Japan. The Japanese were ready to surrender- but Harry Truman was in negotiations with Russia and other allies on how to divide up the area after the war. Truman felt if the bombs were dropped [even though the war was almost over- without the bombs] that would give us more leverage against Russia- once they actually saw the potential that we had. So- for political reasons that we in the West don’t always see- we killed many innocent women and kids- and never refer to it as the purposeful execution of innocents. Yet I heard 2 U.S. representatives accuse Russia of doing this- which is a lie. We involve ourselves in other nations- not just elections- but in the actual armed overthrow of their leaders- yet we deem this interference ok. But the West is outraged that Russia too has a political motive. And what might that be? Putin and others- believe the U.S. has gone down a road that is leading to war. Our buildup of NATO troops on Russia’s border is a provocative act- which we said would never do. Yet- we are doing it. In the 2011 Russian election- we called Putin’s election illegitimate. Maybe it was- or maybe it wasn’t. Yet when protesters marched- we made statements that maybe it was time for a Revolution. That’s sends a message to any in the country or region- even ISIS- that wow- the U.S. might back up another armed overthrow of a nation. These messages have disastrous results. Libya- Iraq [our war with them] our involvement in nations that lead to the instability of the entire region. Yet- we do not see why a Putin might want a leader who sends signals he might work with him. Yes- Putin obviously would want to work with a president that he feels is not a threat. This is not necessarily wrong- we do the exact same thing around the world. Yet we are using language- referring to other world leaders as executioners of women and kids- because they have done the same exact things as us- and on a much smaller scale. I am not defending Putin- or Assad. I am trying to show you how we in the West do the things- that when others do them- we are outraged. I want peace in Syria- and Russia- all over the world. And when more than 90 percent of the people in Crimea vote to go back to Russia- we should not be referring to it as an illegal act- it’s not- that’s Democracy. And if the innocent civilians in Aleppo did not leave- after Assad and Putin gave them notice- and we call it the purposeful execution of women and kids. Then just what would you call the 500 thousand to a million dead Japanese? NOTE- as I just watched the world news-[ 12-18-16- ABC news]- ‘MILITANTS BURNED 5 BUSES TO PREVENT THE EVACUATION OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN FROM ALEPPO’- These ‘militants’ are the U.S. supported rebels. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/cowardly-attack-in-syria-targets-buses-sent-to-evacuate-government-held-villages/2016/12/18/ba7671bc-c525-11e6-bf4b-2c064d32a4bf_story.html?utm_term=.59340fbcf1e7 NOTE- PBS news- 12-19-16 ‘militants going door to door in Aleppo- executing women and civilians’- These ‘militants’ are the ‘rebels’ we armed. They are also referred too as ‘Syrian militants’- these are not Syrian troops. If the Russians and Syrian troops were doing this- it would be headlines in the U.S. media- but because these atrocities are being carried out by U.S. backed rebels- they refuse to identify them as such. This is media bias. The situation over Russian hacking in the U.S. election- what’s it about? Hackers- more than likely from Russia- hacked into the DNC [political democratic arm] and released true information [emails- texts- etc.] that made Hillary Clinton look bad. There is some evidence that they also had hacked into the Republican side- yet did not release that. This would show that the Russians involved themselves in our election. Ok- is this bad? A few points- the U.S. also does the same- president Obama actively campaigned against Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel- because he felt it was in the best interest of the U.S. to do so. The U.S. also engages in hacking- cyber warfare- and all of the things we are accusing Russia of doing. The U.S. has actively backed up armed overthrows of other leaders [Gadhafi of Libya being one]. We do these things for our own interests- even if that interest goes against the will of other nations. We accuse Russia of illegally taking Crimea- the people of Crimea overwhelmingly voted to join Russia. The vote was more than 90%- yet because it was not in the U.S. best interest- we still accuse them of illegally annexing Crimea [they broke away from Ukraine]. The will of the people was to do that- yet the U.S. did not want the will of the people- so we accuse Russia today of an illegal act. In Syria- rebels- and terrorists- have been fighting Assad. Trying to overthrow him. Assad- with Russian help- has been fighting back. The rebels- and some who are indeed terrorists- have been armed by the U.S. – and we use our resources to back them. Yet- when Assad fights to take back a city- Aleppo- we accuse him and Russia of war crimes. Why? Because sadly innocents have been killed- by both Syrian forces- and U.S. backed rebels. Russia has not targeted women and children- yet I heard a U.S. representative say they were purposely executing kids and women. Russia and Syria gave notice to the civilian population in Aleppo- and also have done various cease fires- for civilians to leave. In reality- all civilians never leave their home town- even when warned. Yet- we have said the civilians who have died- were executed- on purpose by Russia. When the U.S. dropped pamphlets over Hiroshima and Nagasaki- warning the women and children to leave- many stayed. But- because we warned them- we do not deem it the execution of women and kids. Yet- we killed [numbers vary] around 150 thousand people initially- and possibly up to a million over the years by radiation sickness. Did we execute them? We knew they were there. Many historians believe the bombing of the Japanese cities did not have to happen. At that point in the war [WW2] the Russians under Stalin agreed to turn their massive army against Japan. The Japanese were ready to surrender- but Harry Truman was in negotiations with Russia and other allies on how to divide up the area after the war. Truman felt if the bombs were dropped [even though the war was almost over- without the bombs] that would give us more leverage against Russia- once they actually saw the potential that we had. So- for political reasons that we in the West don’t always see- we killed many innocent women and kids- and never refer to it as the purposeful execution of innocents. Yet I heard 2 U.S. representatives accuse Russia of doing this- which is a lie. We involve ourselves in other nations- not just elections- but in the actual armed overthrow of their leaders- yet we deem this interference ok. But the West is outraged that Russia too has a political motive. And what might that be? Putin and others- believe the U.S. has gone down a road that is leading to war. Our buildup of NATO troops on Russia’s border is a provocative act- which we said would never do. Yet- we are doing it. In the 2011 Russian election- we called Putin’s election illegitimate. Maybe it was- or maybe it wasn’t. Yet when protesters marched- we made statements that maybe it was time for a Revolution. That’s sends a message to any in the country or region- even ISIS- that wow- the U.S. might back up another armed overthrow of a nation. These messages have disastrous results. Libya- Iraq [our war with them] our involvement in nations that lead to the instability of the entire region. Yet- we do not see why a Putin might want a leader who sends signals he might work with him. Yes- Putin obviously would want to work with a president that he feels is not a threat. This is not necessarily wrong- we do the exact same thing around the world. Yet we are using language- referring to other world leaders as executioners of women and kids- because they have done the same exact things as us- and on a much smaller scale. I am not defending Putin- or Assad. I am trying to show you how we in the West do the things- that when others do them- we are outraged. I want peace in Syria- and Russia- all over the world. And when more than 90 percent of the people in Crimea vote to go back to Russia- we should not be referring to it as an illegal act- it’s not- that’s Democracy. And if the innocent civilians in Aleppo did not leave- after Assad and Putin gave them notice- and we call it the purposeful execution of women and kids. Then just what would you call the 500 thousand to a million dead Japanese? NOTE- as I just watched the world news-[ 12-18-16- ABC news]- ‘MILITANTS BURNED 5 BUSES TO PREVENT THE EVACUATION OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN FROM ALEPPO’- These ‘militants’ are the U.S. supported rebels. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/cowardly-attack-in-syria-targets-buses-sent-to-evacuate-government-held-villages/2016/12/18/ba7671bc-c525-11e6-bf4b-2c064d32a4bf_story.html?utm_term=.59340fbcf1e7 NOTE- PBS news- 12-19-16 ‘militants going door to door in Aleppo- executing women and civilians’- These ‘militants’ are the ‘rebels’ we armed. They are also referred too as ‘Syrian militants’- these are not Syrian troops. If the Russians and Syrian troops were doing this- it would be headlines in the U.S. media- but because these atrocities are being carried out by U.S. backed rebels- they refuse to identify them as such. This is media bias. Corpus Christi- https://youtu.be/LvhRHhbV1cE Corpus Figured I would end- like I started 2 weeks ago. Bad weather and lots of wrecks- right at the end. These are the links [for download] on the videos I made in N.J./NYC that I thought had teaching value- enjoy. https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/12-23-15-st-patricks.zip https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/12-24-15-christmas-eve-incarnation.zip https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/12-24-15-danny-me-teaching.zip https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/12-24-15-work-of-art.zip https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/12-25-15-christmas-morning.zip https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/12-25-15-gary.zip https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/12-25-15-gw-bridge.zip https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/12-27-15-fatima-9-am.zip https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/12-27-15-the-rocks-the-keys-from-smith-ave.zip https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/12-29-15-kennedy-blvd-north-bergen-high-hudson-county-pk.zip https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/12-29-15-lifes-a-journey.zip https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/12-30-15-91st-nyc-skyline-davids-son.zip https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/12-31-15-last-one.zip https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/1-2-16-dallas.zip I WILL GIVE YOU THE PAINTINGS OF- THE ATHEIST? https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/1-5-16-i-will-give-you-the-paintings-of-the-atheist.zip https://youtu.be/sEsBnAIUxZs I will give you the paintings of the atheist ON VIDEO- https://youtu.be/5jwMW85eUl8 [Work of art] This is the video where Danny gave me the paintings. .Saved $800 a month .Show- bread? .Remember him .Frances Xavier .unity .Flying scroll- a UFO? One memory- only .God’s box .God’s mobile community [past posts- verses- new stuff, below] Psalm 108:10 Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom? [I wrote North Bergen/NYC a few years back- for the word Edom. I found it interesting because this was the first chapter I read when I arrived in New Jersey]. Psalm 110:7 He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head. [I read this Psalm on the morning I left- I took it as ‘seek me- even stop [rest stop overnight] and do your normal reading of scripture- and watch a video from the previous week’. The Psalms always seem to have meaning- direction- in a different way than when I read the ‘regular’ bible chapters at night. I did teach on Manna [bread/word from God] on this trip- and yes- I felt I ‘heard’ God thru the Psalms on a daily basis. Psalm 111:6 He hath shewed his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen. [Ok- I read this when I got back to Texas. I hope to talk about it on the video and show you the paintings Danny gave me. Danny- who is an atheist- gives me stuff. The verse above can be translated ‘he gives you the property- of the heathen’ [unbeliever]. I didn’t get a chance to even see what the paintings were. As I hung them up- yes- they were significant. They were done by an 86 year old man- Danny bought them because he too is an artist- and has taught artists ‘how to paint’. He told me these were from a man who never had training- yet he said this man had a special gift. Danny was going to sell them for a few hundred dollars- but actually wanted me to have them. So- the 2 paintings are- A man- with a backpack- walking up a mountain. This is one of the actual ‘images’ I scribble/write- when I feel like I should take the annual trip to the NYC area. So- it was a sort of confirmation. The second painting was a bird- flying by the coast. This is the other image I use- when ‘heading out’- I even spoke about it on some videos before I left [my eagle ring- I talked about it with Crow and Andy]. So- the significance was these paintings were given to me by an ‘unbeliever’ and that’s the first Psalm I read when I got back [you get the property of the heathen]. And both of these paintings came from an 86 year old man- from North Bergen- at the end of his journey in life. Getting ready to ‘fly away’. I also found it interesting that right before I left Texas- I started quoting ‘I will give thee the heathen for your inheritance- and the ends of the earth for your possession’- but I never connected it with the Psalm above. NEW STUFF- On the video I taught some about Francis Xavier [1506-1552] – one of the founding members of the Jesuit order [Society of Jesus] along with Ignatius Loyola. He met Ignatius at the University of Paris- while pursuing an intellectual career. Over time Ignatius example [and prodding] convinced him to abandon his own plans to live a comfortable life and serve as a scholar- and become a very effective missionary to the Far East. Much like the story of John Calvin- who too was persuaded to abandon his own plans to simply be a scholar- and to serve in forming the community in Geneva. Xavier arrived in Goa [India] and eventually went to Japan. The king of Portugal- John the 3rd- requested missionaries for the areas Portugal was colonizing in India. This century [16th] was one of exploration and colonization. In Japan Xavier had great success- the city of Nagasaki was started to simply provide a place for all the Japanese converts! There were reported miracles of healing under the ministry of Xavier- and he became one of the most successful missionaries from the Jesuit order. Xavier came into some controversy- initially in his missionary efforts he was ‘more conservative’ in that he tried to get new converts to abandon all former cultural ties- in order to embrace the faith. Over time- he sort of ‘mixed’ [called syncretism] the eastern religious practices with the faith. When the Dominicans and Franciscans saw what was happening- they reported it to the church. This became such a controversy among the Japanese- eventually the priests were martyred along the road to Nagasaki. A sad event indeed. The Protestants neglected the Far East in their missionary efforts- they were primarily trying to reform the church in Europe. Yet Ignatius and his society were spreading the gospel- in areas that never heard either the Catholic or Protestant message. All in all- Xavier did a very effective job- and is well respected by both Catholics and Protestants for the work he did. VERSES- [These are the verses I quoted or taught on the video for this post- Links to all my sites below] Ephesians 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, Ephesians 3:2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: Ephesians 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Ephesians 3:4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Ephesians 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; Ephesians 3:6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: Ephesians 3:7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Ephesians 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: Ephesians 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, Ephesians 3:11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: Ephesians 3:12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Ephesians 3:13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. Ephesians 3:14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Ephesians 3:15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, Ephesians 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; Ephesians 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, Ephesians 3:18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; Ephesians 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Ephesians 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: Genesis 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: Genesis 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. Genesis 15:2 And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? Genesis 15:3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. Genesis 15:4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. Genesis 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. John 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Romans 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 4:4 And round about the throne were four and twentyseats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 4:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 5:14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 11:16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 19:4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 2 Timothy 2:9 Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 4 Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord. 5 For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David. Ps. 122 1 Peter 4:10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Revelation 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 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My name is John Chiarello, I am a retired firefighter living in Texas, Born in Hoboken New Jersey- raised in North Bergen. I post original content [all videos and text are by me]. I post 7 videos a night to many of my sites, and text posts 3 times a week. I NEVER take money- or ask for money- ever. Everything is free- I sell nothing- to some sites this makes a difference- so I wanted to say that here. There are no buildings- staff- salary- anything. Just me teaching- doing outreach- and reaching out thru my sites. All my teachings- videos- studies are free to download from all my sites. Make as many copies as you want- they are there for you to use. Thank You- John. 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https://mega.nz/#F!7WQCSIJR!-4v9-zUQRq4MIQbBfI2n4A https://www.dropbox.com/sh/d43nhtrgysqg493/AAAlCszxZXJoRtk8UudtuR9ma?dl=0 https://ln.sync.com/dl/3e1f4c5e0/tcnm9p32-xiwe4nbu-zjbkitqj-4fvemf6m https://1drv.ms/f/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg0MwmUCJ1XM3q9ui https://icedrive.net/dashboard/#/cloud Cloud sites- https://ccoutreach87.com/cloud-links-12-2018/ Inactive- work in progress- http://johnchiarello.doodlekit.com/ http://corpus-christijohnchiarello.simplesite.com/ https://spark.adobe.com/page/6INKwX1tFT7WA/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWXKfaFDZrfNUzloSqg8Kg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Beta https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYlLmUkKiB6VoWE9CB1UQew?view_as=subscriber ccoutreach87 https://www.facebook.com/ccoutreach1/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel&eid=ARCo7sBBI_1fHMUwrHJbFUGf73C6FmpZxtgTcWET2gVwpdHCKmXSGxs6wyeA-qGCnbsr2ILaXqpd4ACt Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Copy text- download video links- make complete copies of my books/studies and posts- everything is copyrighted by me- I give permission for all to copy and share as much as you like- I just ask that nothing be sold. We live in an online world- yet- there is only one internet- meaning if it ever goes down- the only access to the teachings are what others have copied or downloaded- so feel free to copy and download as much as you want- it’s all free- Note- I have many web sites- at times some question whether I’m a ‘bot’ because I do post a lot. I am not a ‘bot’- I’m John- so please- if you are on the verge of deleting something- my contact email is [email protected] - contact me first- thank you- John EPHESIANS 2
Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;Ephesians 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; Links to my sites here and the bottom of every post- https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/my-sites.html Stats https://ccoutreach87.com/stats-4-21/ Ephesians 2 videos- https://www.dropbox.com/s/dcterll6r8stc28/12-9-17%20Ephesians%202.mp4?dl=0 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhHRdUCZmDZ6EekUL https://youtu.be/nILDsbbHiok Friends- https://youtu.be/yn-q0HwTPhM Andy- GPL- https://youtu.be/9NqGwEClF3g I made these videos and needed a post to tag them to- I felt this day was meant to hang out with some of the guys- to be honest- I was cold but it was meant to be. You only catch a small glimpse of the day- I have known these guys for many years. Many of the friends I have met the last few years are really new friends- not part of the community that have been around for years. When I spent about 4 hours with Andy and Art- we did talk about the old days- but to be honest- Art shared in a way I have never heard him open up before- you don’t catch this on video- but after knowing him for around 20 years- it was one of the first times we had some real honest discussion. The whole day was indeed ministry- honest evaluation of our lives- some of the guys told me they never thought they would wind up where they ‘wound up’. Many of the guys have skills- education- and are very talented- and they have had to deal with the reality of the choices they have made- they were telling me this during our talks- And how they took responsibility for being where they are. To be honest- they were the ones actually ‘doing ministry’ this day- I was just there as a friend. Zechariah 8:6 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts. ON VIDEO- [Ephesians 2] .Phone school .The course .True spiritual warfare .Our time .The snow