[Posted September 16, 2024]

Hi Mike,

I wrote you years ago with a question about the Scriptures (which you answered for me) and now I’ve got another one for you if you have the time.  Forgive me if this is covered somewhere in your teachings (and if so feel free to direct me to the article.)  I’ve read many but not nearly all.

Since God was able to beget a son (Jesus) the way that he did that first time, why not beget all humans that way?  In other words, why do humans experience being sinners who then enter the kingdom rather than being sinless and entering God’s family through the means that Jesus did?  Thank you for your time and consideration.

As always, you have my sincere gratitude for your website.

D___

Hi D__,

Thank you for your question. It is a question we all have at some point. I have said many times that my flesh thinks that it knows a much better way to create a Godly family than the way God is doing it. My flesh reasons just as you that all this suffering simply is not necessary. Why not create a family that is perfected without first being corrupt and in need of a sacrifice for our sins. Why not create a perfected family from the beginning? We all ask the same question you are asking:

“Since God was able to beget a son (Jesus) the way that he did that first time, why not beget all humans that way?  In other words, why do humans experience being sinners who then enter the kingdom rather than being sinless and entering God’s family through the means that Jesus did?” (End Quote).

It is hard to know in an email whether you are asking about Christ being created at “the beginning of the creation of God” (Rev 3:17) or Christ “made sin… of a woman, made under the law”. The only time Christ was first perfect was when He was “the beginning of the creation of God”:

Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

This is what Christ was as our flesh and blood Savior:

Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

Meaning that Christ was made just as we are made:

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

There are two separate offerings… a sin offering and a trespass offering. The sin offering is for the fact that we are shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin. The sin offering is for what we are, sinful flesh and blood, while the trespass offering is for what we do.

If you would like to know Christ as His Father wants us to know him then I would suggest that you read The Law Of The Offerings series of studies on Is Was And Will Be at this link: The Law of the Offerings

The sin offering is for what we are, “shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin“. The trespass offering is for what we do in our bodies of sinful, corruptible flesh and blood.

Both phrases… “of a woman” and the phrase “made under the law” signify the fact that in the flesh Christ was made sin, as is all flesh:

2Co 5:21  For the man who knew no sin was made sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

So Christ in His flesh was still in a condition which could not inherit the kingdom of God:

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

The way the Father made Christ sin was not by simply declaring Him to be sin when Christ was crucified on the cross, rather Christ was made sin by the Father when He made Christ “of a woman” and made Christ “under the law”.

Christ Himself never claimed perfection in His flesh. These are His own words:

Luk 13:31  The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.
Luk 13:32  And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

And there is also these words of our Lord concerning Himself:

Mat 19:17  And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

Mar 10:18  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

Luk 18:19  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

“The third day” (Luk13:32) refers to His resurrection. That is when He and we are perfected. There is no perfection in dying, corruptible flesh and blood. Not even in the flesh and blood of Christ:

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

This all being True, Christ telling us He is not “good, there is none good but one, that is God” and His own flesh and blood being “corruption”, the fact is that Christ, in His flesh was suffering the same as we suffer:

Heb 2:18  For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

Heb 4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Heb 5:8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

We simply cannot say that Christ in the flesh was begotten in a perfected state and never suffered while learning obedience.

Now it is true that before Christ divested Himself of His divinity and came down into this death realm which King David calls “the valley of the shadow of death”, it is true that He was created perfect:

Php 2:6  who, subsisting in the form of God, did not esteem it an object of rapine to be on an equality with God;
Php 2:7  but emptied himself, taking a bondman’s form, taking his place in the likeness of men;
Php 2:8  and having been found in figure as a man, humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of the cross. (DARBY)

But He was created in that perfected condition for the sole purpose of becoming the ransom for the Father’s physical creation which was to be “shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin” (Psa 51:5), and this plan of redemption of the Father and Son’s physical creation was all planned “before the world began”:

1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Tit 1:2  In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

1Pe 1:20  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

This is all given to us to know if we are given eyes that see and ears that hear. Most Christians are totally unaware that God has their entire life and every day of their life “written in His book when as yet there were none of them”:

Psa 139:16  Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.(ASV)

It is the diabolical false doctrine of “free moral agency” which blinds the eyes of most all Christians from this Truth:

Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that hath mercy.

