November 2020,

Much is said of coming to Jesus, but how can I come? He is in heaven, how can I go there and speak with him. I am told that he is everywhere, but I cannot see him, and how then can I go to him?

Thanks,

R____

Hi R____,

Thank  you for your questions. It is a pleasure to hear from you, and I hope to answer your questions to your satisfaction.

Your questions are all of a spiritual nature, so if I do answer them to your satisfaction it will only be because the Lord Himself has given you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may know what is the hope of His calling and what [is] the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints (Eph 1:17-18).

Christ made it clear that His gospel wasn’t intended to be understood by the masses and multitudes who came to Him. Keeping the multitudes from understanding “the mysteries of the kingdom of God” was the very reason why He taught the multitudes with parables:

Mat 13:2  And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
Mat 13:3  And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

Notice how Christ ends the telling of this parable of the sower:

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.

Christ’s disciples wanted to know why He spoke to the multitudes in parables, so Christ answered their question for our benefit:

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.
Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

There it is! The multitudes of Christians, who actually teach for the most part that Christ spoke in parables to make His meaning clear to the common people of His day, in teaching that lie, are demonstrating for those who have spiritual ears and spiritual eyes that the parables of Christ, which were given to the multitudes for the very purpose of keeping them from seeing and hearing “the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven”, are apparently accomplishing that purpose up until this very day!

Therefore when you ask me:

“Much is said of coming to Jesus, but how can I come? He is in heaven, how can I go there and speak with him. I am told that he is everywhere, but I cannot see him, and how then can I go to him?” (End Quote)

You must understand that since Christ’s very parables are designed to blind the masses from knowing the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, there is only one way in which you can hope to “come to Him”, and this is that ‘one way’:

Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

The fact that this verse is mistranslated in so many versions of scripture is a testimony to the fact that the Lord is actually in the process of keeping spiritual matters hidden from the multitudes who come to Christ at this very moment. God simply has not given the masses of Christianity to understand or to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

The Greek word which is translated as ‘draw’ in this verse is ‘helkuo‘, and this is how this word is defined in Strong’s Concordance:

G1670
ἑλκύω, ἕλκω
helkuō    helkō
hel-koo’-o, hel’-ko
Probably akin to G138; to drag (literally or figuratively): – draw. Compare G1667.
Total KJV occurrences: 8

One of the other entries where this Greek word is translated as ‘drew’ is:

Joh 21:11  Simon Peter went up, and drew [G1670] the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.

Fish do not volunteer to come out of the water. Peter had to drag the net to the land. No man can come to God except the spirit drags Him. 

It is my fervent prayer for you that the Father is dragging you to Himself and that He is in the process of giving you spiritual eyes which are capable of knowing Him and knowing His voice when you read His word, and when you are reading the iswasandwillbe.com website.

This is what Christ has to say about those to whom He has given ears to hear and eyes that see the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven:

Joh 10:1  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door [Christ is the door – verse 7 and 9] into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
Joh 10:2  But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
Joh 10:3  To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
Joh 10:4  And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
Joh 10:6  This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.
Joh 10:7  Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
Joh 10:8  All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
Joh 10:9  I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

As we learned in Matthew 13, those who “enter in by the door” are dragged by the Father to do so. It is my prayer that our Father in heaven is dragging you to Himself. That is how you can be like Christ and be in heaven even as He stood here on this earth:

Joh 3:13  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

We are informed that we, too, “are in heaven” if we are truly ‘in Christ’. Here is that revelation for those who are given eyes that see and ears that hear the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven:

Eph 2:6 and rouses us together and seats us together among the celestials, in Christ Jesus, (CLV)

With all of these instructions from the Word of God let’s go back to your questions and answer them in the order you present them;

Much is said of coming to Jesus, but how can I come?

