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Recorded during the September 2005 Word Feast weekend.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Friday, November 18, 2005
So what is 'church' really?
Ekklesia and Christ
A flower blooming in your garden is a unique expression of many different ingredients such as the sun, water and earth. Although it is a beautiful expression of these qualities, the whole ecosystem that made this flower possible is infinitely greater than just this flower. The flower will soon fade and die, but creation continues.
When we speak about church, we have to look far beyond the local assembly, limited to time and space, that many refer to as church, before we can truly understand this. The local assembly is spoken of in scripture, but much more is said about the infinitely greater realities of which the local assembly is simply an expression.
We will therefore first look at the realities regarding ekklesia (church), beyond its temporal expression in a local assembly. Once these truths are grasped our expression of them will be much more accurate and beautiful. Trying to emulate the local assemblies we see in the N.T. without appreciating the realities that birthed these assemblies will leave us with lifeless, meaningless yet biblically correct assemblies! By this I mean the form will be there, but not the life. The appearance might be correct but the fruit will be missing as per the fig tree that Jesus cursed.
‘Ekklesia’ is the Greek word most often translated as ‘church’ in the New Testament. In plain usage it meant an assembly. Interestingly it is made up of two root words, the first being:
ek, ex
A primary preposition denoting origin (the point whence motion or action proceeds), from, out
And the second part being:
kal-eh'-o
to “call” (properly aloud, but used in a variety of applications, directly or otherwise): - bid, call (forth), (whose, whose sur-) name (was [called]).
It implies being named by our origin. From our origin proceeds a call; from our creator comes a claim upon our existence. Our Father names us and what He calls us is more valid than any other name or identity we might have adopted. Eph 3:15 reveals that all families/races/nations of man are named by the Father. The same words are used namely ‘ek’ (from whom) and the word named.
Eph 3:15 “Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named”
Firstly we have to say, based on this and many other scriptures, that The father’s call is for every person; his claim is upon all mankind for He knows their true identity; He is the origin from whom this call proceeds.
It then follows that those who respond to His call, those who acknowledge their true identity in Him become the manifested form of this ekklesia.
Jesus had a few things to say about ekklesia.
Mat 16:13-18 When Jesus arrived in the villages of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "What are people saying about who the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some think he is John the Baptizer, some say Elijah, some Jeremiah or one of the other prophets."
He pressed them, "And how about you? Who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter said, "You're the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
Jesus came back, "God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn't get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I'm going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
Can you see how the true identity of Jesus and the true identity of man is the revelation upon which Jesus builds His church. The Father revealed to Simon that the Son of Man is indeed the Son of God. He, however, only saw its significance in relation to Jesus. Jesus does not leave this here, but takes the revelation a step further. This is not only a revelation regarding the identity of Jesus, but also a revelation regarding the identity of man.
Jesus speaks very specifically to Peter regarding his identity. He starts by referring to him as “Simon, son of Jonah” With this Jesus confirms that he too is a son of man. But the he draws him into a deeper understanding of his identity. “You are Peter” ‘Peter’ meaning a piece of a rock. Jesus uses a different word the second time He refers to rock. He does not use the word ‘piece of rock’ but refers to the actual big rock from which the piece came. Isa 51:1 "Listen to me, all you who are serious about right living and committed to seeking GOD. Ponder the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were dug.” Deut 32:3,4 respond to the greatness of our God! The Rock: His works are perfect.
Jesus challenges Peter to consider his own origin beyond his natural birth and come to the same conclusion concerning himself as the conclusion he came to concerning Christ, namely: the son of man (son of Jonah in this case) is also the son of God!
“Upon this rock” – the rock from which you were cut – your origin, I will build my church - the call of man’s origin. Whatever literal place is meant with the word Hades, there is also a very significant meaning beyond this. For the word is made of two words that mean ‘to see’ and the negative form of it. So figuratively it means ‘not to see’ or ignorance!
John 1:4,5 In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Jesus came and lived a life as an open display of who and what man originally was intended to be. This open manifestation of life as it was intended, appeals to every man’s conscience because there remained in man a divine spark despite the fall. This same appeal is extended through those who responded to this call and so Paul writes concerning his life “but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God” (2Cor 4:2).
When Paul writes about this ekklesia in the letter to the Ephesians, he uses the picture of a body of which Christ is the Head. What he describes is not just a local assembly. He does not start with the form or the method through which these truths are expressed, but rather with the bigger picture of what it is really about.
God desires to express Himself! God wants a body! Your body is not some remote controlled object apart from your head. You are one. In this same way the Father planned, and took pleasure in this plan, and He chose man as the ideal container for Himself. Verse 18 reveals that God has an inheritance and that inheritance is in man! He designed us as the ultimate expression of Himself. How big, varied, deep, wide, broad and long is God’s expression of Himself? Can you measure Him? This must bring us to the conclusion that we should never seek to control, limit or define how God is to express Himself through the church, lest we make it an expression of ourselves rather than an expression of Him. The head, Christ, alone directs and inspires each individual part to do whatever He desires. How often have we tried to displace Christ with methods of our own making.
Ekklesia is so much more than the final expression of it in a local body. We will look at the local body later, but first let us see deeper into what ekklesia really is.
1Co 12:12 Even as the body is one, and has many members, but all the members of the one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
Christ is no longer an individual! Read 1Cor12:12 again and again until you see it. Christ now consists of many members, making one body. You are a part of what makes Christ, Christ. It is for this reason that we should never dishonour Christ by equating Him with an organisation. Only ‘that’ which is made in His likeness and image is able of expressing His likeness and image. When we speak of church we speak of Christ or at least a part of Christ and Christ is not an event or a program or an organisation made by human hands. He is a person in whom the fullness of the godhead dwells in bodily form.
Ekklesia from God’s point of view is not a temporary arrangement. Eph 3:19-21 reveals that God purposes to manifest Himself through us in ways we have not imagined and that this demonstration of who He is will continue throughout all ages to come.
Eph 3:1921 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. 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, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.
Church as a local body is a temporal manifestation of real church which is eternal. Heb 12:23 shows that ekklesia includes the assembly of the spirits of just men. So church as God knows it, is not limited to the here and now. His church is eternal.
By Andre Rabe
http://eclesia.blogspot.com
A flower blooming in your garden is a unique expression of many different ingredients such as the sun, water and earth. Although it is a beautiful expression of these qualities, the whole ecosystem that made this flower possible is infinitely greater than just this flower. The flower will soon fade and die, but creation continues.
When we speak about church, we have to look far beyond the local assembly, limited to time and space, that many refer to as church, before we can truly understand this. The local assembly is spoken of in scripture, but much more is said about the infinitely greater realities of which the local assembly is simply an expression.
We will therefore first look at the realities regarding ekklesia (church), beyond its temporal expression in a local assembly. Once these truths are grasped our expression of them will be much more accurate and beautiful. Trying to emulate the local assemblies we see in the N.T. without appreciating the realities that birthed these assemblies will leave us with lifeless, meaningless yet biblically correct assemblies! By this I mean the form will be there, but not the life. The appearance might be correct but the fruit will be missing as per the fig tree that Jesus cursed.
‘Ekklesia’ is the Greek word most often translated as ‘church’ in the New Testament. In plain usage it meant an assembly. Interestingly it is made up of two root words, the first being:
ek, ex
A primary preposition denoting origin (the point whence motion or action proceeds), from, out
And the second part being:
kal-eh'-o
to “call” (properly aloud, but used in a variety of applications, directly or otherwise): - bid, call (forth), (whose, whose sur-) name (was [called]).
It implies being named by our origin. From our origin proceeds a call; from our creator comes a claim upon our existence. Our Father names us and what He calls us is more valid than any other name or identity we might have adopted. Eph 3:15 reveals that all families/races/nations of man are named by the Father. The same words are used namely ‘ek’ (from whom) and the word named.
Eph 3:15 “Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named”
Firstly we have to say, based on this and many other scriptures, that The father’s call is for every person; his claim is upon all mankind for He knows their true identity; He is the origin from whom this call proceeds.
It then follows that those who respond to His call, those who acknowledge their true identity in Him become the manifested form of this ekklesia.
Jesus had a few things to say about ekklesia.
Mat 16:13-18 When Jesus arrived in the villages of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "What are people saying about who the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some think he is John the Baptizer, some say Elijah, some Jeremiah or one of the other prophets."
He pressed them, "And how about you? Who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter said, "You're the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
Jesus came back, "God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn't get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I'm going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
Can you see how the true identity of Jesus and the true identity of man is the revelation upon which Jesus builds His church. The Father revealed to Simon that the Son of Man is indeed the Son of God. He, however, only saw its significance in relation to Jesus. Jesus does not leave this here, but takes the revelation a step further. This is not only a revelation regarding the identity of Jesus, but also a revelation regarding the identity of man.
Jesus speaks very specifically to Peter regarding his identity. He starts by referring to him as “Simon, son of Jonah” With this Jesus confirms that he too is a son of man. But the he draws him into a deeper understanding of his identity. “You are Peter” ‘Peter’ meaning a piece of a rock. Jesus uses a different word the second time He refers to rock. He does not use the word ‘piece of rock’ but refers to the actual big rock from which the piece came. Isa 51:1 "Listen to me, all you who are serious about right living and committed to seeking GOD. Ponder the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were dug.” Deut 32:3,4 respond to the greatness of our God! The Rock: His works are perfect.
Jesus challenges Peter to consider his own origin beyond his natural birth and come to the same conclusion concerning himself as the conclusion he came to concerning Christ, namely: the son of man (son of Jonah in this case) is also the son of God!
“Upon this rock” – the rock from which you were cut – your origin, I will build my church - the call of man’s origin. Whatever literal place is meant with the word Hades, there is also a very significant meaning beyond this. For the word is made of two words that mean ‘to see’ and the negative form of it. So figuratively it means ‘not to see’ or ignorance!
John 1:4,5 In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Jesus came and lived a life as an open display of who and what man originally was intended to be. This open manifestation of life as it was intended, appeals to every man’s conscience because there remained in man a divine spark despite the fall. This same appeal is extended through those who responded to this call and so Paul writes concerning his life “but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God” (2Cor 4:2).
When Paul writes about this ekklesia in the letter to the Ephesians, he uses the picture of a body of which Christ is the Head. What he describes is not just a local assembly. He does not start with the form or the method through which these truths are expressed, but rather with the bigger picture of what it is really about.
God desires to express Himself! God wants a body! Your body is not some remote controlled object apart from your head. You are one. In this same way the Father planned, and took pleasure in this plan, and He chose man as the ideal container for Himself. Verse 18 reveals that God has an inheritance and that inheritance is in man! He designed us as the ultimate expression of Himself. How big, varied, deep, wide, broad and long is God’s expression of Himself? Can you measure Him? This must bring us to the conclusion that we should never seek to control, limit or define how God is to express Himself through the church, lest we make it an expression of ourselves rather than an expression of Him. The head, Christ, alone directs and inspires each individual part to do whatever He desires. How often have we tried to displace Christ with methods of our own making.
Ekklesia is so much more than the final expression of it in a local body. We will look at the local body later, but first let us see deeper into what ekklesia really is.
1Co 12:12 Even as the body is one, and has many members, but all the members of the one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
Christ is no longer an individual! Read 1Cor12:12 again and again until you see it. Christ now consists of many members, making one body. You are a part of what makes Christ, Christ. It is for this reason that we should never dishonour Christ by equating Him with an organisation. Only ‘that’ which is made in His likeness and image is able of expressing His likeness and image. When we speak of church we speak of Christ or at least a part of Christ and Christ is not an event or a program or an organisation made by human hands. He is a person in whom the fullness of the godhead dwells in bodily form.
Ekklesia from God’s point of view is not a temporary arrangement. Eph 3:19-21 reveals that God purposes to manifest Himself through us in ways we have not imagined and that this demonstration of who He is will continue throughout all ages to come.
Eph 3:1921 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. 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, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.
Church as a local body is a temporal manifestation of real church which is eternal. Heb 12:23 shows that ekklesia includes the assembly of the spirits of just men. So church as God knows it, is not limited to the here and now. His church is eternal.
By Andre Rabe
http://eclesia.blogspot.com
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
MANKIND’S TRUE IDENTITY AND INNOCENCE REVEALED
MANKIND’S TRUE IDENTITY AND INNOCENCE REVEALED
The gospel reveals that God rescued the human race through His Son’s obedience. Where does this leave the world, guilty as charged through the Law, or innocent as revealed in the Gospel? “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, surely He took our sorrows, and by His stripes we were healed.” Is.53:4,5. “If one died for all it can only mean that they all have likewise died.” (His death was their death) 2Cor.5:14. The gospel is not about God’s love for good and well-behaved people, but about God’s initiative to reconcile hostile humanity to Himself. “While we were yet sinners He died for us.” Rom.5:8. The success of redemption is not measured by man’s ability to change himself but by God’s single act of grace in Christ realised. The gospel declares that something has happened to mankind in Christ of far greater consequence than what has happened to them in Adam. Rom.5:14-21. In this writing it is clear that Paul sees all of mankind, without exception, as deriving greater benefit from the mission of Christ than they suffered injury from the fall of Adam. The same mass of humanity that were made sinners by the disobedience of the one, are made righteous by the obedience of the other. (Quote from a quote out of Andre Rabe’s book, Adventures in Christ.)
Man became a new creation in Christ. (2 Cor.5:17 the ‘if’ being a conclusion, not a condition! See v.14-21; also as in Rom.8:31 “If God be for us , who can be against us!” The gospel reveals the fact that God is for us!) “Of God are you in Christ, whom God made to be our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption!” 1Cor.1:30. “This means that our knowledge and judgement of men can no longer be based upon their outward lives.” 2 Cor.5:16. Mankind’s association in Christ from before the foundation of the earth is the basis of God’s dealing with man. Ep.1:4. “God has shown me,” says Peter, “to call no man common or unclean.” Acts10:15,28. Paul instructs Titus to, “speak evil of no man, avoid quarrelling, be gentle and show perfect courtesy towards all men. For we ourselves were once blinded by our ignorance, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by men and hating one another.” Titus 3:2-4. In the light of our true origin and identity revealed in the word of truth, James says in chapter 3:9 that we can no longer magnify God, and with the same voice insult and condemn a man who is made in His image. The parables Jesus told of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son clearly reveal, that in the eyes of the original owner the sinner has never lost his value. Luke15. “He solved the sin problem for good, not only ours, but the whole world’s! 1John2:2. The Message.
This is the nucleus of the truth which knowledge makes man free to be free indeed. Has the world indeed heard the good news of their acquittal or is mankind still held hostage through a wrong gospel that leaves the masses either indifferent or condemned? John the Baptist points out the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world but then he continues his old style of preaching and condemns Herod. Instead of becoming the first disciple of Jesus, who did not come to condemn the world, he holds on to his personal pulpit and trains disciples that turn out to be having more in common with the Pharisees than with Jesus. “We fast and pray while you guys eat and drink, you are wine-bibbers and gluttons, friends of thieves and prostitutes!” Luke 5:33, Math.9:14,16,17. In prison John becomes offended and questions redemption, “Are You the Lamb of God or must we wait for another wave or movement?” Math.11:3,6. There are many stubborn preachers today who take offence of this gospel and refuse to submit to the righteousness that comes from God and prefer their old ways of seeking to establish a counterfeit righteousness through rigorous rules and regulations, preaching condemnation inspired and distracted by the contradiction rather than the solution. There is such a difference between a zeal for God and the zeal of the Lord. Righteousness by faith is what ignites the zeal of the Lord in the heart. Rom.10:1-4. The sinners were attracted to Jesus not because he introduced a compromise to the law, something like, “it’s all right to sin just don’t get caught or try and do it less!” but because revealed in His person they saw the mirror-reflection of their true origin, identity and innocence! They knew that the lies they embraced as their identity had no power against the resonance of their own conscience. Jesus didn’t say to the prostitute, “Go and sin less,” He said to her “Go and sin no more!”