It is that same false doctrine which keeps them from believing this simply stated Truth:

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 

Why is it all as it is? Your flesh will not appreciate the scriptural answer to that very common question but this is why:

Col 1:19  For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
Col 1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven

The holy spirit anticipated this question coming from all of us and gives us this very blunt answer:

Rom 9:18  So then he hath mercy on whom he will, and whom he will be hardeneth.
Rom 9:19  Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he still find fault? For who withstandeth his will? 

That is the same spirit in us which asks why didn’t the Lord just make us all perfect from the beginning, and this is the Lord’s answer to both questions:

Rom 9:20  Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

The answer to that rhetorical question is that is exactly what the thing formed says to Him who formed us, but verse 21 is still The Truth:

Rom 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

When it is all said and done then we will all realize that the wisdom of God knows how to produce a family which is acquainted with contrast and appreciates the differences between hot and cold, light and darkness and good and evil.

I hope this has answered your question. All I have to offer  is scripture.

Your brother who struggles and rejoices with you,

Mike

1Ki 6:8-12 “I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel”

[Study Aired October 7, 2021]

1Ki 6:8  The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third. 
1Ki 6:9  So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.
1Ki 6:10  And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.
1Ki 6:11  And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying,
1Ki 6:12  Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:

When we look at the construction of the physical temple of Solomon, every part of it has some spiritual significance for God’s elect to draw wisdom from. The building of the temple, like Noah’s ark represents our working out our own salvation with fear and trembling knowing that it is God who is working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Php 2:12, Heb 11:7). God is preparing our hearts and warning us as Noah was warned, to be able to endure until the end (Amo 3:7), and we are learning together the strength that is ours when we operate together as one body, one ark, or one solid temple of God with Christ as our corner stone of support (Eph 2:19-20).

Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Heb 11:7  By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

Amo 3:7  Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Eph 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

If we are God’s workmanship in this age (Eph 2:10) then we’ll know that Solomon’s temple and all of the measured and fitted materials represent the words of God that we laboured for over the years ‘proving all things and holding fast that which is good’ (1Th 5:21) so that our Father and Christ will make their abode with us (Joh 14:20-23). It is with us that the manifest knowledge of Christ is made known through the church via God’s holy spirit, as the comforter leads us into all truth (Joh 16:13).

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
Joh 14:21  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him [(Eph 3:10) becoming measured and fitted materials by God’s power and might explained (Rev 11:1)].
Joh 14:22  Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world [Heb 13:10, Eph 3:10]?
Joh 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him [This is how God manifests Himself to us through every joint that supplieth – “every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” (Eph 4:16) which is the fruit that is brought forth if we are granted to continue to abide in Christ, keeping His words (Joh 14:25-26)].

Christ manifests Himself to His bride through the church, which is His body and temple that we are, which houses God’s spirit (Col 1:24, 1Co 3:16, Rom 8:9). The temple is where the gospel is being preached to all men (Col 1:28, 1Co 9:22) as the light of Christ shines forth from the temple where we worship God in spirit and in truth (Joh 4:23) and continue to stay unspotted from this world as we visit the fatherless and widows who represent the elect in their affliction; which affliction is central to our communion in Christ (Jas 1:27, 1Co 10:16).

Christ has promised to make his disciples fishers of men (Mat 4:19), who are learning to always be ready to give an answer for the hope of the gospel within them which is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (1Pe 3:15, Rom 1:16). As we near the end of this age, the witness of Christ will shine forth more and more to this dying world both within, and consequently outwardly, as He increases and we decrease (2Pe 1:19, Php 2:15).

2Pe 1:19  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

Php 2:15  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Php 2:16  Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

John the baptist was a physical witness who represents our own fleshly minds that can’t decrease without Christ increasing in our heavens, and so John’s type-and-shadow comforting words tell us that we must decrease and Christ must increase as was the case physically in his life having been beheaded (Mar 6:27). The spiritual reality for God’s elect is that we must be granted to continue in the truth which will cause our flesh to be put off as Christ increases within us through our being buried with Him into His spiritual baptism (Col 1:24) as John was not (Joh 3:30, 1Co 3:6, Rom 6:3).

We must follow Christ in order to be overcomers and fulfill our role of being witnesses in this age, and so we are promised that if we follow Christ (“Follow me”), we will be more than conquerors through Him, and the truth will set us free (Joh 8:32-36). Following Christ means our first Adamic head, represented by John the baptist, must be put off. The least in the kingdom is greater than John because of the new creation we have become through Christ who is our new head. John also represents the keeping of the law, which will never justify anyone (Mat 11:11, Gal 3:11).