As Christ tells us, we cannot come to Him “except the Father drag us to Him[self] (Joh 6:44). That ‘dragging’ is not a pleasant experience as the story of Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus demonstrates. When we are being dragged to Christ, it is “through much tribulation”:

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

The few who are being dragged to Christ are indeed few, even though many are being called:

Mat 20:16  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

As the chosen “few” we are being prepared to rule with Christ as kings and priests. Therefore our training is far more demanding than simple boot camp or even officer’s training. Kings and priests must be proven to be willing to do everything they do “after the counsel of His own will” (Eph 1:11) and not waver in that commitment:

Rev 1:6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

Rev 5:10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

If indeed the Lord is dragging you to Himself, nothing you do will stop Him from doing His pleasure in your life. ​L​ike Saul of Tarsus who became Paul the apostle, you will be brought to deep repentance for your sins, and you, too, will ask the Lord:

Act 9:6  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

It is my fervent prayer that the Lord will drag you to Himself.

Your next question is:

“He is in heaven, how can I go there and speak with him. I am told that he is everywhere, but I cannot see him, and how then can I go to him?”

It is true that “No man has seen God at any time” physically because He is spirit, and spirit is invisible to the human eye just like wind and electricity. However, being invisible does not preclude one from seeing both Christ and His Father with “the eyes of your understanding”, as I quoted it to you at the beginning of this email (Eph 1:18).

Joh 1:18  No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. 

1Jn 4:12  No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 

Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Ask the Lord for the faith to believe what you read here. “God dwells in us.” Heaven is a spiritual realm in which all physical creation is enveloped. Heaven is not a physical planet in the far reaches of the universe. Here is a link to an article on that subject:
What and Where is Heaven?

If the Lord gives you the faith to believe that “He dwells within you” then you will also be given spiritual “eyes that see and ears that hear… the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven”, of which Christ spoke in Matthew 13:10-15.

The apostles Thomas and Philip had the same question you ask, and this is how the Lord answered them:

Joh 14:2  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Joh 14:3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Joh 14:4  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
Joh 14:5  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Joh 14:8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
Joh 14:9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

I can do no better than the Lord Himself. We see the Father and Christ with “the eyes of our understanding” if we are given those ‘eyes’. We all ‘see Christ’ and we ‘see the Father’ with spiritual eyesight which works together with the gift of faith, and we bring nothing to the Lord’s table. It is He who is “working all things after the counsel of His own 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:

Those who come to Christ in this present time (Rom 8:18) are predestined to do so before they were born:

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)

Such predestination does not negate the necessity of entering the kingdom of heaven through much tribulation… by grace through faith:

I will begin quoting Ephesians 2 where we are told that we are saved by grace through faith, but I will begin in verse 6, which I quoted above to demonstrate that we are at this very moment in the heavens, seated there with Christ even as we “endure hardship as a good soldier” for Christ:

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
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.

I hope and pray the Lord will “enlighten the eyes of your understanding” so you can “see the Father” and “see Christ” so you can go to Him and cast all your cares upon Him.

You need to understand these verses of scripture as you seek to know Him:

Mat 25:37  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:42  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43  I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Mat 25:44  Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 

Here our Lord is telling us plainly that we are He, Himself, and He repeats this truth to Saul of Tarsus:

Act 9:5  And he [Saul of Tarsus, later to be renamed the apostle Paul] said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

Those are Christ’s own words, and we will do well to believe those words and show our love toward each other as “the Lord and His Christ”:

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. 

Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

It is my fervent prayer these verses will help you to “see the Father and see Christ”.

Your brother in Christ in Flowery Branch, Georgia, U.S.A., Mike

Sir,

​I understand the principles of nephesh and rauch from Old Testament and corresponding New Testament words.  I have kept all of the old articles and understand the idea of the three heavens, both physical and spiritual.

​My questioning comes from the similarity of the two scriptures in 2 Corinthians 5:8 and Philippians 1:23. Looks to me that this is where orthodoxy gets their ‘mystical theology’ of ‘something between death and resurrection.’

​Just wondered if you might give me a heads up from your scriptural perspective.

Hope that things are well with you and yours.

Respectfully,​

D​____

Hi D​____,

Thank you for your question.

​I pray you are given to receive the Biblical Truth that God’s word must be taken in its sum before you can arrive at what it actually teaches.