Part of a booklet by Francois du Toit
www.mirrorreflection.net
The gospel reveals that God rescued the human race through His Son’s obedience. Where does this leave the world, guilty as charged through the Law, or innocent as revealed in the Gospel? “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, surely He took our sorrows, and by His stripes we were healed.” Is.53:4,5. “If one died for all it can only mean that they all have likewise died.” (His death was their death) 2Cor.5:14. The gospel is not about God’s love for good and well-behaved people, but about God’s initiative to reconcile hostile humanity to Himself. “While we were yet sinners He died for us.” Rom.5:8. The success of redemption is not measured by man’s ability to change himself but by God’s single act of grace in Christ realised. The gospel declares that something has happened to mankind in Christ of far greater consequence than what has happened to them in Adam. Rom.5:14-21. In this writing it is clear that Paul sees all of mankind, without exception, as deriving greater benefit from the mission of Christ than they suffered injury from the fall of Adam. The same mass of humanity that were made sinners by the disobedience of the one, are made righteous by the obedience of the other. (Quote from a quote out of Andre Rabe’s book, Adventures in Christ.)
Man became a new creation in Christ. (2 Cor.5:17 the ‘if’ being a conclusion, not a condition! See v.14-21; also as in Rom.8:31 “If God be for us , who can be against us!” The gospel reveals the fact that God is for us!) “Of God are you in Christ, whom God made to be our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption!” 1Cor.1:30. “This means that our knowledge and judgement of men can no longer be based upon their outward lives.” 2 Cor.5:16. Mankind’s association in Christ from before the foundation of the earth is the basis of God’s dealing with man. Ep.1:4. “God has shown me,” says Peter, “to call no man common or unclean.” Acts10:15,28. Paul instructs Titus to, “speak evil of no man, avoid quarrelling, be gentle and show perfect courtesy towards all men. For we ourselves were once blinded by our ignorance, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by men and hating one another.” Titus 3:2-4. In the light of our true origin and identity revealed in the word of truth, James says in chapter 3:9 that we can no longer magnify God, and with the same voice insult and condemn a man who is made in His image. The parables Jesus told of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the prodigal son clearly reveal, that in the eyes of the original owner the sinner has never lost his value. Luke15. “He solved the sin problem for good, not only ours, but the whole world’s! 1John2:2. The Message.
This is the nucleus of the truth which knowledge makes man free to be free indeed. Has the world indeed heard the good news of their acquittal or is mankind still held hostage through a wrong gospel that leaves the masses either indifferent or condemned? John the Baptist points out the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world but then he continues his old style of preaching and condemns Herod. Instead of becoming the first disciple of Jesus, who did not come to condemn the world, he holds on to his personal pulpit and trains disciples that turn out to be having more in common with the Pharisees than with Jesus. “We fast and pray while you guys eat and drink, you are wine-bibbers and gluttons, friends of thieves and prostitutes!” Luke 5:33, Math.9:14,16,17. In prison John becomes offended and questions redemption, “Are You the Lamb of God or must we wait for another wave or movement?” Math.11:3,6. There are many stubborn preachers today who take offence of this gospel and refuse to submit to the righteousness that comes from God and prefer their old ways of seeking to establish a counterfeit righteousness through rigorous rules and regulations, preaching condemnation inspired and distracted by the contradiction rather than the solution. There is such a difference between a zeal for God and the zeal of the Lord. Righteousness by faith is what ignites the zeal of the Lord in the heart. Rom.10:1-4. The sinners were attracted to Jesus not because he introduced a compromise to the law, something like, “it’s all right to sin just don’t get caught or try and do it less!” but because revealed in His person they saw the mirror-reflection of their true origin, identity and innocence! They knew that the lies they embraced as their identity had no power against the resonance of their own conscience. Jesus didn’t say to the prostitute, “Go and sin less,” He said to her “Go and sin no more!”
Part of a booklet by Francois du Toit
www.mirrorreflection.net
Sunday, October 23, 2005
A FRESH FAITH-FOCUS
A FRESH FAITH-FOCUS
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Heb.11:1. If faith is both the substance and the evidence then what are we waiting for. How can any manifestation of any proportion (or lack thereof) add or subtract value to what faith already sees, knows and enjoys?! Paul learns what it means to be content in ill repute and good repute, in abundance and lack! This suggests that abundance is not always a sign of God’s goodness neither is lack a sign of God’s absence! Phil.4:11,12, Hab.3:17-19. Faith understands fullness; His fullness is continued in us!
Spirit-faith is so much more than ‘the in-between-thing!’ It is not the psychological bridge between what you don’t have and what you need! That is called positive thinking, or goal setting, which we are all familiar with as a natural law as much as sowing and reaping is also a natural law. There is nothing wrong with that; it is how any business or individual succeeds in the natural realm of the senses. Spirit-faith operates in a dimension of far greater significance. Its reference is rooted in what God knows: God sees mankind included in Christ. “God calls things which are not (visible) as though they were.” Rom.4:17. “We have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, “I believe and so I speak”, we too believe and so we speak while we look not at the things that are seen but at things that are unseen.” 2Cor.4:13,18. Note that this kind of faith is not a blind-fold, leap-in-the-dark kind of faith; it is a seeing, and therefore speaking a greater reality. “We impart this in words not taught by human wisdom (reduced to human experience) but taught by the Spirit, combining and intertwining spirit with spirit.” 1 Cor.2:13. “Deep calls unto deep!” Ps.42:7. Paul is so confident about the fact that man is spirit compatible, that he refuses to tamper with the word in order to squeeze it into an inferior mould of familiar human experience or popular traditional opinion. But by the open (unveiled) statement of the truth, the opinion of God revealed in the face of Christ as in a mirror, he appeals to every man’s conscience. 2 Cor.3:18, 4:2. “When you read this, you will perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ,” he says. Eph.3:4. Man is designed to live life in the largest sense of the word, ignited and sustained by the expression of God’s opinion. (‘Every word that proceeds from His mouth’) The substance of this faith is found in the revelation of man’s true spirit identity. “He brought us forth by the Word of truth.” To continue in this Word is to discover the liberating law of sonship! James 1:18,25, John 8:31,32,36. In these last days God spoke to us in a son! Heb.1:2 This faith comes from God; it is the faith of God. He is the Originator and Author as well as the final conclusion of our faith, it is “from faith to faith.” Rom.1:17, Heb.12:2. How can the father of lies compete with the Everlasting Father, the Father of truth?
The substance of Simon’s faith was his spirit identity, his true sonship: “Simon, son of Jona, I call you Peter and on this Rock will I build my church.” Abraham’s faith did not find its substance in Isaac in the first place, but in friendship with God, based on his spirit identity! (His identity is revealed in his faith-name, father of many nations!) Herein is the secret of his faith: “I am your exceeding great reward, says the Lord!” Gen.15:1,6. Faith is a ‘friendship with God-thing’ before anything else! What makes friendship with God not only possible but also irresistible is the revelation of man’s origin (his true spirit identity) and restored innocence. Anything, even Isaac must go to the altar rather than substitute the real thing! Abraham’s faith was reckoned to him as righteousness twenty-five years before Isaac! Rom.4.This faith is a gift embraced not an achievement won through religious discipline: i.e. diligent study, meditation, fasting, giving, prayer and parrot-type confessions, etc. (Not that there is anything wrong with these disciplines, as long as it is because of, and not in order to!) Eph.2:8.
The living eternal Word revealed in the life death and resurrection of Jesus as mankind’s life, death and resurrection ignites faith-revelation in the consciousness of man. Rom.10:17. This is the mystery that was hidden for ages. “None of the rulers of this age understood this, if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.” 1Cor.2:7,8. The faith of God reveals His eternal purpose and opinion, which is to unite all things in Himself, things in heaven and things on earth! Eph.1:9,10, Eph.3:11. God did enough in Christ to reconcile, (unite) the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them! 2Cor.5:19. “All of creation eagerly anticipates the revelation of the sons of God! Rom.8:19.
Part of a booklet by Francois du Toit
www.mirrorreflection.net
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Heb.11:1. If faith is both the substance and the evidence then what are we waiting for. How can any manifestation of any proportion (or lack thereof) add or subtract value to what faith already sees, knows and enjoys?! Paul learns what it means to be content in ill repute and good repute, in abundance and lack! This suggests that abundance is not always a sign of God’s goodness neither is lack a sign of God’s absence! Phil.4:11,12, Hab.3:17-19. Faith understands fullness; His fullness is continued in us!
Spirit-faith is so much more than ‘the in-between-thing!’ It is not the psychological bridge between what you don’t have and what you need! That is called positive thinking, or goal setting, which we are all familiar with as a natural law as much as sowing and reaping is also a natural law. There is nothing wrong with that; it is how any business or individual succeeds in the natural realm of the senses. Spirit-faith operates in a dimension of far greater significance. Its reference is rooted in what God knows: God sees mankind included in Christ. “God calls things which are not (visible) as though they were.” Rom.4:17. “We have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, “I believe and so I speak”, we too believe and so we speak while we look not at the things that are seen but at things that are unseen.” 2Cor.4:13,18. Note that this kind of faith is not a blind-fold, leap-in-the-dark kind of faith; it is a seeing, and therefore speaking a greater reality. “We impart this in words not taught by human wisdom (reduced to human experience) but taught by the Spirit, combining and intertwining spirit with spirit.” 1 Cor.2:13. “Deep calls unto deep!” Ps.42:7. Paul is so confident about the fact that man is spirit compatible, that he refuses to tamper with the word in order to squeeze it into an inferior mould of familiar human experience or popular traditional opinion. But by the open (unveiled) statement of the truth, the opinion of God revealed in the face of Christ as in a mirror, he appeals to every man’s conscience. 2 Cor.3:18, 4:2. “When you read this, you will perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ,” he says. Eph.3:4. Man is designed to live life in the largest sense of the word, ignited and sustained by the expression of God’s opinion. (‘Every word that proceeds from His mouth’) The substance of this faith is found in the revelation of man’s true spirit identity. “He brought us forth by the Word of truth.” To continue in this Word is to discover the liberating law of sonship! James 1:18,25, John 8:31,32,36. In these last days God spoke to us in a son! Heb.1:2 This faith comes from God; it is the faith of God. He is the Originator and Author as well as the final conclusion of our faith, it is “from faith to faith.” Rom.1:17, Heb.12:2. How can the father of lies compete with the Everlasting Father, the Father of truth?
The substance of Simon’s faith was his spirit identity, his true sonship: “Simon, son of Jona, I call you Peter and on this Rock will I build my church.” Abraham’s faith did not find its substance in Isaac in the first place, but in friendship with God, based on his spirit identity! (His identity is revealed in his faith-name, father of many nations!) Herein is the secret of his faith: “I am your exceeding great reward, says the Lord!” Gen.15:1,6. Faith is a ‘friendship with God-thing’ before anything else! What makes friendship with God not only possible but also irresistible is the revelation of man’s origin (his true spirit identity) and restored innocence. Anything, even Isaac must go to the altar rather than substitute the real thing! Abraham’s faith was reckoned to him as righteousness twenty-five years before Isaac! Rom.4.This faith is a gift embraced not an achievement won through religious discipline: i.e. diligent study, meditation, fasting, giving, prayer and parrot-type confessions, etc. (Not that there is anything wrong with these disciplines, as long as it is because of, and not in order to!) Eph.2:8.
The living eternal Word revealed in the life death and resurrection of Jesus as mankind’s life, death and resurrection ignites faith-revelation in the consciousness of man. Rom.10:17. This is the mystery that was hidden for ages. “None of the rulers of this age understood this, if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.” 1Cor.2:7,8. The faith of God reveals His eternal purpose and opinion, which is to unite all things in Himself, things in heaven and things on earth! Eph.1:9,10, Eph.3:11. God did enough in Christ to reconcile, (unite) the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them! 2Cor.5:19. “All of creation eagerly anticipates the revelation of the sons of God! Rom.8:19.
Part of a booklet by Francois du Toit
www.mirrorreflection.net
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
GREAT CHANGE IN THE CHURCH
GREAT CHANGE IN THE CHURCH
Great change is indeed coming to church-life, as we know it. Multitudes of believers find a fresh expression in a smaller home environment rather than the clumsy impersonal big building context (Often spelt, contest!). What needs reformation though, is not the size or structure of church expression, but the content of its message! Unless the fundamental ingredient of our understanding of the finished work of Christ is grasped by engraved spirit revelation, the smaller compact package of the home-church will soon become the same baggage that neutralised and paralysed believers for ages. ‘A little leaven leavens the whole lump’ says Paul in Gal.5:6-10. He clearly refers to religious tradition, in this case, circumcision that represents personal contribution and performance in order to distinguish and qualify the individual. Even the slightest emphasis on personal effort and contribution, nullifies the faith that grace reveals, and makes gratitude phoney. Any presence in our belief, even insignificantly small, of something we still have to do in order to obtain favour from God nullifies the power of the cross and puts us back under the law of performance. ‘While we compete and compare with one another we are without understanding’ 2 Cor.10:12.
Most Christians do not have a problem with the fact that Christ is revealed and received by faith, the problem comes with the practical walk which so easily becomes cluttered by all the performance-related emotions that the law triggers, such as boasting, competition, guilt, fear, suspicion, sin-consciousness etc. Any form of doing not inspired by the revelation of grace results in dead works! It is the faith-inspired and faith-sustained walk that triumph in life! Gal.3:2,3.
Faith is fuelled by revealed value; (Gal.5:6) love sees that something has happened to mankind in Christ that is of far greater authority and consequence than what happened to humanity in Adam’s fall. Rom.5:14-21, 2Cor.5:14-21. It is also as much superior to the prophetic shadow sustained by tradition, as the child that is born is superior to the placenta that held and sustained the seed and foetus of promise. Col.2:8,17, Gal.4:1-10. Faith understands that the conclusion of grace is mankind’s inclusion in Christ.
Part of a booklet by Francois du Toit
www.mirrorreflection.net
Great change is indeed coming to church-life, as we know it. Multitudes of believers find a fresh expression in a smaller home environment rather than the clumsy impersonal big building context (Often spelt, contest!). What needs reformation though, is not the size or structure of church expression, but the content of its message! Unless the fundamental ingredient of our understanding of the finished work of Christ is grasped by engraved spirit revelation, the smaller compact package of the home-church will soon become the same baggage that neutralised and paralysed believers for ages. ‘A little leaven leavens the whole lump’ says Paul in Gal.5:6-10. He clearly refers to religious tradition, in this case, circumcision that represents personal contribution and performance in order to distinguish and qualify the individual. Even the slightest emphasis on personal effort and contribution, nullifies the faith that grace reveals, and makes gratitude phoney. Any presence in our belief, even insignificantly small, of something we still have to do in order to obtain favour from God nullifies the power of the cross and puts us back under the law of performance. ‘While we compete and compare with one another we are without understanding’ 2 Cor.10:12.
Most Christians do not have a problem with the fact that Christ is revealed and received by faith, the problem comes with the practical walk which so easily becomes cluttered by all the performance-related emotions that the law triggers, such as boasting, competition, guilt, fear, suspicion, sin-consciousness etc. Any form of doing not inspired by the revelation of grace results in dead works! It is the faith-inspired and faith-sustained walk that triumph in life! Gal.3:2,3.
Faith is fuelled by revealed value; (Gal.5:6) love sees that something has happened to mankind in Christ that is of far greater authority and consequence than what happened to humanity in Adam’s fall. Rom.5:14-21, 2Cor.5:14-21. It is also as much superior to the prophetic shadow sustained by tradition, as the child that is born is superior to the placenta that held and sustained the seed and foetus of promise. Col.2:8,17, Gal.4:1-10. Faith understands that the conclusion of grace is mankind’s inclusion in Christ.