came- 12-8-17 .We are his work .Created for good works .Troy barks .Men reconciled to one another .Seated with him .Not a culture- But God’s promise .There is one God .Objective truth .My talk with a Muslim at the Kingsville Fire Department .Texas A and I [now A and M] university .God will bless all the children of Abraham TEACHING [Past posts below] - The ultimate victory over satan- is seen in the first few verses- Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Ephesians 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. God made us alive- we have been raised with Christ- and it is in this act of redemption that delivers us from the ‘course of this world’- the course that unbelievers walk- and give expression to the ‘prince of the air’- Satan deceives lost man- and when man walks in the flesh- this is the primary way satan manifests himself in the world- Later in this study we will look at spiritual warfare- but for now- we see it is thru the Resurrection that satan has been dealt a death blow. Now the ‘famous’ passage- Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. Yes- we are indeed saved by faith- not by works- We were dead in sin- unable to save ourselves- but because of God’s choice- his mercy and love- he raised us up from the dead and we are now positionally seated with Christ in heavenly places. Yet- there are works that are involved here- works that God himself predestined for us- Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. That’s the new course- we have left the old one and the Spirit of God himself lives in us- and these good works of the Spirit were the plan of God for us before time- ahead of time- pre-planned if you will- our purpose and destiny in God. The work of Christ not only reconciles us to God- but also to each other Ephesians 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; Ephesians 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Ephesians 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; Yes- the law in the first century [10 commandments and the law and the prophets] also played a role in division between Jew and Gentile- The law is good- yet in the hands of the first century religious leadership- it devolved into a sort of barrier- We see this in the interaction of Jesus and the religious leaders in the gospels. It created a class of people- who looked down on ‘the other’- Yet now in Christ- he took this out of the way by nailing it to his Cross- Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And not only brought man back to God- But man back to a right relationship with his fellow man. We are now ONE NEW MAN and the middle wall of partition is broken down- and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; The separation is gone- And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And it is this redeemed community that God dwells- we are the people of God- The Church of God- a temple of people that God dwells in- It is no longer about natural land and temple- or holy sites in the middle east- No- it’s about us- you and me- all who have embraced the love that God has shown to us- Yes- we are that spiritual community representing God to our fellow man- And this reconciliation to each other thru Christ- has enabled a people to become the actual dwelling of the living God- Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; Ephesians 2:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: Ephesians 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. The answers to the problems we see in the world today will never be found in any political leader- in any human agenda- though well meaning- these do not have the ability to truly reconcile man with his neighbor. But God has accomplished this thru his Son- as we have been redeemed thru the Cross- We are now the Holy dwelling place where God dwells- This spiritual temple has no earthly boundaries- it is found all over the earth right now- Africans sing the praises of our God- Europeans are worshiping the king as I type- Asians are meeting as brothers in Christ at this moment- Some in Muslim lands are embracing this great God and fully comprehending Jesus as the Prophet sent from God- As the Son of God- Yes- all nations are being brought together because this was the plan of God from the start- And this is the only plan that will ever work. PAST POSTS- [My past teaching that relates to this post- Ephesians 2- Verses below] https://ccoutreach87.com/ephesians-links-12-2020/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/11/30/ephesians-1/ http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/romans-2015-video-links-included-romans.html http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/romans-study.html http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/galatians-links.html http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/study-galatiansjohns-gospel.html https://ccoutreach87.com/justification-by-faith/ https://ccoutreach87.com/james-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/protestant-reformation-luther/ https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/islam/ VERSES- [The verses I taught on the video- Ephesians 2- Links to all my sites below] Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Ephesians 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; Ephesians 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Ephesians 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; Ephesians 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: Ephesians 2:17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. Ephesians 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; Ephesians 2:21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: Ephesians 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. 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We live in an online world- yet- there is only one internet- meaning if it ever goes down- the only access to the teachings are what others have copied or downloaded- so feel free to copy and download as much as you want- it’s all free- Note- I have many web sites- at times some question whether I’m a ‘bot’ because I do post a lot. I am not a ‘bot’- I’m John- so please- if you are on the verge of deleting something- my contact email is [email protected] - contact me first- thank you- John Sunday sermon
Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Links to my sites here and the bottom of every post- https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/my-sites.html Stats https://ccoutreach87.com/stats-4-21/ Sunday sermon videos- https://youtu.be/-tXu_UgSq6A https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10206243340800655/ https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjEtV3idhCmH2DS7C ON VIDEO .The missing meetings .I remembered one- this is it .The first and last Adam contrasted .The creation account .The trees in the garden- what do they tell us? .The temptation .The sin .Pelagius denied original sin .Why did Adam eat? .He wanted to be with the bride- and he partook of what she already consumed .How is this a type of Christ? .Jesus took took our sin- so he could be with the bride- the church .Adam did this act in disobedience .Jesus did it in obedience .The need for redemption- you can’t by pass the Cross .The law can not save- only Christ can .There is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved .Jesus is Lord PAST POSTS [These are links and parts of my past teachings that relate in some way to today’s post- verses and other videos at the bottom of this post] https://ccoutreach87.com/1st-2nd-corinthians/ https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-links-1-2019/ https://ccoutreach87.com/james-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/galatians-links/ https://ccoutreach87.com/ephesians-links/ Romans 5:1-9 ‘Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God thru our Lord Jesus Christ’. There are certain benefits ‘results’ of being ‘made righteous by faith’, peace being one of them. Paul goes on and says we glory in hope and also trials, because we realize that thru the difficulties we gain experience and patience. Things that are needed for the journey, we can’t substitute talent and motivation and ‘success principles’ for them. We need maturity and God produces it this way. Those who teach otherwise have a ‘self inflicted wound’ their teachings are very immature! That is there was a ‘strain’ of teaching in the church that said ‘we don’t learn thru difficulty and suffering, we learn only thru Gods word!’ [that is reading it]. Those who grasped onto this false idea have produced some of the most unbalanced teaching in the church, stuff that even the younger generation is saying ‘what in the heck are these guys preaching’? If you by pass the difficult road, you will be shallow. Now Paul says ‘God commended his love toward us, that when we were sinners Christ died for us’ ‘being now justified by his death, we shall be saved thru his life’ [saved from wrath thru him]. Once again this theme pops up; ‘since we are justified, made righteous by believing with the heart, we shall be saved [continual, future deliverance] from wrath thru him’. I don’t know if you ever realized what a major theme this is in Romans? The ongoing, future ‘being saved’ is a result of ‘being made righteous’. Later on in chapter 10, when we read that the righteous call for salvation, we need to understand this context. Remember, when the two are linked together in the same verse, it is not saying ‘saved’ in the sense of some sinner’s prayer. It is speaking of the ongoing, promised deliverance [from many things, not just wrath!] to the ‘justified caller’. We have access ‘by faith into this grace wherein we stand’. Wow! That’s some good stuff, Jesus ever lives so that those who come to him are ‘being saved’ to the uttermost. This grace we are in is available to us all of the time, are we availing ourselves of it? ·ROMANS 5:10-21 ‘For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to him by the death of his Son… much more we shall be saved by his life’. Now, some have ‘divided’ the role of Jesus death and resurrection in salvation. I heard a radio preacher teach that all the people who think they are ‘saved’ because Jesus died for them were deceived. He used this verse to say they need to believe in his ‘life’ [resurrection] to ‘be saved by his life’. Well I get the point, but he was missing the meaning of the verse. Why? Because once again we see ‘saved’ as initially ‘getting saved’ while here it is in a continual sense. Paul is saying ‘if God reconciled us [justification] while we were deadly enemies, how much more shall the actual ministry and life of Jesus at Gods right hand do for us!’ The New Testament teachers that we have actually entered into an eternal covenant with God thru his Son. Jesus ‘ever lives’ to make intercession for us [Hebrews]. Therefore he is able to ‘save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him’. The bible teaches an ongoing ‘saving’ relationship that believers have with the Messiah. This ‘relationship’ would not be possible if he were dead. Now we ‘joy in God thru Jesus Christ from whom we have received the atonement’ good stuff! Isaiah says God will meet with those who ‘rejoice and do what is right’. We have both of these ‘abilities’ because of the atonement. The rest of the chapter teaches the Pauline doctrine of original sin. That because Adam sinned, death and sin passed to all men. So likewise the ‘righteousness’ of one man [Jesus- the last Adam] has passed upon all men [those who receive of the abundance of grace and the gift of life]. This is an interesting angle that Paul uses to teach redemption. He shows the reality that there are only 2 ‘federal heads’ of mankind. You are either in the first or last Adam. The ‘righteous act’ is speaking of the Cross [Philippians says Jesus was ‘obedient unto death’. The singular act of obedience that allows this righteousness to pass to all who believe is the Cross. Some have misunderstood this chapter to teach that the obedient life of Christ, his sinless life, saves us. I feel this is a wrong reading of the chapter. The sinless life of Jesus, pre Cross, made him the true candidate to be the substitute for man. He was able to die in our place [obedience unto death] because he was the sinless Son of God. We are now ‘saved by his life’ because he ever lives to make intercession for us]. All who believe in Jesus can now trace their lineage to the ‘last Adam’ [Jesus] and be free from ‘original sin’. ·ROMANS 6- Lets talk about baptism. To start off I believe that the baptism spoken about in this chapter is primarily referring to ‘the baptism of the Spirit’, that is the work of the Holy Spirit placing a believer in the Body of Christ. The Catholic and Orthodox [and Reformed!] brothers believe that Paul is speaking about water baptism. The MAJORITY VIEW of Christians today believe this chapter is referring to water baptism. Why? First, the text itself does not indicate either way. You could take this baptism and see it either way! You are not a heretic if you believe in it referring to Spirit or water. You are not a heretic if you believe in Paedo baptism [infant baptism]. ‘What are you saying? Now you lost me.’ Infant baptism developed as a Christian rite over the course of church history. The church struggled with how to ‘dedicate’ new babies to Christ. Though the scriptures give no examples of infant baptism, some felt that the reason was because the scriptures primarily show us the conversion of the first century believers. There really aren’t a whole lot of stories of ‘generations’ of believers passing on the faith to other generations. So some felt that the idea of dedicating babies to the Lord through infant baptism was all right. The examples they used were the circumcision of babies in the Old Testament. Infants were circumcised [a rite that placed you under the terms of the Old Covenant] though they weren’t old enough to really understand what they were doing! This example was carried over into the Christian church and applied to infant baptism. Now, I do not believe in infant baptism. But I can certainly understand this line of reasoning. As Christian theology developed thru the early centuries, particularly thru the patristic period, you had very intellectual scholars grapple with many different themes and ideas. Some that we just studied in chapter 5. Some theologians came to see infant baptism as dealing with original sin. They applied the concept of infant baptism as a rite that washes away original sin. The church did not teach that this meant you did not have to later believe and follow Christ. They simply developed a way of seeing baptism as ‘sanctifying’ the new members of Christian households. This basic belief made it all the way to the Reformation. The Reformers themselves still practiced infant baptism. It was the Anabaptists [re-baptizers] who saw the truth of adult baptism and suffered for it, at the hands of the reformers! Ulrich Zwingli, the Swiss reformer, would have them drowned for their belief. Some Protestants stuck with the infant rite, while others [the Restorationists] would reject it. Today most Evangelicals do not practice infant baptism, the majority of Christians world wide do. Now, the reason I did a little history is because Evangelicals [of which I am one] have a tendency to simply look at other believers who practice this rite as ‘deceived’. Many are unaware of the history I just showed you. The reasons the historic church developed this doctrine are not heretical! They used scripture and tradition to pass it down to future generations. I do not believe or practice infant baptism, many good believers do. ·ROMANS 6: 1-11 ‘shall we continue to sin, so grace may abound? God forbid! How shall we, who are dead to sin, live any longer therein?’ Now begins the ‘actual part’ the result, if you will, of being ‘made righteous by faith’. One of the main accusations against Paul, by the Jewish believers, was that he taught ‘sin a lot, because you are no longer under the law’. Paul spends time defending himself against this accusation thru out the New Testament. Here Paul teaches that the believer has been joined unto Christ [baptized, immersed into him] and this ‘joining’ identifies him with Christ’s death. So how can ‘we, who are dead to sin, live any longer in sin’? Paul’s argument for righteous living comes from the fact that we have died with Christ unto sin. ‘We have died with him, and we have also been raised with him to new life’. In Ephesians chapter 2, Paul says we who were dead in sins have been made alive in Christ. Now, we live a new life, free from sin [practically speaking- not absolute sinless-ness!] because we are identified with Jesus in his new life, we are ‘alive with and in him’. ‘Since we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection’! Jesus died once, and now he lives forever unto God ‘likewise count yourselves dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God thru Jesus Christ our Lord’. Paul’s basis for the transformed life is Grace and being ‘in him’. Paul does not appeal to the law to try and effect holiness in the believer, he appeals to Christ ‘in him you have died to legalistic practices, trying to earn salvation and acceptance; and now because of this new position [placement] you too have died to the old man [lifestyle] and are alive unto God’. Paul obviously did not teach ‘sin hardily’ to the contrary he taught ‘live unto God’. (834)Romans 6:12-23 ‘Let not sin therefore rule in your mortal body’ if we have died with Jesus, we are ‘dead with him to sin’. If we are risen with Jesus ‘we are alive unto God thru him’ for this reason don’t sin! Paul makes sure his readers understand him, he in no way was teaching a sinful gospel. He encourages the believers to renew their minds to this truth. ‘For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace’ Paul clearly saw the dangers of legalism [living under strict ‘do this, don’t do this’ guidelines] he saw that the law actually quickens the fleshly nature and brings to the surface mans sin. Now, because we are under grace, does this mean we get to keep on sinning? ‘God forbid!’ Paul launches into the explanation of sin and bondage. Remember, sin was in the world before the law. Men were dying ever since Adam sinned. So for Paul, this means even though we are not under the restraints of law, yet the reality of sin, bondage and punishment still exist. Paul says ‘if you yield to sin and allow it to rule you, you will become its slave’. There will be a penalty and price to pay ‘the wages of sin is death’. But because you are identified with Jesus ‘sin shall not have dominion over you… you have been made free from sin’. Paul teaches the victorious Christian life. He does not deny the struggle [next chapter!] but he shows the reality of redemption. He obviously never taught the concept of ‘sin more, so grace can abound’. He understood the dangers of preaching ‘we are not under the law’ but he also understood the reality of ‘being under grace’ he figured it was worth the risk of being misunderstood if he could truly imbed the gospel into the believing community. Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? Romans 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Romans 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Romans 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Romans 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. Romans 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Romans 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. Romans 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Romans 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Romans 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Romans 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? Romans 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Romans 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. Romans 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. Romans 6:20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. Romans 6:21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. Romans 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. CORINTHIANS 15:1-19 Paul will deal with the greatest threat yet to the Corinthian church, their doubt over the physical resurrection of the body. Various ‘Christian’ groups over the years have doubted the physical resurrection. Now, some have done this out of a sincere attempt at trying to defend the faith! [their view of it] In the 1900’s you had one of the most popular theologians by the name of Rudolf Bultman [most of his career was spent at the University of Marburg, Germany. Much of the higher criticism of the day originated from Germany] He wrote a book called ‘Kerygma and Myth’. What he tried to say was that any modern man living in the 20th century, with all the breakthroughs in science and knowledge, could not ‘literally’ believe the miraculous stories in scripture. Or even the way scripture spoke of heaven and hell and used limited terms to describe spiritual truths. He used the bibles terminology on Cosmology as an example. How could man believe in a Cosmos where ‘heaven is up there, with the stars and all’ and he felt that enlightened man needed to ‘re-tool’ the bible and cleanse it from all these mythical images, but yet keep the spiritual aspects of it. The moral teachings of Christ and stuff like that. So you have had sincere men doubt the truth claims of scripture. The problem with this attempt [higher criticism] is it throws out the baby with the bathwater. The resurrection of Jesus is presented by the apostles as a real event. The fact of this resurrection can also be attested to by examining the historical events of the day. Simply put, there is a ton of proof for the real resurrection of Christ. Bultman and others meant well, but some of the ‘facts’ that they were using were later proven to be false. Bultman used a model of cosmology that would later be rejected by science. Yet the testimony from scripture would remain sure. Paul told the Corinthian’s that they needed to reject any attempts at spiritualizing the resurrection of Christ. Sometimes believers grasp hold of limited proof’s for certain doctrines. For instance, the New Testament does speak of a spiritual resurrection. In Ephesians Paul says we are presently raised with Christ. In Romans chapter 6 we have all ready been raised with Jesus. This reality does not mean there will be no future resurrection of the saints. In Johns gospel Jesus speaks of the resurrection as being a future real event, as well as a present reality. Those in the graves will hear his voice and be raised from the dead. And those who were presently ‘dead in sins’ would ‘come alive’ [spiritually] when they heard and believed the testimony of Jesus. It is important for the believer to be familiar with the various