REFRESHMENT
This gets deep. Let's take the plunge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXqXIicm8uU
Follow the logic. We sinned. Our spirits became tainted. The world around fell with the persons who were supposed to tend it. Everything was wrong. It all fell when the spirit fell.
Understand this clearly: from the beginning of our time on this planet, WE NEVER HAD ANY SOLUTIONS FOR THE PROBLEM. Bold that, too: WE NEVER HAD ANY SOLUTIONS FOR THE PROBLEM.
Because: WE ARE THE PROBLEM.
If we learn nothing from all that has gone before this, we need to learn that.
Jesus Christ came to save us. but that involved changing everything by changing US. We are the universes's problem. The UNIVERSE'S problem.
We have to understand. We have to get by our massive egos and our fear of death: our fear of not being in control when we never were in control. We think that all this is the normal because we were born into it, into the sin drenched evil. we want to give our children that better world of our dreams, a place where all races are equal and all men and women are equal and there is no superiority one person to the other, all of us just working together for the cause of helping each other. At my factory, carrying over that nationalist idea from Japan, we all wear white. But we have shoulder patches designating our shift leaders and supervisors so we really never resist that urge to be lined up in proper human order.
Aristotle, not the Church, put Earth at the center of the Solar System. The Catholic church adopted it and made it their law then had to censure Galileo over a Solar centric system because they wouldn't let go of their position. Not the Bible and what it said, but their human centered position. Their power.
The list goes on and on and we arrive at only one conclusion: the answer had to come from outside us for it to succeed. The Bee Gees lyric springs to mind: "Only love can break a heart, only love can mend it again." In this case it is a bit different: "Only man could break the world, only God can mend it again,"
This is how we begin to understand that it had to be the Son of God to fix things. An angel seduced humanity from it's purpose. Man followed and still follow the seduction. I can trip right out to Doctor Strange or Logan, to the tales of King Arthur or a riff by Stephen King. Meaning no angel or man could solve the problem they both created. Only their creator could solve it. When you hear someone has been given a cure by an angel, you can rely on it not being any better than a human cure. Certainly you should wonder that it might be Satanic in origin. No secret verses and no giant glasses to decipher a message scrawled in odd signs.
Only the Son of God could offer any hope of going beyond our sin-filled lives into something better than ourselves. Into what we are meant to be. But let's pursue what that term "Son of God" means:
https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-Son-of-God.html
Answer: Jesus is not God’s Son in the sense of a human father and a son. God did not get married and have a son. God did not mate with Mary and, together with her, produce a son. Jesus is God’s Son in the sense that He is God made manifest in human form (John 1:1, 14). Jesus is God's Son in that He was conceived in Mary by the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:35 declares, “The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.’”
During His trial before the Jewish leaders, the High Priest demanded of Jesus, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God” (Matthew 26:63). “’Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus replied. ‘But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven’” (Matthew 26:64). The Jewish leaders responded by accusing Jesus of blasphemy (Matthew 26:65-66). Later, before Pontius Pilate, “The Jews insisted, ‘We have a law, and according to that law He must die, because He claimed to be the Son of God’” (John 19:7). Why would His claiming to be the Son of God be considered blasphemy and be worthy of a death sentence? The Jewish leaders understood exactly what Jesus meant by the phrase “Son of God.” To be the Son of God is to be of the same nature as God. The Son of God is “of God.” The claim to be of the same nature as God—to in fact be God—was blasphemy to the Jewish leaders; therefore, they demanded Jesus’ death, in keeping with Leviticus 24:15. Hebrews 1:3 expresses this very clearly, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.”
Another example can be found in John 17:12 where Judas is described as the “son of perdition.” John 6:71 tells us that Judas was the son of Simon. What does John 17:12 mean by describing Judas as the “son of perdition”? The word perdition means “destruction, ruin, waste.” Judas was not the literal son of “ruin, destruction, and waste,” but those things were the identity of Judas' life. Judas was a manifestation of perdition. In this same way, Jesus is the Son of God. The Son of God is God. Jesus is God made manifest (John 1:1, 14).
http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/jesus-is-the-christ-the-son-of-god
But we want to revisit something mentioned way back in our IIIb post:
Unlike the first Adam, the Lord Jesus was, in addition, divine, having the attributes, offices, prerogatives, and names of deity. Being fully God, He is worthy of worship (e.g. Revelation 5:11–14).