Part of a booklet by Francois du Toit
www.mirrorreflection.net
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
JESUS - TO BE CONTINUED
JESUS - TO BE CONTINUED
His death, resurrection and ascension did not conclude His ministry, but ignited and multiplied it in us! We are not only included in His death and resurrection, but also in His ascension, ‘He raised us up with Him and made us sit with Him in heavenly places!’ Ep.2:6. The grain of wheat that would feed the nations did not abide alone, but fell into the earth and died and brought forth much fruit! John 12:24. The dawning of this truth in the understanding of the believer will revolutionise the church! The ecclesia of God is His voice and expression in the earth! His building, His workmanship, His tabernacle, His abode, His image, His presence known and read by all men! His original blueprint-word made flesh. Ordinary lives communicating an extra ordinary impact! John G Lake wrote, “The struggle of the centuries has been to free the soul from narrow interpretations. The world is still waiting to see Him as He is, Jesus the magnificent, Jesus the giant, Jesus the compassionate, Jesus the dynamic, the wonder of the ages. Take the shackles off, let Him have a chance to bless mankind through you without limitations!” Be renewed in the spirit of your mind! Ep.4:23. Paul makes this statement in 2Cor.6:12, “You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections!” And in 1 Cor.4:8 he says, "Already you are filled! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings (It is not Paul's teaching that made us who and what we are, it was Christ's obedience) Would that you did reign!" What an awesome privilege to discover and indulge in a truth that has always been. "It is not a new doctrine, it is the Word that has been from the beginning, yet it is new, for that which is true in Him is true in us!" 1Jn 2:7,8.
NEWS FLASH! “Two uneducated fishermen heals a man who was a cripple for more than 40 years! Such was the immediate impact that 5000 men believed!” Acts 4:13. In the time of the early church no written Bible existed for decades and the majority of the people were illiterate, yet the Word increased and the number of disciples multiplied greatly. Acts 6:7. Paul sees with conviction the future of the Word documented not on tablets of stone written and interpreted by human opinion, neither preserved in millions of copies of Bibles and libraries of literature in every translation and language, not even in Christian broadcast and television, but the image and likeness of God engraved by the Spirit of God on tablets of human hearts; lives reflecting the same distinct quality of spirit character that was displayed in the life of Christ; “known and read by all men!” Wow! What an audience, what an impact! I like that, not confusing the masses, but including them! The true light that enlightens every man has come. 2 Cor.3:2,3,18, John 1:9. “With the open statement of the truth, we appeal to every man’s conscience!” 2Cor.4:2. All of our Christian effort through the media and through organised church regardless of how many people we involve, only carry as much impact as the next person we present mature in the full stature of Christ!
The eternal Word, the Word that was from the beginning is now also the final Word, all the imagination of God’s sacred thought, culminating in one man, Jesus, now multiplied beyond count to reveal every man as fully included in God’s love dream. Heb.1:1,2. The prophet Habakkuk saw that the revelation of righteousness by faith would be so clearly communicated, that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. “Write the vision, make it plain upon tablets, so that he may run who reads it.” Hab.2:2,4,14. Nothing will mobilise the individual more, than realising the truth of their spirit identity, their innocence and union with God. Righteousness by faith is not a new, compromised set of rules, but the mirror reflection of God’s image and likeness redeemed and revealed in man. Gen.1:26. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, what it was that met our gaze and the touch of our hands. Yes, life dawned! Beloved I am not writing to you a new doctrine, this is the Word that was from the beginning, yet it is new, in that which is true in Him is also exactly true in you! He has given us understanding to know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true!” 1 John 1:1,2, ch.2:7,8, ch.5:20.
Part of a booklet by Francois du Toit
www.mirrorreflection.net
His death, resurrection and ascension did not conclude His ministry, but ignited and multiplied it in us! We are not only included in His death and resurrection, but also in His ascension, ‘He raised us up with Him and made us sit with Him in heavenly places!’ Ep.2:6. The grain of wheat that would feed the nations did not abide alone, but fell into the earth and died and brought forth much fruit! John 12:24. The dawning of this truth in the understanding of the believer will revolutionise the church! The ecclesia of God is His voice and expression in the earth! His building, His workmanship, His tabernacle, His abode, His image, His presence known and read by all men! His original blueprint-word made flesh. Ordinary lives communicating an extra ordinary impact! John G Lake wrote, “The struggle of the centuries has been to free the soul from narrow interpretations. The world is still waiting to see Him as He is, Jesus the magnificent, Jesus the giant, Jesus the compassionate, Jesus the dynamic, the wonder of the ages. Take the shackles off, let Him have a chance to bless mankind through you without limitations!” Be renewed in the spirit of your mind! Ep.4:23. Paul makes this statement in 2Cor.6:12, “You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections!” And in 1 Cor.4:8 he says, "Already you are filled! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings (It is not Paul's teaching that made us who and what we are, it was Christ's obedience) Would that you did reign!" What an awesome privilege to discover and indulge in a truth that has always been. "It is not a new doctrine, it is the Word that has been from the beginning, yet it is new, for that which is true in Him is true in us!" 1Jn 2:7,8.
NEWS FLASH! “Two uneducated fishermen heals a man who was a cripple for more than 40 years! Such was the immediate impact that 5000 men believed!” Acts 4:13. In the time of the early church no written Bible existed for decades and the majority of the people were illiterate, yet the Word increased and the number of disciples multiplied greatly. Acts 6:7. Paul sees with conviction the future of the Word documented not on tablets of stone written and interpreted by human opinion, neither preserved in millions of copies of Bibles and libraries of literature in every translation and language, not even in Christian broadcast and television, but the image and likeness of God engraved by the Spirit of God on tablets of human hearts; lives reflecting the same distinct quality of spirit character that was displayed in the life of Christ; “known and read by all men!” Wow! What an audience, what an impact! I like that, not confusing the masses, but including them! The true light that enlightens every man has come. 2 Cor.3:2,3,18, John 1:9. “With the open statement of the truth, we appeal to every man’s conscience!” 2Cor.4:2. All of our Christian effort through the media and through organised church regardless of how many people we involve, only carry as much impact as the next person we present mature in the full stature of Christ!
The eternal Word, the Word that was from the beginning is now also the final Word, all the imagination of God’s sacred thought, culminating in one man, Jesus, now multiplied beyond count to reveal every man as fully included in God’s love dream. Heb.1:1,2. The prophet Habakkuk saw that the revelation of righteousness by faith would be so clearly communicated, that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. “Write the vision, make it plain upon tablets, so that he may run who reads it.” Hab.2:2,4,14. Nothing will mobilise the individual more, than realising the truth of their spirit identity, their innocence and union with God. Righteousness by faith is not a new, compromised set of rules, but the mirror reflection of God’s image and likeness redeemed and revealed in man. Gen.1:26. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, what it was that met our gaze and the touch of our hands. Yes, life dawned! Beloved I am not writing to you a new doctrine, this is the Word that was from the beginning, yet it is new, in that which is true in Him is also exactly true in you! He has given us understanding to know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true!” 1 John 1:1,2, ch.2:7,8, ch.5:20.
Part of a booklet by Francois du Toit
www.mirrorreflection.net
Monday, October 17, 2005
THE SON OF MAN IS THE SON OF GOD
THE SON OF MAN IS THE SON OF GOD
God’s eternal Word is wrapped up in our sonship. Jesus is now the full expression in one Person of all the fragments of God’s thought concerning man’s true identity and redemption, as communicated in the law and the prophets. “In many and various ways He spoke in glimpses to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken His heart to us in a son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the ages. He is the brilliant reflection of the glory (the original opinion) of God; He is the exact engraved signet-character of the essence of God’s Person. He is the force of the universe and sustains everything that is, by His utterance! Everything that exists finds its significance in Him! His mission was to restore mankind to innocence by blotting out their sin. Having accomplished this Himself, He now occupies the throne room of God’s majesty! His very Being represents our innocence! Once and for all He freed us from a sin-consciousness! Heb.1:1-3, Heb.9:6-14, Heb.10:1-3,10,14. In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’ Col.2:3,9,10. (His incarnation unlocks the secret code that unveils the mystery of man’s inclusion in Christ. His death proclaims the fact that “we have died and our lives are now hid with Christ in God.” Col.3:3) He is the theme of scripture! God associated us in Christ before the foundation of the world! Ep.1:4. ‘It is from Him that we take our origin’ 1Cor.1:30. Knox
It is such a glorious thing to discover that the true context of scripture is not its historic or even traditional setting, but a reality of far greater relevance, our sonship! Heb. 1:1,2. All of scripture finds its relevance only in its relation to the revelation of Christ as truly representing mankind; He is our true identity! “You search and ponder the scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me.” John 5:39. Scripture points to Christ and Christ reveals us! “ And we all, with new understanding, see ourselves in Him as in a mirror; thus we are changed from an inferior mindset to the revealed opinion of our true Origin. 2 Cor.3:18. When we read Scripture in the light of redemption, the Bible becomes a new Book. “The letter kills, but the spirit gives life, My words are spirit and life.” John 6:63. The Bible confused and divided more people than any other book yet its spirit-message remains eternally intact in one man, the Word that became flesh, He reveals every man! “If you continue in My Word (The Word that was from the beginning, the Word that is God, the Word that became flesh and dwells in us) you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free, whom the son makes free is free indeed.” John 8:31,32,36. Mankind’s freedom is in discovering their true sonship! This is the truth as it is in Christ. Ep.4:21. “As He is so are we in this world.” 1John4:17. To know the truth about ourselves as it is revealed in Christ is what frees us to be who we are. He is not an example for us but of us! The only faith that is worth pursuing is the faith of God; what God believes concerning us concerns us, and deserves our undivided attention. God’s faith is on display in the Person, the life, death and resurrection of Christ. God believes in our inclusion in Him! ‘Faith comes by hearing; the kind of hearing that imparts the revelation of Christ.’ Rom 10:17. (See RSV)
To give prominence to any scripture outside of its true context, the revelation of Christ in you, is to wander into distraction and error. “See to it that no one makes prey of you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to worldly principles (popular and accepted rules and regulations) and not according to Christ, for in Him there is all of God in a human body. He alone defines our completeness!!” Col 2:8-10. See also v 16-23, all the types and shadows of the Old covenant are now superseded by the greater reality, the new creation in Christ! “The law is but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities.” Heb.10:1. “We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus. He created in Himself one new man!” Eph.2:10,15, Also 2 Cor.5:14,16,17.
Part of a booklet by Francois du Toit
www.mirrorreflection.net
God’s eternal Word is wrapped up in our sonship. Jesus is now the full expression in one Person of all the fragments of God’s thought concerning man’s true identity and redemption, as communicated in the law and the prophets. “In many and various ways He spoke in glimpses to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken His heart to us in a son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the ages. He is the brilliant reflection of the glory (the original opinion) of God; He is the exact engraved signet-character of the essence of God’s Person. He is the force of the universe and sustains everything that is, by His utterance! Everything that exists finds its significance in Him! His mission was to restore mankind to innocence by blotting out their sin. Having accomplished this Himself, He now occupies the throne room of God’s majesty! His very Being represents our innocence! Once and for all He freed us from a sin-consciousness! Heb.1:1-3, Heb.9:6-14, Heb.10:1-3,10,14. In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’ Col.2:3,9,10. (His incarnation unlocks the secret code that unveils the mystery of man’s inclusion in Christ. His death proclaims the fact that “we have died and our lives are now hid with Christ in God.” Col.3:3) He is the theme of scripture! God associated us in Christ before the foundation of the world! Ep.1:4. ‘It is from Him that we take our origin’ 1Cor.1:30. Knox
It is such a glorious thing to discover that the true context of scripture is not its historic or even traditional setting, but a reality of far greater relevance, our sonship! Heb. 1:1,2. All of scripture finds its relevance only in its relation to the revelation of Christ as truly representing mankind; He is our true identity! “You search and ponder the scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to me.” John 5:39. Scripture points to Christ and Christ reveals us! “ And we all, with new understanding, see ourselves in Him as in a mirror; thus we are changed from an inferior mindset to the revealed opinion of our true Origin. 2 Cor.3:18. When we read Scripture in the light of redemption, the Bible becomes a new Book. “The letter kills, but the spirit gives life, My words are spirit and life.” John 6:63. The Bible confused and divided more people than any other book yet its spirit-message remains eternally intact in one man, the Word that became flesh, He reveals every man! “If you continue in My Word (The Word that was from the beginning, the Word that is God, the Word that became flesh and dwells in us) you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free, whom the son makes free is free indeed.” John 8:31,32,36. Mankind’s freedom is in discovering their true sonship! This is the truth as it is in Christ. Ep.4:21. “As He is so are we in this world.” 1John4:17. To know the truth about ourselves as it is revealed in Christ is what frees us to be who we are. He is not an example for us but of us! The only faith that is worth pursuing is the faith of God; what God believes concerning us concerns us, and deserves our undivided attention. God’s faith is on display in the Person, the life, death and resurrection of Christ. God believes in our inclusion in Him! ‘Faith comes by hearing; the kind of hearing that imparts the revelation of Christ.’ Rom 10:17. (See RSV)
To give prominence to any scripture outside of its true context, the revelation of Christ in you, is to wander into distraction and error. “See to it that no one makes prey of you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to worldly principles (popular and accepted rules and regulations) and not according to Christ, for in Him there is all of God in a human body. He alone defines our completeness!!” Col 2:8-10. See also v 16-23, all the types and shadows of the Old covenant are now superseded by the greater reality, the new creation in Christ! “The law is but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities.” Heb.10:1. “We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus. He created in Himself one new man!” Eph.2:10,15, Also 2 Cor.5:14,16,17.
Part of a booklet by Francois du Toit
www.mirrorreflection.net
Sunday, October 16, 2005
LIFE DAWNED!
LIFE DAWNED!
Sixty years after he last saw Jesus in the flesh, John, now in his nineties, reflects on the mystery that was revealed which transformed his life from an illiterate fisherman to a saint. He spent most of the latter part of his life (about 30 years) living in Asia Minor and more specifically at Ephesus, much of Paul’s emphasis in teaching therefore reflects in John’s writing. This he did either from Ephesus or from the Isle of Pathmos where he spent a few years in exile. (Compare Col.1:15-17 to John 1:1-3,16-17, 1John 5:20.) He understands that the Word has both an eternal origin and destiny that could never be confined to an isolated island or experience, neither could the Word be trapped in human doctrine or tradition. No inferior translation or interpretation could reduce God’s original intent. The authentic integrity of God’s thought would forever be preserved and celebrated in the incarnation; human life would be the uninterrupted future of the Word.
Notice how often John uses the word, ginomai, meaning birth or origin: ”In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things came into being (Gr.ginomai, from genos, to give birth to) through Him; and nothing has any authentic existence outside of their origin (Gr.ginomai) in Him. In Him was life and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness could not comprehend it. (Greek: kata+lambano, to seize upon, to grasp) The true light that enlightens every man has come into the world. The world was made (Gr.ginomai) through Him, yet the world knew Him not; He came to His own, and His own received Him not. (Gr.para+lambano, to grasp, associate with) But to everyone who by faith, comprehends Him to be their true origin, (Gr.lambano, comprehend, grasp, identify with) in them He confirms the integrity of their son-ship, (Gr.didomi, in this case to give something to someone that already belongs to them, thus to return) the fact that they already are His own, born from above, they have their beginning and their being in Him!’ (Gr.eksousia, integrity, legality, authority, legal grounds.) Jesus has come to reveal man’s true sonship; He vindicated our origin and design. ‘And the Word became (Gr.ginomai) flesh and now tabernacles in us!’ John 1:1-14. “We are not preaching a new doctrine, but the word that was from the beginning; yet it is new in that what is true in Him is equally true in us!” 1 John 2:7+8. In Him we discover that we are not here by chance or accident, or by the desire of an earthly parent, neither are we the product of a mere physical conception; we exist by the expression of God’s desire to reveal Himself in the flesh. His eternal, invisible Word, His Spirit-thought, became (Gr.ginomai, be born) flesh. James says: ‘Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth…if any man hears this word, he sees the face of his birth as in a mirror, he sees himself as he is from God’s point of view.’ Jm.1:17,18,23.
