Gospels In Harmony, Part 137 – Their Eyes Were Opened

Matthew 28:9-10, Mark 16:11-12 Luke 24:13-32 and John 20:18

[Study Aired May 3, 2023]

Matthew 28:9-10 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
John 20:18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
Mark 16:11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
Matthew 28:11-15 (Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
Luke 24:13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
Luke 24:14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
Luke 24:15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
Luke 24:16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. 
Luke 24:17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? 
Luke 24:18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?
Luke 24:19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, 
Luke 24:20 Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
Luke 24:20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. 
Luke 24:21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.
Luke 24:22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;
Luke 24:23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.
Luke 24:24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.
Luke 24:25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 
Luke 24:26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
Luke 24:28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. 
Luke 24:29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. 
Luke 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. 
Luke 24:31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. 
Luke 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?
Luke 24:33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,
Luke 24:34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
Luke 24:35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.

In our last study, we learned that after His resurrection, Jesus could not be known intimately until He ascended to the Father. By emphasizing the importance of His ascension, Jesus was signaling that only when He was fully glorified could the process of receiving us begin. When He later appeared to His followers, He was able to be touched, signifying that through His ascension, He had overcome the world and opened the way for us to be reconciled with God.

In this study, we will focus on two things. First, we will explore some of the scriptures which Christ may have expounded about himself. Second, we will examine the moment when the eyes of His followers were opened, and Christ vanished.

Luke 24:25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 
Luke 24:26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 
Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Deu 18:15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.

Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Mic 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Isa 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

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.

Psa 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

Isa 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

Isa 35:3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
Isa 35:4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. 
Isa 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Isa 35:6 Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

Psa 132:15 I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.

Isa 50:6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Psa 22:18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

Psa 22:16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Isa 53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
Isa 53:9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Isa 53:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Psa 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

Psa 110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Isa 25:1 O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
Isa 25:2 For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.
Isa 25:3 Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.
Isa 25:4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
Isa 25:5 Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.
Isa 25:6 And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
Isa 25:7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
Isa 25:8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. 
Isa 25:9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

Gen 12:3 And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Now let’s look at what led up to Jesus vanishing.

Luke 24:28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. 
Luke 24:29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. 
Luke 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.
Luke 24:31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. 
Luke 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? 
Luke 24:33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,
Luke 24:34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.
Luke 24:35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.

They now have a deeper understanding of the significance of the ‘breaking of bread’, even if only in its simplest form. They are at the very beginning of understanding ‘the words that I speak unto you they are spirit, and they are life’ (John 6:63).

Mat 26:26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
Mat 26:27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
Mat 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Mat 26:29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.

Joh 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Why did Christ vanish as soon as their eyes were opened?

Jesus vanished to prevent the disciples from becoming too attached to His physical presence. In John 20:17, Jesus tells Mary Magdalene not to touch Him after He has been resurrected, showing us that He is no longer bound to this world in the same way as before. By vanishing as soon as His identity is revealed, Jesus was showing the disciples that He is now a spiritual being and that their relationship with Him must be based on faith and not the flesh.

Act 26:14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 26:15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
Act 26:16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;
Act 26:17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
Act 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Once our eyes are opened, the work of patience begins. The sacrifice of Christ, and all that led up to it, is for the purpose of working tribulation in us to produce perfection.

Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Rom 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
Rom 5:4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
Rom 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Rom 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Rom 5:7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

Marriage and divorce

April 26, 2019

Marriage is a very important topic with the Lord. This study will only touch on the concepts found within the context of Deuteronomy 24, but there have been other writings on this topic placed on IWWB which I encourage anyone who is so inclined to search out. Namely, the marriage series by Mike and also the law of Moses versus the law of the Spirit article.

The Lord takes marriage seriously. It is the institution of marriage that allows us to come into the household, and therefore the family, of God.

The price that had to be paid for this marriage was paid for in blood, the blood of the Lamb.

Therefore, it is important for us to examine the reasons why marriage is important to the Lord when we happen upon scripture discussing this topic.

For this examination today, we are going to cover Deuteronomy 24:1 and the context of this verse.

Deu 24:1  When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
Deu 24:2  And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife.
Deu 24:3  And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife;
Deu 24:4  Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

At first glance, it seems like a cruel act for a husband to look upon his wife and decide he is unhappy with her because “she finds no favor in his eyes”. However, we all know that this happens from time to time, but the Lord institutes a way for the woman to find another husband.

This is important because we need to be able to know how to handle these types of situations, but we also know that the Lord is fair and just in giving an order to the process of things, especially to the woman who hasn’t found favor in her husband’s eyes.

Additionally, we are told with these sets of verses that a husband, even with a bill of divorcement freeing the woman, could not take her back as a wife, because the Lord sees this has an abomination.

One of the main reasons this is the case is that when a man and woman leave their father and mother, they will become one flesh with their wives. Once this union happens, it is considered to be permanent.

Therefore, if I “cut off” my hand, how can it be reattached? If I divorce my wife, how then can I take her back as a wife after she has been divorced again from her second husband?

Jesus speaks to this when He is asked about it by the pharisees.

Mat 19:1  And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;
Mat 19:2  And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there.
Mat 19:3  The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
Mat 19:4  And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
Mat 19:5  And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
Mat 19:6  Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Mat 19:7  They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
Mat 19:8  He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
Mat 19:9  And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
Mat 19:10  His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
Mat 19:11  But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.
Mat 19:12  For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

I know that is a lot to take in at once but let us break this down a bit.

First, notice when we come together as man and woman we become one flesh. When we understand the full sovereignty of God, and these Jews did not whom Jesus was speaking to, then we understand that it is the Lord who has brought them together.

This is not something that man can separate, even in a court of law. For God, your union as husband and wife was considered permanent. However, knowing the hardness of our hearts, we were given a way for a man to divorce his wife and for the woman to marry again.

These mandates were a way to make it known how to act in this situation, but it wasn’t a get out of marriage free card.

In fact, in order to get a bill of divorcement you had to have witnesses and it was made public. Therefore, it was something that was not taken lightly. You couldn’t just rashly get rid of your wife.

Rather than have a man beat his wife, murder her or otherwise harm her in some way, there was a method given to divorce his wife, but the union was made by God. Therefore, it was always intact.

The answers of the disciples proves the very thing Jesus mentions as the reason why a bill of divorcement was given to them as a method to use, “His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.”

