The scriptures claim that the Messiah is God. He has all the attributes of God, was eternal before creation and was the Creator and is the Sustainer of creation. Jesus Himself acknowledged this. Jesus also received worship (Matt 28:17). He was either a liar, insane, or the eternal Son of God.
…has in these last-days spoken to us by his Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds. Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Heb 1:2-3).
There are many such passages in the Old and New Testaments that declare the completeness of the divinity of Jesus Christ. His taking on of flesh did not in any way, at any time before or after His birth, reduce His divinity.
As the Nestorians tended towards a rejection of His complete divinity, others tended towards a rejection of Christ’s humanity. The earliest Gnostic philosophies held that Christ was a spirit only and did not come in the flesh. They did this because in their dualistic doctrine the flesh was evil. Their teaching concerning Christ was the spirit of antichrist that the Apostle John spoke of (1 John 4:3).
The antichrist is not a person, but a false doctrine that opposes the doctrine of Christ, chiefly that He came as God in the flesh to redeem us by His blood. John said whosoever denies that Christ came in the flesh is the spirit of antichrist. He said that there were many antichrists in the world and that we know antichrist is coming. That is, there would be more doctrines against Christ.
The Christians at Alexandria, the early Mary worshippers, tended to deny humanity. They were more Gnostic and denied the flesh. They claimed to focus on the spirit and sought to punish the flesh in asceticism in the monasteries. When the Reformation came many years later, Luther sought to dispute humanistic liberal theology (more Antiochean) on the one hand and allegorical superstition and idolatry (more Alexandrian) on the other.
Saturday, 4 September 2010
Friday, 3 September 2010
The Nature of Jesus Christ
Christ was born in Bethlehem of a virgin. He took on a mortal body, yet without inherited sin. In His nature He is fully God and fully man, in one nature and one person. His nature became a controversy in the 5th Century, known as the Nestorian Controversy.
Theodor and his pupil Nestorius (386-451AD) championed Nestorianism, holding that Jesus had two separate natures, the human and the divine. They were trying to counter an overemphasis on Christ’s divinity in the Alexandrian sector of the church, where Mary received the title mother of God. The Nestorians held that there was divisibility in His nature, so that Mary was mother only of His humanity.
Some saw Nestorianism as reducing Christ’s divinity. Some have taken the Nestorian position further and claimed that Jesus was a man who became the Son of God at His baptism, when the Holy Spirit allegedly entered Him. Nestorians differed in their position, but their official position was not always heretical.
Nestor was part of the Antioch Syria School of theology. This school was humanistic. They were semi-Pelagian. They did not see human nature as fully corrupted. They emphasised the humanity of Jesus. They were literal in their interpretation of the Bible, in opposition to the allegorical hermeneutics of the ascetic monasteries of North Africa.
In their humanist approach they sought to demystify all mysteries, such as the nature of Christ. How the human and divine can be one person in Christ is beyond human reason. Demystifying God is really an attack on faith. Nestorians also applied this to the communion, holding that the bread and wine were symbolic only.
In the 16th Century Luther rejected this, saying we must not deny what the Bible states and that Christ is present in the communion in a mystery. Science wants to see the chemical structure of the bread and would demand the same in relation to the claim that “Christ is in us”. For Luther, authority was in faith. The trinity, the nature of Christ, election and even water baptism (which is just water, but also the answer of a good conscience) are mysteries (1 Pet 3:21).
Their humanistic approach lent the Nestorian movement to syncretism in their missionary endeavours. Syncretism means that the gospel is adapted in line with human meanings found in local cultures. Though the Nestorians reached many nations in mission, in most places they so mixed the gospel with human values for ready acceptance that the church eventually died out.
The Roman position on the Nestorian dispute was that Christ had the two natures in one substance or person. It is difficult to know what this means, unless it was a compromise between Nestorianism and the African position. It seems to us that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, in one nature, for how can a person have two natures? It is a mystery, but we accept it on faith, because the scripture teaches it.
And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Tim 3:16).
The humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ are indivisible in one person and one nature. The Arians arose in the 4th Century, saying that Christ was only human. This claim was also made by the liberal heretics of the 19th Century, who denied the miraculous, the spirit world and eternal life. Much of the Western mindset today is rationalistic, extending from the humanism of Nestorianism.