theories and ideas that theologians and believers have grasped over the years. It is a mistake to simply see all higher learning as ‘liberalism’. There are some very important things that we have learned thru the great intellectuals of the church. But we also need to stick with the ancient traditions as seen in the creeds, as well as the plain testimony of scripture. If Christ ‘be not raised from the dead, then we are of all men most miserable’. (1011)CORINTHIANS 15:20-28 here we see the guarantee of mans resurrection based on Christ’s resurrection. ‘As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall ALL be made alive’. Is Paul teaching a form of universalism [all being saved]? He is showing us that all men will someday be raised from the dead. Now, does Paul leave room here for a type of Pre-millennial resurrection? A ‘raising’ of the dead prior to a thousand year literal reign of Jesus. Then another resurrection at the end? Yes he does. If you read Revelation you will see this type of scenario play out. Also Jesus speaks of the resurrection of the just and the unjust. Historically the church has held 3 basic views on this. Pre-millennialism says Jesus returns first [pre] before the literal thousand year rule occurs. ‘Post’ says the thousand year rule is literal, and after that Jesus comes back. Those who held to this view were excited at the turn of the first millennium [1000 ad] they thought it possible for Jesus to have returned after the first thousand years since his death and resurrection. And then you have A-millennial, they spiritualize the thousand year reign spoken of in the book of Revelation as being a symbol of Christ’s present rule and kingdom. Now, today’s most popular form of Pre-millennialism is not historic, it dates back to the 19th century. Today’s form is called ‘Pre-tribulational, Pre-millennial’ this teaching [dispensationalism] says Jesus comes back 2 more times. One is called ‘the rapture’ the other is the second coming [revealing]. The proponents of this form find little [or no] early Christians who believed this. There is one early writing by a Syrian brother who speaks very clearly about a rapture type event. Some think he speaks a little too clearly! The writing is believed to have been a fake. Either way we do have Paul teaching stages involved with the coming of the Lord and the kingdom. It is possible to have 2 future resurrections, this would not mean you need two future ‘second comings’. The first resurrection takes place at Christ’s return. He rules a literal thousand years and ‘the dead are raised again’ at the end of the literal rule on earth [ a literal reading of Revelation]. Also Paul does use the language of Jesus submitting to the Father at the end so ‘God will be all in all’. I feel believers have been confused and at times contradictory while trying to explain the nature of God and the Trinity. I recently read a teaching on the Trinity that tried to compare the Trinity to the nature of the organic church. It seemed confusing to me, they tried to say that just like in the Trinity you have no one ‘being’ having authority over the other, but instead you see all three persons equally submitting to one another [Father, Son and Spirit] so in the church you have equality. Now, I do believe that there is equality in the church, but I felt the example was way off. The New Testament clearly teaches the willful ‘submission’ of the Son to the Father. God [the father] is clearly the one ‘in charge’. Now, I admit it’s difficult and brothers have spent years trying to explain all the ins and outs of this. Here Paul shows us that the Son has willingly submitted to the Father so the father can put all things under him. Then once again at the culmination of the kingdom the Son submits to the father and God receives the glory. We will praise and worship Jesus thru out all eternity, it is his willful submission to the father’s plan that makes this happen. NOTE- Some believers spiritualize the first resurrection spoken of in Revelation, they relate it to those who have been ‘born again’ spiritually. Modern ‘Preterism’ holds to this view. (1013)CORINTHIANS 15:29-49 the resurrection body is a real ‘spiritual’ body. Paul describes the natural body [us now] as fleshly and like Adams body. He then describes the promised resurrection body as being like Jesus in his raised state. These verses can be a little confusing. When Paul says the resurrection body is ‘spiritual’ as compared to earthy, is he saying it is not real? No. But you can see how some early sects could use these verses and teach a ‘phantom’ type resurrection [Gnostic, Docetist type groups]. I was once asked by a Catholic believer if the church taught the physical resurrection. I assured the person that both Catholic and Protestant [and Orthodox] expressions of Christianity embrace the real future resurrection of the body. Now, is it the same body? Well, the way Paul describes it is by comparing the planting of seeds. When you plant a seed you don’t simply get a bigger seed! But you get various types of growth, whether it’s a tree or plant or whatever. So Paul says our future bodies will be new and glorious in this way, but if it weren’t really you, then it wouldn’t be a resurrection! So you will come back, but it will be a ‘new you’. Over the years I have studied various theologians [Christian ones] and I have seen the penchant for various groups to focus in on a certain doctrine and to stray somewhat from the faith. Now, they aren’t always cults, some of them are highly knowledgeable Christians who seem to be testing the boundaries of orthodoxy. I like N.T. Wright, the famous Bishop of Durham [Church of England] but you need to be grounded in what you believe before you can really read him. I feel at times he is helpful in bringing new perspectives to things, I have seen some of the things he teaches myself. But there is also a danger of ‘re-thinking’ stuff a little too much. By the way Wright has written on the resurrection and has done a great job at defending the historic churches position. He’s in somewhat of a theological controversy at the moment, some of the strong reformed brothers have come out and challenged his view on Justification. Wright teaches that the historic reformers kind of missed what Paul was saying. Wright ‘extends’ the doctrine to mean ‘a sign/badge of those who are already in Gods covenant community’. The historic reformers taught a more forensic meaning of the doctrine. That justification is primarily saying that God imputes the righteousness of Jesus to the believer. That Jesus took our sins, and we get his righteousness. Now, I feel there is some truth to Wrights view. But I would be careful to throw out the reformed view all together. There certainly is much truth to the reformed view. John Piper [a reformed Baptist] just released a book on the reformed view, Wright has one coming out pretty soon [Wrights is already published overseas, but the states wont get it for a few months]. So, the point is I believe the historic church and the ancient creeds ‘got it right’ on the resurrection. It is real, it will happen to all people some day. Those who have ‘done good’ [wow- these are Jesus actual words when describing the final judgment!] will be ‘raised to life’. Those who have done evil will be raised to face judgment. We can all escape the coming judgment, Jesus died for us. If we believe and accept his death, burial and resurrection, then we will be raised to a new life some day. 378- (I stuck this entry in here because it deals with the ‘baptism for the dead’, I didn’t want you to think that I just skipped over the verse) Let me give a little example of the ‘overriding act of redemption’ trumping any little verse or experience. Paul actually tells the Corinthians ‘if the dead are not raised, then why are you baptizing people in ‘proxy’ for the dead?’ This is tough stuff. Let me give you one way to see this. The ‘baptism for the dead’ seems to have been a real cultural thing that took place in a specific time and setting [like the slavery verses I mentioned earlier]. There seems to have been a concern specifically to the 1st century church that said ‘this new doctrine of Jesus is great, but being its only been around a few years, and you are telling us [Paul] that you must embrace it to be saved. Then we have a problem. A lot of our loved ones never got a chance to hear. How do you expect us to quell these concerns?’ And it’s possible that the ‘baptism’ by proxy [like a father or son getting baptized in the place of the loved one who died] was a 1st century cultural thing that grew out of this. The fact that they were doing this does not mean that Paul the Apostle was condoning it. Paul was simply saying ‘if you guys really don’t believe in life after death, then why are you bothering with this rite?’ Its like Paul was using their own cultural thing to show them the inconsistency of their thinking. He wasn’t really teaching the baptism for the dead. [This is my view, Mormons believe different. They do practice this today and they use this verse as justification]. (1014) CORINTHIANS 15:50-58 Okay, let’s wrap up this chapter. ‘Flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom’ Paul speaks a little on the nature of the resurrected body. It is real, but not mortal [flesh and blood] without getting lost in the technical aspects of the actual body, Paul does make a distinction between the natural life of man [blood gives life to the mortal man] and the supernatural life of the resurrected body [spiritual life]. Then Paul shows us a mystery [something that was hidden up until the time God reveals it- here thru Paul!] that ‘we shall not all experience death, but we shall all get new bodies’. Paul teaches that some believers will not face natural death, they will be the generation that is alive at Christ’s coming. Paul says this happens at the ‘last trumpet’. For those of you not familiar with some of the silly stuff that passes under the heading of ‘theology’, let me explain some stuff. In the world of ‘dispensationalism’ there is an entire body of teaching that deals with the trumpets in scripture. Basically if Paul is teaching that this event, getting raised from the dead and being transformed, if this takes place at ‘the last trump’ then it is pretty clear that this event is not some type of rapture that takes place 7 years prior to Gods ‘last trump’ [last day, when God wraps things up]. But if you read the portions of scripture that speak about Christ’s return and the resurrection [Thessalonians 4, John 14, Matthew 25] you will see that all these scriptures teach that the resurrection takes place at the end, when Christ returns. So anyway a whole lotta time is spent by the rapture guys to explain that when you are in school, you might say ‘hey, that’s the last bell [trump] before class starts’ and that ‘last bell’ doesn’t mean ‘last bell’, but it means the ‘last bell for now’. It’s kind of silly stuff that preachers do in order to back up their theories. If scriptures ‘last trump’ isn’t really the ‘last trump’ then you can fit the rapture in as a separate event from the second coming. I think doing doctrine like this is silly and hairsplitting. The first century believers who were reading these letters [not all at once, but as they were slowly being penned and sent] simply saw all of the references on the second coming as one event. It’s silly to try and make two separate lists of the New