The reason for a bill of divorcement is due to hardened hearts which don’t understand the real meaning of marriage “from the beginning”.

In fact, the very first act of polygamy in the bible was done by man, and specifically from a very familiar line of mankind.

Gen 4:16 (ESV)  Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Gen 4:17  Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.
Gen 4:18  To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech.
Gen 4:19  And Lamech took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

The first sign of not being “one man and one wife”, came from the line of Cain which is instructive to us or should be anyways. The Lord is Faithful to one bride, and He expects His bride to be faithful to Him.

Jesus’ answer to, “If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry”, is to tell His disciples what types of eunuchs there are. Most might find this strange to mention in regards to marriage, but what was Jesus getting at?

The first types of eunuchs did not do so of their own volition. They were made eunuchs either by God in from birth or from men.

The last group is a group which has chosen to become eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. This group has chosen to fight the natural tendencies of the flesh and is a form of the spirit conquering the flesh by bringing it into subjection.

This was a way to not be distracted by the things marriage distracts us by, and to serve the Lord wholly.

Also, of great note are those who have a wife but act as if they have none.

You haven’t heard of such a thing? Well, it is scriptural, and it has meaning.

1Co 7:25  Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.
1Co 7:26  I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be.
1Co 7:27  Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.

Whatever set of circumstances that Lord has dragged you unto Himself in, married or unmarried, does not disannul you of that life in order to serve Him in a capacity you think you should serve Him.

Serve Him in the same position of life that He has called you in because that is where He has placed you to serve Him.

1Co 7:28  But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.
1Co 7:29  But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;

When serving the Lord, we need to be doing all that we do to His glory. So, even when I am married, my service to the Lord is first and within the context of my marriage. My marriage compliments and reflects my service to the Lord but it does not diminish it.

1Co 7:30  And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;
1Co 7:31  And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.
1Co 7:32  But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:
1Co 7:33  But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.
1Co 7:34  There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.
1Co 7:35  And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.
1Co 7:36  But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry.
1Co 7:37  Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, doeth well.
1Co 7:38  So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better.
1Co 7:39  The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.
1Co 7:40  But she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.

When bringing this all back into focus for what marriage is to the Lord, and why a bill of divorcement was needed, we need to also balance that with situations where divorce was not permitted.

Deu 22:13  If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,
Deu 22:14  And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid:
Deu 22:15  Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel’s virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate:
Deu 22:16  And the damsel’s father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her;
Deu 22:17  And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter’s virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.
Deu 22:18  And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him;
Deu 22:19  And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.

And

Deu 22:28  If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found;
Deu 22:29  Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.

Simply put, the Lord has given us actions we can take to deal with divorcement, but if we are honest as Christians then we realize that the Lord sees marriage as very important.

To continue this thought of the importance of marriage to the Lord, we must be reminded that Jesus changed things when He told the Pharisees what the rules for divorcement were.

Comparing the laws and liberties of Christ with the law of Moses will show how Jesus changed these things.

The law was for Israel “according to the flesh,” not the Israel who are “the children of promise,” also known as the Israel of God.

Jesus Christ is pointing out to His disciples that God is all powerful and in complete control. If God has joined us in marriage, then no man can put asunder that work, and we should see things this way.

This is what brings us to the ultimate meaning of what it is to be a child of God or the bride of Christ depending on how we are being described by the Lord at that time.

Rom 2:2  But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
Rom 2:3  And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Rom 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
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;
Rom 2:6  Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

1Ti 1:9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

The law of Moses was and is opposed to the inward spiritual new man:

Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

What this all means in the context of this study is that our commitment to our physical spouses is a reflection to our commitment to the Lord, but that is not all.

Everything we are and do is a reflection of what the Lord has done, and we need to always strive to see the importance to the actions of the Lord.

Mike wrote a series on marriage which I encourage everyone to listen to or read if you haven’t done so already. He also wrote the law of Moses versus the law of the Spirit which goes over a lot of the concepts behind divorcing according to the law of Moses.

For this study, we briefly covered some of the key points in Deuteronomy 20 concerning divorce and also how that applies (or doesn’t) to us today as Christians.

Hey Mike,

I was just comparing Matthew and Luke. I want to know what you think of the different genealogies that are given. Do you think one belongs to Joseph and the other to Mary or that Luke skipped some people in between?

Your brother in the Christ,

P___

Hi P____,

Thank you for your question. While Christ tells us “the flesh profits nothing,” we are also told that Christ is “according to the flesh” descended from King David. What that tells us is that one of these two genealogies is Mary’s simply because that phrase appears in scripture three times, and must therefore be documented to be true:

Act 2:30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
Rom 1:3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
Heb 2:16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.

“Not the nature of angels… but the seed of Abraham… The seed of David according to the flesh.” There are two things we know for sure about Christ. We know without a doubt that Joseph was not Christ’s real Father. The Father, through His holy spirit, was Christ’s Father. Christ was not the “seed” of either David or Abraham via His Father. That promise had to be kept via Christ’s mother, Mary. So the second thing we also know for certain about Christ is that through Mary, Christ is “the Son of Man.” Christ refers to Himself as the “Son of man” twice as many times as He calls Himself the “Son of God.” Since we are told over and over that Christ “according to the flesh” was of David and was “according to the flesh” of Abraham, it follows that Luke’s genealogy would be that of Mary the only “according to the flesh,” connection to Christ, but listed as ‘in Joseph’, or as Luke puts it, “Being as was supposed, the son of Joseph.”

Luk 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,

The writers of Wikipedia appear to be set on shaking anyone and everyone’s confidence in the reliability of the word of God and should not be taken seriously. They apparently think that the holy spirit made a big glaring contradiction here and included it in the scriptures just hoping no one would notice. Not one person in a thousand realizes that truth is found only in the sum of God’s Word and that God’s Word is designed to be understood “line upon line, here a little and there a little.”

Psa 119:160 The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever.
Isa 28:9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? [ them that are] weaned from the milk, [ and] drawn from the breasts.
Isa 28:10 For precept [ must be] upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [ and] there a little:

The authors of the information found in Wikipedia, the History Channel, and a thousand other such secular sources, have not as yet been given spiritual milk, much less being “weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts.”