Psa 119:160  The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever. ​(ESV)​

​Not understanding this Truth has contributed to the 40 thousand divisions of Christ, which we call Christian denominations.

1Co 1:12  Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul [Baptist]; and I of Apollos [Methodist]; and I of Cephas [Pentecostal]; and I of Christ [There are a few who know who it was that was crucified for us all].
1Co 1:13  Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

​Christ is not divided,​ but many who want to wear His name will not eat His food or wear His garments:

Isa 4:1  And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

​If you are back in church with the knowledge of scripture you mention in this e-mail you may well discover that your church knows​ little of “the principles of nephesh and rauch from OT and corresponding NT words… the idea of the three heavens, both physical and spiritual.”

​What will happen in your church with this knowledge has already been written in the Lord’s book of your life (Psa 139:16), so I will give you more of “the sum of [His] Word” concerning these verses about which you inquire.

Here are the verses you mentioned:

2Co 5:8  We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Php 1:23  For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Php 1:24  Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

​It seems that it was only yesterday that I myself quoted these two verses to some Jehovah’s Witnesses who were telling me that dead people really were dead, and I myself, not knowing I was doing so, changed the word ‘and’ to ‘is’, making 2Co 5:98 say… “to be absent from the body, [is] to be present with the Lord”, and making Php 1:23 say… “to depart, [is] to be with Christ”.

​But when we consider “the sum of [His] Word” (Psa 119:160, ASV) we see that the scriptures nowhere teach that ‘to be absent from the body IS to be present with the Lord’ or that ‘to depart IS to be with Christ’. Rather, what we learn is that the New Testament apostles taught that if there is not a resurrection from the dead,​ then they that are asleep in Christ are perished:

1Co 15:16  For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
1Co 15:17  And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
1Co 15:18  Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
1Co 15:19  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
1Co 15:20  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

Peter tells us that King David “is not ascended into the heavens”:

Act 2:34  For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
Act 2:35  Until I make thy foes thy footstool.

What is Peter’s logic which proves to Peter that “David is not ascended into the heavens”? This is how he knew that was true:

Act 2:29  Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.

​That statement accords with the consistent doctrine Christ gave to Adam and Eve:

Gen 2:17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

​The Lord did not threaten Adam with eternal torment for his immortal soul if he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Instead he told Adam that the wages of sin were death. “In the day you eat thereof you will surely die”.

​What is the New Testament doctrine concerning the fruit of our sins?​

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rom 6:21  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

Rom 7:5  For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

​There is no mention by any of the New Testament writers of eternal torment as the wages of sin. “The wages of sin is death” is the doctrine of both the Old and the New Testaments, not roasting in hell forever.

​I remember well how upset I became with those Jehovah’s Witnesses when they showed me this verse of scripture:

Ecc 9:5  For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

​I will close with one more of many examples from scripture which demonstrate that to die is to be dead:

Ecc 3:18  I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
Ecc 3:19  For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
Ecc 3:20  All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 

​There you have much more of “the sum of [His] Word”. Here in Ecclesiastes you have the Biblical doctrine of what happens to a person at his death spoken in very clear words. Men and beast have the same experience at death… “a man hath no preeminence above a beast…All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.” Men are beasts and “have no preeminence above a beast”. Men neither go to eternal torment at death, nor do they “ascend into the heavens” at death. These verses agree with the doctrine Christ gave to Adam in the garden of Eden:

Gen 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

​God did not tell Adam, ‘An immortal soul you are, and to eternal torment you will go.​’ It wasn’t the Lord who told Adam “You will not surely die”. That is the doctrine of the serpent, and most Christians to this day, just like Adam and Eve, believe the serpent over the Lord.

Gen 3:4  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: [‘you have an immortal soul’]

​That is what deceived men yet believe instead of the Lord’s words, “You will surely die… dust you are and to dust you will return”.