God never compromised His original thought. The word became flesh and has taken up residence (tabernacled) in us, and we gazed with wonder and amazement upon the mystery of our inclusion in Him; (theaomai to gaze upon, to perceive) We saw His glory (Greek, doxa, the display of His opinion), the glory as of the original, authentic begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.’ (The original mind, or opinion of God, preserved and now revealed in Christ. He is both the ‘only begotten’, monogenes, as in the authentic original mould, as well as the first born from the dead. Col.1:18, 1Pet.1:3) We have grasped that He is the revelation of our completeness. ‘And of His fullness have we all received, grace against grace.’ (Gr.garin anti garitos, grace undeserved) ‘For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. He who is in the bosom of the Father, the only (original, authentic) begotten of the Father, He is our guide who accurately declares and interprets the invisible God within us.’ John 1:1-5, 9-14,16-18. “The Word that was from the beginning, what initial reports concerning Him have reached our ears, what we indeed bore witness to with our own eyes to the point that we became irresistibly attracted to Him; what it was that met our gaze and the touch of our hands, yes, life dawned! (Gr.psallo, to touch the string of a musical instrument, thus resonance) The same life that was with the Father from the beginning, now dawned on us! The infinite life of the Father became visible before our eyes in a human person! This life now finds expression in a fellowship union with the Father and the son that is without limit or interruption. In all these years since the ascension of Jesus, John continues to enjoy unhindered friendship with God and desires to extend this same fellowship through his writing to every believer, “so that joy may be yours in full measure.” 1 John 1:1,2,4.
Has the rain a Father?
Who begot the drops of dew?
Who birthed the morning?
Caused the dawn to know its place?
Have you comprehended the expanses of the earth?
Have you comprehended their origin?
He knows you by name
His design is His claim
He boldly declares, “Measure Me”
Have you measured your heart?
Have you measured the volume of your being?
He has chosen you to accommodate the fullness of His dream
Have you comprehended? He is at home within your heart,
A dwelling built within you without walls.
Take My love to its conclusion.
Take My love to every man,
Count the stars, count the sand
Measure the nations in My Hand,
Come on now, measure Me
I fulfil your eternity. (Author unknown-reference from Job 38)
Part of a booklet by Francois du Toit
www.mirrorreflection.net
fdt@mailbox.co.za
PO Box 1428
Hermanus South Africa 7200
Sixty years after he last saw Jesus in the flesh, John, now in his nineties, reflects on the mystery that was revealed which transformed his life from an illiterate fisherman to a saint. He spent most of the latter part of his life (about 30 years) living in Asia Minor and more specifically at Ephesus, much of Paul’s emphasis in teaching therefore reflects in John’s writing. This he did either from Ephesus or from the Isle of Pathmos where he spent a few years in exile. (Compare Col.1:15-17 to John 1:1-3,16-17, 1John 5:20.) He understands that the Word has both an eternal origin and destiny that could never be confined to an isolated island or experience, neither could the Word be trapped in human doctrine or tradition. No inferior translation or interpretation could reduce God’s original intent. The authentic integrity of God’s thought would forever be preserved and celebrated in the incarnation; human life would be the uninterrupted future of the Word.
Notice how often John uses the word, ginomai, meaning birth or origin: ”In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things came into being (Gr.ginomai, from genos, to give birth to) through Him; and nothing has any authentic existence outside of their origin (Gr.ginomai) in Him. In Him was life and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness could not comprehend it. (Greek: kata+lambano, to seize upon, to grasp) The true light that enlightens every man has come into the world. The world was made (Gr.ginomai) through Him, yet the world knew Him not; He came to His own, and His own received Him not. (Gr.para+lambano, to grasp, associate with) But to everyone who by faith, comprehends Him to be their true origin, (Gr.lambano, comprehend, grasp, identify with) in them He confirms the integrity of their son-ship, (Gr.didomi, in this case to give something to someone that already belongs to them, thus to return) the fact that they already are His own, born from above, they have their beginning and their being in Him!’ (Gr.eksousia, integrity, legality, authority, legal grounds.) Jesus has come to reveal man’s true sonship; He vindicated our origin and design. ‘And the Word became (Gr.ginomai) flesh and now tabernacles in us!’ John 1:1-14. “We are not preaching a new doctrine, but the word that was from the beginning; yet it is new in that what is true in Him is equally true in us!” 1 John 2:7+8. In Him we discover that we are not here by chance or accident, or by the desire of an earthly parent, neither are we the product of a mere physical conception; we exist by the expression of God’s desire to reveal Himself in the flesh. His eternal, invisible Word, His Spirit-thought, became (Gr.ginomai, be born) flesh. James says: ‘Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth…if any man hears this word, he sees the face of his birth as in a mirror, he sees himself as he is from God’s point of view.’ Jm.1:17,18,23.
God never compromised His original thought. The word became flesh and has taken up residence (tabernacled) in us, and we gazed with wonder and amazement upon the mystery of our inclusion in Him; (theaomai to gaze upon, to perceive) We saw His glory (Greek, doxa, the display of His opinion), the glory as of the original, authentic begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.’ (The original mind, or opinion of God, preserved and now revealed in Christ. He is both the ‘only begotten’, monogenes, as in the authentic original mould, as well as the first born from the dead. Col.1:18, 1Pet.1:3) We have grasped that He is the revelation of our completeness. ‘And of His fullness have we all received, grace against grace.’ (Gr.garin anti garitos, grace undeserved) ‘For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. He who is in the bosom of the Father, the only (original, authentic) begotten of the Father, He is our guide who accurately declares and interprets the invisible God within us.’ John 1:1-5, 9-14,16-18. “The Word that was from the beginning, what initial reports concerning Him have reached our ears, what we indeed bore witness to with our own eyes to the point that we became irresistibly attracted to Him; what it was that met our gaze and the touch of our hands, yes, life dawned! (Gr.psallo, to touch the string of a musical instrument, thus resonance) The same life that was with the Father from the beginning, now dawned on us! The infinite life of the Father became visible before our eyes in a human person! This life now finds expression in a fellowship union with the Father and the son that is without limit or interruption. In all these years since the ascension of Jesus, John continues to enjoy unhindered friendship with God and desires to extend this same fellowship through his writing to every believer, “so that joy may be yours in full measure.” 1 John 1:1,2,4.
Has the rain a Father?
Who begot the drops of dew?
Who birthed the morning?
Caused the dawn to know its place?
Have you comprehended the expanses of the earth?
Have you comprehended their origin?
He knows you by name
His design is His claim
He boldly declares, “Measure Me”
Have you measured your heart?
Have you measured the volume of your being?
He has chosen you to accommodate the fullness of His dream
Have you comprehended? He is at home within your heart,
A dwelling built within you without walls.
Take My love to its conclusion.
Take My love to every man,
Count the stars, count the sand
Measure the nations in My Hand,
Come on now, measure Me
I fulfil your eternity. (Author unknown-reference from Job 38)
Part of a booklet by Francois du Toit
www.mirrorreflection.net
fdt@mailbox.co.za
PO Box 1428
Hermanus South Africa 7200
Thursday, October 13, 2005
WE ARE INDEED HIS OFFSPRING
WE ARE INDEED HIS OFFSPRING
“Ascribe greatness to our God, the Rock, His work is perfect!” Deut.32:3,4. “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus.” Ep.2:10. “For in Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, all things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things and all things share their common origin and identity in Him.” Col.1:15-17. The Gospel cannot reveal a redemption or reconciliation of lesser implication than this: “For He has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of His will, according to His purpose which He has treasured in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and on earth.” Ep.1:9,10. “Everything that exists in heaven or earth finds its perfection and fulfilment in Him.” (Phillips translation) “All this is God’s doing; camouflaged in Christ as it were, God personally reconciled the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them.” 2 Cor.5:19. The same perfection declared and celebrated in the Sabbath of Genesis 1 and 2 is now revealed in redemption and becomes the urgency of our appeal to humanity, to enter God’s rest, to see what God sees in order to co-know with Him and thus to cease from their own labours! Zeph.3:17. We cannot afford to see less in salvation than what God sees in it! “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” Heb.2:3. How can we exaggerate redemption, if the half was not told of Solomon’s wisdom and wealth? And Someone greater than Solomon has come! Luke 11:31.
In his famous address in Athens, (Acts 17) Paul reminds the Gentlemen of philosophy that the God they worship in ignorance is the God who made the world and everything in it, “being Lord of heaven and earth, He does not live in fancy decorated shrines made by man; nor is He served by human hands as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all men life and breath and everything. He made from one blood all nations of men to live across the whole earth. Even within their geographical boundaries of culture time and language, He is not beyond their reach; He is their true resonance! (Greek, psallo, to touch a string in order to make music) He is not far from each one of us, (He is not closer to the Jew than what He is to the Gentile!) for in Him we all live and move and have our being, for we are indeed His offspring.” He broke down every wall of division. Ep.2:13-16. Our origin in Him reveals our common identity. Heb.2:11. God is not the product of man’s best guess; He is bigger than religion’s biggest blunder or eloquence in their attempts to define Him. He is beyond extinction or threat and can never be reduced to either our clever or clumsy expression of philosophy or art. Our faith is not the fruit of our own invention or imagination, but the reflection of His initiative revealed in the person of Christ. God interrupted human history when for the first time since Adam, the brilliance of His image and likeness appeared again without flaw or distraction in the form of flesh, the exact expression of His character and Being. (Heb.1:3, Col.1:15,16, Col.2:9) “The age of ignorance is now concluded; this calls for a radical change of mind; God appointed a day and a Person through whom He would judge the world in righteousness and of this He has given assurance to all men by raising Him from the dead!” Acts 17:22-31. Mankind’s judgement fell on one man; His resurrection from the dead is the eternal testimony of their acquittal. He is the only one who qualifies to represent both humanity and Deity in one Person before the highest court of justice. “We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous, and He is the expiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 1John2:1,2. “He was put to death for our trespasses and raised because we were justified.” Rom.4:25.
Part of a booklet by Francois du Toit
www.mirrorreflection.net
fdt@mailbox.co.za
PO Box 1428
Hermanus South Africa 7200
“Ascribe greatness to our God, the Rock, His work is perfect!” Deut.32:3,4. “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus.” Ep.2:10. “For in Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, all things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things and all things share their common origin and identity in Him.” Col.1:15-17. The Gospel cannot reveal a redemption or reconciliation of lesser implication than this: “For He has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of His will, according to His purpose which He has treasured in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and on earth.” Ep.1:9,10. “Everything that exists in heaven or earth finds its perfection and fulfilment in Him.” (Phillips translation) “All this is God’s doing; camouflaged in Christ as it were, God personally reconciled the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them.” 2 Cor.5:19. The same perfection declared and celebrated in the Sabbath of Genesis 1 and 2 is now revealed in redemption and becomes the urgency of our appeal to humanity, to enter God’s rest, to see what God sees in order to co-know with Him and thus to cease from their own labours! Zeph.3:17. We cannot afford to see less in salvation than what God sees in it! “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” Heb.2:3. How can we exaggerate redemption, if the half was not told of Solomon’s wisdom and wealth? And Someone greater than Solomon has come! Luke 11:31.
In his famous address in Athens, (Acts 17) Paul reminds the Gentlemen of philosophy that the God they worship in ignorance is the God who made the world and everything in it, “being Lord of heaven and earth, He does not live in fancy decorated shrines made by man; nor is He served by human hands as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all men life and breath and everything. He made from one blood all nations of men to live across the whole earth. Even within their geographical boundaries of culture time and language, He is not beyond their reach; He is their true resonance! (Greek, psallo, to touch a string in order to make music) He is not far from each one of us, (He is not closer to the Jew than what He is to the Gentile!) for in Him we all live and move and have our being, for we are indeed His offspring.” He broke down every wall of division. Ep.2:13-16. Our origin in Him reveals our common identity. Heb.2:11. God is not the product of man’s best guess; He is bigger than religion’s biggest blunder or eloquence in their attempts to define Him. He is beyond extinction or threat and can never be reduced to either our clever or clumsy expression of philosophy or art. Our faith is not the fruit of our own invention or imagination, but the reflection of His initiative revealed in the person of Christ. God interrupted human history when for the first time since Adam, the brilliance of His image and likeness appeared again without flaw or distraction in the form of flesh, the exact expression of His character and Being. (Heb.1:3, Col.1:15,16, Col.2:9) “The age of ignorance is now concluded; this calls for a radical change of mind; God appointed a day and a Person through whom He would judge the world in righteousness and of this He has given assurance to all men by raising Him from the dead!” Acts 17:22-31. Mankind’s judgement fell on one man; His resurrection from the dead is the eternal testimony of their acquittal. He is the only one who qualifies to represent both humanity and Deity in one Person before the highest court of justice. “We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous, and He is the expiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 1John2:1,2. “He was put to death for our trespasses and raised because we were justified.” Rom.4:25.
Part of a booklet by Francois du Toit
www.mirrorreflection.net
fdt@mailbox.co.za
PO Box 1428
Hermanus South Africa 7200
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
THE CELEBRATION OF PERFECTION
THE CELEBRATION OF PERFECTION
While doing boat-based whale-watching tours in Hermanus from 1997-99, I one day had the pleasure of hosting a very famous photographer. I could tell by the size of his camera equipment that he was not your average tourist. He explained to me that he needed to take only two photographs a year to cover his budget! I was thrilled to watch the artist at work. With fluent skill he would exchange lenses and film without missing a moment. On our way back to the harbour we saw a few hundred, maybe even a thousand or more, Cape Cormorants. The next moment they all took off in flight; the rhythm and unison of their wings were like ballet reflecting on the water. Our photographer was happily clicking away when suddenly he shouted: “I’ve got it, I’ve got it!” It was wonderful to witness the joy in the man’s face. He knew that he had captured a moment that would perhaps be worth more than all his equipment put together. I watched him relax and enter his rest and understood that the Sabbath was a celebration of perfection, rather than a break from a busy schedule to observe a religious ritual! Gen.1:31. While he was carefully putting his equipment away, I became absorbed by the thought of photography; magic moments of light, shape, colour and movement arrested and stored on film to be reproduced countless times on glossy magazine pages. These galleries would be appreciated in any culture or language, at any time in the future. I imagined how the artist would file these gems in a way that nothing would be lost of the original picture; regardless of what would happen to the prints, whether they be framed, forgotten or destroyed. Almost like words storing images of rare beauty to be repeated at any time in any language or thought.
In one of her classic novels, Gentian Hill, Elizabeth Goudge paints the picture of little Stella listening to her stepfather reading from the Bible: “All through the Book, even in the dreadful parts, the language would now and then suddenly affect her like an enchantment. The peculiarities of Father Sprigg’s delivery worried her not at all. It was as though his gruff voice tossed the words roughly in the air separate particles of no great value, and immediately they fell again transmuted, like the music of a peal of bells or raindrops shot through with sunshine and vista beyond vista of incomparable beauty opened before the mind. It was a mystery to Stella that mere words could make this happen. She supposed the makers of these phrases had fashioned them to hold their visions as one makes a box to hold one’s treasure, and Father Sprigg’s voice was the key grating in the lock, so that the box could open and set them free. That transmutation in the air still remained as unexplainable as the sudden change in herself, when at the moment of the magical fall her dull mind became suddenly sparkling with wonder and her spirit leaped up inside her like a bird…” (See ‘Weighing Words’ in ‘God believes in you’)
For the first time in the age of the universe, the invisible Creator would display His image and likeness in visible form. Genesis 1:26. The mould of brilliance and perfection would be preserved for eternity in the Word that was from the beginning, in spite of Adam’s fall. Solomon saw a glimpse of this in Prov.8:22, “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His work, the first of His acts of old, ages ago I was set up, at the first before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills were I was brought forth, I was daily His delight, rejoicing before Him always.” Your original value, the way God knew you before He fashioned you in your mother’s womb, is still intact! Through the preaching of the gospel of truth, the magic of that eternal moment is revealed again in the face of Christ as in a mirror, so that the light of life might dawn in us and we may behold Him face to face, and that we may know ourselves even as we have always been known. 2Cor.4:2-7, 1Cor.13:10-12.