This gets deep. Let's take the plunge.
Follow the logic. We sinned. Our spirits became tainted. The world around fell with the persons who were supposed to tend it. Everything was wrong. It all fell when the spirit fell.
Understand this clearly: from the beginning of our time on this planet, WE NEVER HAD ANY SOLUTIONS FOR THE PROBLEM. Bold that, too: WE NEVER HAD ANY SOLUTIONS FOR THE PROBLEM.
Because: WE ARE THE PROBLEM.
If we learn nothing from all that has gone before this, we need to learn that.
Jesus Christ came to save us. but that involved changing everything by changing US. We are the universes's problem. The UNIVERSE'S problem.
We have to understand. We have to get by our massive egos and our fear of death: our fear of not being in control when we never were in control. We think that all this is the normal because we were born into it, into the sin drenched evil. we want to give our children that better world of our dreams, a place where all races are equal and all men and women are equal and there is no superiority one person to the other, all of us just working together for the cause of helping each other. At my factory, carrying over that nationalist idea from Japan, we all wear white. But we have shoulder patches designating our shift leaders and supervisors so we really never resist that urge to be lined up in proper human order.
Aristotle, not the Church, put Earth at the center of the Solar System. The Catholic church adopted it and made it their law then had to censure Galileo over a Solar centric system because they wouldn't let go of their position. Not the Bible and what it said, but their human centered position. Their power.
The list goes on and on and we arrive at only one conclusion: the answer had to come from outside us for it to succeed. The Bee Gees lyric springs to mind: "Only love can break a heart, only love can mend it again." In this case it is a bit different: "Only man could break the world, only God can mend it again,"
This is how we begin to understand that it had to be the Son of God to fix things. An angel seduced humanity from it's purpose. Man followed and still follow the seduction. I can trip right out to Doctor Strange or Logan, to the tales of King Arthur or a riff by Stephen King. Meaning no angel or man could solve the problem they both created. Only their creator could solve it. When you hear someone has been given a cure by an angel, you can rely on it not being any better than a human cure. Certainly you should wonder that it might be Satanic in origin. No secret verses and no giant glasses to decipher a message scrawled in odd signs.
Only the Son of God could offer any hope of going beyond our sin-filled lives into something better than ourselves. Into what we are meant to be. But let's pursue what that term "Son of God" means:
https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-Son-of-God.html
Answer: Jesus is not God’s Son in the sense of a human father and a son. God did not get married and have a son. God did not mate with Mary and, together with her, produce a son. Jesus is God’s Son in the sense that He is God made manifest in human form (John 1:1, 14). Jesus is God's Son in that He was conceived in Mary by the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:35 declares, “The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.’”
During His trial before the Jewish leaders, the High Priest demanded of Jesus, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God” (Matthew 26:63). “’Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus replied. ‘But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven’” (Matthew 26:64). The Jewish leaders responded by accusing Jesus of blasphemy (Matthew 26:65-66). Later, before Pontius Pilate, “The Jews insisted, ‘We have a law, and according to that law He must die, because He claimed to be the Son of God’” (John 19:7). Why would His claiming to be the Son of God be considered blasphemy and be worthy of a death sentence? The Jewish leaders understood exactly what Jesus meant by the phrase “Son of God.” To be the Son of God is to be of the same nature as God. The Son of God is “of God.” The claim to be of the same nature as God—to in fact be God—was blasphemy to the Jewish leaders; therefore, they demanded Jesus’ death, in keeping with Leviticus 24:15. Hebrews 1:3 expresses this very clearly, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.”