testament verses on Christ’s coming and then place some verses under a rapture heading, and others under a ‘second coming’ heading, especially when the rapture brothers themselves cant agree on which ones belong to which list! Well any way we have a glorious promise of a future resurrection body, the last enemy that Jesus destroys is death. Revelation says ‘death and hell are cast into the lake of fire’ Jesus has power over death, hell and the grave. He will totally eradicate all death some day, Jesus tasted death for every man [Hebrews] so that man does not have to be in bondage under its fear any more. [Parts] GALATIANS 3 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. John 1 https://youtu.be/hhA-O_mb3Y8 Galatians 3 https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/1-3-17-galatians-3.zip ON VIDEO .Abrahamic covenant .Fulfilled thru Christ .Law [covenant] came later .1st promise stands .Law revealed sin .Faith in Christ justifies .Began in Spirit [faith] don’t go back to law [works] .Christ took the curse of the law on the Cross [tree] .Law was tutor- to bring us to truth .Jesus is the Truth .No more need for the tutor .Father of many nations .Legal and actual justification .Luther- Trent [16th century] .Legal fiction? .Mercy seat NOTE [new stuff below]. Today [1-9-17] I found out that a good friend of mine died. His name was Huey Martin. I saw Huey about 10 days ago- the first time in about 7 months. As he pulled up to Timons [mission] he beeped the horn- and waved for me to come over. I didn’t recognize him- the car window was tinted. So- I sat there and ignored him. I noticed he kept waving for me to come over- like he thought ‘maybe John is mad- in one of his moods’. Yes- the guys know me- and this has happened before. As I walked away- I heard someone yell ‘John- John’. I walked over to the car window- and realized it was Huey. I could tell he felt bad- like I was ignoring him. But I told him I didn’t realize it was him- and I talked with him for around 15 minutes. I could see he was not doing well- I put my hand on his shoulder- like a brother- and told him I would pray for him. I see his older brother- David Martin- every week. I just visit with David- fellowship- and pray with him. All 3 brothers are like family to me- Andy- David and Huey. I have had people ask me why I ‘hang out’ with some of the guys- because of their lifestyles. Over the years I had good talks with Huey- we laughed- he spent 3 days at the house once when he broke a rib. And yes- we talked about God and life. I will indeed miss Huey- He was my friend. Here’s a video I did about 2 years ago- Huey is in it https://youtu.be/R0ZNzDkvphc NEW- Paul makes the argument that God promised Abraham that he would bless [save- justify] the whole world thru one of his sons. Genesis 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Ultimately that Son was Jesus- who came down the line- from the offspring of Abraham- Galatians 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Then Paul says – The law [10 commandments and entire Old Covenant system] came 430 years after God gave Abraham this promise- Galatians 3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. Paul says ‘the scripture foresaw that God would justify the heathen thru faith- preaching the gospel beforehand’- Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. Meaning- if the Galatians were going to revert to the law [get circumcised and put themselves under the Old Covenant] thinking that would make them pleasing to God. Then the first promise [to Abraham] wasn’t true- Galatians 3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. It’s a simple argument- saying God already promised that he would save the world someday- thru Jesus. And if the law- which was given later- could also justify man- then basically God would have lied. God is not a man that he should lie- Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Then the question is ‘why did God then give the law’? Good question- and I taught it when we covered the book of Romans- and in this chapter Paul teaches it again. The law was given till the seed [Son] would come to whom the promise was made- Galatians 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. But after that Son [seed] has come- there is no longer any need for the law [covenant- which includes circumcision]- Paul teaches that the law was our tutor- to bring us to the time of Christ- but after the true teacher has come- there is no more need for a tutor- Galatians 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. The law simply revealed to man his sin until the time of Christ- Galatians 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. The law is holy- just and good- But men are sinful. Therefore the law could never justify us. Its purpose has been fulfilled- to reveal to man that he is a sinner- unable to keep it- Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Then- when this purpose is fulfilled- we see the need for Christ- and the true purpose of the law is now accomplished- Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. Simple. The law cannot save us- was never intended to save us- Galatians 3:21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. And now that Jesus has come- The only one who ever fulfilled all the law- Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. He himself saves us because he took all the transgressions that were held against man- and nailed them to his Cross- Jesus took away the ‘handwriting of ordinances’ that was against us- and nailed them to his Cross- Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; Paul concludes that we are justified by faith- that Jesus ‘hung on a tree’ [the Cross] and became a curse for us- Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: He quotes Habakkuk showing that the just shall live by faith- Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. Galatians 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not faith- but the ‘man that does them- lives under them’- Galatians 3:12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. The quotes Paul uses in this chapter are from Deuteronomy- the ‘law’ and they show us the gospel itself- Deuteronomy 21:22 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: Deuteronomy 27:26 Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen. He warns the gentile believers- if you go back to that system- you are ‘falling from grace’- Galatians 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. We are all the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ- Galatians 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Amen. PAST TEACHING I DID THAT RELATES- GALATIANS [Links] https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/12/26/galatians-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2016/12/30/2nd-samuel-3-homeless-friends/ https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/01/02/galatians-2/ https://ccoutreach87.com/hebrews-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/justification-by-faith/ https://ccoutreach87.com/romans-updated-2015/ https://ccoutreach87.com/protestant-reformation-luther/ VERSES Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? Galatians 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Galatians 3:3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Galatians 3:4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. Galatians 3:5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Galatians 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Galatians 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. Galatians 3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. Galatians 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. Galatians 3:12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: Galatians 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Galatians 3:15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Galatians 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Galatians 3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. Galatians 3:18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Galatians 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Galatians 3:20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Galatians 3:21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. Galatians 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. Galatians 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Galatians 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Galatians 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. Galatians 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. ________________________________________ Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: Romans 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: Genesis 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: Genesis 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. 16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. John 1 Hebrews 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations http://www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://ccoutreach87.wordpress.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://plus.google.com/108013627259688810902/posts https://vimeo.com/user37400385 john chiarelloFollow On https://www.linkedin.com/home?trk=hb_logo http://johnchiarello.tumblr.com/ http://johnchiarello.thoughts.com/ http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Thanks- John.# Advertisements Occasionally, some of your visitors may see an advertisement here, as well as a Privacy & Cookies banner at the bottom of the page. You can hide ads completely by upgrading to one of our paid plans. UPGRADE NOW DISMISS MESSAGE Share this:· Press This · Tumblr · RelatedSunday sermon Galatians 3 Galatians 3 Yes- the Catholic Church rejected what was known as Pelagianism. In the early centuries of the church there was a Catholic priest- named Pelagius- who taught that people had the ability within themselves to obey Gods law and become saved that way. He rejected the doctrine of original sin and another famous bishop- Saint Augustine- would refute Pelagius and teach salvation comes by the Grace of God. The official Catholic position was to reject Pelagius and accept Augustine. Okay- then where’s the difference? The church council that spells it out is the Council of Trent [named after the Italian city where the council took place in the 1500’s- Trento]. This council is often referred to as the Counter Reformation. The church rejected the Protestant line- but also acknowledged the need for reform and made some changes. This is the council where the church rejects Pelagianism- and also says the position of Luther [Justification by Faith ALONE] was flawed. The church appealed to the New Testament letter of Saint James- where James uses an example from the life of Abraham [found in Genesis 22] where Abraham obeys God and is willing to sacrifice his son Isaac on an altar. Of course this never happens- God was simply testing Abraham- but James says this act of obedience justified him in Gods sight. James says ‘see how a man is justified by works- and not by faith ALONE’. The argument from Rome was Faith played THE major role in justification- but was not sufficient by itself- there had to be righteous works eventually associated with it in order for God to say ‘you are just’ [saved]. Luther disagreed and said God justified Abraham before he had good works- we find this in Genesis 15. God says to Abraham ‘look- count all the stars- so shall your offspring be’ and Walla- the bible also says Abraham was justified in God's eyes the moment he believed the promise. Who’s right? Actually they both are. I have taught this a few times over the years- and it would take too much time to re-do right now. But I believe James and Paul [the 2 who debate this in the bible] are simply looking at different aspects of salvation/justification. Paul emphasized faith- and James showed us how true faith always has works with it. When you read the statements that came out from the council of Trent- some of them do seem to indicate that both sides might have been talking past each other at some points. In the heat of the day they were too quick to condemn the other side- without really trying hard to achieve unity [like politics!]