Part of a booklet by Francois du Toit
www.mirrorreflection.net
fdt@mailbox.co.za
PO Box 1428
Hermanus South Africa 7200
While doing boat-based whale-watching tours in Hermanus from 1997-99, I one day had the pleasure of hosting a very famous photographer. I could tell by the size of his camera equipment that he was not your average tourist. He explained to me that he needed to take only two photographs a year to cover his budget! I was thrilled to watch the artist at work. With fluent skill he would exchange lenses and film without missing a moment. On our way back to the harbour we saw a few hundred, maybe even a thousand or more, Cape Cormorants. The next moment they all took off in flight; the rhythm and unison of their wings were like ballet reflecting on the water. Our photographer was happily clicking away when suddenly he shouted: “I’ve got it, I’ve got it!” It was wonderful to witness the joy in the man’s face. He knew that he had captured a moment that would perhaps be worth more than all his equipment put together. I watched him relax and enter his rest and understood that the Sabbath was a celebration of perfection, rather than a break from a busy schedule to observe a religious ritual! Gen.1:31. While he was carefully putting his equipment away, I became absorbed by the thought of photography; magic moments of light, shape, colour and movement arrested and stored on film to be reproduced countless times on glossy magazine pages. These galleries would be appreciated in any culture or language, at any time in the future. I imagined how the artist would file these gems in a way that nothing would be lost of the original picture; regardless of what would happen to the prints, whether they be framed, forgotten or destroyed. Almost like words storing images of rare beauty to be repeated at any time in any language or thought.
In one of her classic novels, Gentian Hill, Elizabeth Goudge paints the picture of little Stella listening to her stepfather reading from the Bible: “All through the Book, even in the dreadful parts, the language would now and then suddenly affect her like an enchantment. The peculiarities of Father Sprigg’s delivery worried her not at all. It was as though his gruff voice tossed the words roughly in the air separate particles of no great value, and immediately they fell again transmuted, like the music of a peal of bells or raindrops shot through with sunshine and vista beyond vista of incomparable beauty opened before the mind. It was a mystery to Stella that mere words could make this happen. She supposed the makers of these phrases had fashioned them to hold their visions as one makes a box to hold one’s treasure, and Father Sprigg’s voice was the key grating in the lock, so that the box could open and set them free. That transmutation in the air still remained as unexplainable as the sudden change in herself, when at the moment of the magical fall her dull mind became suddenly sparkling with wonder and her spirit leaped up inside her like a bird…” (See ‘Weighing Words’ in ‘God believes in you’)
For the first time in the age of the universe, the invisible Creator would display His image and likeness in visible form. Genesis 1:26. The mould of brilliance and perfection would be preserved for eternity in the Word that was from the beginning, in spite of Adam’s fall. Solomon saw a glimpse of this in Prov.8:22, “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His work, the first of His acts of old, ages ago I was set up, at the first before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills were I was brought forth, I was daily His delight, rejoicing before Him always.” Your original value, the way God knew you before He fashioned you in your mother’s womb, is still intact! Through the preaching of the gospel of truth, the magic of that eternal moment is revealed again in the face of Christ as in a mirror, so that the light of life might dawn in us and we may behold Him face to face, and that we may know ourselves even as we have always been known. 2Cor.4:2-7, 1Cor.13:10-12.
Part of a booklet by Francois du Toit
www.mirrorreflection.net
fdt@mailbox.co.za
PO Box 1428
Hermanus South Africa 7200
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Flesh Bibles
How we freshly appreciate the wonder of God becoming flesh, as we think of all you God-filled people we met this weekend! To recognize the Father in one another has always been His idea. To recognize Him, need not be some spectacular event or some visible glow upon your head. We simply need to see from His point of view, for He recognizes His own image and likeness within each man. Have you ever wondered what God’s mirror looks like? When God looks at you, he looks into a mirror – He sees Himself! Jesus was a person so much like us, so ordinary, that the Pharisees had to pay someone to point Him out. Yet He said that if anyone saw Him they saw the Father. We do not need a new event, a more spectacular demonstration, to recognize the Father – we simply need a new appreciation of how He chose to reveal Himself. He chose man! His ultimate intention was never for His Word to be captured in a book, a doctrine, but to become flesh – to be expressed in human form. A blank piece of paper makes no contribution to the message written by the author – as living epistles, we can only let God – the author and finisher of our faith – write whatever He determined to write through our lifes.
You are designed for intimacy with the Father. There is nothing difficult or unnatural about it. This intimacy is not limited to a venue or dependant on a specific environment. It is not limited to an event or a specific time. God’s chosen moment of encounter is always NOW. Neither is this relationship in any way related to your contribution! Jesus did not say to the woman at the well that once she gives Him a cup of water, then He will take her contribution and multiply it and make it a fountain in her. Before she gave Him anything Jesus said: "If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water." If you know the generosity of God, you will never again be conscious of your own contribution!
At another stage When Jesus taught how to react to the reality of daily needs, He advised us to look at the birds that neither sow nor reap! The Fathers provision has nothing to do with your contribution! Jesus taught on sowing and reaping a another time, but in this context - the context of need – He advised us to rather place our focus on the Father’s goodness than on our contribution!
Let us summarize what we have said so far:
Our intimacy with the Father is:
· not restricted to a place, a venue or an specific environment.
· His time is NOW. Just like you can’t live on the memory of your last meal or the expectation of a future meal, you were not designed for mental encounter with Father, but a real partaking of His substance.
· not limited to our contribution.
You are His venue. Who you are, is the only environment necessary for encounter. Remember, this intimacy is with ‘I AM’ not with ‘I USED TO BE’ or ‘ I AM GOING TO BE’ He only knows of one appropriate time and that is NOW.
Let us now take a step deeper. The father does not intent your worship and adoration to be focussed on Him externally. He want you to realize and recognize and appreciate that the very qualities you adore in Him, He reproduced in you!
“ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect” Deu 32:3,4
Andre Rabe
http://eclesia.blogspot.com
You are designed for intimacy with the Father. There is nothing difficult or unnatural about it. This intimacy is not limited to a venue or dependant on a specific environment. It is not limited to an event or a specific time. God’s chosen moment of encounter is always NOW. Neither is this relationship in any way related to your contribution! Jesus did not say to the woman at the well that once she gives Him a cup of water, then He will take her contribution and multiply it and make it a fountain in her. Before she gave Him anything Jesus said: "If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water." If you know the generosity of God, you will never again be conscious of your own contribution!
At another stage When Jesus taught how to react to the reality of daily needs, He advised us to look at the birds that neither sow nor reap! The Fathers provision has nothing to do with your contribution! Jesus taught on sowing and reaping a another time, but in this context - the context of need – He advised us to rather place our focus on the Father’s goodness than on our contribution!
Let us summarize what we have said so far:
Our intimacy with the Father is:
· not restricted to a place, a venue or an specific environment.
· His time is NOW. Just like you can’t live on the memory of your last meal or the expectation of a future meal, you were not designed for mental encounter with Father, but a real partaking of His substance.
· not limited to our contribution.
You are His venue. Who you are, is the only environment necessary for encounter. Remember, this intimacy is with ‘I AM’ not with ‘I USED TO BE’ or ‘ I AM GOING TO BE’ He only knows of one appropriate time and that is NOW.
Let us now take a step deeper. The father does not intent your worship and adoration to be focussed on Him externally. He want you to realize and recognize and appreciate that the very qualities you adore in Him, He reproduced in you!
“ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect” Deu 32:3,4
Andre Rabe
http://eclesia.blogspot.com
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Article Index Page
Jesus Christ and what He revealed:
- you miss the Point: it's all about me!
- getting to the point: Jesus is all about you!
- His initiative, our responce.
- The revelation of Jesus Christ.
- The Face of Christ
- Knowing Christ before creation
- The Inexhaustible Riches of Christ.
- Christ - the ultimate design
Intimacy:
- The Ultimate Experience
- Equality and Fellowship
- He's alive - in you!
- From God's point of view
- Christ In You: The Apostle's Secret
- The Central Secret of Union
- FleshBibles
The true identity of man:
- Your Beginning
- Your Creation
- God's opinion of you - Glory!
- Spirit Identity
- God, I'm amazing! The credit's down to you
- What are you worth?
- How important is your past?
- God's Higher Order of Man
Living It!:
- Faith
- Are you qualified to share Christ?
- Beyond the predictable
- Feedback from the 'Saturday Word Feast'
- Personal Freedom
- Set free from 'Christian' religion
- Beware of prayer!
Ekklesia - the called out ones:
- Ekklesia and Christ
- Knowing Christ before creation
- Revolution Part 1
- Revolution Part 2
- Understanding Authority Part 1
- Understanding Authority Part 2
- Understanding Authority Part 3
AudioBlogs:
Other:
- Could somebody turn the light on, please?!
- Beyond Doubt
- Prisons do not exclude God
- ‘n BLADSY WYN VIR ROYALTY
Monday, August 29, 2005
Ekklesia and Christ
Ekklesia and Christ
A flower blooming in your garden is a unique expression of many different ingredients such as the sun, water and earth. Although it is a beautiful expression of these qualities, the whole ecosystem that made this flower possible is infinitely greater than just this flower. The flower will soon fade and die, but creation continues.
When we speak about church, we have to look far beyond the local assembly, limited to time and space, that many refer to as church, before we can truly understand this. The local assembly is spoken of in scripture, but much more is said about the infinitely greater realities of which the local assembly is simply an expression.
We will therefore first look at the realities regarding ekklesia (church), beyond its temporal expression in a local assembly. Once these truths are grasped our expression of them will be much more accurate and beautiful. Trying to emulate the local assemblies we see in the N.T. without appreciating the realities that birthed these assemblies will leave us with lifeless, meaningless yet biblically correct assemblies! By this I mean the form will be there, but not the life. The appearance might be correct but the fruit will be missing as per the fig tree that Jesus cursed.
‘Ekklesia’ is the Greek word most often translated as ‘church’ in the New Testament. In plain usage it meant an assembly. Interestingly it is made up of two root words, the first being:
ek, ex
A primary preposition denoting origin (the point whence motion or action proceeds), from, out
And the second part being:
kal-eh'-o
to “call” (properly aloud, but used in a variety of applications, directly or otherwise): - bid, call (forth), (whose, whose sur-) name (was [called]).
It implies being named by our origin. From our origin proceeds a call; from our creator comes a claim upon our existence. Our Father names us and what He calls us is more valid than any other name or identity we might have adopted. Eph 3:15 reveals that all families/races/nations of man are named by the Father. The same words are used namely ‘ek’ (from whom) and the word named.
Eph 3:15 “Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named”
Firstly we have to say, based on this and many other scriptures, that The father’s call is for every person; his claim is upon all mankind for He knows their true identity; He is the origin from whom this call proceeds.
It then follows that those who respond to His call, those who acknowledge their true identity in Him become the manifested form of this ekklesia.
Jesus had a few things to say about ekklesia.
Mat 16:13-18 When Jesus arrived in the villages of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "What are people saying about who the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some think he is John the Baptizer, some say Elijah, some Jeremiah or one of the other prophets."
He pressed them, "And how about you? Who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter said, "You're the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
Jesus came back, "God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn't get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I'm going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
Can you see how the true identity of Jesus and the true identity of man is the revelation upon which Jesus builds His church. The Father revealed to Simon that the Son of Man is indeed the Son of God. He, however, only saw its significance in relation to Jesus. Jesus does not leave this here, but takes the revelation a step further. This is not only a revelation regarding the identity of Jesus, but also a revelation regarding the identity of man.
Jesus speaks very specifically to Peter regarding his identity. He starts by referring to him as “Simon, son of Jonah” With this Jesus confirms that he too is a son of man. But the he draws him into a deeper understanding of his identity. “You are Peter” ‘Peter’ meaning a piece of a rock. Jesus uses a different word the second time He refers to rock. He does not use the word ‘piece of rock’ but refers to the actual big rock from which the piece came. Isa 51:1 "Listen to me, all you who are serious about right living and committed to seeking GOD. Ponder the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were dug.” Deut 32:3,4 respond to the greatness of our God! The Rock: His works are perfect.
Jesus challenges Peter to consider his own origin beyond his natural birth and come to the same conclusion concerning himself as the conclusion he came to concerning Christ, namely: the son of man (son of Jonah in this case) is also the son of God!
“Upon this rock” – the rock from which you were cut – your origin, I will build my church - the call of man’s origin. Whatever literal place is meant with the word Hades, there is also a very significant meaning beyond this. For the word is made of two words that mean ‘to see’ and the negative form of it. So figuratively it means ‘not to see’ or ignorance!
John 1:4,5 In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Jesus came and lived a life as an open display of who and what man originally was intended to be. This open manifestation of life as it was intended, appeals to every man’s conscience because there remained in man a divine spark despite the fall. This same appeal is extended through those who responded to this call and so Paul writes concerning his life “but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God” (2Cor 4:2).
When Paul writes about this ekklesia in the letter to the Ephesians, he uses the picture of a body of which Christ is the Head. What he describes is not just a local assembly. He does not start with the form or the method through which these truths are expressed, but rather with the bigger picture of what it is really about.
God desires to express Himself! God wants a body! Your body is not some remote controlled object apart from your head. You are one. In this same way the Father planned, and took pleasure in this plan, and He chose man as the ideal container for Himself. Verse 18 reveals that God has an inheritance and that inheritance is in man! He designed us as the ultimate expression of Himself. How big, varied, deep, wide, broad and long is God’s expression of Himself? Can you measure Him? This must bring us to the conclusion that we should never seek to control, limit or define how God is to express Himself through the church, lest we make it an expression of ourselves rather than an expression of Him. The head, Christ, alone directs and inspires each individual part to do whatever He desires. How often have we tried to displace Christ with methods of our own making.
Ekklesia is so much more than the final expression of it in a local body. We will look at the local body later, but first let us see deeper into what ekklesia really is.
1Co 12:12 Even as the body is one, and has many members, but all the members of the one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
Christ is no longer an individual! Read 1Cor12:12 again and again until you see it. Christ now consists of many members, making one body. You are a part of what makes Christ, Christ. It is for this reason that we should never dishonour Christ by equating Him with an organisation. Only ‘that’ which is made in His likeness and image is able of expressing His likeness and image. When we speak of church we speak of Christ or at least a part of Christ and Christ is not an event or a program or an organisation made by human hands. He is a person in whom the fullness of the godhead dwells in bodily form.
Ekklesia from God’s point of view is not a temporary arrangement. Eph 3:19-21 reveals that God purposes to manifest Himself through us in ways we have not imagined and that this demonstration of who He is will continue throughout all ages to come.
Eph 3:1921 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. 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, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.
Church as a local body is a temporal manifestation of real church which is eternal. Heb 12:23 shows that ekklesia includes the assembly of the spirits of just men. So church as God knows it, is not limited to the here and now. His church is eternal.
By Andre Rabe
http://eclesia.blogspot.com
A flower blooming in your garden is a unique expression of many different ingredients such as the sun, water and earth. Although it is a beautiful expression of these qualities, the whole ecosystem that made this flower possible is infinitely greater than just this flower. The flower will soon fade and die, but creation continues.
When we speak about church, we have to look far beyond the local assembly, limited to time and space, that many refer to as church, before we can truly understand this. The local assembly is spoken of in scripture, but much more is said about the infinitely greater realities of which the local assembly is simply an expression.
We will therefore first look at the realities regarding ekklesia (church), beyond its temporal expression in a local assembly. Once these truths are grasped our expression of them will be much more accurate and beautiful. Trying to emulate the local assemblies we see in the N.T. without appreciating the realities that birthed these assemblies will leave us with lifeless, meaningless yet biblically correct assemblies! By this I mean the form will be there, but not the life. The appearance might be correct but the fruit will be missing as per the fig tree that Jesus cursed.