Isa 28:12 To whom he said, This [ is] the rest [ wherewith] ye may cause the weary to rest; and this [ is] the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
Isa 28:13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [ and] there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

As far as any discrepancy between these two genealogies goes, the holy spirit in me tells me that God is true and every man is a liar.

Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

Here, on the other hand, is a much more logical answer to what may at first appear to be a contradiction in these two genealogies from the Christian Apologetic Research Ministry web page. Take a look at this link and let me know what you think: http:// www. carm. org/ questions/2geneologies. htm

Your brother in Christ,

Mike

Brothers and Sisters,

During a recent study I found this:

In due time… the spiritual Gentiles, who are the uncalled and the many called but yet unchosen, that currently do not know God (1Th 4:5) will also be partakers of Christ. All will partake; not one crumb in Adam will be forsaken, eternally banished or expelled from partaking of every jot and tittle of the good news of Jesus Christ.

1Th 4:5 Not^G3361 in^G1722 the lust^G3806 of concupiscence,^G1939 even^G2532 as ^G2509 the^G3588 Gentiles^G1484 which know^G1492 not^G3361 God:^G2316

I did not understand this… probably still don’t, but when I took a closer look at that verse and the original Greek words behind it, I found the following:

G3806 παθος pathos path’- os From the alternate of G3958; properly suffering (“pathos”), that is, (subjectively) a passion (especially concupiscence): – (inordinate) affection, lust. G1939 επιθυμια epithumia ep- ee- thoo- mee’- ah From G1937; a longing (especially for what is forbidden): – concupiscence, desire, lust (after).

The word translated ‘lust’ when properly translated is ‘suffering’. Concupiscence is a longing (especially for what is forbidden):

From this I conclude that longing for forbidden things is equal to suffering. Now, when I examine myself, I know that at this point in my walk I am far from being free of this “longing for forbidden things”, and I also suffer from this longing. It’s there, I fall, and I hate it. “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death” is a verse which regularly crosses my mind.

What I can’t grasp are the words “which know not God”. I suffer these lusts even as the Gentiles, and know not God, or I suffer these lusts in a way other than the Gentiles, but I do suffer these lusts.

I’m wondering if I am the only one who suffers these lusts or as one matures in the knowledge of God, do these sufferings, these forbidden lusts, go away?

This makes my head spin.

Your brother in Christ,

R____

Hi R____,

Thank you for your question, and thank you for this very informative bit of information you have given us about the root meaning of the word ‘lust’. This is a very instructive opportunity you have given us with your honest and open question concerning your own struggles against “the lust of the flesh”.

You ask:

… as one matures in the knowledge of God, do these sufferings, these forbidden lusts, go away?

Being of advanced years and having been a slave to my own lusts for the better part of these years, I am happy to be able to inform you that I have been exactly where you are, and that I, too, came to my “wits’ end” (Psa 119:21-31) before being granted domination over those ‘suffering’ lusts.

You ask, “Do they go away?” The short answer is that as long as you and I are in bodies of “corruptible flesh [which] cannot inherit the kingdom of God” those lusts will be ever present. However, I can honestly and joyfully report to you that the spirit of Christ is growing within you, and that spirit will continue to grow until the very thought of succumbing to those lusts and committing those “trespasses and sins” will literally nauseate you to the point of rejecting that evil spirit before it can bring forth evil fruit.

I must be as honest with you as you have been with me, and I tell you that ‘falling seven times’ and coming to see our own helplessness against our inward beast is a life-long process that is all necessary and essential to bring us to cry out to our Lord:

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

It is obvious that Paul had the same passions and lusts with which you and I suffer. For this very reason our Lord tells us this:

Luk 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

This is a life-long struggle, but is not unique to you or me. It is “common to [all] men.”

Act 14:15 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We [Paul and Barnabas] also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:

Jas 5:17 Elias [Elijah] was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

While we are crying out “O wretched man that I am!”, Christ is still faithful and is still there within those in whom He has placed a desire to please Him over all other desires. We will fail “seven times” until we realize that we have nothing to do with our deliverance. Nevertheless, we have this incredible promise to those who are granted to understand that they are but “common” men called out of this world by a very uncommon and loving heavenly Father:

1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

“That ye may be able to bear it” does not say ‘that you may be able to avoid it’. As you have heard me say so many times, that “way of escape” is not through a ‘rapture’ away from God’s wrath upon that suffering “old man… [that] first man Adam”, but it is rather through his destruction, through the Red Sea, through the fiery furnace, through the lion’s den, through the death of the cross and through being “crucified with Christ” that we escape “the body of this death” (Rom 7:24).

As hard as it is for us to believe, Christ identifies with us ‘while we are yet in our sins’ to the point that He comes into us in these bodies of sinful flesh, and ‘while we were yet in sins’ He died for us, so that we, with Him in our flesh, can fill up what is behind of His afflictions as the trespass offering which He, as our “without sin… sin offering” could not fulfill until He came into our sinful flesh. That is why we are told that we are now “of His flesh, and of His bones”. Now He is dying in us and “filling up what was behind of His afflictions”.

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:

A savior ‘suffers for’ and ‘dies for’ those He loves. You and I are to be ‘saviors’ so we, too, must ‘suffer in our flesh for His body’s sake, which is the church.

Oba 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

We cannot deny that He is living within us even as we are “dying daily” to our passions and lusts. It is through Him living within us that we are able to “die daily” (1Co 15:31). “We are of His flesh and of His bones” (Eph 5:30):

1Jn 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
1Jn 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

The orthodox Christian world denies that Christ came in a body of sinful flesh “the same… as the children” of Abraham.

Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of [sinful] flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

Christ came in a body of sinful flesh, yet He never sinned. He never committed a single trespass. Now, as “His body… the church”, He has come in the flesh of that body, and it is through these bodies of sinful flesh that we fill up His afflictions as the trespass offering of “Jesus of Nazareth” which we are.

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.

Act 22:8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

“We are… His flesh”. Yes, of course Christ came in a body of flesh which was “the same [as] the children” but He has also come “a second time without [a body of] sin, unto salvation” into these bodies of sinful flesh, which are you and me, as “Jesus of Nazareth”, now able to be a ‘trespass offering” as well as a ‘sin offering’ “which knew no sin.”

Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

If Christ’s second appearing is “without sin” and “to them that look for Him”, then how did He come the first time but in a body which was “the same [as] the children, corruptible flesh”, which did not see corruption only because it was raised from the dead before it could decay?