Another example can be found in John 17:12 where Judas is described as the “son of perdition.” John 6:71 tells us that Judas was the son of Simon. What does John 17:12 mean by describing Judas as the “son of perdition”? The word perdition means “destruction, ruin, waste.” Judas was not the literal son of “ruin, destruction, and waste,” but those things were the identity of Judas' life. Judas was a manifestation of perdition. In this same way, Jesus is the Son of God. The Son of God is God. Jesus is God made manifest (John 1:1, 14).
Perhaps more to the point of our discussion, John Piper in a lecture:
http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/jesus-is-the-christ-the-son-of-god
What Does It Mean That Jesus Is the Son of God?
1. Jesus Is God
It means that he is God.
Paul said in Colossians 2:9, "In him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" (cf. 1:13, 19). He said in Philippians 2:6, "Though he was in the form of God he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself." Hebrews 1:2–3 says, "In these last days God has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of [God's] glory and the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power." Hebrews 1:8–9 says, "Of the Son [God] he says, "Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever." And John writes, "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God . . . and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth" (John 1:1, 14)
When Paul said that Jesus is the Son of God, we understand him to mean that Jesus is God. He is not a mere man or a high-ranking angel in human form. He is truly man and truly God.
When we call him Son of God, we mean that he is of the same nature as God. Fathers create things unlike themselves, but they beget sons like themselves. C. S. Lewis puts it like this:
When you beget, you beget something of the same kind as yourself. A man begets human babies, a beaver begets little beavers, and a bird begets eggs which turn into little birds. But when you make (or create), you make something of a different kind from yourself. A bird makes a nest, a beaver builds a dam, and man makes a wireless set (or a computer) . . .
So when we say that Jesus is the Son of God, we mean that God has begotten his Son in his very same divine nature, nothing less, from all eternity. Begetting is a metaphor, a picture, that tries to hold two truths together: (1) God the Father is not God the Son and God the Son is not God the Father; they are distinct persons, distinct centers of consciousness, and can relate to each other. But (2) the Father and the Son are one God not two Gods, one essence, one divine nature. From all eternity, without any beginning, the Father has always had a perfect image of himself and a divine reflection or radiance equal to himself, namely, the Son.
So the first thing we mean when we say, "Jesus is the Son of God," is that he is God.
And that divine nature leads to another claim:
What Did Jesus Mean When He Called Himself the “Son of God”?
Jesus claimed to be the “Son of God.” This title does not mean Jesus is God’s biological Son. Neither does the term “Son” imply inferiority anymore than a human son is inferior in essence to his father. A son shares his father’s DNA, and although he is different, they are both men. Scholars say that the term “Son of God” in the original languages refers to likeness, or “of the same order.” Jesus meant by it that he has divine essence, or in 21st century terms, the “DNA of God.” Professor Peter Kreeft explains:
“What did Jesus mean when he called himself the ‘Son of God’? The son of a man is a man. (Both ‘son’ and ‘man,’ in the traditional language, mean males and females equally.) The son of an ape is an ape. The son of a dog is a dog. The son of a shark is a shark. And so the Son of God is God. ‘Son of God’ is a divine title.”¹
In John 17, Jesus speaks about the glory he and his Father shared before the world began. But by calling himself the “Son of God” is Jesus claiming equality with God? Theologian J.I. Packer answers:
When, therefore, the Bible proclaims Jesus as the Son of God, the statement is meant as an assertion of his distinct personal deity.”²
Thus, the names Jesus used for himself point to the fact that he was claiming equality with God. But did Jesus speak and act with the authority of God?
Forgiving Sin
In the Jewish religion, forgiveness of sin was reserved for God alone. Forgiveness is always personal; someone else cannot do the forgiving for the person offended, especially if the Person offended is God. But on several occasions Jesus acted as if he was God by forgiving sinners. The simmering religious leaders finally erupted at Jesus when he forgave the sins of a man with palsy right in front of them.