‘Ekklesia’ is the Greek word most often translated as ‘church’ in the New Testament. In plain usage it meant an assembly. Interestingly it is made up of two root words, the first being:
ek, ex
A primary preposition denoting origin (the point whence motion or action proceeds), from, out
And the second part being:
kal-eh'-o
to “call” (properly aloud, but used in a variety of applications, directly or otherwise): - bid, call (forth), (whose, whose sur-) name (was [called]).
It implies being named by our origin. From our origin proceeds a call; from our creator comes a claim upon our existence. Our Father names us and what He calls us is more valid than any other name or identity we might have adopted. Eph 3:15 reveals that all families/races/nations of man are named by the Father. The same words are used namely ‘ek’ (from whom) and the word named.
Eph 3:15 “Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named”
Firstly we have to say, based on this and many other scriptures, that The father’s call is for every person; his claim is upon all mankind for He knows their true identity; He is the origin from whom this call proceeds.
It then follows that those who respond to His call, those who acknowledge their true identity in Him become the manifested form of this ekklesia.
Jesus had a few things to say about ekklesia.
Mat 16:13-18 When Jesus arrived in the villages of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "What are people saying about who the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some think he is John the Baptizer, some say Elijah, some Jeremiah or one of the other prophets."
He pressed them, "And how about you? Who do you say I am?"
Simon Peter said, "You're the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
Jesus came back, "God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn't get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I'm going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
Can you see how the true identity of Jesus and the true identity of man is the revelation upon which Jesus builds His church. The Father revealed to Simon that the Son of Man is indeed the Son of God. He, however, only saw its significance in relation to Jesus. Jesus does not leave this here, but takes the revelation a step further. This is not only a revelation regarding the identity of Jesus, but also a revelation regarding the identity of man.
Jesus speaks very specifically to Peter regarding his identity. He starts by referring to him as “Simon, son of Jonah” With this Jesus confirms that he too is a son of man. But the he draws him into a deeper understanding of his identity. “You are Peter” ‘Peter’ meaning a piece of a rock. Jesus uses a different word the second time He refers to rock. He does not use the word ‘piece of rock’ but refers to the actual big rock from which the piece came. Isa 51:1 "Listen to me, all you who are serious about right living and committed to seeking GOD. Ponder the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were dug.” Deut 32:3,4 respond to the greatness of our God! The Rock: His works are perfect.
Jesus challenges Peter to consider his own origin beyond his natural birth and come to the same conclusion concerning himself as the conclusion he came to concerning Christ, namely: the son of man (son of Jonah in this case) is also the son of God!
“Upon this rock” – the rock from which you were cut – your origin, I will build my church - the call of man’s origin. Whatever literal place is meant with the word Hades, there is also a very significant meaning beyond this. For the word is made of two words that mean ‘to see’ and the negative form of it. So figuratively it means ‘not to see’ or ignorance!
John 1:4,5 In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Jesus came and lived a life as an open display of who and what man originally was intended to be. This open manifestation of life as it was intended, appeals to every man’s conscience because there remained in man a divine spark despite the fall. This same appeal is extended through those who responded to this call and so Paul writes concerning his life “but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God” (2Cor 4:2).
When Paul writes about this ekklesia in the letter to the Ephesians, he uses the picture of a body of which Christ is the Head. What he describes is not just a local assembly. He does not start with the form or the method through which these truths are expressed, but rather with the bigger picture of what it is really about.
God desires to express Himself! God wants a body! Your body is not some remote controlled object apart from your head. You are one. In this same way the Father planned, and took pleasure in this plan, and He chose man as the ideal container for Himself. Verse 18 reveals that God has an inheritance and that inheritance is in man! He designed us as the ultimate expression of Himself. How big, varied, deep, wide, broad and long is God’s expression of Himself? Can you measure Him? This must bring us to the conclusion that we should never seek to control, limit or define how God is to express Himself through the church, lest we make it an expression of ourselves rather than an expression of Him. The head, Christ, alone directs and inspires each individual part to do whatever He desires. How often have we tried to displace Christ with methods of our own making.
Ekklesia is so much more than the final expression of it in a local body. We will look at the local body later, but first let us see deeper into what ekklesia really is.
1Co 12:12 Even as the body is one, and has many members, but all the members of the one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.
Christ is no longer an individual! Read 1Cor12:12 again and again until you see it. Christ now consists of many members, making one body. You are a part of what makes Christ, Christ. It is for this reason that we should never dishonour Christ by equating Him with an organisation. Only ‘that’ which is made in His likeness and image is able of expressing His likeness and image. When we speak of church we speak of Christ or at least a part of Christ and Christ is not an event or a program or an organisation made by human hands. He is a person in whom the fullness of the godhead dwells in bodily form.
Ekklesia from God’s point of view is not a temporary arrangement. Eph 3:19-21 reveals that God purposes to manifest Himself through us in ways we have not imagined and that this demonstration of who He is will continue throughout all ages to come.
Eph 3:1921 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. 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, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.
Church as a local body is a temporal manifestation of real church which is eternal. Heb 12:23 shows that ekklesia includes the assembly of the spirits of just men. So church as God knows it, is not limited to the here and now. His church is eternal.
By Andre Rabe
http://eclesia.blogspot.com
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
No Seperation
I know that You are for me
I know that You are with me
I know that You are in me
Despite anything I might hear,
Despite whatever I might see,
No feelings, no fears nor doubt
could ever separate me
from this knowledge of Your love.
There are no contradictions
greater than Your confirmations
There are no lies
more persuasive than Your truths.
There are no voices
louder than Yours,
crying within me:
Abba Father
I am Yours.
By Andre Rabe
I know that You are with me
I know that You are in me
Despite anything I might hear,
Despite whatever I might see,
No feelings, no fears nor doubt
could ever separate me
from this knowledge of Your love.
There are no contradictions
greater than Your confirmations
There are no lies
more persuasive than Your truths.
There are no voices
louder than Yours,
crying within me:
Abba Father
I am Yours.
By Andre Rabe
Monday, August 22, 2005
The House Church Movement
The House Church Movement by Loren Smith
This two part article appeared in Bermuda's daily newspaper, The Royal Gazette.
A largely hidden, yet growing phenomenon is changing the face of Christianity in the West and profoundly affecting the way in which Christians are choosing to practice their faith. Disillusioned by the lack of New Testament realities, abusive authority and the spreading apostasy within large segments of institutionalized Christianity, thousands of Christians across America, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom are gathering in homes to study the Scriptures together, pray, share the Lord's Supper and experience the fellowship and simplicity of first century Christianity.
"Yes, we are right now in the midst of the early days of a sovereign, very radical, move of God," says Nate Krupp, publisher of the book God's Simple Plan For His Church on his home church website, Radical Christianity. "We are seeing God do incredible things: people are leaving the institutional church by the thousands; they are tired of being an audience, instead of a body; they question increasingly all the money that goes into buildings; they are tired of being controlled and manipulated; they long to use their giftings to serve God and see 'the priesthood of all believers', instead of 'the clergy' and they long to see the Holy Spirit allowed to freely move instead of everything being controlled. God is sovereignly, in these days, raising up a massive, growing movement of people who are desiring to function like the early Christians in the Book of Acts. Believers are turning their backs on all the programs and returning to their first love, Jesus."
In a recent interview, Krupp claimed that he committed himself to a return to radical Christianity back in 1966 after a period of serious theological reflection. "After a week of prayer and searching the Scriptures to find out whether God had a plan for his church, I came to some very radical conclusions," Krupp explains. "God does have a plan for his church. He is calling his people back to the radical Christianity of the New Testament. Since the late 80's, I have been traveling across the United States and around the world sharing this message."
Krupp characterizes radical New Testament Christianity as a movement away from clergy-dominated services and programs to mutually participating assemblies of believers, from a gospel of "easy-believism" to the gospel of the Kingdom, with its call to repentance and submission to Christ as Lord, from one-man leadership to plurality of servant leadership and from gathering in church buildings to gathering in homes. "I do not believe that buildings as sacred places of worship are Biblical," Krupp maintains. "That is a part of the old economy. When Christ came, he did away with the old economy. The New Testament tells us that we, as the people of God, are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4 that the time was coming when the worship of God would no longer be confined to or connected with a [sacred] place (i.e. The Temple in Jerusalem). Our whole lifestyle is to be an act of worship."
James D.G. Dunn, professor of New Testament at the University of Durham, highlights the incident that lead to the irreconcilable breach between Christianity and the predominant Temple-centered Judaism of the mid-first century in his book The Parting of the Ways Between Christianity and Judaism and their Significance for the Character of Christianity. " It was the Temple, not the claim regarding the messiahship of Jesus as such which led to the hostility against Stephen," Dunn explains. "When the new teaching was directed against the Temple, the warning lights started to flash. The larger community of Hellenists had invested too much in the Temple to allow any kind of radical criticism of the cult to go unchallenged; and the larger circle of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, including the high priests, depended on the Temple too much in economic and political, as well as religious terms to sit idly by in such circumstances."
However, what really infuriated the Jewish religious leaders was Stephen's bold assertion that " the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands." (Acts 7:48) Dunn explains. "The [Greek] adjective chosen, cheiropoieton, 'made with hands,' would be a horrifying word to use in this context. Why so? Because that was the word used by Hellenistic Jews to condemn idolatry. For that word to be used of the Temple would certainly have sent shock waves through any Jewish audience… that God's presence cannot be encapsulated or represented in any physical or man-made entity! &endash; the Temple itself an idol! The Temple was so central for Jewish worship and Jewish identity. Anyone who put forward these views, and in Jerusalem (rather than from the safety of, say, Qumran or Leontopolis) must have enraged a Jewish audience beyond bearing," Dunn maintains. (Emphasis in original) Outraged by Stephen's sharp rebuke, the Sanhedrin cast him out of the city and stoned him to death.
What has been the reaction of Christians to Krupp's radical conclusions, especially his advocacy of house churches? "Generally, they are quite receptive. Quite a number indicate that they have also been considering something similar. I've even found unbelievers receptive to the idea. The greatest opposition comes from the clergy," Krupp explains. "Some react out of insecurity. There is this feeling that 'you're leaving us and we will no longer have your tithes, we won't be able to meet budget.'"
Calvin Guy, one-time Chairman of the Missions Department of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in an article entitled Pilgrimage Toward The House Church: Controls That Limit the Spread of the Gospel, in discussing the subtle differences between the practice of New Testament Christianity and its contemporary counterpart, writes. "We talk about the church building when we go to the church; they spoke of the congregation that met in someone's house. {See Romans 16:5, 1 Corinthians 16:19, Colossians 4:15 and Philemon 2). Spared both the expense and concern of erecting and maintaining a building, they were soon involved in expending all available funds in loving service to the widows and orphans. Charity was not the incidental, fractional percentage of the budget. It was the budget." (Emphasis in the original)
Krupp has generally observed two ways in which Christians are choosing to meet together and practice their faith. "Thousands who have left the institutional church are simply worshipping in homes with their families, just a father, mother and children gathering around the headship of Christ. Then there are others who have left and networked with other house churches in an area. Some house churches are being established by church planters, while others are springing up spontaneously. The movement is so large I don't even try to keep up with it," he says. "Just look at the number of home church websites on the Internet. It's phenomenal!"
Jon Zens, editor of the quarterly publication, Searching Together, and another advocate of New Testament church life, has also observed a growing exodus of people from institutional churches across America. "I see three basic phenomena as to why people are exiting the institutional church," Zen explains. "After years of starving in the institutional church, they leave to find New Testament realities. People study their Bibles and come to perceive a huge chasm between the New Testament and the traditional church and often they leave after the institutional church disregards their pleas for change."
If there has been some success with the traditional church model throughout the centuries, why bother to change? "While the traditional one-man, church building model has some visible success, there are many undeniable statistics that point to the reality of such success being short term, " Zens answered. "Divorce, suicide, nervous breakdown, burnout, etc abound among clergy. The average pastorate in the Southern Baptist Convention is under 18 months. The high-pressure altar call tactics have proven to produce "converts" that rarely last. Even with all the empirical evidence that many things are amuck in the traditional model, the real issue is 'what does the NT teach?' If any model contradicts or stifles the New Testament pattern, it should be jettisoned for such reasons alone. The early church had no clergy and no sacred buildings, and in this regard was radically different from all other religions, including Judaism. The proliferation of expensive church buildings constitutes a fundamental compromise of what Christ intended to build. Thus, believers gathering in informal settings [in] homes, rented store-fronts, outdoors and apartments apparently provides the best context for the 58 "one anothers" [in the Bible] to be fleshed out."
Certainly, the writers of the New Testament seem to have had a clearer understanding of what truly constitutes "the church", something that is foreign to most Christians today. They referred to the people of God as God's building (1 Corinthians 3:9, Ephesians 2:19-22), God's temple (1 Corinthians 3:16-17), God's house (1 Timothy 3:15, Hebrews 3:6, 10:21, 1 Peter 2:17), God's household (Ephesians 2:19, Galatians 6:10) and Christ's body (Romans 12:4-5, 1 Corinthians 12:12, Ephesians 3:6, 5:23, 30). Christians in the New Testament didn't go to church. They were the church! They were God's building! They were God's temple! As Howard Snyder states succinctly in The Problem of Wineskins Today " A church building cannot properly be "the Lord's house" because in the new covenant this title is reserved for the church as people. So, if church buildings have any justification, it can only be practical &endash; simply a place to meet and carry on essential functions, as necessary."
In an article entitled Four Tragic Shifts in the Visible Church, 180-400 A.D., Zens writes. "Some assert that since the early church met primarily in homes, we are obliged to emulate this example. I think the primary theological point of the New Testament in this regard is that under the New Covenant there are no holy places. Contemporary Christianity has almost no grasp of this significant point. Taking a cue from the Old Covenant, people are still lead to believe that a church building is 'the house of God.' Believers are free to meet any place in which they can foster, cultivate and attain the goals set before them by Christ. The problem today is that many church structures neither promote nor accomplish Christ's desires for His body. Homes are a neutral place for believers to meet, and the early church flourished well into the first and second centuries without erecting any temple-like edifices. But the issue is still not in what type of place believers gather, but what shape their committed life together takes as they wrestle with the many duties and privileges flowing out of the priesthood of all believers."
Christian Smith, writing in the journal Voices In The Wilderness, develops this theme further. "God intends church to be a community of believers in which each member contributes their special gift, talent, or ability to the whole, so that, through the active participation and contribution of all, the needs of the community are met. In other words, what we ought to see in our churches is 'the ministry of the people,' not 'the ministry of the professional.' The role of the clergy is essentially the centralization and professionalization of the gifts of the whole body into one person. The problem is that, regardless of what our theologies tell us about the purpose of clergy, the actual effect of the clergy profession is to make the body of Christ lame. This happens not because clergy intend it (they usually intend the opposite) but because the objective nature of the profession inevitably turns the laity into passive receivers."
This fact is borne out in such passages as Romans 12:4-8, 1 Corinthians 12, and in 1 Corinthians 14:26 which states. "What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church." Ministry in the New Testament church was not centered on one man, but involved each member of the "ecclesia" as a functioning "priest" (1 Peter 2: 5, 9) under the headship of Christ and directed by the Holy Spirit exercising his/her gift for the mutual edification of the body.