The work Christ is performing is a two-stage work involving His literal death on the cross as well as our ‘dying daily’ death in these bodies of sinful flesh and blood. This two-stage work is twice revealed to us in the offering of the scapegoat and in the offering of the two birds for the cleansing of the leper.

Lev 14:50 And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel [Christ in an earthly, Adamic body of flesh] over running water:
Lev 14:51 And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, [you and me, if we are “in Christ”] and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times:
Lev 14:52 And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet:

Lev 16:8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats;  one lot for the LORD [Christ], and the other lot for the scapegoat “His Christ].
Lev 16:9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
Lev 16:10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness. [We, too, as the trespass offering, must die. But as Christ’s scapegoat, we must “die daily, [and] fill up in our bodies what is behind of the afflictions of the Christ, for His body’s sake which is the church” (Col 1:24).

The cleansing and the atonement are not made with only one bird or one goat, but both “the living bird” and the scapegoat “make an atonement with” our Lord, as “His Christ”.

Romans 4 makes this clear when we know that the word translated as ‘for’ in this verse is the Greek word ‘dia‘ meaning ‘through’. Christ and His Father work by and through His body which is the church.

Rom 4:25 Who was delivered for [Greek: dia, ‘through’] our offences [our trespasses], and was raised again for [Greek: dia, ‘through’] our justification.

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

I will close with Paul’s own answer to the question he posed earlier. Here is how you will overcome lust and all the sins in your life. You, yourself will first be brought to know beyond any shadow of a doubt that you cannot “make war with the beast”. After that lesson is learned by experience, then you, too, can say with the apostle Paul:

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

It is “through Jesus Christ our Lord” that you will one day be made physically sick at the very thought of giving in to the lusts and passions that once gave your flesh such momentary and deadly pleasures, and “through” Him “sin shall no longer have dominion over you”, but you will have dominion over that sin.

Be patient, that day is coming. When it gets here, you will know peace of mind like you have never known before:

Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Luk 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.

Those two verses work together for our good.

Your brother in your struggles,

Mike

Greetings Mike,

Since last hearing from you, your insights regarding the flesh of Christ has been in my mind and I have to say that I have no argument, I appreciate the encouragement to ponder the meaning of God in the following:

1Jn 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the antichrist you heard is coming, and even NOW is already in the world.

Yet also, what do you think of this….. You say: “God uses as His agency to destroy all flesh, in order to “destroy death”….” I understand this to mean that we are to be transformed by, through and because of the flesh and blood of Christ wherein we experience the transformation of the corruptible to the incorruptible.
All this happens within us, the Lord shortens the days for us, so our flesh doesn’t die before we are given the better resurrection. This is not new to the Scriptures.

Heb 11:35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:

The resurrection is not PAST but present and future, now within us. At our peril we relax our attention to the significance of…

2Ti 2:18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

We too, are to die daily and learn to stand before the Son of God within us.

Luk 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Joh 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection,(G386) and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

I notice the following translation that inspires to the appreciation of the Faith of God given to us through His Son.
G386
αναστασις
anastasis
an- as’- tas- is
From G450; a STANDING up again,
Accepting that we are to live by every word of God, is this not also the acceptance we are to live day by day, moment by moment, breath by breath all in the Sovereign Will of God causing us to do so?
I got to thinking that even an atomic particle is physical, though it has no mass or weight to human perception without the help of the electronic microscope which God has given us to discover and enjoy. Anyway, that aside, the “physical” may actually refer to the carnal, or the spiritually corrupt and might not include everything “physical” as such. Flesh and blood may actually refer to the flesh and blood of Adam made of dust that has no virtue of the Spirit of God and is carnal, literal and corruptible.

Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Yet we are told that the flesh and blood of Jesus is not as Adam of dust only, and…

Joh 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

The body of Jesus which was Resurrected from the dead, is incorruptible yet also was FLESH :

Luk 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have.

I believe that a SPIRIT doesn’t have flesh and bones. God IS Spirit, everywhere all the time. Jesus Christ is the Son of Man Son of God pre- eminent heir of God with whom those He Elects, share in His Inheritance of all things.
Please elaborate on what you say regarding the flesh of the first Adam that is as you say : quote, “As long as flesh exists, little baby “first Adams” will continue being born,…
As far as I can gather, this is correct as long as the natural will be against the spiritual and all of the Word of God will remain though both heaven and earth pass away and a new heaven and earth shall come where there is no more sea/ flesh~ that flesh/ sea being the carnality of humanity.
You say “But God has revealed to us His plan to save all men……. “ Yes, this is indisputable. ….. quoting you: “…. and God’s work is both ongoing, and it is also coming to a consummation.”
This consummation is within us as with the precursor being “the Kingdom of God within you”, that being…

Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

…the ongoing work of God that brings us ultimately to unity in Christ not all of humanity at the same time, though God could do such a thing, yet the Word of God shows us the process is few chosen many called.
What I am asking is, do you not think it is possible that the purging of the flesh of carnal Adam is not going to end with all humanity becoming extinct but rather transformed in the salvation of all in a consummation of God’s work that is also ongoing as His Kingdom expands? Will humanity become extinct or will only the carnality of humanity become extinct, overcome, when death shall no longer have power over us that is God’s work that is as you say, both ongoing and also coming to a consummation both within us and to the world.
I recognize and believe that only Jesus Christ has been resurrected and perfected. So as we believe we have the earnest of our inheritance within us, and as God works in us to cause us to be purged of carnality, is this not the way we are to see each other, as being those among whom and for whom Christ has died? I think it is. That the antichrist are them that refuse that Jesus is come in the flesh may be our very selves who refuse to see, and resist this truth in our every day interactions with one another.
That the flesh of carnal Adam will all be destroyed, and such consummation will be the achievement of God’s work in us, I believe is worked out a few at a time, as is the method of God working all things in accord to the council of His Will.
The fulfillment or consummation of the Will of God means the annihilation of the Beast, 666 in the human race and Christ shows The Way and is The Way.
I am glad I could write this to you in the Spirit that it is meant…just sharing…enjoying and being grateful to God for the opportunity. I hope you are okay with that.
Blessings,
D____

Hi D____,

Everything you say in this e- mail is right except for thinking that Christ’s body of flesh and bone proves that Christ in not now spirit. The only reason Christ appeared in “a body of flesh and bone” was because of the lack of faith of His own eleven disciples”.