. The 6th session of Trent was the one where the church dealt with justification [how we become saved in Gods sight]. Rome made a distinction between mortal and Venial sin in the council- the church said that Baptism is the INSTRUMENTAL CAUSE of justification. Yet faith is the Root- Foundation and Initial act that justifies. Rome also taught that Mortal sin kills the grace in the soul that brings justification- and when a person commits a mortal sin- they need the ‘2nd plank of justification’ in order to be brought back into a state of Grace. This 2nd Plank is the Sacrament of Penance [confession]. Catholic Moral Theologians use an example to show the difference between Mortal and Venial sin. Drinking- if you take a drink [alcohol] not a sin. If you get tipsy- Venial- and if you get flat drunk- mortal. This is a true teaching by the way- not making this up. Catholic scholars are not in total agreement on all the Mortal/Venial sins. Some teach that missing Mass on Sunday is a Mortal sin. I just threw this in to show you the debates that take place. The teachings from Trent are referred to as Tridentine. The Protestants [early on] rejected the belief that a person can lose Gods grace once he has it- later on the Protestants would divide- severely- over this teaching- Predestination and the Perseverance of the Saints. But early on all the major Reformers did indeed teach this. Luther believed in the doctrine of Predestination just as much- if not more- than John Calvin. But sometimes in these history shows they get this wrong and say Luther and Calvin disagreed on it- that’s a common mistake that you hear every so often. Luther actually wrote a book dedicated to the subject [The Bondage of the Will] Calvin never wrote a book solely on the subject. Okay- as we end this brief study of the Protestant Reformation- you could also call it a primer on Catholic doctrine [short one]. Why is it important that we study this? In John chapter 17 Jesus said that he desired unity for all of Gods people- and many of these divisions- which date back 500 years- are commonly misunderstood on both sides. It is common in our day to run across an ex Catholic who might say ‘you know- I left the church because I don’t believe I need to confess to a priest’ or ‘the Catholic church teaches you are saved by works’. The original Reformers did not have a problem with confession- the Lutherans carried the practice over into their communion. And like I just showed you- the Catholic church rejected the doctrine of being saved ‘by works’ [Pelagianism] and simply emphasized the teaching found in the bible- the book of James- and focused more on James than Paul [who the protestants focus on]. So yes- there are still differences- but if we are not informed- then it makes it harder to strive for unity- and at the end of the day God does desire unity for all his people. The other day I quoted the great Civil rights leader- MLK. In one of his famous speeches that’s played when we celebrate his life- you hear Martin say that not only was he seeking unity among the races- but also in the church. He said he wanted to see Catholics and Protestants- as well as Blacks and Whites- sit down together- he referred to us all as Gods kids. I think we should strive to achieve the desire of Martin- and Jesus. Amen. VERSES [These are the verses I either quoted or taught from on today’s post- other videos below] 1Timothy 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 1Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Romans 5:13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Romans 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. Romans 5:15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. Romans 5:16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. Romans 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Romans 5:18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Genesis 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. Genesis 2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. Genesis 2:20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. Genesis 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; Genesis 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. Genesis 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Genesis 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Chapter ThreeGenesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Genesis 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: Genesis 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. Genesis 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: Genesis 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Romans 6:23 [Full Chapter] For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 1Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 1Corinthians 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 1Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 1Corinthians 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations John 14:6 [Full Chapter] Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Zechariah 6:12 King James Version (KJV)12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 2 Corinthians 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Galatians 4 King James Version (KJV)4 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Luke 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations 25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. Eph. 5 Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Romans 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.Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations OTHER VIDEOS [These are the videos I post nightly to my various sites- links to all my sites below] Samuel 14 https://youtu.be/Ce5lX3hWd-E 8-12-18 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/fn5osouuedocpco/8-12-18%20Sunday%20sermon.mp4?dl=0 Homeless friends https://www.instagram.com/tv/CLB26Irlx1_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Kings 1 https://ok.ru/video/1904409774647 Samuel 15 https://www.dropbox.com/s/oo2y2qxgfw7jq34/8-11-16%20Samuel%2015.mp4?dl=0 New Jersey https://youtu.be/g4VF0gOYw_k 4-15-18 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/su2mbhof3wdcmjr/4-15-18%20Sunday%20sermon%20%5BMass-%20Church%20Unlimited%20verses%5D.mp4?dl=0 Hear God https://youtu.be/TIa8ng2njWs Let the rocks cry out https://youtu.be/XzAIyqRZ5EE Colossians 1 https://business.facebook.com/ccoutreach1/videos/2789220751400568/ Church in Proverbs https://dai.ly/x7mx52u Homeless friends https://www.dropbox.com/s/25c5s8n1hh605qd/7-7-17%20Furman%20and%20Bill.mp4?dl=0 New Jersey https://youtu.be/YgCn_nRhgMI Zech 2 https://www.dropbox.com/s/wvsl0fkrj6hnh2p/4-15-17%20I%20thought%20you%20were%201%20of%20us%20%5BZech%202%5D.mp4?dl=0 John 11 https://youtu.be/SZ2Zif0LOZM Romans 14-16 https://youtu.be/oQ-m845ZRzE Friends https://business.facebook.com/ccoutreach1/videos/828006831103158/ John 17 https://dai.ly/x7mvkpw John 12 https://www.dropbox.com/s/01yyjnzsy7h502e/8-11-16%20John%2012%20%5BHeb.%206%5D.mp4?dl=0 New Jersey https://youtu.be/7SxYy2p1OX4 Acts 9 https://www.dropbox.com/s/5n76twng58egzpe/4-13-17%20Acts%209%20%5BZech.%201%5D.mp4?dl=0 Homeless friends https://youtu.be/O7C9-4mT4NM Samuel 12-13 https://youtu.be/Piw1wv6eTgI Romans 11-13 https://www.dropbox.com/s/ej7tvvd64txxeoh/3-12-15%20Romans%2011-13.mp4?dl=0 Samuel 9 https://www.instagram.com/tv/CK1AZvnFcx1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Story of scripture https://ok.ru/video/1899352623671 John 14 https://www.dropbox.com/s/zxdfogdifdzjkpm/8-10-15%20John%2014.mp4?dl=0 New Jersey friends https://youtu.be/Evyz9WmEVuY The Door of heaven https://www.dropbox.com/s/6bh3rmdf969jjy0/4-13-16%20The%20door%20of%20heaven.mp4?dl=0 John 10 https://youtu.be/Zb9dtcW7wDQ Colossians 3 https://www.dropbox.com/s/l5uniom6iw4j1tm/4-12-18%20Colossians%203.mp4?dl=0 New Jersey https://youtu.be/KSwvNQlFyuY Remnant https://www.dropbox.com/s/ly6q1q1xxos6xfh/7-9-17%20Remnant.mp4?dl=0 Samuel https://dai.ly/x7mvkpx Kings 1 https://business.facebook.com/ccoutreach1/videos/389274488833644/ Romans 8-10 https://www.dropbox.com/s/533k3rb0c32rzfi/2-24-15%20Romans%208-10.mp4?dl=0 Take-eat- this is my Body https://youtu.be/oOIo_TcNcp8 Hebrews 7-9 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhiDxuySvlJvPW654 New Jersey- 2014 https://youtu.be/g4VF0gOYw_k James https://www.dropbox.com/s/7f5jasr6af5wnqo/9-25-16%20James%20%5BAnd%20then%20it%20rainbed%5D.mp4?dl=0 Zeal of thine house https://dai.ly/x7bmqfu Acts 7 https://www.bitchute.com/video/l9zoHLEr4dDd/ Acts 24 https://youtu.be/r48iPGZCaP0 4-23-17 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMghQ7iCdN1MgZtHWr 1-22-17 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/dosx3kgl9livhgh/1-22-17%20Local%20Church.mp4?dl=0 Parable of the trees https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhh6oQf3hzY5akZSt New Jersey 2014 https://youtu.be/YgCn_nRhgMI Mark 16 https://www.dropbox.com/s/gooecs0t6xsbzo7/9-23-17%20Mark%2016.mp4?dl=0 Angels came https://dai.ly/x7bjaac 11-20-16 Sunday sermon https://flic.kr/p/2hn2dW7 Homeless friends https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjAfvntVtPFZuQ5mh 10-11-15 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/sei3z42l488qrvq/10-11-15%20Bethlehem%20Christians.mp4?dl=0 Homeless friends https://youtu.be/oGsV6AURo0w Acts 11 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhhuEJz1D2nDc0Eo4 New Jersey https://youtu.be/7SxYy2p1OX4 Samuel 20 https://www.dropbox.com/s/xvls4cd576j7brd/9-23-16%20Samuel%2020.mp4?dl=0 Amos 5 https://dai.ly/x7bjaad 4-2-17 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMggOQK53L2lhrcyNE 6-18-17 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/wxlvzknrcmfxk7i/6-18-17%20C.U.-%20Mass.mp4?dl=0 Colossians 2 https://www.bitchute.com/video/sS4HKF58d4Wg/ 10-20-19 Sunday sermon https://youtu.be/-tXu_UgSq6A https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5/videos/10206243340800655/ Acts 27 https://youtu.be/8zvjguKJlkg Gideon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhheFD3yw-8_G9fwr New Jersey- 2014 https://youtu.be/Evyz9WmEVuY Redeeming the time https://www.dropbox.com/s/fquvux07nzcfxxf/9-22-18%20Redeeming%20the%20time-%20a%20teaching.mp4?dl=0 In the image of God https://youtu.be/If5GrqzO3O4 God- science- logic https://dai.ly/x7bfqmr 11-19-17 Sunday sermon https://flic.kr/p/2hmB4vn Homeless friends https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMi2nnJexGawu1r3pl 12-18-16 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/3ybce8v8vgiquhj/12-18-16%20Died-%20Raised-%20Ascended.mp4?dl=0 Homeless friends https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhhnQsw3HAY2rrMG8 N. J. 2014 https://youtu.be/KSwvNQlFyuY This is the day https://www.dropbox.com/s/71qsp9xok2o4x12/9-22-15%20This%20IS%20the%20Day.mp4?dl=0 Acts 14 https://dai.ly/x7bfqms Samuel 26 https://flic.kr/p/2hkC1uT 8-18-19 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjAtKyGqvd_cwMjNn 1-1-17 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/akkowwr43zfeig3/1-1-17%202nd%20Samuel%206-7%20%5BC.U.