Theodor and his pupil Nestorius (386-451AD) championed Nestorianism, holding that Jesus had two separate natures, the human and the divine. They were trying to counter an overemphasis on Christ’s divinity in the Alexandrian sector of the church, where Mary received the title mother of God. The Nestorians held that there was divisibility in His nature, so that Mary was mother only of His humanity.
Some saw Nestorianism as reducing Christ’s divinity. Some have taken the Nestorian position further and claimed that Jesus was a man who became the Son of God at His baptism, when the Holy Spirit allegedly entered Him. Nestorians differed in their position, but their official position was not always heretical.
Nestor was part of the Antioch Syria School of theology. This school was humanistic. They were semi-Pelagian. They did not see human nature as fully corrupted. They emphasised the humanity of Jesus. They were literal in their interpretation of the Bible, in opposition to the allegorical hermeneutics of the ascetic monasteries of North Africa.
In their humanist approach they sought to demystify all mysteries, such as the nature of Christ. How the human and divine can be one person in Christ is beyond human reason. Demystifying God is really an attack on faith. Nestorians also applied this to the communion, holding that the bread and wine were symbolic only.
In the 16th Century Luther rejected this, saying we must not deny what the Bible states and that Christ is present in the communion in a mystery. Science wants to see the chemical structure of the bread and would demand the same in relation to the claim that “Christ is in us”. For Luther, authority was in faith. The trinity, the nature of Christ, election and even water baptism (which is just water, but also the answer of a good conscience) are mysteries (1 Pet 3:21).
Their humanistic approach lent the Nestorian movement to syncretism in their missionary endeavours. Syncretism means that the gospel is adapted in line with human meanings found in local cultures. Though the Nestorians reached many nations in mission, in most places they so mixed the gospel with human values for ready acceptance that the church eventually died out.
The Roman position on the Nestorian dispute was that Christ had the two natures in one substance or person. It is difficult to know what this means, unless it was a compromise between Nestorianism and the African position. It seems to us that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, in one nature, for how can a person have two natures? It is a mystery, but we accept it on faith, because the scripture teaches it.
And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Tim 3:16).
The humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ are indivisible in one person and one nature. The Arians arose in the 4th Century, saying that Christ was only human. This claim was also made by the liberal heretics of the 19th Century, who denied the miraculous, the spirit world and eternal life. Much of the Western mindset today is rationalistic, extending from the humanism of Nestorianism.
Thursday, 2 September 2010
Eternal Sonship
Some have said that Jesus was the Word and became the Son at His birth in Bethlehem. This is not true. He is the Word, but was also the Son in the Old Testament, in His various appearances, such as in the fiery furnace in Babylon. He has always been the Son.
There is debate whether the Old Testament appearances were of Christ or an angel, but He received worship on several occasions. Christ appeared to Abraham (Gen 18:3), as Jesus said in John 8:56. He appeared to Moses (Ex 33:11), to Joshua (Josh 5:14), to Samson’s parents and to others in the Old Testament (Jud 13:20).
These are called pre-incarnate appearances of Christ. It has been said that the one in the furnace in Daniel was “like the Son of God” only (Dan 3:25), but this term “like” is also used in Dan 7:13 describing the ascension of Christ to the Father’s right hand.
His title “firstborn” does not mean there was a time when He did not exist, as the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim (Col 1:15, 18). (They do not witness to the Jehovah of scripture.) Firstborn is a designation for the pre-eminent one. It means the superior one, the heir of the promises, the one who overcame.
In the Old Covenant the firstborn was the heir, not the one who was necessarily born first, as seen in the cases of Esau and Jacob (Ex 4:22) and Ephraim and Manasseh (Gen 48:7, Jer 31:9). Firstborn in Hebrew usage means He is Lord and inheritor of the kingdom. It is not talking about an actual birth at any time in history or in pre-history. It means pre-eminent one.
There is debate whether the Old Testament appearances were of Christ or an angel, but He received worship on several occasions. Christ appeared to Abraham (Gen 18:3), as Jesus said in John 8:56. He appeared to Moses (Ex 33:11), to Joshua (Josh 5:14), to Samson’s parents and to others in the Old Testament (Jud 13:20).