Mat 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
Mat 28:17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

Christ’s appearance with “flesh and bone” was specifically for that purpose. Materializing in a body of flesh and bone served the same purpose that the holes in His hands and in His side served. Those were no more permanent than the rest of His body of flesh and bone. After all He materialized or appeared in a locked or “shut up” room.

Joh 20:24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
Joh 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
Joh 20:26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: [ then] came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace [ be] unto you.
Joh 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust [ it] into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
Joh 20:28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Joh 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

If we use these verses to prove that our resurrected bodies are physical bodies, then we must also insist that the flaws of our physical bodies, like holes in our hands and side, are also part of that resurrection. Your contention:

Yet we are told that the flesh and blood of Jesus is not as Adam of dust only, and…

Joh 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

The body of Jesus which was Resurrected from the dead, is incorruptible yet also was FLESH:

Luk 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have.

I believe that a SPIRIT doesn’t have flesh and bones. God IS Spirit, everywhere all the time. Jesus Christ is the Son of Man Son of God pre- eminent heir of God with whom those He Elects, share in His Inheritance of all things.

No D___ , we are not “told that the flesh and blood of Jesus was not as Adam of dust only…” The exact opposite is true because we are told that He “partook of the same... flesh and blood”.

Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Heb 2:15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Heb 2:16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Heb 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

Every word of these four verse of Heb 2 conflicts with your statement that “the flesh and blood of Jesus is not as Adam of dust only”. If Christ were not of “the same… flesh and blood” as Adam, then He has no right to say ” that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest… ” and if Christ’s flesh was in any way different from Adam’s flesh then it is different from our flesh and this next verse would also be completely hollow and a lie.

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

But all five of these verses of Heb 2 are true. He really was “made of a woman, made under the law” exactly like all of us, with “the same… flesh and blood”. It is only based on these facts that this next verse has any meaning at all:

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.

If Christ were not struggling with our flesh and blood with all of its weaknesses, then Heb 4:15 is a blatant lie and he was not “tempted like as we are”.

So much for Christ’s flesh not being “the same Adamic flesh as ours. Yes, He was born of the holy spirit, but he was also “made of a woman, made under the law” both of which mean He was “made sin… who knew no sin”.

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him [ to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Now, here is the Truth of our resurrected bodies right out of the mouth of our Lord:

Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Joh 3:8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

We cannot see the wind, but we can see what it does. So the fact that spirit has the capability of materializing in a body full of wounds does not make a spiritual body into a physical body. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit, which you “canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth”.

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.

A resurrected spiritual body can, and throughout the millennium will, appear when needed as “a body of flesh and bone”. But a physical body which has not been resurrected from among the dead cannot become a spiritual body at will.
I hope all of these verses help you to see that “flesh and blood [ or bone, from whence the blood comes], cannot 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.

… and that the ability for spirit to materialize does not mean that spirit is flesh. There is no such thing as a physical spiritual body. There is only, in Biblical terms, a spiritual body which can appear as a physical body which can eat and drink and have holes in it.
I hope this is received in the spirit of love in which it is given.
Your brother in Christ.
Mike

Mike,

I watched a video by a fellow who believes that he has a different, clearer understanding of what Jesus was saying as he hung on the cross that is more in line with God’s word. He claims it would more properly be translated showing that His Father had not ‘forsaken’ Him.  It seems he says that Christ’s native tongue of Aramaic is better translated “see, this is what David described, I am the Messiah” rather than the traditional “why has thou forsaken me”.

Is there is any real value to the point he is making, and does it make a difference?

I called him while he was visiting his son in the hospital and he mentioned that his son was very worried about being handicapped in some way. God gave me the words to share “remind your son of God’s word ‘with patience our souls are possessed’ that should help him”.  He said that is a great idea with a genuine heart of thankfulness.
Sincerely,
M____

Hi M____,

Thanks for sending this along.

I am glad you were able to speak some comforting words to this man concerning his son who is, no doubt, in great pain and anxiety.

I think you know that I make no claims of being a Greek or Hebrew scholar. What I do claim to do is to try the spirits (read: doctrines) against “the sum of God’s Word”, and the sum of God’s Word tells me that God does turn His back on all flesh and blood and does not allow it into His kingdom. That is why He sent Christ to this earth in the first place. The Father sent His Son to die and to relinquish His dying body of “sinful flesh and blood.”

Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

If there is something specific about the translation which I need to know, please let me know. But I have looked at this in Strong’s and in the Emphatic Diaglott and it seems to be exactly what God is telling us about all flesh and blood:

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

It can be translated ‘deserted, abandoned, turned away, forsaken,’ etc., but it is all saying the same thing: God will turn His back on flesh and blood, and it will have no part in the spiritual kingdom of God, other than to serve as the channel for getting us to that kingdom.

2Co 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

I hope this helps you to see the doomed condition of all flesh and blood; even the flesh and blood of Christ:

2Co 5:16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.

Your brother in Christ,

Mike

Hi G____,

I have just read your Two Pillars Of The New Covenant. I was pleased with your ability to see clearly that we cannot mix the teachings of the old covenant with the teachings of the new. That is rare enough, but you also understand that our changed life is no more of ourselves than our faith is of ourselves. Seeing that the old covenant is ‘fading away’ and, at the same time, being able to see that another ‘law’ is replacing it is refreshing for someone like me, who was once so ensconced in the teachings of A. E. Knoch, only to discover that the ‘absolutely no law of any kind, two administration,’ teachings of Mr. Knoch are just as deceptive as the ‘once in grace always in grace’ teachings of much of Protestantism. I attended many Concordant Conferences over several years with great enthusiasm, until I heard a sermon by one of their leading speakers stating that “the words of Christ are not for us.” Those words were the beginning of the end of my Concordant experience. You are espousing that same message in this article. Before I attempt to deal with the teaching that the life and words of Christ, while He was in the flesh, are not to be followed by His followers, I want to quote you, in regards to the attitude that you admit that we should have as growing children in the family of God.

To those of you who are hearing me by the Spirit and your heart is saying “amen” to the message of this article, there is so much more to talk about. But then you know that. The hearts of children without fear are full of the desire to love, to learn, to grow, to explore, to mature, to enjoy the rich life found in Christ Jesus, our Lord, Savior, and King. To you I say, “Rejoice, for the kingdom of heaven is near!”