“The scribes who heard him said blasphemy! Who but God can forgive sins!” (Mark 2:7)
Scholar and former atheist C. S. Lewis imagines the stunned reactions of all those who heard Jesus:
‘Then comes the real shock,’ wrote Lewis: ‘Among these Jews there suddenly turns up a man who goes about talking as if He was God. He claims to forgive sins. He says He always existed. He says He is coming to judge the world at the end of time. Now let us get this clear. Among Pantheists, like the Indians, anyone might say that he was a part of God, or one with God … But this man, since He was a Jew, could not mean that kind of God. God, in their language, meant the Being outside the world, who had made it and was infinitely different from anything else. And when you have grasped that, you will see that what this man said was, quite simply, the most shocking thing that has ever been uttered by human lips.’³
Those who listened to Jesus, observed his moral perfection, and saw him perform miracles, wondered if he was the long-promised Messiah. Finally his opponents surrounded him at the Temple, asking:
“How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”
Jesus answered,
“The proof is what I do in the name of my Father.” He compared his followers with sheep saying, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.” He then revealed to them that “the Father is greater than all,” and that his deeds were “at the Father’s direction.” Jesus’ humility must have been disarming. But then Jesus dropped a bombshell, telling them, (John 10:25-30)“The Father and I are one.”
If Jesus had meant that he was merely in agreement with God, there would have been no strong reaction. But, the Jews picked up stones to kill him. Jesus then asked them, “At my Father’s direction I have done many things to help the people. For which one of these good deeds are you killing me?”
They replied,
“Not for any good work; but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, have made yourself God” (John 10:33).
There was no doubt in the minds of the Jews as to what Jesus meant. There should be no doubt in ours either.
Son of God in the NT
In the NT, Jesus is understood as the Son of God, while believers are distinguished as "adopted" children of God (cf. Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5). For example, in the letter of 1 John, Jesus is designated as the Son while believers are simply called children. Jesus' relationship is unique in comparison to that of a believers.
And some additional ideas:
"Though the title 'Son of God' can sometimes be used simply to refer to Israel (Matt. 2:15), or to man as created by God (Luke 2:38), or to redeemed man generally (Rom. 8:14, 19, 23), there are nevertheless instances in which the phrase 'Son of God' refers to Jesus as the heavenly, eternal Son who is equal to God himself (see Matt. 11:25-30; 17:5; 1 Cor. 15:28; Heb. 1:1-3, 5, 8)." - Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, 547.
Mt 11:25 At that time Jesus made answer and said, I give praise to you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have kept these things secret from the wise and the men of learning, and have made them clear to little children.
26 Yes, Father, for so it was pleasing in your eyes.
27 All things have been given to me by my Father; and no one has knowledge of the Son, but the Father; and no one has knowledge of the Father, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will make it clear.
28 Come to me, all you who are troubled and weighted down with care, and I will give you rest.
(I include this for later posts:)
(I include this for later posts:)
29 Take my yoke on you and become like me, for I am gentle and without pride, and you will have rest for your souls;
30 For my yoke is good, and the weight I take up is not hard.
Mt 17:5 While he was still talking, a bright cloud came over them: and a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my dearly loved Son, with whom I am well pleased; give ear to him.
(BBE)
"In the New Testament revelation and later in Christian theology, 'Son of God' came to have a higher significance; Jesus is the Son of God because he is God and partakes of the divine nature." - George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, 160.
"The phrase 'Son of God' (huios theou) it a title used of Jesus to indicate that he is divine in nature, just as the title 'Son of Man,' among other things, indicates that he is human." - Walter Elwell, Theological Dictionary of the Bible, 411."
So let it be established: Jesus and his followers claimed he was the Son of God and his death and resurrection serve as the proof. Further proof is the Holy Spirit. It is His person which acan give the gifts we need to serve.
But we want to revisit something mentioned way back in our IIIb post:
"Something to consider. Adam and Eve had perfect DNA. They had a ruddy or red skin. This we get from the translation of Adam. Genesis 5:2 "He created them male and female, and blessed them, and called their name Adam, {"Adam" and "Man" are spelled with the exact same consonants in Hebrew, so this can be correctly translated either way.} in the day when they were created."