Mat 4:19  And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men [Php 2:12-13].

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [“Follow me“] then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:33  They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
Joh 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Joh 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
Joh 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

The temple being built will be of little use unless its true function for the elect, of being the two witnesses within that temple, is accomplished, and once again we see that it has been prophesied to be accomplished not by might or power, but by God’s holy spirit which gives us the power to fulfill God’s will on earth as it is in heaven (Rev 11:3). If John was able to accomplish what he did in his flesh pointing to Christ, then it is certain that if we are Christ’s body, that we can be armed with the mind and suffering of Christ in order to overcome and witness to the world the life of Christ in us to which John was only pointing (Gal 2:20, Rom 5:10). John was pointing to the lamb of God Who would take away the sins of the world, but he was also unknowingly pointing to the saviours who would come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau, the body of Christ (Col 1:24, Oba 1:21).

In this section of Kings there is a bright admonition that was given to Solomon “Concerning this house which thou art in building” which went this way: “if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father.”  This admonition to Solomon symbolizes our need to not only be hearers of the word who have built up our knowledge of God, represented by the temple, but doers of the word who now must lay a good foundation of predestined works against the day of evil that is to come upon this world (Mat 7:24, Eph 6:14-15, 1Ti 6:19, 2Ti 2:19).

Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

1Ti 6:19  Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

2Ti 2:19  Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his [and I will make you fishers of men]. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity [We depart from iniquity by believing these words (Php 2:12-13)].

God is the only one who can permit (Heb 6:3) our hearts to be softened (Heb 12:6-7) in order to be received so we can lay up this foundation of good works, otherwise we will be found in the second resurrection having to have that hardened foundation softened through judgment at that time (Rom 2:5, Heb 6:1).

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

Rom 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

Heb 6:1  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

Our future and present ability to overcome is accompanied with the promise that Christ will never leave or forsake us (Heb 13:5) as we go about our Father’s business of being fishers of men. A blueprint for God’s people regarding how His power will be used in the lives of those who have been called and chosen and remain faithful unto death as living sacrifices or witnesses with God’s power in their lives (Rom 12:1-2, Rev 11:7-8) can be found in these verses in Matthew 10:8-42, verses that represent the works and fruit that will manifest in us if our Father and Christ are abiding in us and we are continuing in the truth (Joh 15:5, Joh 5:30, Joh 8:31-32). Our life in Christ is one of witnessing to the kingdom of God, of which we are ambassadors, and how we pronounce that kingdom to the world is detailed in these verses (Mat 10:8-42). None of this is possible without Christ in us, but through Him we can be the light of the world that glorifies God in what we do and say in this life (Mat 5:14).

With such exceedingly great and precious promises in our lives, we can be assured that with the faith of Christ and the determined hand of our Father who is working all things according to the counsel of His will (Eph 1:11), we will be more than conquerors through Him who loved us, and the witness to which we have been called will be accomplished through the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ, who is the true and faithful witness (Rom 5:10, Mat 16:18, Heb 12:2, Php 1:6, Rev 3:14).

Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

These verses (Mat 10:8-42) represent the witness that must come forth and will come forth through the body of Christ. It is a testimony of what Christ is going to do through the church, not what He might do, or that we in our flesh may prevent God from accomplishing, but rather it represents the fruit that is born out of the church that Christ is building (Mat 16:18). If it is Christ’s church, it will flourish and a witness will manifest and fruit will remain and be established and the tree will be known by its fruit (Joh 15:16).

We need wisdom to know how to walk in this age as we are led by the spirit of God with the knowledge He gives us to know how to discern spirits as we interact with the world today and minister to each other as we go through this life of much tribulation and judgment that is upon God’s house (1Pe 4:17). If we are in that blessed and holy first resurrection, these words of Christ will be no less applicable for the period of time when the true gospel will go out to all nations, with various degrees of acceptance and non-acceptance, always all unfolding according to the counsel of God’s own will (Mat 10:8-42, Mat 11:21).

Mat 16:18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it [within me].

Joh 15:16  Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you [to be fishers of men who know that the seed of God that we plant will not return void (Isa 55:11)].
Joh 15:17  These things I command you, that ye love one another.