So what did Paul mean by telling us:

2Co 5:8  We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Php 1:23  For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Php 1:24  Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

​What Paul is telling us is that he was ready to die AND to be with Christ. This was his state of mind at this time:

2Ti 4:6  For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
2Ti 4:7  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
2Ti 4:8  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

​It is Paul who told us “if the dead rise not they who have fallen asleep in Christ are perished”. It is also Paul who tells us that it is only at the resurrection that we are “raised a spiritual body”:

1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

​”The righteous Judge will give [Pau]… a spiritual body… at [the resurrection] day”. And as Paul tells us “and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

What Paul is telling us in the following verses…​

2Co 5:8  We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Php 1:23  For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Php 1:24  Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

​…​is that he knew “the dead know not anything” (Ecc 9:5) and that when he drew his last breath, that he would be totally unaware of the passing of time, and that his next conscious moment would be in the presence of Christ at the resurrection with a new spiritual body which would no longer be subject to death. Paul knew that until that day he was yet a mortal man, subject to death:

1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1Co 15:54  So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

​I hope all these verses of scripture from both the Old and the New Testaments, have served to show you what Paul meant by saying he was “willing… to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord”.

Your brother in Christ, Mike

[Here is another letter dealing with the same question:]

I am just utterly disgusted with myself after reading this paper Strong Delusion. How could I be so blind…. I got most of it, but why do you call this strong meat? – “But strong meat [“I am crucified WITH CHRIST”]?

I do not understand. I know the verse, and yes, believe it, but I now know I have been a babe who knew the word in context for 10 years, but not as a mature Christian .
B____

Hi B____,

I am gratified that you are beginning to see that “that old serpent [has indeed] deceived the whole world.”

Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

You ask:

“… why do you call this strong meat – “But strong meat [‘I am crucified WITH CHRIST’]? I do not understand. I know the verse, and yes, believe it, but I now know I have been a babe who knew the word in context for 10 years, but not a mature Christian.”

I call the teaching of being crucified with Christ ‘strong meat’ because that is what it is. When we are “crucified with Christ,” we are also “risen with Him to live in newness of life.”

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Being crucified with Christ is not something we are to aspire to someday, rather it is something which we are to be living daily.

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Almost all Christian ministers and their followers give lip service to being crucified with Christ, but the very meaning of being crucified with Christ is to die to self and to live the words of Christ. Now you tell me, how many orthodox Christian ministers really mean it when they say that they believe that you should love your enemies. They all with one voice affirm that you and I should “obey the laws of the land and go and kill our nation’s enemies. If that means Christians killing Christians, then so be it. However, if it only means Christians killing Arabs then that, to most so called Christians, is a no brainer.” As one very learned scholar of God’s Word put it: “To take Christ’s Words to  mean that we ought to love our national enemies is foolish at best and suicidal at worst.” To this man and to most Christians, ‘love thine enemies’ means ‘unless he really is your enemy and means you bodily harm, in which case you can kill your enemy.’

So you see, very few people are willing to be “crucified with Christ.” Like Peter they are more than willing to die for Him, they just cannot believe that He actually meant it when he told Peter, “All who take up the sword shall die by the sword.”

Mat 26:52  Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

Like most all Christians today, Peter, who had heard Christ teach this same message for three and one half years, was willing to die for Jesus, but He was not able to digest the strong meat of dying with Christ.

This is but one of many of Christ’s doctrines which are despised by the masses of “historical orthodox Christianity.” Many Christians believe that Christ died for them so that they do not have to die. That is anything but scriptural. If that were so, how could Paul say that he “dies daily.” How could he say that he “fills up what is behind of Christ’s afflictions”? We “lay down our lives for our friends”, and we “fill up what is behind of Christ’s afflictions” when we simply take time to help others, especially those we consider our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Joh 15:13  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Christ did not die to sin so that we could live in it. He died to sin so that He could live His life in us and so that we, too, could, with Him in us, also die to sin. Christ lived a life of service. His greatest service was to His own disciples in setting for them an example of a life of service of fidelity to the words of His Father. Listen to the talk given in Dallas by Willard Rogers entitled, “What is Your Part in the Body of Christ?”

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

It is strong meat to say that Christ’s afflictions are behind in my flesh. But that is what the scriptures teach.

I hope this gives you some idea of what I meant by saying that being crucified with Christ is the strong meat of the gospel.

Mike