(WEB) It means "red" or "brownish red". This perfect DNA was somehow broken and set in the breeding of their children, somehow diluted. (A further discussion for next time) The deeper the pool the more that DNA was diluted. Genes split, divided. Red heads and blondes and fair skin and deep black. "Blue eyes crying in the rain." "Brown eyed girl." "Jeannie with the Light Brown hair." All the environmental influences evolutionists have defined as observably altering genomes and alleles.
But God set a people aside. His chosen people. Did you consider why? Really, was there ever anything morally exceptional about the Jewish people? The Bible makes it abundantly clear that God didn't pick them because they were in any way different from the rest of us. Same foibles and mess ups. Same desires and lusts and behaviors. Killers, thieves, rapists, liars, deceivers, The rabbis recorded all manner of conversations contending this and that about their forefathers and stumbling around blindly when they got to Jacob who lied, stole his fortune, tricked everybody in his family except his mother. Wrestled with God over his identity, lost and then insisted on being blessed, which was a human tradition. The patriarchs were supposed to be special and they had this one guy who they had a very hard time painting in a good light. They were religious leaders and it only made sense that God chose their people because they were exceptional, better than others. Otherwise, why would He do it?
"Remember we had that discussion that there could be a genetically perfect person in the world someplace. A ruddy skinned Puerto Rican woman being the "ideal" subject. The odds are astronomically against it, but it is physically possible. Recall that the genetically perfect person would not be what we call human but would be like us? Get where I'm going?
"Suppose God handpicked those ruddy-skinned folks WAYYY back then because they would create a lineage that would eventually, over a long time, result in that genetically correct woman (I know. This sounds soooo Catholic.) . Not a sinless person. Definitely not a virgin birth since that DNA perfection would come from a combination of male and female genes. A woman who was devoted to God. One with a perfect genetic structure to produce His Son. The Second Adam. Born genetically perfect, taken from a woman similar to the first woman being taken from man. I did mention I would go some places not in the Bible, but I keep coming back to this making sense. But that's human sense so take it as that. I don't know God's motives or methods, but this seems to be what has been revealed to us so far. That Jesus was the Second Adam."
A well-detailed comparison from Creation,com:
While Adam was made in the image of God, Christ is ‘the image of the invisible God’ (Colossians 1:15).
The Bible tells us that the last Adam, Jesus Christ, was the One through whom God created all things (John 1:1–3; Colossians 1:15–20; Hebrews 1:2). Thus Jesus was pre-existent with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit before Adam lived (John 8:58; Micah 5:2).4 Nevertheless, in His humanity, He too had a miraculous beginning when He was incarnated as a human being—conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary (Matthew 1:20–23; Luke 1:26–35).
The last Adam, Jesus, was also perfectly man, one with God (John 10:30; 17:21–22), innocent, sinless, and holy (Hebrews 7:26). Many people mistakenly refer to Jesus Christ as the ‘second Adam’, a term not found in the Bible. However, Scripture refers to Christ as the ‘second man’ (1 Corinthians 15:47). There have been many men since Adam, but Jesus Christ was only the second man to ever be completely without sin.
Unlike the first Adam, the Lord Jesus was, in addition, divine, having the attributes, offices, prerogatives, and names of deity. Being fully God, He is worthy of worship (e.g. Revelation 5:11–14).
The first Adam gave life to all his descendants. The last Adam, Jesus Christ, communicates ‘life’ and ‘light’ to all men, and gives eternal life to those who receive Him and believe on His name, giving them ‘power to become the sons of God’ (John 1:1–14).
Adam, representing mankind, was given dominion over the created world (Genesis 1:26). After being raised from the dead, Jesus Christ was elevated to God’s right hand, and given dominion over all things, which were ‘put under his feet.’ (1 Corinthians 15:27; Ephesians 1:20–22). The first Adam was lord over a limited domain, the last Adam is Lord of all (Acts 10:36).