These are called pre-incarnate appearances of Christ. It has been said that the one in the furnace in Daniel was “like the Son of God” only (Dan 3:25), but this term “like” is also used in Dan 7:13 describing the ascension of Christ to the Father’s right hand.
His title “firstborn” does not mean there was a time when He did not exist, as the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim (Col 1:15, 18). (They do not witness to the Jehovah of scripture.) Firstborn is a designation for the pre-eminent one. It means the superior one, the heir of the promises, the one who overcame.
In the Old Covenant the firstborn was the heir, not the one who was necessarily born first, as seen in the cases of Esau and Jacob (Ex 4:22) and Ephraim and Manasseh (Gen 48:7, Jer 31:9). Firstborn in Hebrew usage means He is Lord and inheritor of the kingdom. It is not talking about an actual birth at any time in history or in pre-history. It means pre-eminent one.
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
Jesus Christ
Jesus is also called the Word of God and the Son of God. Jesus (Joshua in Hebrew) was His given name when born in the flesh. He has existed eternally as the Son. There was never a time that He did not exist as the Son. He has always been God the Son. The Nicene Creed puts it, “begotten not made”.
“Begotten” did not mean that He did not exist at some point in eternity past. It meant that He proceeds in relationship and hierarchy from the Father. The Athanasian Creed is better, as it states that Christ is the eternal Son, “co-eternal, co-equal”. In the scripture, begotten also refers to coronation, in Christ’s case now as a man for us, after His resurrection. It means to invest with power (Ps 2:7, a coronation psalm).
Jesus Christ contains all the attributes of the Father. Is 9:6 includes “everlasting Father” and “mighty God” among Christ’s titles. His non-use of some powers in His incarnation was not due to inability. It was voluntary. His “not knowing the day nor the hour” was voluntary non-use, not lack of omniscience (Mk 13:32). Christ voluntarily limited His use of powers to do the Father’s will.
Christ chose humility to taste all things we face, to be our perfect High Priest (Heb 2:16-17). His expression: “I could call a legion of angels” and the way the soldiers fell when they came to arrest him, show that He possessed all power in His incarnation and could have used it (Matt 26:53, John 18:6). He gave Himself up to die on the cross because it was the Father’s will. No one took His life (John 10:17).
Mary knew that Jesus had power before His first public use of it at Cana, where He began to show forth His glory. This was the Father’s time (John 2:11). He was not only ministering by the Spirit, but also showing forth His glory. Before this His power was hidden to the public. His debating at age 12 shows He was always Spirit filled. He was Son “about His Father’s business” and Sonship is by empowerment.
The title “only begotten of the Father” means Jesus was the only man who came from the bosom of the Father and could show the Father to mankind (John 1:14, 18). The term does not mean that He was begotten before creation and prior to that He did not exist. The Son is eternal God.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. (Rev 22:13).
Phil 2:7 does not say that He laid His power aside when He came in the flesh, but that He humbled Himself in His use of it. To deny He had power is to deny Him His glory, which is what He came to show forth. If He did not have power, Satan could not have tempted Him to use it at will. We talk on this more below when speaking about His ministry.
“Begotten” did not mean that He did not exist at some point in eternity past. It meant that He proceeds in relationship and hierarchy from the Father. The Athanasian Creed is better, as it states that Christ is the eternal Son, “co-eternal, co-equal”. In the scripture, begotten also refers to coronation, in Christ’s case now as a man for us, after His resurrection. It means to invest with power (Ps 2:7, a coronation psalm).
Jesus Christ contains all the attributes of the Father. Is 9:6 includes “everlasting Father” and “mighty God” among Christ’s titles. His non-use of some powers in His incarnation was not due to inability. It was voluntary. His “not knowing the day nor the hour” was voluntary non-use, not lack of omniscience (Mk 13:32). Christ voluntarily limited His use of powers to do the Father’s will.
Christ chose humility to taste all things we face, to be our perfect High Priest (Heb 2:16-17). His expression: “I could call a legion of angels” and the way the soldiers fell when they came to arrest him, show that He possessed all power in His incarnation and could have used it (Matt 26:53, John 18:6). He gave Himself up to die on the cross because it was the Father’s will. No one took His life (John 10:17).