I don’t pretend to know everything about Christ any more than I believe you do. As you say, “There is so much more to talk about.” I can honestly say that I feel that there is more to learn about Christ today, than I was aware of about 5 years ago when I first started realizing that A. E. Knoch was not the great scholar that I had always thought he was. As you so rightly say, “The hearts of children without fear are full of the desire to love, to learn, to grow, to explore, to mature, to enjoy the rich life found in Christ…” As I know you are already aware, while we are to have the “desire to love,” each other, we are also to have a “love of the truth.” (2Th 2:10 – And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.) A ‘love of the Truth’ necessitates that we “love one another” because Christ is “The Truth.”

It is with this love that I am taking the time to write this e- mail. I have been hearing of you for many years as a sort of maverick in the Concordant circles. I now see why, and I appreciate your gift for independent thought. Independent of the doctrines of men, yet dependent on the sure Truth of scripture. If I did not feel that you were sincere in your search for The Truth (Christ), I wouldn’t be wasting time with this communication.

As I mentioned in an earlier e- mail, your tape of Lewis Abbott was the only thing that ever got my 85 year old father to see the truth about the word ‘aion.’ For that I will always be grateful for your service. I hope now that you do not consider me to be “thinking more of myself than I ought to think” to be of some service to you. I am not attempting to critique your paper because I agreed with 90% of it. But I believe that the remaining 10% is critical to our ability to relate to Him who we both agree is Truth.

You make this statement:

We must understand that Jesus was born under the Mosaic Law and that He had to live a life which perfectly fulfilled it. We do ourselves and others a great harm if we try to pattern our own lives after His life in the flesh. He was called to do what no man on earth could possibly do, perfectly fulfill the Law of Moses. That is why you do not find Jesus speaking against the Law of Moses,

Christ had no intention of “perfectly fulfilling … the Mosaic Law.”

Does Mat 5:32 – But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery – agree with Deu 21:14 – And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her (your wife), then thou shalt let her go whither she will…? Show me anything resembling Mat 5:32 in the old covenant. Christ is right here teaching contrary to Moses, whom you say he did not teach against. Here is a little more of what Moses had to say about divorce:

Deu 24:1 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

“Some uncleanness” is not referring to either fornication nor adultery. The penalty for both of those sins after marriage was death. Under Moses, one could indeed ‘put away his wife for any reason’ “if you find no delight in her.”

Christ’s disciples, being familiar with the law of Moses, had this response when they heard this incredible teaching for the first time:

Mat 19:10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.

Christ is right here teaching contrary to the ‘law of Moses.’

Does “Love your enemy” agree with “hate your enemy?” Christ is here, teaching against the ‘law of Moses.’ Does “Swear not at all” agree with Deu 10:20 – “Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.” Christ is here, again, teaching against the ‘law of Moses.’ Does Mat 5:38 – “Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” – agree with Mat 5:39 – “But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Christ is here, also, teaching against the ‘law of Moses.’

Though Christ was not even a Levite, much less a priest, He admits that, just like the priests, He too, could “profane the sabbath [ and yet be] guiltless.” He was not fleeing from king Saul, yet He admits that in plucking the ears of corn, on the sabbath day, He too, was “doing that which is not lawful:”

Mat 12:1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
Mat 12:2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
Mat 12:3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
Mat 12:4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
Mat 12:5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

Does Christ deny that He had broken the law? No, He affirms it. ‘As David did, so I and my disciples are doing that which is unlawful.’ Does He deny ‘profaning the sabbath?’ No, He actually points out that He too is doing exactly as “the priests in the temple … on the sabbath day.” And what then is the reason He gives for His blatant disregard for the ‘law of Moses?’ Here is the only reason He gives:

Mat 12:6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.

Mat 12:7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

Mat 12:8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. Christ is right here teaching contrary to the ‘law of Moses.’

Then in the very next verse, He goes straight into the temple and heals a man on the sabbath day and compares that to pulling a sheep out of a ditch on the sabbath day. Later He even tells a man to ‘take up his bed and walk’ on the sabbath day. Does the Holy Spirit tell us, as it does concerning the true Father of Christ, that the Jews ” supposed that he had broken the sabbath?” No, it informs us beyond any doubt: Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God (Joh 5:18). Every thing Christ did or taught either superseded or contradicted the law of Moses. Had Christ said that He was the son of God?:

Joh 8:18 I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.

Joh 8:19 Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.

Had Christ really broken the sabbath?:

Mat 12:3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;

Mat 12:4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?

Mat 12:5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?

No, contrary to you and all of Christendom, Christ was not made our perfect sacrifice by “keeping the law of Moses perfectly.” Had He done so, He would have been unfit as our sacrifice because the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine [ the doctrine of Christ] (1Ti 1:9-10). This “sound doctrine is elsewhere called wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ“ (1Ti 6:3).

2Ti 1:13 Hold fast the form of sound words [ the words of Christ], which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

Christ was “a righteous man” in spite of His flesh. Being “a righteous man” was what qualified Him as our savior. True righteousness is what the law was “added” to.

Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added [ to the already existing character of the never changing God] because of transgressions [ transgressions of an already existing, never changing, law], [ only] till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

God and Christ truly “change not.” Christ could not possibly come to earth and be something He really wasn’t. He is, was and always will be truly righteous.

Am I denying that Christ had not submitted Himself to the rituals of his ‘under- the- law’ Jewish parents? Of course not. But it is abundantly clear that Christ was not subject to the law of Moses in His fleshly ministry. Christ was oblivious to the law of Moses, and it cost Him his life. As my Jewish friend told me, “Christ was a criminal who died for his crimes.”

Joh 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

Look at how brazen Christ was when it came to the law. Right after miraculously feeding the multitudes, they followed Him across the lake looking for another free meal. Notice this exchange between Christ and the multitude who followed Him:

Joh 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

Joh 6:27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Joh 6:28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Joh 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?

Joh 6:31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

Joh 6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.

Joh 6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

Joh 6:34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

Joh 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Had the multitude misquoted the scripture? Absolutely not:

Exo 16:4 Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

Neh 9:15 And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger…

How does Christ respond to this accurate quote from the law?:

Joh 6:32 … Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.

Christ is right here teaching contrary to the ‘law of Moses.’