In his widely acclaimed 8-volume set, History of the Christian Church, Philip Schaff dates the separation of Christians into clergy and laity distinctions to the third century. "During the third century it became customary to apply the term 'priest' directly and exclusively to the Christian ministers especially the bishops. In the same manner the whole ministry, and it alone, was called 'clergy,' with a double reference to its presidency and its peculiar relation to God. It was distinguished by this name from the Christian people or 'laity.' In the apostolic church preaching and teaching were not confined to a particular class, but every convert could proclaim the gospel to unbelievers, and every Christian who had the gift could pray and teach and exhort in the congregation. The New Testament knows no spiritual aristocracy or nobility, but calls all believers 'saints' though many fall far short of their vocation," Schaff writes. "Nor does it recognize a special priesthood in distinction from the people, as mediating between God and the laity. It knows only one high-Priest, Jesus Christ, and clearly teaches the universal priesthood, as well as universal kingship of believers." (See 1 Peter 2:5,9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 20:6)
According to Zens, a number of institutional churches are moving away from clergy driven hierarchical structures and promoting 'the priesthood of all believers,' in order to address these concerns. "The phenomenon has already, I believe, caused traditional churches to reconsider the functionality of their structures. In the past 20 years, there has been a plethora of books advocating fewer clergy and more priesthood. Larry Richards' New Face for The Church was probably one of the first attention-getting books in this regard. And Howard Snyder's The Problem of Wineskins was another landmark volume. Some institutional churches sense that something is wrong, so during the week, they break up the large numbers into smaller house or cell groups."
A number of observers suggest that the movement back to the simplicity and intimacy of New Testament Christianity is a part of God's overall plan to prepare the church for difficult days ahead.
Al Dager, in a recent issue of Media Spotlight, writes. "Recognizing that there are some churches whose leadership are operating with servant's hearts and godly spirits, we nevertheless have concluded that the vast majority of churches are leaning toward the one-world, ecumenical religious system that ultimately will be the only one sanctioned by governments around the world. Those who resist the politically correct standards of the world's religious community will eventually be forced to conform or lose their tax-exempt status. It is because perilous times are upon us that the Church must begin to look anew at its form and function. While the present forms and functions have served since the Reformation, they will prove inadequate, and in some cases, even dangerous to the spiritual and temporal benefit of Christ's body. We are witnessing the beginning of the Underground Church in America - a church that will take lessons from the brethren who have survived in other countries where Faith has been and is still persecuted. If we in the West think we will escape what our brethren have suffered for centuries merely because we trust that 'things like that can never happen in America,' we are closing our eyes to reality. The persecution will come from our own households and from the churches themselves."
Unfortunately, Zens points out that Christians who follow their convictions and leave the institutional church to experience New Testament church life can expect to be misunderstood. "When believers leave the institutional church, friends and family often misunderstand and react negatively. The institutional church leaders often treat with disdain those who exit, and label them 'rebels'. The institutional church is an intimidating entity. If you leave it, people equate it with leaving Christ. We live in Minnesota, which is very Lutheran and people view us as being quite strange," he says laughing. "We've been labeled a cult and all that, but the way to show people that you are not a cult is by being non-sectarian."
It's amazing that a practice that is so clearly revealed in the New Testament has today been vilified by Christians, who react more out of fear and a sense of loyalty to tradition than a commitment to Biblical truth. Christians in the Greco-Roman world of the first century met in homes and Paul's letters in the New Testament were addressed to house churches. In fact, the very first church established on European soil was in the town of Philippi in the home of Lydia, a successful businesswoman from Thyatira. (Acts 16:15) Paul, in his epistles to the Christians in Rome, Corinth and Colossae exhorts them to greet churches that met in the homes of fellow believers. (Romans 16:3-5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; Colossians 4:15)
The frequently quoted scriptural admonition about "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together" used to foster guilt upon the consciences of Christians who no longer view the church as a "building", but as "the people of God," in its proper context, refers to Jewish Christians who were considering forsaking Christianity and returning to Judaism in order to avoid persecution. So the author of the book to the Hebrews (Jewish Christians) was exhorting them not to cease assembling together in their home fellowships since the early Christians had no specially designated church buildings in which to hold meetings at that time. As Craig S. Keener points out in The IVP Bible Background Commentary-New Testament, "Believers met in homes rather than church buildings for the first three centuries of the church." This later changed in 312 AD when the Emperor Constantine came to power and made institutional Christianity the state religion in Rome, converting pagan temples into Christian churches, while using state funds to support the clergy.
Howard Snyder, in his provocative book Radical Renewal: The Problem of Wineskins Today, proposes that the church adopt the radical ecclesiology of the first century to impact the world with the life-transforming message of the gospel. "A Biblical conception of the church will make it clear that the church is essential to the gospel, for it is the body of Christ," Snyder writes. "At the same time, it will be clear that human institutions and structures are not themselves the church; they are not hallowed. These are days when Christians must be clear about what the church is and what it is not. Just as many false Christs will come in the last days, so many counterfeit and apostate "churches" will litter the spiritual landscape. The church must be prepared, both as persons and as the Christian community, for the lash of persecution and the lure of the antichrist. This means the necessity for doctrinal clarity and authentic community - for both orthodoxy of belief and orthodoxy of community. Under the threat of persecution, life in community becomes both more difficult and more essential. Thus the priorities of structures which are flexible, mobile, inconspicuous, and not building-centered."
Asked whether the house church movement is simply another religious fad that people will soon tire of, Zens had this to say. "No, I don't think it will ever be just a fad for several reasons. One, it's been around a long time. There was a significant home church movement in Australia beginning in 1968. Obviously, for years home meetings have been the norm in China, Latin America and other places in the world. Two, it has New Testament justification and sanction, and so could hardly be a fad. If persecution erupts in America, the house church model could suddenly be very common, as churches that require immense weekly overhead to operate could fold virtually overnight. I think it will take catastrophic events to awaken the church to what is important in the Kingdom. If and when that happens, the shape of believers' lives together will change rapidly. As long as our affluence continues, the informal approach to church will remain. But whether something is minority or majority is hardly the issue. Our concern must be, 'how will we follow Christ in all areas of our lives? Are we going to obey the New Testament or not? One brother in our assembly has said, 'our way of doing church is not popular. It requires hard work and commitment.' The home church movement, of course, is not monolithic," Zens pointed out. "I have no idea where it will go in the next five years. But I know this, no movement will prosper long if it does not center on exalting Jesus Christ and obeying His Word."
Sunday, August 14, 2005
To know Him is simple
To know Him is simple
No rituals to hinder
No levels through which to enter
To know Him is simple
To love Him is easy
No reason to draw back
No consciousness of lack
To love Him is easy
To reach for Him and find Him
is closer than you may think
‘Tis within you, this link
To see Him, close your eyes
This sight requires no light
This vision, no special might
To see Him, simply look within
It’s easy, it’s simple:
Within you, right now,
reach for Him, find Him,
love Him, know Him.
No rituals to hinder
No levels through which to enter
To know Him is simple
To love Him is easy
No reason to draw back
No consciousness of lack
To love Him is easy
To reach for Him and find Him
is closer than you may think
‘Tis within you, this link
To see Him, close your eyes
This sight requires no light
This vision, no special might
To see Him, simply look within
It’s easy, it’s simple:
Within you, right now,
reach for Him, find Him,
love Him, know Him.
By Andre Rabe
http://eclesia.blogspot.com
Beware of prayer!
Beware of prayer!
The parent-child relationship is a rich illustration of God’s relationship with us. I have many vivid memories of childhood. Maybe it’s because of this, that I have no problem understanding kids. Adults are a bit more complicated. However, being a parent for many years, brings with it fresh insights into the dynamics of our relationship with Father.
Father confronted me with such a fresh understanding of prayer, a few weeks ago. I had no problem asking Him for whatever I wanted, presuming my wants were pure. I’m convinced about His love and ability, and such convictions lead to great boldness. I simply presumed that if my requests were part of His will, He would grant them, and if not, He would deny them. Simple.
I think many pray that way: Ask for whatever comes to mind and if the prayer is answered, great, it was His will. If the prayer does not get answered, well good it was not His will.
Father changed this perception by giving me the following illustration.
When my children were small, I would decide regarding each of their requests, whether they were right or wrong, for their good or not. For instance, when they were 4 and 6 years old, they’d ask me for money to go to the candy store. Once or twice a week I’d grant it, the other times I’d use the opportunity to teach them on the importance of eating well.
Now that they are 12 and 14, I trust that they have developed enough good judgement to decide for themselves that candy is not the only food to be purchased, even if they have the means to. They ask for money occasionally and I seldom ask why, I simply grant it for I trust them. The responsibility for using it wisely now resides with them, not me. In a way I am granting them more ability to harm themselves!
Maybe you are maturing spiritually and Father is granting your requests without deciding whether they are right or wrong, but placing more of that responsibility on you. I am always available to my children for advice and sometimes I offer that advice without being asked.
Father showed me that when I was a toddler (spiritually), He took full responsibility for granting or denying my requests. Now that I am maturing He is placing more trust in my own judgement. He is therefore granting my requests even when those requests are not His perfect will for me! Remember when Israel asked for a king. It was not God’s will, yet He granted it!
He started showing me that I now had to be very selective in my requests for they would often be granted even when they weren’t for my good! That was quite a shock to me, to say the least.
When we become highly selective in what we ask of Father; when we determine to see from His point of view before we make requests, we are very seldom disappointed with unanswered prayer. Rather, we ask and we receive and our joy is full.
I now have much less requests of Father, but I have much greater success in answered prayer. Prayer is much more conversation, asking advice, just enjoying His company. Sometimes He asks me if there is anything I want!
By Andre Rabe
http://eclesia.blogspot.com
The parent-child relationship is a rich illustration of God’s relationship with us. I have many vivid memories of childhood. Maybe it’s because of this, that I have no problem understanding kids. Adults are a bit more complicated. However, being a parent for many years, brings with it fresh insights into the dynamics of our relationship with Father.
Father confronted me with such a fresh understanding of prayer, a few weeks ago. I had no problem asking Him for whatever I wanted, presuming my wants were pure. I’m convinced about His love and ability, and such convictions lead to great boldness. I simply presumed that if my requests were part of His will, He would grant them, and if not, He would deny them. Simple.
I think many pray that way: Ask for whatever comes to mind and if the prayer is answered, great, it was His will. If the prayer does not get answered, well good it was not His will.
Father changed this perception by giving me the following illustration.
When my children were small, I would decide regarding each of their requests, whether they were right or wrong, for their good or not. For instance, when they were 4 and 6 years old, they’d ask me for money to go to the candy store. Once or twice a week I’d grant it, the other times I’d use the opportunity to teach them on the importance of eating well.
Now that they are 12 and 14, I trust that they have developed enough good judgement to decide for themselves that candy is not the only food to be purchased, even if they have the means to. They ask for money occasionally and I seldom ask why, I simply grant it for I trust them. The responsibility for using it wisely now resides with them, not me. In a way I am granting them more ability to harm themselves!
Maybe you are maturing spiritually and Father is granting your requests without deciding whether they are right or wrong, but placing more of that responsibility on you. I am always available to my children for advice and sometimes I offer that advice without being asked.
Father showed me that when I was a toddler (spiritually), He took full responsibility for granting or denying my requests. Now that I am maturing He is placing more trust in my own judgement. He is therefore granting my requests even when those requests are not His perfect will for me! Remember when Israel asked for a king. It was not God’s will, yet He granted it!
He started showing me that I now had to be very selective in my requests for they would often be granted even when they weren’t for my good! That was quite a shock to me, to say the least.
When we become highly selective in what we ask of Father; when we determine to see from His point of view before we make requests, we are very seldom disappointed with unanswered prayer. Rather, we ask and we receive and our joy is full.
I now have much less requests of Father, but I have much greater success in answered prayer. Prayer is much more conversation, asking advice, just enjoying His company. Sometimes He asks me if there is anything I want!
By Andre Rabe
http://eclesia.blogspot.com
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Christ – the ultimate design.
Christ – the ultimate design.
John describes God as light, life and love.
God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. His light is not just any light, it is absolute light. Darkness cannot understand or overcome it. Light is not a passive quality, its dynamic, explosive. Light desires to shine! This is God; He desires to reveal Himself. He is not withdrawn, unknowable and hidden. He is light and He desires to enlighten every man with the knowledge of His favour. While Paul was hunting down the followers of Jesus Christ, Jesus revealed Himself to Paul. Later Paul writes about the God who reveals Himself to those who do not seek Him! He makes His sun to shine on the evil and the good. It is in His nature to reveal Himself; it’s got nothing to do with your ability to attain revelation, it’s got everything to do with His desire to reveal Himself independent of you deserving or not deserving it!
God is life and in him is no death at all! The greek word for this God-kind of life is Zoe. It also has the meaning of absolute life in it. Jesus spoke about this life as abundant life. At another time he describes it as a spring of living water bursting forth from within you. Again, this is no passive quality. God is not passive, He brims over with life. He lives abundantly and desires to share this abundant life. His life is so expansive and so full of goodness that he simply has to share it.
God is love. Love’s greatest need is to give. This is no passive love either, but a love that manifests itself. He demonstrated His love toward us, in that while we were yet at enmity against Him, He reconciled us to Himself! While the world was still spitting in His face and breathing out hatred against Him, He kissed the world and declared that their trespasses would no longer be held against them. This is a love so great that it cannot wait for man to approach, but took the initiative to embrace us while we were yet hostile.
We so often limit our perceptions to our own points of view. We see the love of God only within the context of our need. But it is not so much our need for His love or light that caused Him to reach out to us, as it is His own desire to simply love. It is not just the intensity of the darkness we are in, that motivates Him to bring light. It is simply His nature to shine forth.
God delights in revealing Himself. He overflows with life. He brims over with love. He bursts forth with light. At the very core of who God is, is this urgency to express Himself, to manifest Himself, to demonstrate His love. The whole of the universe is testimony to His enormous desire and ability to express Himself. Every galaxy, every plant, every animal is a unique manifestation of His imagination. But ultimately a person wants to express Himself through a personality and that’s why God made you!
Love needs to give; Light’s nature is to shine; life reproduces. These are the characteristics of God; these are His essential qualities. This expressive nature of God gave birth to His ultimate plan and purpose: He designed a vehicle, a being through which He would accurately and completely express Himself! He preserved that design in Christ. You are part of that design! The way is which the Word describes His eternal purpose is so revealing of His desire to express Himself: A body through which He would live; A living temple which He would fill Himself and dwell in; A kingdom of light and love in which He would put away all contradiction.
His eternal purpose is to fully express Himself. In Christ the fullness of the Godhead dwells in a bodily form and you find your completeness in Him
Col 2:9 Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him.
Col 2:10 When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.
Col 2:11 Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It's not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you're already in--insiders--not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin.
By Andre Rabe
andre.rabe@gmail.com
http://eclesia.blogspot.com
John describes God as light, life and love.
God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. His light is not just any light, it is absolute light. Darkness cannot understand or overcome it. Light is not a passive quality, its dynamic, explosive. Light desires to shine! This is God; He desires to reveal Himself. He is not withdrawn, unknowable and hidden. He is light and He desires to enlighten every man with the knowledge of His favour. While Paul was hunting down the followers of Jesus Christ, Jesus revealed Himself to Paul. Later Paul writes about the God who reveals Himself to those who do not seek Him! He makes His sun to shine on the evil and the good. It is in His nature to reveal Himself; it’s got nothing to do with your ability to attain revelation, it’s got everything to do with His desire to reveal Himself independent of you deserving or not deserving it!
God is life and in him is no death at all! The greek word for this God-kind of life is Zoe. It also has the meaning of absolute life in it. Jesus spoke about this life as abundant life. At another time he describes it as a spring of living water bursting forth from within you. Again, this is no passive quality. God is not passive, He brims over with life. He lives abundantly and desires to share this abundant life. His life is so expansive and so full of goodness that he simply has to share it.
God is love. Love’s greatest need is to give. This is no passive love either, but a love that manifests itself. He demonstrated His love toward us, in that while we were yet at enmity against Him, He reconciled us to Himself! While the world was still spitting in His face and breathing out hatred against Him, He kissed the world and declared that their trespasses would no longer be held against them. This is a love so great that it cannot wait for man to approach, but took the initiative to embrace us while we were yet hostile.
We so often limit our perceptions to our own points of view. We see the love of God only within the context of our need. But it is not so much our need for His love or light that caused Him to reach out to us, as it is His own desire to simply love. It is not just the intensity of the darkness we are in, that motivates Him to bring light. It is simply His nature to shine forth.