Mary knew that Jesus had power before His first public use of it at Cana, where He began to show forth His glory. This was the Father’s time (John 2:11). He was not only ministering by the Spirit, but also showing forth His glory. Before this His power was hidden to the public. His debating at age 12 shows He was always Spirit filled. He was Son “about His Father’s business” and Sonship is by empowerment.
The title “only begotten of the Father” means Jesus was the only man who came from the bosom of the Father and could show the Father to mankind (John 1:14, 18). The term does not mean that He was begotten before creation and prior to that He did not exist. The Son is eternal God.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. (Rev 22:13).
Phil 2:7 does not say that He laid His power aside when He came in the flesh, but that He humbled Himself in His use of it. To deny He had power is to deny Him His glory, which is what He came to show forth. If He did not have power, Satan could not have tempted Him to use it at will. We talk on this more below when speaking about His ministry.
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
The Trinity
God exists in trinity. The trinity is one of the mysteries of God. The Bible does not explain where God comes from. The Bible just claims that God “was, is and ever will be” (Rev 22:13). This is a mystery to the human mind. It cannot be understood intellectually. We believe it because the word of God declares it. The trinity is likewise a mystery.
“Let us make man in our image” is not the “royal we” as the British monarch uses, for the Hebrew monarchs did not use it. The phrase is not referring to God and the angels, for the angels were not involved in God’s creation (Gen 1:26). Man was not made in the image of angels. “Us” refers to Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
The New Testament says that God made all things through Christ and Genesis 1 shows the Holy Spirit was present in creation. At Jesus’ baptism and again later in the discourse of Jesus in John 14-17 the Father, Jesus and the Spirit are all individually identified. The trinity means one God in unity, in three persons. It is not polytheism, for the three are one God. The creeds say one substance. The creeds speak of the hierarchy in the trinity. Jesus claimed the Father was greater than He (John 14:28).
The Hierarchy
This is a voluntary hierarchy, as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all equally God. The Spirit’s submission to Christ enables us to test the spirits, for any spirit that does not place Christ at the forefront is not the Spirit of God (1 John 4:2). Trinity in hierarchy serves to the benefit of the redeemed.
Jesus’ submission to the Father likewise demonstrates to us a faithful heart. “The Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28). Jesus is called the true and faithful witness (Rev 3:14, where “beginning” means Head). He had no personal agenda. Jesus’ prayer, “Not My will but Yours be done”, shows the fellowship that exists in the trinity (Matt 26:39). It is not a relationship of control.
God is love and love cannot exist on its own (1 John 4:8). Love must exist in relationship and in sharing. Love must give. Just as we cannot love God on our own, but in fellowship with the church, so God always existed in fellowship. God must exist in trinity – in fellowship.
God’s creation is for the same purpose, to share His life with others. He created because love must share. God wanted to share the fellowship He had in the family of His Godhead with His people. Creation and redemption are to the praise of His glory and to call us into His eternal fellowship (Eph 1:6, 1 John 1:3).
Trinitarianism
There is a form of trinity that takes a separation of the persons of the Godhead too scientifically. The Holy Spirit in a believer is the Spirit of Christ. It is wrong to treat the Holy Spirit in any way, even as a fuller second experience, as separate from receiving Christ.
We do not believe in oneness theology that denies the trinity. But the concept of the separability of the persons is also dangerous to theology. Deut 6:4 claims “The Lord our God is unity.”. The Hebrews knew of the trinity, but they expressed it as a unity.
Hellenistic Christian theology has departed from this. This is another example of the early Hellenisation of the church that we have not yet recovered from. The Hebrew were Trinitarian, but not in the Greek sense. The Hebrew knew of the Son, the Seed of woman. The Pharisees rejected the Son, but witness to Him is throughout the Old Testament. They knew of the Spirit.
Isaiah 9 claims among the titles of Christ mighty God and everlasting Father. Yet Jesus clearly related to the Father as a distinct person. All we can say is that it is a mystery. The relationship is too dynamic to be separated. The truth is somewhere between Western scientific separation and oneness theology. We have not looked into Tertullian’s Trinitarian theology, but here we might find roots of Pentecostal thought.