Apparently Christ thought that the law and the prophets were [ ONLY] until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, [ which had little in common with the law] and every man presseth into it (Luk 16:16).

Christ was under the impression that the law was given by Moses, but [ as opposed to that] grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (Joh 1:17).

What does this scripture say for Christ’s impression of the ‘law,’ which we are to believe that He “never taught against” and “kept perfectly?” Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. Christ spent a great deal of His ministry teaching against the “fading away” ‘law of Moses.’

Again, you say:

We must understand that Jesus was born under the Mosaic Law and that He had to live a life which perfectly fulfilled it. We do ourselves and others a great harm if we try to pattern our own lives after His life in the flesh.

I most definitely do pattern my life after the life of Christ in the flesh. I just fall far short. What does Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ (1Co 11:1) mean? Is this some Christ who is setting Paul an example from heaven?

Are we to believe that when Christ said, For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you (Joh 13:15), that He was simply establishing a Christian ritual? That is exactly what teaching that Christ’s life in the flesh was not an example for us would have you believe. Oh, that we all could come anywhere near Christ’s selfless life in the flesh.

‘But,’ it is always quoted, ‘Christ was made under the law’ as if that fact restricted his life to obeying that law.  It obviously did no such thing.

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.

Being “made under the law” has nothing to do with how Christ lived His life while He was in the flesh. It has simply to do with being “made of a woman.” That is why Paul can still say years later that the law was [ is and will be] our schoolmaster to bring us [ all men of all time] to Christ.

Gal 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were [ all, you, me and ‘all’] kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

Paul is addressing these word to Gentiles. Gentiles are “under the law before faith comes.” The definite article is seldom found beside the word ‘law.’ This is because the ‘law of Moses,’ though given by God is simply a “carnal commandment,” for a carnal nation (Heb 7:16) Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.

According to these verses and many others, “all under sin” are “under law.” This gives ‘law’ the capacity to stop “every mouth” (both Gentile and Jew) that … all the world may become guilty before God. Not just the Jews, but “all the world,” of all time.

Rom 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law [ under sin]: that every mouth [ in the world for all time] may be stopped, and all the world [ not just Jews] may become guilty before God.

How can Paul make such sweeping statements? Because he understood clearly from the “words of our Lord,”

1Ti 1:8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;

1Ti 1:9 Knowing this [ meaning this], that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers.

Once again, the real ‘Truth’ was that Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. The ‘bread from heaven’ of Moses, also known as ‘Torah,’ is not ‘the true bread from heaven.’ We would do well to realize that even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps [ while He was in the flesh] (1Pe 2:21).

Have I ‘added to the word’ by bracketing in ‘while He was in the flesh?’

Were the words and works of Christ while He was in the flesh really not for us today? Is that really what is meant by 2Co 5:16 … though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.

Let’s not exchange opinions; what saith the scriptures?

1Ti 6:3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;

1Ti 6:4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,

1Ti 6:5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

Exactly which “words of our Lord Jesus Christ” is Paul referring to? It is without question “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (Joh 6:63). Is this speaking of a Christ that only Paul had the opportunity to know at some time that Paul doesn’t even bother to tell us about? No, the “wholesome words” of which Paul is speaking are the very words we can all read in the gospels.

You go on to say:

Yet Paul spoke many things against those who sought to keep believers under the Mosaic Law. Paul was commissioned the “Apostle of the Uncircumcision.” His Gospel was one of pure grace.

There is but one “gospel.”  (Php 1:27) Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the [ singular] gospel. If Peter had been commissioned to preach a different gospel than Paul, then Paul would have been way out of line when he reprimanded Peter for his hypocrisy just before the Act 15 conference:

Gal 2:14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the [ singular] gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?

Gal 2:15 We [ Peter and Paul] who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,

Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man [ circumcised or uncircumcised] is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we [ Peter and Paul] have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh [ not even Peter’s Jewish flesh] be justified.

It is true that the apostles called by Christ were not as spiritually mature as Paul at the beginning. They were slow to realize that their Lord was as free from the law as He actually was. The original 12 apostles may have been slow to get beyond the letter, ‘the letter’ being the law of Moses, but it was never because their Lord had taught them to remain faithful to the letter. Here is what He really taught them. It reveals His attitude toward the ‘law of Moses’ the whole time He was carrying out His earthly ministry:

Joh 16:12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

Are we to believe that this is simply more of Torah? No, the many things that Christ is referring to here are more of such things as we find in Mat 5, 6 and 7. Things like we find in the epistles of Paul. Yet Paul’s “gospel of pure grace” was the exact same ‘grace’ spoken of by Peter ten times in his short epistles:

1Pe 5:12 By Silvanus [ Silas, Paul’s assistant when he was not in prison], a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.

It is the same grace spoken of by James:

Jas 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Does this sound like James is advocating living by Torah? Are we actually being asked to believe that there are two kinds of ‘grace?’ There is but one ‘grace,’ and it is defined for us:

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, [ circumcised and uncircumcised]

Tit 2:12 Teaching [ Greek- paideuo– same Greek word generally translated ‘chasten’] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

This Greek word ‘paideuo,’ translated ‘teaching’ here, is the same word translated ‘chastened’ in:

1Co 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

And again in:

Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son [ circumcised or uncircumcised] whom he receiveth.

So ‘grace’ is not a dead noun, but a very active verb in the life of a growing and maturing son of God.

All ‘judgment’ is therefore, in the long run, ‘grace.’

1Co 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

The ‘condemnation,’ referred to here is simply a later, less desirable ‘judgment;’ the ‘great white throne judgment.’

Now when we read:

Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.

We can read this and understand that grace will chasten us more than sin can rule us. God will not be defeated by sin. “Grace chastens us to forsake ungodliness…” Even those who attempt to “turn the grace of God into lasciviousness” (Jdg 4) will succumb eventually to the loving, chastening ‘grace’ of God. The lake of fire is therefore the single greatest act of ‘grace’ in the history of the world.

Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

While the world is teaching that it is the evil people who ‘dwell in everlasting burnings,’ the scriptures reveal that it is those who are comfortable in the fire who will be used to bring in the latter harvest.

Israel “according to the flesh” will not be saved until all Gentiles are saved.

Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Then, and only then, will the physical nation of Israel, who Paul calls “Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children,” “the son of the bondwoman [ who shall] not be made heir with the son of the freewoman;” then and only then will Israel be restored back to a proper relationship with God:

Ezekiel 16:55 When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.