In this section of the book of Kings, the temple that Solomon built was announced to be finished: “So he built the house, and finished it“. Christ’s physical life was also announced to be ready to do the work God had set before him in (Luke 2:52). Solomon’s temple was finished and made ready to serve its function, just as Christ’s life and the body of Christ represented by the temple (1Jn 4:17) will be made ready to fulfill our function in God’s plan (Col 2:17). The witness can now go forth through the body of Christ in power and might as we fill up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ, not by physical might or power but by God’s holy spirit that is the hope of glory that we have within making this possible (Act 1:8, Rev 11:3, Col 1:24, Col 1:27, Php 4:13).

1Ki 6:8  The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third.

The middle chamber is the one which is six cubits (1Ki 6:6) which represents the number of man, so “winding stairs” that go up “and out of the middle into the third” are a witness to the process of judgment our carnal nature must go through in order to go on to perfection in the third chamber, which is seven cubits, the number for completion. It is found “in the right side of the house” as the “right” represents power, specifically the power of God which we will need to overcome. The stairs do not go straight up and down like an elevator, because God’s plan and our growth is not a linear event, but rather our Father gives us hope of what is ahead of us and a vision as such that sustains us through the body of Christ, through the angels of God that ascend and descend these stairs (Gen 28:12).

Gen 28:12  And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

Christ’s growth in us is predetermined and likened to Jacob’s ladder, where we ascend up and down that ladder which represents Christ. Christ’s purpose within us is never going to be thwarted seeing He is the One who is accomplishing this work within us as we are taught that it is through the chastening in this life that our ways are made straight as we learn to forsake ungodliness and worldly lusts (Tit 2:12, Joh 1:23). There can be no ascending or descending of Christ in our life if grace and faith are not effectively a part of our day-to-day walk which, as we mentioned in last week’s study, is the reason why the first chamber is five cubits, which begins this process of being able to ascend into the third chamber as we die daily, being saved by the grace and faith of Christ (Joh 3:13, Eph 2:8).

The angels Jacob saw in his dream on that ladder represent the body of Christ and its various functions in Christ’s body found in Ephesians 4:9-13.

Eph 4:9  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
Eph 4:10  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) [Eph 6:12, Eph 1:21]
Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

1Ki 6:9  So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.

Building the house and finishing it is not the same as continuing in the truth in order to be saved, which is what is required to become fishers of men (Joh 8:31-32, 1Ti 4:16, 1Jn 4:6). In type and shadow, however, the stage has been set to continue in the truth: God’s servant Solomon was used to cover “the house with beams and boards of cedar”.

Those “beams and boards” are produced from cedar trees that are non fruit-bearing trees that represent the knowledge and experience of Christ we had in Babylon that needs to now be rightly divided by Christ and properly fitted into the temple of God. We can have a lot of understanding with no true conversion or comprehension in our hearts as Hebrews 6:1-6 teaches us, but if God will permit (Heb 6:3), those beams and boards, which now cover the house, will resonate with a new relationship of maturity in Christ where we worship our Father in spirit and in truth (Joh 4:23).

The beams represent the strength of Christ that is ours when we are obedient to our Lord (Act 5:32), and the boards of cedar represent the beauty of holiness (Psa 92:12, Psa 96:9) that comes about by rightly dividing the word of truth (2Ti 2:15).

The temple is also likened to a bride coming down from heaven who is adorned, and so all these elements that make up the physical temple represent that preparing or strengthening of the body of Christ taking place in our lives if God has ordained it (Rev 21:2, Rev 19:7).

1Ti 4:16  Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

1Jn 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews [Rom 2:28-29].
Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

1Ki 6:10  And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.
1Ki 6:11  And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying,

Again the mention of how they “built chambers against all the house, five cubits high:” accompanied with the thought “and they rested on the house with timber of cedar” tells us that we labour to enter into the rest of Christ represented by those “chambers” and that it is “by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8, Php 2:12). The “five cubits” represent that grace through faith process whereby we are being saved when we find our rest in Christ which comes to us through the storms of this life God raises and through which we labour (Heb 4:11) and are delivered from (Psa 107:25-29).

It is through much tribulation that we enter into the rest of Christ (Act 14:22), and it is when we experience this communion of suffering found in our Lord’s body that the “word of the Lord” then comes to us (1Co 10:16, Luk 24:30-32).

1Co 10:16  The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

Luk 24:30  And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
Luk 24:31  And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight [Joh 20:29].
Luk 24:32  And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

1Ki 6:12  Concerning this house which thou art in building^{H1129 [H8802]}, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:

Solomon, who is a type of the elect, is now given the house rules so to speak of this marvellous temple “Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them“, and was told if he did these things “then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father“.  We are being told, in type and shadow, that if Solomon/we will continue in being a doer of the word, then God will “perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father“.