After the last Adam, Jesus, died upon the cross—suffering the sleep of death for everyone—His side was pierced by a spear thrust (John 19:34). In His death he paid the penalty for mankind’s sins (1 Corinthians 15:1–4). Those who repent and put their faith in Him are united with Christ in a relationship which the Bible likens to that of a bride towards her husband (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:27; Revelation 19:6–8). Thus a wound in the last Adam’s side also produced a bride—the true Church!—‘a glorious bride, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing … holy and without blemish’ (Ephesians 5:27).
At the beginning of Adam’s life he underwent a period of testing as to whether or not he would obey God.5 ‘And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’ (Genesis 2:16–17).
At the beginning of the last Adam’s ministry, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted (or tested—Greek: peirazō) by the devil (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1–3).6
The first Adam failed the test, and in doing so involved all humanity in his defeat, dragging the human race down with him.7 As a result, in Adam we all stand condemned, spiritually bankrupt, enslaved to sin, and expelled from Paradise (Romans 5:12 ff.).
The last Adam, Jesus, was victorious over sin, the flesh, and the devil. As a result, in Christ, believers stand justified and redeemed, spiritually wealthy, liberated from sin, and included in the Paradise of God (Romans 5:18 ff.; 1 Corinthians 15:21 ff.; Revelation 2:7).
The first Adam disobeyed God. The last Adam was ‘obedient unto death, even the death of the cross’ (Philippians 2:8).
The first Adam experienced the judgment of God—he ultimately died and his body turned to dust. Because of his sin, death came upon all men, ‘For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23).
The last Adam, Jesus Christ, also died—on the cross—to atone for sin (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 3:18; Hebrews 2:9). But He did not stay dead, nor did His body ‘see corruption’ (Acts 2:27; 13:35–37). On the third day He rose again, thereby overcoming the devil and the power of death for all those who believe in Him (Hebrews 2:14), and bringing resurrection from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:22–23).
Creation was originally ‘very good’ (Genesis 1:31), so the ‘last enemy’, death (1 Corinthians 15:26) was absent. Even the animals were originally all given plants to eat (Genesis 1:30). The actions of the first Adam brought a reign of death and bloodshed upon a once-perfect world, which ever since has been groaning in pain (Romans 8:22).8 Precisely because of the blood shed in death by the last Adam, this curse of death and bloodshed will be removed, and creation restored to a sinless, deathless state (Revelation 21:1; 21:4; 22:3).
Conclusion
We are all connected with the first Adam (the natural and legal head of the human race) as depraved and guilty sinners, and so are included in the sentence of death which God pronounced on him. However, all who are connected with the last Adam, Jesus, through repentance and faith in His redeeming work, are forgiven, have ‘received the free gift of righteousness’, and so ‘have passed from death to life’ (Colossians 1:14; Romans 5:17; 1 John 3:14).
son of God and
Now keep in mind that Jesus claims to be the only Son of God and to be returning, himself, in the flesh. It is not like the Dalai Lama who claims to be the reincarnation of the Buddha who was discovered by the Panchen Lama who reincarnates every generation and is found by the Dalai Lama.
It leads to stuff like this:
The Panchen Lama (Tibetan: པན་ཆེན་བླ་མ, Wylie: pan chen bla ma) is a tulku of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama is traditionally involved in recognizing the Panchen Lama, and the Panchen Lama is part of the process by which each new Dalai Lama is chosen.[1] Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is recognized by the Gelug school as the Panchen Lama. Within three days of the announcement by the 14th Dalai Lama, the Chinese authorities kidnapped the 6 year old child and his family and instead installed another boy, Gyaincain Norbu in his place as the 11th Panchen Lama. The United Nations and human rights groups have condemned this act.[2] Gedhun Choekyi Nyima has not been seen in public since 17 May 1995.[3]
Human solutions can always be circumvented by humans with suspect motives. The (RED) Chinese government want to control Tibet and the Lama stands in the way of total control so, if they can get the Lama they want and influence him...Remind you of the Pharisees stepping in to get rid of the religious leader so they don't have to deal with him?