Jesus said, “I send you another comforter.”. In Greek the word means another the same. The unity is more than one mind, purpose and substance. The Hebrew did not have to explain it scientifically, rationally or philosophically. They just accepted the biblical revelation. Hebrew thought is holistic. The Three are One! It is the same with the nature of Christ. He is human and God. But He is one inseparable nature.
It is not possible to have Christ without having the fullness of the Spirit. In Christ the fullness of the Godhead dwells (Col 2:9). “Of His fullness have we all received.” (John 1:16). “You are complete in Him.” (Col 2:10). This does not mean that all the manifestations will happen at once when we are born again. But we cannot receive Christ without receiving the Father and the Spirit in His fullness.
“Let us make man in our image” is not the “royal we” as the British monarch uses, for the Hebrew monarchs did not use it. The phrase is not referring to God and the angels, for the angels were not involved in God’s creation (Gen 1:26). Man was not made in the image of angels. “Us” refers to Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
The New Testament says that God made all things through Christ and Genesis 1 shows the Holy Spirit was present in creation. At Jesus’ baptism and again later in the discourse of Jesus in John 14-17 the Father, Jesus and the Spirit are all individually identified. The trinity means one God in unity, in three persons. It is not polytheism, for the three are one God. The creeds say one substance. The creeds speak of the hierarchy in the trinity. Jesus claimed the Father was greater than He (John 14:28).
The Hierarchy
This is a voluntary hierarchy, as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all equally God. The Spirit’s submission to Christ enables us to test the spirits, for any spirit that does not place Christ at the forefront is not the Spirit of God (1 John 4:2). Trinity in hierarchy serves to the benefit of the redeemed.
Jesus’ submission to the Father likewise demonstrates to us a faithful heart. “The Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28). Jesus is called the true and faithful witness (Rev 3:14, where “beginning” means Head). He had no personal agenda. Jesus’ prayer, “Not My will but Yours be done”, shows the fellowship that exists in the trinity (Matt 26:39). It is not a relationship of control.
God is love and love cannot exist on its own (1 John 4:8). Love must exist in relationship and in sharing. Love must give. Just as we cannot love God on our own, but in fellowship with the church, so God always existed in fellowship. God must exist in trinity – in fellowship.
God’s creation is for the same purpose, to share His life with others. He created because love must share. God wanted to share the fellowship He had in the family of His Godhead with His people. Creation and redemption are to the praise of His glory and to call us into His eternal fellowship (Eph 1:6, 1 John 1:3).
Trinitarianism
There is a form of trinity that takes a separation of the persons of the Godhead too scientifically. The Holy Spirit in a believer is the Spirit of Christ. It is wrong to treat the Holy Spirit in any way, even as a fuller second experience, as separate from receiving Christ.
We do not believe in oneness theology that denies the trinity. But the concept of the separability of the persons is also dangerous to theology. Deut 6:4 claims “The Lord our God is unity.”. The Hebrews knew of the trinity, but they expressed it as a unity.
Hellenistic Christian theology has departed from this. This is another example of the early Hellenisation of the church that we have not yet recovered from. The Hebrew were Trinitarian, but not in the Greek sense. The Hebrew knew of the Son, the Seed of woman. The Pharisees rejected the Son, but witness to Him is throughout the Old Testament. They knew of the Spirit.
Isaiah 9 claims among the titles of Christ mighty God and everlasting Father. Yet Jesus clearly related to the Father as a distinct person. All we can say is that it is a mystery. The relationship is too dynamic to be separated. The truth is somewhere between Western scientific separation and oneness theology. We have not looked into Tertullian’s Trinitarian theology, but here we might find roots of Pentecostal thought.
Jesus said, “I send you another comforter.”. In Greek the word means another the same. The unity is more than one mind, purpose and substance. The Hebrew did not have to explain it scientifically, rationally or philosophically. They just accepted the biblical revelation. Hebrew thought is holistic. The Three are One! It is the same with the nature of Christ. He is human and God. But He is one inseparable nature.
It is not possible to have Christ without having the fullness of the Spirit. In Christ the fullness of the Godhead dwells (Col 2:9). “Of His fullness have we all received.” (John 1:16). “You are complete in Him.” (Col 2:10). This does not mean that all the manifestations will happen at once when we are born again. But we cannot receive Christ without receiving the Father and the Spirit in His fullness.