God’s word being ‘performed with David’ symbolizes the life of Christ that is faithful and well pleasing to God. David’s life typified Christ as a man who was after God’s own heart (1Sa 13:14, Joh 8:29), and with Christ in our ‘built and finished temple as our hope of glory’ (Col 1:27), we can fulfill the spiritual function of this temple which we are, as God gives us that increase making this possible (1Co 3:6). It is that love and care the body of Christ has for each other which is a gift from God typified by David’s love of the Lord (Eph 4:16) which Solomon was admonished to show by walking “in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments” (Joh 14:15).

1Sa 13:14  But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

Joh 8:29  And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

1Co 3:6  I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Without God giving us the increase which comes from him, we can water and plant all day long, or build glorious churches in the name of the Lord, or temples as Solomon did, but the only one through whom God is going to give us increase is the one who is our mediator (1Ti 2:5) and the one through whom we are accepted (Joh 15:5, Eph 1:6).

The lesson for God’s elect today is that we must be given to keep dying daily and give God all the glory and honour in every aspect of everything we do, confidently rejoicing that our names are written in heaven (Php 1:6, Php 4:4, Rev 19:7-8, Luk 10:20) making it possible for us to go through a process of maturing in the Lord that will make us “meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (1Co 10:31-32, 1Ch 29:14, 2Ti 2:21).

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Php 4:4  Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Luk 10:20  Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

1Co 10:31  Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
1Co 10:32  Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:

1Ch 29:14  But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.

2Ti 2:21  If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.

These verses mentioned earlier in the study in Matthew 10:8-42 explain the life of witnessing that will happen in our lives when these type and shadow words which applied to Solomon apply to God’s children today who are now able to accomplish and fulfill God’s will, not by might or power, but by God’s holy spirit “then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father“.

God will perform his word with us, if we keep His commandments, and if we keep His commandments our Father and Christ will abide with us and make Their abode with us (Joh 14:23) as we have been promised (Joh 14:13-17, Joh 15:10-11, Joh 14:13). Our desire with Christ in us as our hope of glory will be to preach the gospel to all nations as a witness, which Christ is doing through us everyday as we die daily and are ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us as His workmanship who need not be ashamed (2Ti 2:15, Rom 1:16-17, Mat 10:32).

Joh 14:13  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Joh 14:14  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Joh 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Joh 15:10  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
Joh 15:11  These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

Joh 14:13  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

1Jn 5:14  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
1Jn 5:15  And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

2Ti 2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Rom 1:17  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith [Gal 2:20].

Mat 10:32  Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

Christ will not deny Himself in this process of turning us into fishers of men as He witnesses to all the world through us of God’s power and might working boldly within us (2Ti 2:13). That is the promise God’s elect have been given which was typified in the promise made to Israel on behalf, or for the sake of, the elect who are the Israel of God (Gal 6:16): “I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel“

Hey there,

​Y​our study translates Gen 1:27 as creating is God man in his image, which contradicts all other translation. Can you please elaborate on your interpretation. It makes more sense but are there any references,​ etc. to back up this interpretation.

Gen 1:27 And creating is the Elohim humanity in His image. In the image of the Elohim He creates
male and female He creates them.

God bless,

S____

Hi S____​,

Thank you for your question. You quoted:

Gen 1:27 And creating is the Elohim humanity in His image. In the image of the Elohim He creates it. Male and female He creates them.

​Just for your information, that translation is the Concordant Literal Version (CLV). Most literal versions of the bible will agree that the verb ‘created’, as it is translated in the King James, is not a completed action, but God is still in the process of continuing the process of His creation.

Then you ask:

Can you please elaborate on your interpretation. It makes more sense but are there any references etc to back up this interpretation?

​Oh, ​y​es, there are many references to back up that translation for anyone who is given, as Christ puts it, “eyes that see and ears that hear the mysteries of the kingdom of God”

Mat 13:3  And he [Jesus] spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
Mat 13:4  And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
Mat 13:5  Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
Mat 13:6  And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
Mat 13:7  And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
Mat 13:8  But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
Mat 13:9  Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

The Purpose of the Parables

Mat 13:10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 
Mat 13:14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15  For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

​Here we have our Lord Himself informing us that He speaks to the multitudes of those who come to hear His words in parables “lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should “[be] converted, and… [be] heal[ed]”.