%5D.mp4?dl=0 Samuel 23-24 https://youtu.be/VKGWW7s6dk4 Mark 10 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhhjr6Er6HVUOmTcM Cheech- North Bergen dr. https://youtu.be/U1MCARG80r0 Homeless friends https://www.dropbox.com/s/hjj87y38rbe6ozo/9-2-16%20Crow-%20Andy-%20Albert-%20Stephen.mp4?dl=0 Beware of it https://dai.ly/x7b9c6k Teaching with friends https://flic.kr/p/2hjCWng Teaching https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjAmhYG1gLr-s3Zgk 12-4-16 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/awy7mnpnwrajpxc/12-4-16%20Isaiah%2011-%20Matt.%203.mp4?dl=0 Homeless friends https://youtu.be/x32nDfblDpQ James 2 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhhVttkoI6XhwEZMM N. J. 2014 https://youtu.be/owSgwMIorBo Revelation 11 https://www.dropbox.com/s/t3njrnmpgkr44fn/9-2-15%20Revelation%2011.mp4?dl=0 Homeless friends https://www.instagram.com/tv/Byz0YyAHILy/?utm_source=ig_web_options_share_sheet Romans 14-16 https://www.bitchute.com/video/A32lyoKQWWhX/ 12-2-18 Sunday sermon https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMjEqYIsr2c6k6xFiQ 11-20-16 Sunday sermon https://www.dropbox.com/s/231v0cqq34dcbo0/11-20-16%20One%20Lord-%20One%20baptism.mp4?dl=0 Acts 28 https://ccoutreach87.com/2019/10/22/acts-28-5/ MY SITES- Blog- [Post nightly] https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/ Site- [Post nightly] https://ccoutreach87.com/ Site- https://www.minds.com/ccoutreach87 Site- https://ccoutreachministries.wordpress.com/ Site- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 Site- https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/ Site- http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite Site- https://www.quora.com/profile/John-Chiarello-1 Site- http://ccoutreach87.strikingly.com/ 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my studies- https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/reformation_12.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/overview-ofphilosophy-thales-andthe-pre.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/romans-links-1-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/colossians-links-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/corinthians-links-4-2019.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/ephesians-links.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/acts-links.html https://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/galatians-links.html NOTE- Every so often some of my sites think I am Spam- or a Bot- I am not. My name is John Chiarello, I am a retired firefighter living in Texas, Born in Hoboken New Jersey- raised in North Bergen. I post original content [all videos and text are by me]. I post 7 videos a night to many of my sites, and text posts 3 times a week. I NEVER take money- or ask for money- ever. Everything is free- I sell nothing- to some sites this makes a difference- so I wanted to say that here. There are no buildings- staff- salary- anything. Just me teaching- doing outreach- and reaching out thru my sites. All my teachings- videos- studies are free to download from all my sites. Make as many copies as you want- they are there for you to use. Thank You- John. ALL MY SITES [Please Like, Share, Connect, Follow and Subscribe to the sites below- Thanks] Web sites- www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com [Main site] https://ccoutreach87.com/ https://medium.com/@johnchiarello https://johnchiarello.webs.com/ http://ccoutreach.over-blog.com/ [France] https://ccoutreach87.jimdo.com/ http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/__blog.html?r=20171009095200 http://ccoutreach87-1.mozello.com/ https://ccoutreach87.site123.me/ http://ccoutreach87.wixsite.com/mysite https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/ http://ccoutreach87.strikingly.com/ https://ccoutreach87.webs.com/ Social Media sites- https://www.facebook.com/john.chiarello.5?ref=bookmarks https://www.facebook.com/ccoutreach1 https://vk.com/id533663718 [Russia- Our largest group outside the U.S.] https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-chiarello-b27340ab/ [Our largest group] https://twitter.com/ccoutreach87 https://www.plurk.com/ccoutreach87/public [Japan] Plurk update- I will remove this link [Below] after they 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https://fightingbackuncensored.com/miembros/johnchiarello/ https://wegatta.com/index.php/Ccoutreach87 https://www.mumblit.com/ccoutreach87 https://ccoutreach87.com/stats-4-21/ https://likabout.com/ccoutreach87 [Portugal] Link sharing sites- https://www.pinterest.com/ccoutreach87/ https://mix.com/jchiarello/christian-bible-god https://trello.com/b/swhF9Vr8/ccoutreach87com https://www.reddit.com/user/ccoutreach https://flipboard.com/@johnchiarel4hvs/ccoutreach87-q213nqldy http://corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com/p/one-link_18.html [Link to past teaching] Video sites- [Can view and download my videos free of charge] Streaming sites- Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ4GsqTEVWRm0HxQTLsifvg?view_as=subscriber Youtube Playlist- https://ccoutreach87.com/youtube-playlist/ Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems https://www.flickr.com/photos/ccoutreach87/ [Most viewed] https://www.dailymotion.com/ccoutreach87/videos [India] 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https://mega.nz/#F!7WQCSIJR!-4v9-zUQRq4MIQbBfI2n4A https://www.dropbox.com/sh/d43nhtrgysqg493/AAAlCszxZXJoRtk8UudtuR9ma?dl=0 https://ln.sync.com/dl/3e1f4c5e0/tcnm9p32-xiwe4nbu-zjbkitqj-4fvemf6m https://1drv.ms/f/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMg0MwmUCJ1XM3q9ui https://icedrive.net/dashboard/#/cloud Cloud sites- https://ccoutreach87.com/cloud-links-12-2018/ Inactive- work in progress- http://johnchiarello.doodlekit.com/ http://corpus-christijohnchiarello.simplesite.com/ https://spark.adobe.com/page/6INKwX1tFT7WA/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWXKfaFDZrfNUzloSqg8Kg?view_as=subscriber Youtube note- http://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/youtube-problems Beta https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYlLmUkKiB6VoWE9CB1UQew?view_as=subscriber ccoutreach87 https://www.facebook.com/ccoutreach1/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel&eid=ARCo7sBBI_1fHMUwrHJbFUGf73C6FmpZxtgTcWET2gVwpdHCKmXSGxs6wyeA-qGCnbsr2ILaXqpd4ACt Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on- Copy text- download video links- make complete copies of my books/studies and posts- everything is copyrighted by me- I give permission for all to copy and share as much as you like- I just ask that nothing be sold. We live in an online world- yet- there is only one internet- meaning if it ever goes down- the only access to the teachings are what others have copied or downloaded- so feel free to copy and download as much as you want- it’s all free- Note- I have many web sites- at times some question whether I’m a ‘bot’ because I do post a lot. I am not a ‘bot’- I’m John- so please- if you are on the verge of deleting something- my contact email is [email protected] - contact me first- thank you- John EPHESIANS- INTRO- CHAPTER 1
Ephesians 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: Ephesians 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: Links to my sites here and the bottom of every post- https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/my-sites.html Stats https://ccoutreach87.com/stats-4-21/ Ephesians 1 Videos- https://youtu.be/6R_QugaoG74 https://www.dropbox.com/s/uve5l1dh546zxcp/11-21-17%20Ephesians-%20Intro-%20chapter%201.mp4?dl=0 https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMhCrMCv6eqngiL5Ew https://ccoutreach87.com/11-21-17-ephesians-intro-chapter-1/ https://ccoutreach87.com/11-21-17-ephesians-intro-chapter-1-2/ ON VIDEO- .Butterfly .Background on the city of Ephesus .Sovereignty .Paul’s prayer .Plymouth Rock .Mayflower .Jamestown .Puritans .Reformation .Church of England .Some history of the Puritans and their rejection of the Church of England [Anglican] keeping some of the High Church practices of the Catholic Church TEACHING- [Past posts- corrections? Below] Intro- Ephesus was the capitol city of the Roman province of Asia- it was one of the top cities of the day [Like Rome- Corinth- Alexandria- etc]. It was a major commercial center because of a port to the Aegean sea- [Now silted up] And if you remember my Acts study- the famous temple of Diana was located there- which was considered to be one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world- https://ccoutreach87.com/2017/08/09/acts-19/ Paul spent more than 2 years there and he probably penned this letter while sitting in jail at Rome [House arrest] I actually just covered the history of this in my study on the book of Acts- so I thought it fitting to now start a new study on the letter the apostle wrote to this Christian community. [Some sites see here https://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/ephesians-1-6 ] John 21
John 21:22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. John 21:23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Links to my sites here and the bottom of every post- https://corpusoutreach.weebly.com/my-sites.html Stats https://ccoutreach87.com/stats-4-21/ John 21 video’s- https://www.dropbox.com/s/dxgf1hypxipoll2/10-28-16%20JohnJonah.mp4?dl=0 https://youtu.be/KUzR8ng9Fjs https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/10-28-16-johnjonah.zip ON VIDEO- .Peters promise to get martyred for the cause .Strange way to end a gospel .Was it Preterism? TEACHING - [Past links- verses below] As I finish this study on John- I won’t cover the whole last chapter here- I’ve taught it already. But I’ll hit on the ending of this chapter- which I always thought was a bit strange. The chapter ends with a sort of debate about what Jesus said [or meant]. Which is indeed a strange way to end such a riveting gospel. Jesus tells Peter that he will die for the cause – John 21:18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. John 21:19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. And then Peter asks Jesus about John John 21:20 Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? John 21:21 Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus says ‘If I let him live- till ‘my coming’- what’s that to you’? John 21:22 Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. Then- the disciples started a rumor about John ‘wow- Jesus said he will never die’. John 21:23 Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Meaning- if John actually lives until the return of Christ- then yes- he would have never died. Yet- the passage says- Jesus never said John would not die- but that if he ‘lives’ until the coming- what’s the big deal. [Some sites see the rest here https://ccoutreach87.webstarts.com/blog/post/john-21 ] Ok- many believers have looked at the 2nd coming verses- and have rightfully shown that there are |
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