Monday, 30 August 2010
Man Does Not Rule
Another belief in this area is that Christians are mini-gods and have creative power. Moses was as a god to Pharaoh in that he was God’s mouthpiece; but Moses had no right to choose his own words. He spoke as God directed him. Even Jesus only followed and obeyed the Father (John 5:19).
Today, Christ leads His church through the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and in earth is given to Me, go therefore and make disciples…” (Matt 28:18). If Jesus has all authority, it follows that there is no authority left for Satan or for us. The only authority we exercise as believers is by the will of God.
Some claim that by visualisation or confession we can create, but the blessings of God are of grace, not of works. For example, Abraham did not receive the Promised Land because he visualized it. God brought him to stand in the centre of the land to show him what He had already given him. He told Abraham to look to the east, west, etc and said all you can see I have given to you (Gen 15:18).
Abraham received the land as a gift, by grace, provided by God from before the foundation of the earth. We do not confess our own thoughts to create what we choose. We confess what God has done in us already. Paul said “we believe, therefore we speak” (2 Cor 4:13). We speak according to God’s gift of faith, which is received by grace. God gives us the faith first and we speak what He is doing.
Similarly, when God told Joshua, “wherever your foot treads I have given you”, it was because God had brought Joshua to the place that He had already given to Abraham and Israel (Josh 1:1-9). The key was not Joshua’s foot, but what God had already given. The boundaries were already marked. If Joshua stepped out of those boundaries his foot would not have helped him much!
If God has not done it, speaking or visualisation will not achieve anything of lasting value. This is occultism. This was Eve’s temptation, “You shall be like God.”. Occultism is an attempt to use God’s power apart from God’s grace. Visualising and self-encouragement are good in the sense of planning and then working towards those plans, but this has nothing to do with God’s power. They are just normal life principles that apply to everyone, Christian or not.
Using visualisation to manipulate the spiritual realm is Buddhism, not Christianity. Man and Satan can make their plans, but God is sovereign (Pr 16:9, 19:21). The gospel is a gospel of grace in what Christ has done through His merits. This is not to undermine faith, which “calls things that are not as though they were” (Rom 4:17). When we take away God’s sovereignty and place man at the fore it is not faith.
God sees all and knows all, even the thoughts of our hearts. Nothing is hidden from Him (Psalm 139). He does not need counsel for He has all knowledge and wisdom. God is omnipotent (has all power), omniscient (has all knowledge) and is omnipresent (is everywhere). This corrects teachings on the devil and human will. This is the first lesson of faith. As God is omnipotent, there can be no other power.
With the Ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding. With Him is wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding. Behold, He breaks down and it cannot be built again: He shuts up a man and there can be no opening. (Job 12:12-14).
I know that, whatsoever God does it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, or anything taken from it: and God does it, that men should fear before Him. (Ecc 3:14).
When Jesus gave Peter the keys of the kingdom, He was speaking of the gospel message (Matt 16:19). He was not speaking of Peter’s personal authority. The Pharisees earlier had the keys, but tried to keep the kingdom locked up, meaning they changed the message of God into works and kept the truth away from others (Luke 11:52). Then they tried to force their way into the kingdom without repentance (Matt 3:7-9, Matt 11:12).
When Jesus said whatsoever the apostles loose on earth is loosed in heaven He was referring to the fruits of the gospel in the forgiveness of sins (Matt 16:20). It was not their personal authority, but the Lord working with them through His gift of faith in the gospel. When people are set free on earth by new birth it is evident that their name is written in heaven. Jesus was speaking of the operation of Christ in the New Covenant.
Today, Christ leads His church through the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and in earth is given to Me, go therefore and make disciples…” (Matt 28:18). If Jesus has all authority, it follows that there is no authority left for Satan or for us. The only authority we exercise as believers is by the will of God.
Some claim that by visualisation or confession we can create, but the blessings of God are of grace, not of works. For example, Abraham did not receive the Promised Land because he visualized it. God brought him to stand in the centre of the land to show him what He had already given him. He told Abraham to look to the east, west, etc and said all you can see I have given to you (Gen 15:18).
Abraham received the land as a gift, by grace, provided by God from before the foundation of the earth. We do not confess our own thoughts to create what we choose. We confess what God has done in us already. Paul said “we believe, therefore we speak” (2 Cor 4:13). We speak according to God’s gift of faith, which is received by grace. God gives us the faith first and we speak what He is doing.