​Those are Christ’s words in answer to His disciples’ question “Why do you speak to the multitudes in parables?” His answer is just as true today as it was when our Lord spoke these words. His parables, until this very day,​ are working their blinding work to such a degree that the average Sunday school teacher teaches, with no contradiction from any minister, that Christ spoke in parables to make His message so clear that a child could understand His message. I myself believed that lie for many years, and was completely blinded to the words, ‘Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to [the multitudes of Christianity] it is not given.’

​With that knowledge, the answer to your question becomes much easier to understand. God and His Son are not, at this time, working to save this world. Christ Himself told us the opposite is true at this time, and that He is working in this age to “blind those who [think they] see”:

Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40  And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

​These Pharisees typify the religious establishment of that day, and it is the religious establishment of today who “say [they] see [and] therefore [their] sin remains”.

In answer to your question, any Hebrew scholar knows that…

Gen 1:27 And creating is the Elohim humanity in His image. In the image of the Elohim He creates it. Male and female He creates them.

​…is written in the Hebrew ‘qal‘ stem, which accounts for over 2/3 (66.7%) of the Hebrew verbs in the Old Testament. Here is a cut and paste from e-sword concerning the qal verb stem in the Old Testament Hebrew:

H8851
Qal
Qal is the most frequently used verb pattern. It expresses the “simple” or “causal” action of the root in the active voice.

Examples:

He sat,  he ate,  he went,  he said,  he rose,  he bought

This form accounts for 66.7% of the verbs parsed.

​The qal stem in the active voice is the English equivalent of the present progressive. It is an ongoing process as the Lord Himself tells us:

Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

​The fact that God was only beginning to make man in His image at the end of the sixth day is very clear in these New Testament statements:

2Ti 1:9  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Tit 1:2  In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; 

​There are other translations which use the correct verb tense to show the creation of Adam and Eve was not complete when they were formed as flesh. One such translation is Young’s Literal Translation which correctly indicates this creation is still in progress and won’t be completed in the person of Adam until he is ‘perfected’, that spiritual creation which is changed from physical to spiritual.

Gen 1:27 And God prepareth (in other words, He is preparing) the man in His image; in the image of God prepared him, a male and a female He prepared them.

​God’s elect were selected for that calling “in Christ Jesus before the world began”. Clearly God knew long before He created Adam and Eve that they would eat of the tree of the forbidden fruit and would need a Savior, whom He had already prepared and had already “slain from the foundation of the world”. Look at just a few of the things God knew “from the foundation of the world”:

Mat 13:35  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. 

Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 

Luk 11:50  That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;

Heb 4:3  For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 

Rev 13:8  And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 

Our Creator “calls those things which be not as though they were”.

Rom 4:17  (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. 

​Knowing this great Truth, it becomes clear that flesh and blood were never intended to inherit the kingdom of God from “before the world began”:

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 

​We are even told that from the beginning “the first man… Adam” was intended to first ‘bear the image of the earthy”, as a necessary “predestined” evil which God is working after the counsel of His own will, which will is that in the end “all in Adam [will] bear the image of the heavenly”:

1Co 15:47  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

It is earlier in this same chapter we are informed:

1Co 15:21  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

I hope all these scriptures help you to see that the six-day creation was just the beginning of the work God is doing with mankind as He is making mankind in “the image of the heavenly”. Even “the last Adam” who at this time is contained “in earthen vessels” within us, must still relinquish these bodies of flesh and blood, and at the resurrection, put on a new spiritual body which has no place for the corruption which is this “flesh and blood” of His prototype of “the last Adam”, Christ. It is “in Christ” that we were predestinated to be called and chosen “before the world began”.

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Eph 1:4  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

​Our heavenly Father is doing “all things… according to the good pleasure of His will”, not according to our fabled ‘free will’.

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Your brother in Christ,

Mike

Hi Mike,

I was reading a letter in FAQ about wisdom being referred to as ‘she’. Great Scriptural answer, but one thing came very clear to my mind…something I hadn’t really seen or consiously noticed.

So what do “the things that are made” reveal concerning “his eternal power and godhead”? Who exactly is the head who relates to “His eternal power and Godhead”?

Eve was said to be a woman because ‘woman’ means ‘out of man’, and Eve came out from Adam, the man.

Gen 2:20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
Gen 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
Gen 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Gen 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

Can I see this spiritually like this?