We hear from atheists that Jesus was followed as a political leader and that His power came from martyrdom. Some claim it was fake; others say he died willingly and the Apostles took the death and faked his return. This dies nothing to expain the power of the resurrection and the change in the human condition brought on when those who chose to follow him came along. We detailed how the need to read the Bible led to the destruction of the ultimate political power of the Catholic Church in our examination of John, but, more important, led to the deliverance of millions who could read the word in their own language. It lead to literacy on nations where reading the Bible became essential in the Protestant cause.
The Apostles themselves, save John, died as martyrs, Many of the translators died as martyrs. All of them had to flee persecution and death by burning at the state. Read Foxe's Book of Martyrs to discover that the Inquisition was not so much about killing witches and atheists but about killing Protestant believers who would not hold the Pope as the final word of God. They wanted to know the Word and, knowing the Word, could not accept the current political power.
Had Jesus been a political solution, then the problem would have been solved by him taking power, even by him taking Satan's offer of power in the wasteland when he was tempted:
Matt 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit up into the wilderness, to be tempted by the Devil.
2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterwards hungry.
3 And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If You are the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4 But He answered and said, It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."
5 Then the Devil took Him up into the holy city and set Him upon a pinnacle of the Temple.
6 And he said to Him, If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down. For it is written, "He shall give His angels charge concerning You, and in their hands they shall bear You up, lest at any time You dash Your foot against a stone."
7 Jesus said to him, It is written again, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God."
8 Again, the Devil took Him up into a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
9 And he said to Him, All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.
10 Then Jesus said to him, Go, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve."
11 Then the Devil left him. And behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
(MKJV)
When we think there are political solutions within human reach, we need to read the very carefully. Taking power now instead of following the lead of the Lord who gave his life to get individuals saved, even to the thief dying on the cross next to him. When the crowd cast the palm fronds at his feet and called for Him to rule them, He declined. Knowing what awaited, He still went to the cross.
Romans 5 again:
Ro 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Through Him we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice on the hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only this, but we glory in afflictions also, knowing that afflictions work out patience,
4 and patience works out experience, and experience works out hope.
5 And hope does not make us ashamed, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us.
6 For we yet being without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will with difficulty die for a righteous one, yet perhaps one would even dare to die for a good one.
8 But God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
10 For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
11 And not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation.
12 Therefore, even as through one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed on all men inasmuch as all sinned:
13 for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is the type of Him who was to come;
15 but the free gift shall not be also like the offense. For if by the offense of the one many died, much more the grace of God, and the gift in grace; which is of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.
16 And the free gift shall not be as by one having sinned; (for indeed the judgment was of one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses to justification.
17 For if by one man's offense death reigned by one, much more they who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore as by one offense sentence came on all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came to all men to justification of life.
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous.
20 But the Law entered so that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound,
21 so that as sin has reigned to death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
(MKJV)
EVERYTHING here is important. EVERY word. But we will dwell on the just a bit. Paul wants to emphasize the Spiritual aspect here. It was the human spirit eternally lost unless someone came to redeem it.
But Paul understood that the Flesh would resist the power of the Spirit. He expands further on in Romans 7:
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.
15 For that which I do, I know not. For what I desire, that I do not do; but what I hate, that I do.
16 If then I do that which I do not desire, I consent to the law that it is good.
17 But now it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwells no good thing. For to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I do not find.
19 For I do not do the good that I desire; but the evil which I do not will, that I do.
20 But if I do what I do not desire, it is no more I working it out, but sin dwelling in me.
21 I find then a law: when I will to do the right, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man;
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 being in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
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.