Similarly, when God told Joshua, “wherever your foot treads I have given you”, it was because God had brought Joshua to the place that He had already given to Abraham and Israel (Josh 1:1-9). The key was not Joshua’s foot, but what God had already given. The boundaries were already marked. If Joshua stepped out of those boundaries his foot would not have helped him much!
If God has not done it, speaking or visualisation will not achieve anything of lasting value. This is occultism. This was Eve’s temptation, “You shall be like God.”. Occultism is an attempt to use God’s power apart from God’s grace. Visualising and self-encouragement are good in the sense of planning and then working towards those plans, but this has nothing to do with God’s power. They are just normal life principles that apply to everyone, Christian or not.
Using visualisation to manipulate the spiritual realm is Buddhism, not Christianity. Man and Satan can make their plans, but God is sovereign (Pr 16:9, 19:21). The gospel is a gospel of grace in what Christ has done through His merits. This is not to undermine faith, which “calls things that are not as though they were” (Rom 4:17). When we take away God’s sovereignty and place man at the fore it is not faith.
God sees all and knows all, even the thoughts of our hearts. Nothing is hidden from Him (Psalm 139). He does not need counsel for He has all knowledge and wisdom. God is omnipotent (has all power), omniscient (has all knowledge) and is omnipresent (is everywhere). This corrects teachings on the devil and human will. This is the first lesson of faith. As God is omnipotent, there can be no other power.
With the Ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding. With Him is wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding. Behold, He breaks down and it cannot be built again: He shuts up a man and there can be no opening. (Job 12:12-14).
I know that, whatsoever God does it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, or anything taken from it: and God does it, that men should fear before Him. (Ecc 3:14).
When Jesus gave Peter the keys of the kingdom, He was speaking of the gospel message (Matt 16:19). He was not speaking of Peter’s personal authority. The Pharisees earlier had the keys, but tried to keep the kingdom locked up, meaning they changed the message of God into works and kept the truth away from others (Luke 11:52). Then they tried to force their way into the kingdom without repentance (Matt 3:7-9, Matt 11:12).
When Jesus said whatsoever the apostles loose on earth is loosed in heaven He was referring to the fruits of the gospel in the forgiveness of sins (Matt 16:20). It was not their personal authority, but the Lord working with them through His gift of faith in the gospel. When people are set free on earth by new birth it is evident that their name is written in heaven. Jesus was speaking of the operation of Christ in the New Covenant.
Sunday, 29 August 2010
God as Governor
God’s sovereignty continued after the Fall. Some have said that God gave the earth to man when He told man to have dominion before the Fall and when Adam sinned Adam handed the earth over to Satan. The Bible does not state this. Adam’s dominion was under the Lordship of God, so long as he obeyed God’s commands. The Psalms claim that “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” (Ps 24:1). God still exercises full dominion over His creation.
Nebuchadnezzar claimed that he built Babylon by the power of his own hand and for that reason God removed from him His grace, to show Nebuchadnezzar that he was able to do nothing by himself. He lost his mind and ate grass with the cattle for seven years (Dan 4:34-37).
In God’s time, his mind returned to him and Nebuchadnezzar’s first thought was that “God reigns in all the earth and puts in power whomsoever He wills and brings down one king and raises up another.” (Dan 4:32). Some say today that territorial spirits rule certain districts of the earth. God rules the earth, not the devil or anyone else. Anyone who claims someone other than God rules is “eating grass with Nebuchadnezzar”.
God said concerning Pharaoh, “For this reason I have raised you up.” (Rom 9:17). Pharaoh thought his wisdom and his gods gave him power, but it was God’s sovereign will to raise up Pharaoh, that He might show His power to His elect people Israel. The book of Colossians says that all powers and dominions are subject to Jesus Christ (Col 1:16-23). This means spiritual powers and human governments. They are all in place by His permission and for His purpose.
Does this mean that God is responsible for the evil that they do? No, they do evil out of the depravity of their own nature. But God works all things together according to the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:5). He can even harden the heart of a sinner if its suits His purpose, as He did with Pharaoh (Rom 9:18).