Gen 2:20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.
Gen 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
Gen 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from Himself, made he Christ, and brought Him unto Himself.
Gen 2:23 And God said, This is now Spirit of My Spirit, He shall be called Immanuel, because He was taken out of Me.

I always understood that Christ came from the Father, but I never saw it so clearly that Christ actually is from the Father, like the rib was taken from Adam to create Eve.

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

I was expecting that the Hebrew word for everlasting would be “olam”, but is is not; it is…

H5703
עד
‛ad
ad

From H5710; properly a (peremptory) terminus, that is, (by implication) duration, in the sense of perpetuity (substantially as a noun, either with or without a preposition): – eternity, ever (-lasting, -more), old, perpetually, + world without end.

I have no clue how Strong can say that it is properly a terminus and in the same sentence call it eternity. Looking up H5710 I find this:

H5710
עדה
‛âdâh
aw-daw’

A primitive root; to advance, that is, pass on or continue; causatively to remove; specifically to bedeck (that is, bring an ornament upon): – adorn, deck (self), pass by, take away.

That Christ is a “terminus” Father makes 1Co 15:28 clear…Christ is a Father to us untill “the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.”

1Co 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

During this “terminus” Christ will make us to advance from physical to spiritual, to pass us on, make us continue from physical to spiritual, to bedeck us, to bring an ornament (Himself) upon us…I see a clear process in H5702 and 5710…a proces with a terminus…a duration.

The word “everlasting” is as a cloud blocking the Sun.

Is this making sense to you?

Your brother in Christ,

R____

Hi R____,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I am very blessed to be on the receiving end of the revelations God is giving to so many.

Eph 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

The answer to your question is a definite, yes, you can say that about Christ in a spiritual sense eventually all that are in Christ:

Gen 2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from Himself, made he Christ, and brought Him unto Himself.
Gen 2:23 And God said, This is now Spirit of My Spirit, He shall be called Immanuel, because He was taken out of Me.

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
Col 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

That is what is meant by this verse in Revelation 3:

Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

We are to Christ what Christ is to His Father. That is what Christ meant when He made this statement:

Joh 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

It is a legitimate question to ask, How are we one with Christ? The Biblical answer is that we are one with Christ as a wife is one with her husband.

Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Eph 5:28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
Eph 5:29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Eph 5:31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Eph 5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

So when Christ prays for us to be kept one “as we [He and His Father] are one”, we would be less than honest to deny that Christ came out from His Father and is subject to His Father just as Eve came out from the man, Adam, and is to be subject to the man.

This is all extremely important to understand because there are many who, not understanding how Christ centric are the scriptures, deny that Christ is being referred to in Isaiah 54:6-8 where He is referred to as a wife who somehow is forsaken and shown the wrath of her husband.

Isa 54:6 For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
Isa 54:7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
Isa 54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

It is obvious to anyone that this is referring to Israel, but then so is Hosea 11:1.

Hos 11:1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.
Hos 11:2 As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.

Christ certainly never “sacrificed unto Baalim [nor did He] burn incense to graven images”, and yet we are told this:

Mat 2:15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

The holy spirit must grant us to see that we are God’s Israel, and that as such we are in Christ and are Christ’s own Christ because we are all one in spirit. Only then will we ever understand how the apostles understood the scriptures. Only when we are granted to understand that those who are Christ’s are the true circumcision, the true Jew, and “the Israel of God”, will we be granted to understand that all that is said of the one, refers also to the others. The apostles understood this principle, and applied it as if it were so well understood that they didn’t even need to explain it. Matthew 2:15 is but one of many examples of that.

We have been extremely blessed to see and to understand this principle. In God’s own time all of mankind will be “in Christ” spiritually and will therefore be God’s Christ. Thank you for adding your insight.

