One of the many, if not the chiefest reason, I call myself “The
Reluctant Prophet” is the danger of people misconstruing my meaning or the
intent of this blog and vodcast. So out of an attempt to clarify my position permit
me to read from 1st Corinthian 2 KJV
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not
with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of
God.
2 For I determined not to know any thing among
you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in
weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with
enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the
wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are
perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world,
that come to nought:
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery,
even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew:
for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor
ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God
hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his
Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knoweth the things of a man,
save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no
man, but the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the
world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are
freely given to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words
which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing
spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things
of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he
himself is judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may
instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
So, if Paul was with the Corinthians in weakness, and in
fear, and in much trembling, how much more should I be very wary of giving any
of you the wrong impression of my purpose for hosting this vodcast and writing
this blog. Let me be clear, I am not a pastor. I offer no one spiritual counsel
other than to warn you of the dangers of ideological possession and holding to
false doctrines. Moreover, I offer spiritual insights on how to wage war
against such using the full armour of God. But most of all, I am the guy who is
here to tell you that God is not a gumball machine, neither will He fit into
the little box you think the Infinite Creator will fit neatly into. Clearly, we
cannot know the things of God without first having the mind of Christ. It is
fascinating to note that Paul wrote these things to the most carnal of all the
New Testament Churches written about in the Scriptures. Why? They had adultery
in their midst of a rather nasty and perverse kind but moreover they were becoming
sectarian.
Adultery and fornication in the Corinthian Church
from 1 Corinthians 5 KJV:
1 It is reported commonly that there is
fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among
the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.
2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather
mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present
in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that
hath so done this deed,
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye
are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the
destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord
Jesus.
6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a
little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
Sectarianism in the Corinthian Church:
1 Corinthians 1:10-17 KJV
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no
divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind
and in the same judgment.
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my
brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions
among you.
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith,
I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for
you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but
Crispus and Gaius;
15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in
mine own name.
16 And I baptized also the household of
Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to
preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be
made of none effect.
Well obviously, having carnal relations with your stepmom
is just weird, and claiming to be a Christian while doing it is even weirder,
but knowing this is going on in your church fellowship and tolerating it is
simply bizarre. But frankly there isn’t much that surprises me when it comes to
weird things and the falsely sanctimonious.
The patter for church gathering matters:
In the New Testament everyone who lived in any given local
who had received the New Birth gathered with other Christians. There are only two
divisions permitted in the Church according to anything we read in the New
Testament. One is based upon time, the other on geography. By this I mean that
I am separated from the Christians who live in another local by the physical
distance which separates us, and I am separated from the brethren who lived one
hundred years ago or hence by time. These two divisions are the only two sanctioned
in the Holy Scriptures and I frankly do not care what sect to which you may
belong. Sectarianism is not permitted according to the teachings of Paul or any
of the other apostles of the early church. You can come up with any excuse you may
wish but it is only an excuse that Paul has deconstructed in his admonition to
Corinth when he asked were you baptised in my or any other’s name? The oneness
of the Body of Christ is essential to the work of the Spirit of God, so spare
me your excuses for your divisiveness. Daily I pray that God lead my wife and I
into fellowship with those who are willing to be called only by His Holy name.
The nature of the Cross:
One of my favourite statements regarding gaining spiritual
discernment is understanding the metaphorical meaning of Bible passages. I have
often marveled that passages I have studied for decades contain invaluable truths
and insights that hitherto I had not understood. The vertical line of the Cross
of Christ represents infinity, while the horizontal line represents us, the dissecting
point where the finite meets the infinite. There is only one possible outcome
of such a conjunction, suffering. That is what the Cross represents, the inevitable
suffering which we will endure when we are confronted by the infinite. This is
why we are called to take up our Cross willingly to follow Him, not to escape
suffering but rather to embrace it.
The impossibility of easily defining the Infinite:
God is often described as infinite and eternal,
transcending the limitations of time and space. This is reflected in scriptures
such as Psalm 147:5, which states, “Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;
His understanding is infinite.”
God’s omnipresence is another key aspect of His nature.
This means that God is present everywhere at all times. Jeremiah 23:24
declares, "Can a man hide himself in hiding places, So I do not see him?”
declares the Lord. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?”
The omnipotence of God refers to His all-encompassing
power. Revelation 19:6 proclaims, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the
Almighty, reigns." This suggests that there is no limit to what God can
do.
God’s omniscience refers to His all-knowing nature. He
knows everything that can be known, past, present, and future. This is
reflected in Psalm 147:5, “His understanding is infinite.”
God is also described as immutable, meaning He does not
change. This constancy is a comfort to believers, who trust in His unchanging
nature.
Lastly, God’s holiness sets Him apart from all creation. He
is morally perfect and pure, without any sin or evil.
The inevitable realization when we encounter the
Infinite: knowledge of our own sinfulness and inadequacy but also awareness of
the prevailing wickedness around us
Isaiah 6 KJV
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also
the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the
temple.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had
six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet,
and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy,
holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice
of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone;
because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of
unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me,
having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the
altar:
7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo,
this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin
purged.
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying,
Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear
ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make
their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear
with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he
answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without
man, and the land be utterly desolate,
12 And the Lord have removed men far away, and
there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall
return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose
substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be
the substance thereof.
There is only one altar which can purge our sin, that is
the Cross of Christ. In this passage we see many fortellings, one of the
physical return of Jews to the promised land but also of the fact that the Church
must be recovered as Christ intends His Body to be, the fulness of him
that filleth all in all.
Ephesians
1:20-23 KJV
20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised
him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
21 Far above all principality, and power, and
might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but
also in that which is to come:
22 And hath put all things under his feet, and
gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that
filleth all in all.
Let us pray that we will partake in that fullness and be
sent as Isaiah was to God’s people that this prophecy will soon be fulfilled!
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