Some have argued that Satan rules the nations because he is called the prince of the power of the air, which now rules the sons of disobedience (Eph 2:2). Satan does this by God’s permission and under His supervision. The supervision of God over Satan’s works is clear from Job, where God gave Satan permission to test Job, but under a clear limitation that Satan was not able in the least bit to resist (Job 2:1-6).
It is even seen in the Old Testament that God once summoned a lying spirit to take a wicked king in his own folly (1 Kings 22:22). 1 Cor 10:13 says there is no temptation that God will not oversee and give sufficient grace to escape. Jesus said not one hair falls from our head without our Father’s knowledge (Matt 10:30). God has knowledge of every single event, no matter how minor, which means that He is everywhere at the same time.
Satan Does Not Rule
It is further argued by some that because Satan tempted Jesus saying that he ruled the kingdoms of the earth and could give them to Jesus, then this must have been true, or it would not have been a temptation. It is true that Satan had a fleeting power over the disobedient, those who follow the fashions of the world in their desires, but this is under God’s sovereign control. Jesus was not fooled by this temptation and He knew that:
1. Satan is a liar.
2. Authority cannot be had unless the Father gives it.
What Satan said was not true. Jesus said to Pontius Pilot, “You can have no authority unless it is given you from above.” (John 19:11). The Bible is clear; Satan has nothing that God has not given him and God can take it away without the slightest dispute. Satan does not even rule fallen men. Fallen man is ruled by the law of sin and death. He is governed and held captive by His own sin nature, under God’s sovereignty.
Nebuchadnezzar claimed that he built Babylon by the power of his own hand and for that reason God removed from him His grace, to show Nebuchadnezzar that he was able to do nothing by himself. He lost his mind and ate grass with the cattle for seven years (Dan 4:34-37).
In God’s time, his mind returned to him and Nebuchadnezzar’s first thought was that “God reigns in all the earth and puts in power whomsoever He wills and brings down one king and raises up another.” (Dan 4:32). Some say today that territorial spirits rule certain districts of the earth. God rules the earth, not the devil or anyone else. Anyone who claims someone other than God rules is “eating grass with Nebuchadnezzar”.
God said concerning Pharaoh, “For this reason I have raised you up.” (Rom 9:17). Pharaoh thought his wisdom and his gods gave him power, but it was God’s sovereign will to raise up Pharaoh, that He might show His power to His elect people Israel. The book of Colossians says that all powers and dominions are subject to Jesus Christ (Col 1:16-23). This means spiritual powers and human governments. They are all in place by His permission and for His purpose.
Does this mean that God is responsible for the evil that they do? No, they do evil out of the depravity of their own nature. But God works all things together according to the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:5). He can even harden the heart of a sinner if its suits His purpose, as He did with Pharaoh (Rom 9:18).
Some have argued that Satan rules the nations because he is called the prince of the power of the air, which now rules the sons of disobedience (Eph 2:2). Satan does this by God’s permission and under His supervision. The supervision of God over Satan’s works is clear from Job, where God gave Satan permission to test Job, but under a clear limitation that Satan was not able in the least bit to resist (Job 2:1-6).
It is even seen in the Old Testament that God once summoned a lying spirit to take a wicked king in his own folly (1 Kings 22:22). 1 Cor 10:13 says there is no temptation that God will not oversee and give sufficient grace to escape. Jesus said not one hair falls from our head without our Father’s knowledge (Matt 10:30). God has knowledge of every single event, no matter how minor, which means that He is everywhere at the same time.
Satan Does Not Rule
It is further argued by some that because Satan tempted Jesus saying that he ruled the kingdoms of the earth and could give them to Jesus, then this must have been true, or it would not have been a temptation. It is true that Satan had a fleeting power over the disobedient, those who follow the fashions of the world in their desires, but this is under God’s sovereign control. Jesus was not fooled by this temptation and He knew that:
1. Satan is a liar.
2. Authority cannot be had unless the Father gives it.
What Satan said was not true. Jesus said to Pontius Pilot, “You can have no authority unless it is given you from above.” (John 19:11). The Bible is clear; Satan has nothing that God has not given him and God can take it away without the slightest dispute. Satan does not even rule fallen men. Fallen man is ruled by the law of sin and death. He is governed and held captive by His own sin nature, under God’s sovereignty.
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