Your brother in God’s Christ,

Mike

Hi Mike,

I have been reading from your site off and on for a while now, and really enjoy your views and understandings of the Word. The institutional “church”, in my opinion, seems to be lacking in understanding of what “Christianity” is. If the whole world lies in deceit, it would behoove each of us then to implore the Spirit to show us where we are deceived. It is troubling, in a sense, not to believe the things that most of “Christendom” believes and to believe things which makes me, in their words, a “non- Christian”. ‘If you don’t believe this and that way, Brother, you are not His.’ Well, I don’t think so.
It seems that the apostle Paul, the only apostle taught by the resurrected Christ, didn’t have an understanding of the ‘Blessed Holy Trinity’, as virtually all of his greetings in his epistles and letters refer only to “God” and to the Lord Jesus. Also, if the Holy Spirit as a separate individual descended onto Mary, wouldn’t the child be the Son of ‘The Third Person of The Most Holy Blessed Trinity’ instead of God? There is only One God and His Son, The Lord.
For the last couple of years I’ve been doing study and research on what “In Christ” means. I have a thought that I would like your opinion on. Act 17:28 tells us ‘In Him we live and move and have our being’. In Revelation we find that Christ is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. In the book of Genesis we find that in the Beginning “God” created the heaven and earth. In Ephesians we find that we were placed in Christ before the foundation of the world. My thought is: The Beginning is not only a reference to time, but also a place, i. e. Christ in which everything was created! The Alpha then is Christ, and everything then indeed exists in Him, and He is the Beginning of the creation of “God” . Everything is about Christ, Christ is all and in all! Amazing, wonderful Christ! Awaiting your thoughts.

Thanks Mike,
E____

Hi E____,

Thank you for your question and I am pleased to know you enjoy reading iswasandwillbe. com.
You certainly are right about the “institutional church”. The fact is that just as the church of Christ’s day delivered him up to the secular powers for treason, saying “We have no king but Caesar” so too, today it would be the orthodox Christian church who would lead the mob to deliver “our Lord and His Christ” up to be crucified for simply speaking and following the words of our Lord.
You are very observant to note that no New Testament writer ever speaks of the holy spirit as a person, but rather as “the holy spirit of God… the Father, of whom are all things”.

1Co 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Your last question concerns the doctrine of “the Christ”, which is who we are in Christ.
It is nothing less than the holy spirit which has caused you to note that God created the heavens and the earth “in the beginning”. This word here in Gen 1:1 happens to be the same word which is translated ‘firstfruits’ in all these verses:

Lev_2:12, Lev_23:10, Num_18:12, Deu_26:10, 2Ch_31:5, Neh_10:37, Neh_12:44, Pro_3:9, Jer_2:3, Eze_20:40, Eze_48:14

Since Christ is “the firstfruits”, then it follows that it was ‘in Him’ that God did all of His creating, and lo and behold, that is exactly what we are told:

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Col 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

There are many writings on iswasandwillbe. com on this doctrine. Here are a couple of them. Please read these, and then if you still have a question, feel free to get back to me.
http:// www. iswasandwillbe. com/ Lacking_ of_ His_ Afflictions. php
http:// www. iswasandwillbe. com/ Just_ How_ Christ_ Centric_ Is_ Scripture. php

Your brother in Christ,
Mike

Hi Mike,
I feel honored that you would invite me up to your place! (or down I guess it would be?) I really would enjoy getting to talk with you in person. I am not sure if I would be able to make it in December depending on my exam schedule.
Until then, I have a question.

“But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. FOR THIS CAUSE shall a man leave his father and his mother, and cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh; so then they are no more twain, but one flesh; WHAT THEREFORE, GOD HATH JOINED TOGETHER, let not man put asunder.” Matt. 10:6-9.

Is God saying that my mother and father are a primary responsibility of mine until I am married? (Lord willing) Certainly he is not saying we should live with our parents until we’re married. What does “for this cause, shall a man leave his father and mother mean?
Thanks for your time and patience.
R____

Hi R____,
The honor would be mine, if ever you have the opportunity to come down to Georgia and visit with us.
You ask:
” Is God saying that my mother and father are a primary responsibility of mine until I am married?”
No, that is not what Christ was saying. It is true that children ought to take care of older parents instead of placing them under the care of total strangers when this is at all possible. But the point Christ is making here is that a married couple cannot be “one flesh” while living under the roof of either of their parents. The parents tend to want to dominate the lives of the children, who should be trying to please each other, and the children tend to want to please their parents instead of their mate.

Eph 6:1  Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
Col 3:20  Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord

But we are not to remain as little children in Christ:

Gal 4:1  Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gal 4:2  But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3  Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.

So when you get married you need to “leave your father and mother,” and separate yourself from the daily influence of your parents, and be one flesh.
No, your healthy, middle aged parents are not your responsibility:

 2Co 12:14  Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

Our Father in heaven provides for us and not vice- versa.
I hope this helps you to see what the scriptures say on this subject. God’s ways really are good ways to live by. They are what works.
I hope you can come to visit!
Mike