Action (by Francois Du Toit)

Our dear Friends

I am so exited to know that we are entrusted with such a treasure of truth!

I know that we are challenged and that often the cares of this life seem to overwhelm us, but we do not lose heart, 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 we LOOK at the things that are unseen. Faith sees the unseen! Faith is not confused! Faith is the enthusiasm of God! WOW!

I heard the other day about a business plan where you invite people to listen to the presentation of their product and if some enrol you can earn great commission etc... What challenged me and amazed me though, was how people are attracted to any opportunity to make money; I mean these presentations are nation wide twice a day at various venues! Multilevel marketing has been around, but what gets me is how easily multitudes can be hyped up to pursue money, what will it take to motivate people to discover life more abundantly for themselves within themselves?

We are entrusted with the greatest wealth that any person can ever discover!!

Lets invite people to our homes or organise venues and help people discover themselves!!!

I want to exhort and encourage you to see yourself as Gods Ambassadors!

Extend yourselves! Live beyond your job-description! Think of people right now within your circle of influence and acquaintance and begin to pray for them with conviction, say, God reach out to so and so through my life and touch them with your presence and awaken their understanding to every good thing that lies dormant within them!

I see your life become a vibrant centre of attraction! Attracting people to life-conversation, fountain life within them! I see spontaneous Word cells spring up everywhere! Places where people can come at any time and draw on the well of living water that becomes in them artesian springs!

When you buy a Mc Donalds anywhere in the world you get exactly the same product!

There is such a need for a consistent Word where people know that the conversation that you transmit is consistent with the truth as it is in Christ and not tampered with or watered down to the level of popular opinion or human experience and tradition.

I want to encourage you to stock up with the books and material we have available! I get such beautiful feedback from people all over the world who had a life-changing encounter with God through the reading of the booklets and our website, www.mirrorreflection.net I can say with great conviction that when you read this you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which is Christ in you! The hope of glory!! It was not written to attract you to a revelation of a man, but to the well within you!

So much money is spent on magazines and TV and the media, let’s invest in life, have booklets available to give to people around you who would greatly benefit!!

Start Bible studies with the theme revelation of our true identity and redemption-realities! There is a Bible study group of ladies in our local area from a traditional church that are studying “GOD BELIEVES IN YOU” They are so excited and are now inviting me once a month to also speak to their husbands!

There is so much God desires to communicate through you! Remember what Paul said in 2Cor.11:6, “I may be unskilled in speaking but I am not so in knowledge!”

We have no excuse for ignorance. God speaks through stammering lips; He is your competence! Reach out to someone today!! Get their email address and forward life material to them! Don’t get stuck in your own needs, reach out to those around you; you have so much to give! You can make a permanent difference. People need friendship more than money!

Your presence makes a difference, everywhere you go!

Make your conversation count. Speak evil of no one! Refuse to be drawn into gossip or arguments! LOVE is your nature!

Visit your local municipality and find out their vision and strategy for your area, offer your assistance, organise and mobilise groups to partner with the local authorities in a non political and non denominational capacity. Let your light so shine that people will see your good works and discover the Fathers opinion about them! There are thousands of bored believers in many church buildings and social groups that are waiting for someone to take the initiative to inspire and mobilise them into Action groups!

Don’t limit yourself to labels of any kind!

There are people right now, within your immediate reach, that are desperate to know what you know!!!!!

In season and out of season, we have no excuse. Lift up your eyes, look away from your own needs and situation, and see the harvest that He sees! It is ripe and ready for the taking!

The hour has come, what are we waiting for?

Audioblock - Unlock the value in this moment.

Unlock the value in this moment.mp3 - Right click and choose "Save link as"

Recorded during the September 2005 Word Feast weekend.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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