Our God is a consuming fire, (Heb 12:29), and we will be like Him.

1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

You continue:

He wrote most of his letters 20 to 30 years after Jesus’ accession. He was shown by the Holy Spirit that the whole Mosaic structure, Israel, Jerusalem, the Temple, the Levitical Priesthood, the whole Mosaic Law…

(Which Christ had spent His entire ministry teaching against)

… would soon be rolled away like a scroll. Jesus prophesied this would take place within the generation to whom He preached. The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD perfectly fulfilled Jesus’ words.

To which I say ‘amen.” But when you say:

To prevent future believers from trying to “copy” Jesus’ life in the flesh, Paul wrote, “Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer.” (2Co 5:16)

Our pattern is not Jesus Christ in the flesh; our pattern is the life He prepared for us individually in Him in the spirit. I have seen many young Christian zealots (I was one of them) get burned out trying to copy the Jesus they saw recorded in the gospels. Our pattern is not in the gospels. Our pattern is in Him according to the Spirit. Oh, I pray you can hear this!

Amen, “Our pattern is in Him according to the Spirit.” But according to your doctrine you are apparently unaware that the words that I have spoken unto you [ while I am here in the flesh] THEY ARE SPIRIT AND THEY ARE LIFE (Joh 6:63).

Exactly what part of the life of Christ in the flesh is it that we should not follow? Should we not now “become all things to all men that we might by all means save some?” Is this not exactly what Christ was doing while he was living among Jews who were under the law?

So then, to truly understand what the kingdom of God is all about, what the New Covenant entails, we must cast off some very heavy chains of Christian traditions which have held us captive to earthly shadows, types, and deceptions.

To which I say Amen and amen.

This article serves only as an introduction to the subject of casting off the robes of traditions which hold back the glory our Lord and Savior wants to display to the world through His people. (Other writings and audio tapes will deal with the various other counterfeits we have swallowed as substitutes for the life found in the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.)

My first paper on ‘the law’ was entitled ‘The Spirit of The Law of the New Covenant.’ After collecting and burning those, I rewrote that paper and entitled the new paper ‘The Law Of Moses Versus The Law Of The Spirit.’ This is a lengthy paper, but it deals with the subject of the ‘Law’ in detail, clarifying how Paul can say that the Law is done away with [katargeo] in 2Co 3 and still say in Rom 3:31 that we do not make void [katargeo] the law. When the old wine is kept in the old bottles, it brings us to Christ. At that point, we are no longer under the Law, and we live by the new wine. This way, both are preserved.

I know you are familiar with Ezekiel 14 and “idols of the heart.” God tells us there:

Ezekiel 14:7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet [ or the scripture] to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:

Ezekiel 14:8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I [ am] the LORD. Ezekiel 14:9 And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

I do not for one minute believe this is speaking of you. But anything we commit to writing is hard to recant for most of us.  I know whereof I speak because I wrote a 100+ page paper 4 years ago, saying that the law of Moses had been written on our hearts in the new covenant. I received a letter from a woman in Michigan pointing out that the “change in the priesthood” had eliminated the old priesthood and the same chapter of Hebrews says that the “carnal commandment” had also been “disannulled.” I was challenged to reconsider my “idol of the heart” and call every one I had given that paper to at our conference in Mobile, and apologize for misleading them and ask them to burn that heretical paper. The New covenant, as you do seem to comprehend, “is not according to the old.” To attempt to make it so is exactly what Christ warned “the disciples of John and of the Pharisees” was the equivalent of putting new cloth on an old garment and new wine in old bottles.”

Mar 2:18 And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?

Then Christ proceeds to tell them about the cloth and the bottles.

Christ very accurately warned No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better (Luk 5:39). So it is to this day.

When Paul says Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law (Rom 3:31), he is simply affirming the words of Christ: they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved (Mat 9:17). Law will always be needed ‘for the lawless’, and it will always bring us to Christ. But after that part of our walk is achieved, “we are no longer under a schoolmaster,” and if we insist on staying “under tutors and governors”, we will forever be no better than a bondservant, still under the law and incapable of claiming the adoption (Gk.- mature sons) rightful inheritance “the son of the freewoman” (Gal 4 ).

So what exactly is Paul’s point when he tells us Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more (2Co 5:16)?

Once again we ought not to speculate. We are given the reason in the following verses:

2Co 5:17 Therefore [ since “henceforth know we him no more after the flesh”] if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by[ a resurrected] Jesus Christ [ with a spiritual body], and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

2Co 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Christ was not “made to be sin” by hanging on the cross. Christ hung on the cross because He was “Made of a woman, made under the law” 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.”

Christ was like all flesh, ‘made of a woman’, shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me (Psa 51:5). This is how Christ was “made to be sin for us.” This is why, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.  Christ certainly never sinned while He was in the flesh, but that had nothing to do with keeping the law Moses. It had everything to do with keeping the “law of the Spirit if life.” It had everything to do with the fact that It is the spirit that quickeneth [ gives life]; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you [ while I am here in the flesh], they are spirit, and they are life (Joh 6:63). Coming the “second time without sin,” is simply another way of saying, “henceforth know we Him no more [ after the flesh].”

Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin [ not ‘made of a woman’] unto salvation.

The reason God gave Moses both a sin offering and a transgression offering was to show us that we need an offering for our transgression that we do, but we also need an offering for what we are, the way we were made, that is ‘of the dust of the earth’ and ‘naked.’ Adam could say with David: Behold, I was shapen in iniquity [ naked]; and in sin [ nakedness] did my [ Father] conceive me (Psa 51:5).

Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Is there not a spiritual parallel between Adam and Eve, before their temptation, and the Church of Laodicea?

I hope you can see that I am not the least bit interested in trying to make you see anything that “my father which is in heaven hath [ not] revealed … unto you”

Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

I am fully convinced that all truth we ever learn comes only by divine revelation. The voice or the writings of some messenger may be used to convey the thought, but the Truth is comprehended only by divine revelation: ” flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”

In the same Spirit of love that I hope to hear back from you, I am compelled to point out that according to my E- Sword, the words ‘ten commandments’ appear in the scriptures three different times:

Exo 34:28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

Deu 4:13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

Deu 10:4 And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto me.

This is all meant simply as edification which I hope you would do also for me.

In the love of Christ, your brother,

Mike Vinson