God delights in revealing Himself. He overflows with life. He brims over with love. He bursts forth with light. At the very core of who God is, is this urgency to express Himself, to manifest Himself, to demonstrate His love. The whole of the universe is testimony to His enormous desire and ability to express Himself. Every galaxy, every plant, every animal is a unique manifestation of His imagination. But ultimately a person wants to express Himself through a personality and that’s why God made you!
Love needs to give; Light’s nature is to shine; life reproduces. These are the characteristics of God; these are His essential qualities. This expressive nature of God gave birth to His ultimate plan and purpose: He designed a vehicle, a being through which He would accurately and completely express Himself! He preserved that design in Christ. You are part of that design! The way is which the Word describes His eternal purpose is so revealing of His desire to express Himself: A body through which He would live; A living temple which He would fill Himself and dwell in; A kingdom of light and love in which He would put away all contradiction.
His eternal purpose is to fully express Himself. In Christ the fullness of the Godhead dwells in a bodily form and you find your completeness in Him
Col 2:9 Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him.
Col 2:10 When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.
Col 2:11 Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It's not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you're already in--insiders--not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin.
By Andre Rabe
andre.rabe@gmail.com
http://eclesia.blogspot.com
Saturday, August 06, 2005
The Inexhaustible Riches of Christ.
The Inexhaustible Riches of Christ.
The queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon. Stories regarding his wisdom and wealth were so amazing that she felt sure they were exaggerations. So she decided to go and see for herself. Here is part of that story:
The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon and his connection with the Name of GOD. She came to put his reputation to the test by asking tough questions. She made a grand and showy entrance into Jerusalem--camels loaded with spices, a huge amount of gold, and precious gems. She came to Solomon and talked about all the things that she cared about, emptying her heart to him. Solomon answered everything she put to him--nothing stumped him. When the queen of Sheba experienced for herself Solomon's wisdom and saw with her own eyes the palace he had built, the meals that were served, the impressive array of court officials and sharply dressed waiters, the lavish crystal, and the elaborate worship extravagant with Whole-Burnt-Offerings at the steps leading up to The Temple of GOD, it took her breath away. She said to the king, "It's all true! Your reputation for accomplishment and wisdom that reached all the way to my country is confirmed. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself; they didn't exaggerate! Such wisdom and elegance--far more than I could ever have imagined. (1Ki 10:1-7 Message)
Mat 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
If the wealth and wisdom of Solomon could not be adequately described; if it was impossible to exaggerate, how much more impossible is it to exaggerate what we have in Christ. We cannot make too much of Him. And the treasure we found in Him cannot be fully appreciated by simply hearing about it; it is a treasure that needs to handled and experienced to find a sense of what it is really like. 1Jo 1:1: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
Hearing (or reading) is but the first step into an experience much greater than what can be captured in words. Our words can simply point towards this experience, but can never capture it. Let me illustrate. Imagine sitting in a hot, humid room with all the windows closed. The air is stale and breathing is unpleasant. Then someone opens a window and a breeze brings in a fresh fragrance. The cool movement of air revives your body and soon the stale atmosphere is forgotten.
This is what God-inspired words do. They simply open the window for the Spirit or wind of God to blow and bring refreshment. Much of theology and much of Christian writings are centred on trying to capture this fresh wind. Instead of opening a window, these formulas and definitions attempt to capture the wind by closing the window. But as soon as the window is closed the wind ceases to be wind; the refreshing that came from it becomes a memory and pretty soon the same stale air fills the room.
Read the Word of God with this in mind; read this book with this in mind. These words refer to a reality greater than themselves. The substance is Christ Himself and the intimacy He has in mind can never be understood by mere words alone; your spirit needs to connect with His. These words simply open a window and point beyond themselves.
Obviously we will use our minds in loving the Lord, but never forget that loving Him with all your heart precedes loving Him with all your mind. Mat 22:37 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.
Paul’s love affair with Christ was clearly growing throughout his life. If we read His letters in the sequence in which he wrote them we find that His insight into Christ grows with leaps and bounds. His focus never gets diversified; rather he sees more and more of the meaning of all things in Christ.
Lets look at his initial experience of Jesus and how it grew.
Act 9:3-9 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
In a letter to the believers at Corinth he gives us further insight into this experience. 2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
So much preaching has focussed on man’s decision for Christ; man’s faith in Christ; man’s repentance. Here we have an example of God’s initiative to reveal Himself to man, in this case Paul. Paul’s response was based on Jesus’ initiative. Paul did not need any teaching on repentance or how to have faith or making a quality decision. The revelation of who Jesus really is was all that was needed to draw from Paul the appropriate response. If, in our declaration of the gospel, we once again make Christ the focus; if we place our confidence in God’s ability to reveal Himself rather than placing our confidence in man’s faith, we will see genuine conversions as in the case of Paul. A conversion not based on popular Christian formulas, but based on a spontaneous response to ‘the light in the face of Jesus Christ’
We have changed the natural consequences of seeing Jesus into conditions for seeing Him. There are no conditions you can meet for God to reveal Himself to you. You can simply respond to His initiative. Isa 65:1 I gave access to them that asked not for Me, I was at hand to them that sought Me not; I said: 'Behold Me, behold Me', unto a nation that was not called by My name.
God is ready to reveal Himself even to those who do not seek Him! I remember the words of a beautiful song: “You are the rarest of treasures, yet so easy to find”
Paul gives us a further insight in Gal 1:15,16: Gal 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me.
How different is Paul’s language from today’s believers. His testimony is not: ‘When I made a decision for Christ then He….’ or ‘when I came to repentance then God…’ No, he has the order completely reversed! He starts with the initiative of God and his response is not even spoken about as a wilful decision, it’s just mentioned as a consequence! (be careful of making the consequences the conditions)
In this book you will find the same. I don’t place much emphasis on how man must respond or the importance of man’s contribution, simply because there are truths of much greater importance. God’s initiative, what He did before you were even born is the focus of this writing. Obviously man’s response is valuable, but I acknowledge that it is spontaneous and natural if Christ is revealed. A revelation of Christ is therefore the direction these words point to, the window it opens. If I have to teach a person how to respond to such a revelation, that person obviously did not have a revelation of Christ. It is dead religious traditions that need to teach its followers how to respond. An introduction to the living person of Christ needs no artificial protocols.
The light in the face of Jesus Christ is the light that blinded Paul. It is interesting to find this same Paul saying “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. “2Co 4:18
In the three days of natural blindness that followed, Paul started seeing with a clarity beyond his wildest dreams. God began to reveal His Son in him. He saw a reality within himself that was greater than anything outside of Him. Later he wrote: ‘So that we henceforth know no one according to flesh; but if even we have known Christ according to flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer.’ This time of natural blindness was obviously also the beginning of seeing spirit realities regarding God and man that remain hidden to those who do not know how to draw revelation from within.
T. Austin-Sparks expresses it as follows:
"I can understand now why Paul was revolutionized. He saw the face of Jesus Christ. He did not simply see a blazing light on the way to Damascus. He saw the significance of Jesus of Nazareth in the glory - the Man whom he had probably seen in Jerusalem... the Man whom he had hated - had loathed - as a blasphemer, as an apostate... the Man whom he thought had been rightly handled and given His due when He was crucified.
He saw that Man... and what that Man meant as installed in heaven at God's right hand; and there broke upon him something of the significance of Jesus Christ, as he saw the face of Jesus in that eternal, universal, and spiritual sense - that all-inclusive sense. Out from that beholding - for he never stopped beholding inwardly the face of Jesus - there grew and grew the explanation of history, the explanation of the race, the explanation of man, the explanation of human destiny, the explanation of the Cross... this unveiling of things which no man could ever know by reason or study. There came out into the heart of Paul the knowledge of what went on in Divine counsels in eternity of old. It was all seen in the face of Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ interpreted everything - explained everything - revealed everything."
In one of Paul’s last letters, the letter to the Philippians, we see his adoration of Christ did not weaken through the years. On the contrary, we find in this letter his most expressive desire to just know Christ more. Think of it…He spent His life exploring the depths of Christ and his ultimate wish remains: ‘That I might know Him more’! This is not a revelation that we grasp, categorize and file with all our other neatly ordered doctrines; this is a revelation that grasps us, consumes us, until we say ‘I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me’ It’s a revelation that takes you beyond individual life into union life. Can you sense the call of Christ within you; inviting you to union with Himself. Can you sense His cords of love drawing you into a deeper understanding of Him; a spiritual understanding not a mental one. He is so ready to reveal Himself to you in a deeper way than what you ever experienced Him before.
By Andre Rabe
andre.rabe@gmail.com
http://eclesia.blogspot.com
The queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon. Stories regarding his wisdom and wealth were so amazing that she felt sure they were exaggerations. So she decided to go and see for herself. Here is part of that story:
The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon and his connection with the Name of GOD. She came to put his reputation to the test by asking tough questions. She made a grand and showy entrance into Jerusalem--camels loaded with spices, a huge amount of gold, and precious gems. She came to Solomon and talked about all the things that she cared about, emptying her heart to him. Solomon answered everything she put to him--nothing stumped him. When the queen of Sheba experienced for herself Solomon's wisdom and saw with her own eyes the palace he had built, the meals that were served, the impressive array of court officials and sharply dressed waiters, the lavish crystal, and the elaborate worship extravagant with Whole-Burnt-Offerings at the steps leading up to The Temple of GOD, it took her breath away. She said to the king, "It's all true! Your reputation for accomplishment and wisdom that reached all the way to my country is confirmed. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself; they didn't exaggerate! Such wisdom and elegance--far more than I could ever have imagined. (1Ki 10:1-7 Message)
Mat 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
If the wealth and wisdom of Solomon could not be adequately described; if it was impossible to exaggerate, how much more impossible is it to exaggerate what we have in Christ. We cannot make too much of Him. And the treasure we found in Him cannot be fully appreciated by simply hearing about it; it is a treasure that needs to handled and experienced to find a sense of what it is really like. 1Jo 1:1: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
Hearing (or reading) is but the first step into an experience much greater than what can be captured in words. Our words can simply point towards this experience, but can never capture it. Let me illustrate. Imagine sitting in a hot, humid room with all the windows closed. The air is stale and breathing is unpleasant. Then someone opens a window and a breeze brings in a fresh fragrance. The cool movement of air revives your body and soon the stale atmosphere is forgotten.
This is what God-inspired words do. They simply open the window for the Spirit or wind of God to blow and bring refreshment. Much of theology and much of Christian writings are centred on trying to capture this fresh wind. Instead of opening a window, these formulas and definitions attempt to capture the wind by closing the window. But as soon as the window is closed the wind ceases to be wind; the refreshing that came from it becomes a memory and pretty soon the same stale air fills the room.
Read the Word of God with this in mind; read this book with this in mind. These words refer to a reality greater than themselves. The substance is Christ Himself and the intimacy He has in mind can never be understood by mere words alone; your spirit needs to connect with His. These words simply open a window and point beyond themselves.
Obviously we will use our minds in loving the Lord, but never forget that loving Him with all your heart precedes loving Him with all your mind. Mat 22:37 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.
Paul’s love affair with Christ was clearly growing throughout his life. If we read His letters in the sequence in which he wrote them we find that His insight into Christ grows with leaps and bounds. His focus never gets diversified; rather he sees more and more of the meaning of all things in Christ.
Lets look at his initial experience of Jesus and how it grew.
Act 9:3-9 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
In a letter to the believers at Corinth he gives us further insight into this experience. 2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
So much preaching has focussed on man’s decision for Christ; man’s faith in Christ; man’s repentance. Here we have an example of God’s initiative to reveal Himself to man, in this case Paul. Paul’s response was based on Jesus’ initiative. Paul did not need any teaching on repentance or how to have faith or making a quality decision. The revelation of who Jesus really is was all that was needed to draw from Paul the appropriate response. If, in our declaration of the gospel, we once again make Christ the focus; if we place our confidence in God’s ability to reveal Himself rather than placing our confidence in man’s faith, we will see genuine conversions as in the case of Paul. A conversion not based on popular Christian formulas, but based on a spontaneous response to ‘the light in the face of Jesus Christ’
We have changed the natural consequences of seeing Jesus into conditions for seeing Him. There are no conditions you can meet for God to reveal Himself to you. You can simply respond to His initiative. Isa 65:1 I gave access to them that asked not for Me, I was at hand to them that sought Me not; I said: 'Behold Me, behold Me', unto a nation that was not called by My name.
God is ready to reveal Himself even to those who do not seek Him! I remember the words of a beautiful song: “You are the rarest of treasures, yet so easy to find”
Paul gives us a further insight in Gal 1:15,16: Gal 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me.
How different is Paul’s language from today’s believers. His testimony is not: ‘When I made a decision for Christ then He….’ or ‘when I came to repentance then God…’ No, he has the order completely reversed! He starts with the initiative of God and his response is not even spoken about as a wilful decision, it’s just mentioned as a consequence! (be careful of making the consequences the conditions)
In this book you will find the same. I don’t place much emphasis on how man must respond or the importance of man’s contribution, simply because there are truths of much greater importance. God’s initiative, what He did before you were even born is the focus of this writing. Obviously man’s response is valuable, but I acknowledge that it is spontaneous and natural if Christ is revealed. A revelation of Christ is therefore the direction these words point to, the window it opens. If I have to teach a person how to respond to such a revelation, that person obviously did not have a revelation of Christ. It is dead religious traditions that need to teach its followers how to respond. An introduction to the living person of Christ needs no artificial protocols.
The light in the face of Jesus Christ is the light that blinded Paul. It is interesting to find this same Paul saying “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. “2Co 4:18
In the three days of natural blindness that followed, Paul started seeing with a clarity beyond his wildest dreams. God began to reveal His Son in him. He saw a reality within himself that was greater than anything outside of Him. Later he wrote: ‘So that we henceforth know no one according to flesh; but if even we have known Christ according to flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer.’ This time of natural blindness was obviously also the beginning of seeing spirit realities regarding God and man that remain hidden to those who do not know how to draw revelation from within.
T. Austin-Sparks expresses it as follows:
"I can understand now why Paul was revolutionized. He saw the face of Jesus Christ. He did not simply see a blazing light on the way to Damascus. He saw the significance of Jesus of Nazareth in the glory - the Man whom he had probably seen in Jerusalem... the Man whom he had hated - had loathed - as a blasphemer, as an apostate... the Man whom he thought had been rightly handled and given His due when He was crucified.
He saw that Man... and what that Man meant as installed in heaven at God's right hand; and there broke upon him something of the significance of Jesus Christ, as he saw the face of Jesus in that eternal, universal, and spiritual sense - that all-inclusive sense. Out from that beholding - for he never stopped beholding inwardly the face of Jesus - there grew and grew the explanation of history, the explanation of the race, the explanation of man, the explanation of human destiny, the explanation of the Cross... this unveiling of things which no man could ever know by reason or study. There came out into the heart of Paul the knowledge of what went on in Divine counsels in eternity of old. It was all seen in the face of Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ interpreted everything - explained everything - revealed everything."
In one of Paul’s last letters, the letter to the Philippians, we see his adoration of Christ did not weaken through the years. On the contrary, we find in this letter his most expressive desire to just know Christ more. Think of it…He spent His life exploring the depths of Christ and his ultimate wish remains: ‘That I might know Him more’! This is not a revelation that we grasp, categorize and file with all our other neatly ordered doctrines; this is a revelation that grasps us, consumes us, until we say ‘I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me’ It’s a revelation that takes you beyond individual life into union life. Can you sense the call of Christ within you; inviting you to union with Himself. Can you sense His cords of love drawing you into a deeper understanding of Him; a spiritual understanding not a mental one. He is so ready to reveal Himself to you in a deeper way than what you ever experienced Him before.
By Andre Rabe
andre.rabe@gmail.com
http://eclesia.blogspot.com
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