(MKJV)
See this clearly. The Law was Spiritual. Given by God as a goal for living, as the way to please God, but more, as a description of the action of the Messiah. He could be identified because He would keep that Law IN SPIRIT. Humans might actually keep the Law, Likely the Pharisees did it b=very well, then they added to the Law to make it impossible for the poor to keep it, essentially closing the door to heaven for those "less" than them. Politicos will always value the rich over the poor no matter if they claim capitalism or socialism. Ask the current "communist" Chinese who use their people to enrich the administration and fund dorms and minimal living conditions for their workers. The Messiah, meanwhile, offers life for each individual believer. He does not endorse any system or any other leader save the Holy Spirit. The only way to obey the Law in spirit was to be IN the Spirit. Any other obedience was human power. Jesus alone, being the Son of God, first obeyed the Law in the flesh, then, when he was joined the the Spirit at baptism, obeyed in the Spirit. Recall we saw with Moses temper, with Baalam's betrayals, that the Holy Spirit gives us the option of obedience. Jesus' obedience to the Spirit of the Law, to the meaning of leading to salvation by providing the roadmap of obedience that would identify the Messiah even as Scriptures gave the prophesies of when he would arrive. https://www.gotquestions.org/Old-Testament-Christ.html
But the flesh betrays us. Even as it betrayed Paul in Romans 7. We WANT to obey, to follow, but we get misled. Jesus talked about the troubles of life raising up and distracting us. every day living being influenced by the sin of the world, misleading us, making us so worried and harried that following takes a back seat at first and then becomes an afterthought, one where we say, "Oh, no. I wasn't supposed to act that way."
So we can now add another quote from Paul:
Galatians 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are clearly revealed, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lustfulness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, fightings, jealousies, angers, rivalries, divisions, heresies,
21 envyings, murders, drunkennesses, revelings, and things like these; of which I tell you before, as I also said before, that they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith,
23 meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 But those belonging to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not become glory-seeking, provoking one another, envying one another.
(MKJV)
So our Fallen Flesh now has the Spirit available , has the Spirit in it and can choose to walk by the Spirit.
Now see the other thing I mentioned earlier in a new light. Our flesh fell with Adam. Paul makes that clear, Adam was in "the form of the One to come." Physically exactly like Jesus. We discussed how science has determined that the first human couple had the genetic make-up of every human being in the planet in them, it just got mixed and remixed and, after the flood, got spread all over. changed to match the environments it found itself in. God, by keeping the Jews together, by keeping them in the area of human creation, made to possible for the genetic structure to begin to recover, for generations of inbreeding to move backward so Mary would arrive, one with the genetic structure and the Spiritual preparation to serve as the vessel for the second genetic Adam. Why was that important? Why would it matter?
The first Adam's genetics were all through every generation right down to ours. The Fallen Flesh was inextricably linked to Adam. That flesh was dragged down and lost. Jesus, by coming in that Adam physical structure was then linked physically to EVERYONE OF US, TOO. When we see that, we see how the resurrection can then physically touch every one of us as well. He has a physical connection with every human being ever born, even as Adam had that connection. By the laws of this universe, he can be the physical savior of us all.
The Spirit can renew everyone's flesh because a bit of Jesus is in everyone of us. We can be saved and can accept it because we have a bit if Him in us. There is no excuse for people not to listen. No excuse that He can't understand us because He was God alone. No way to say God can't grasp what our flesh is like. he can grasp what every one of us is like. Physically. Spiritually.
And the arrival of the Spirit refreshes our physical selves. The renewed human spirit enables the flesh to follow.
But we find ourselves not doing it. Adam's flesh calls us back. And we tedn to answer the phone.
But there's one thing more. There's that guy in the wilderness. We'll spend some time talking about him next post.
We are all connected with the first Adam (the natural and legal head of the human race) as depraved and guilty sinners, and so are included in the sentence of death which God pronounced on him. However, all who are connected with the last Adam, Jesus, through repentance and faith in His redeeming work, are forgiven, have ‘received the free gift of righteousness’, and so ‘have passed from death to life’ (Colossians 1:14; Romans 5:17; 1 John 3:14).
son of God and
Now keep in mind that Jesus claims to be the only Son of God and to be returning, himself, in the flesh. It is not like the Dalai Lama who claims to be the reincarnation of the Buddha who was discovered by the Panchen Lama who reincarnates every generation and is found by the Dalai Lama.
It leads to stuff like this:
The Panchen Lama (Tibetan: པན་ཆེན་བླ་མ, Wylie: pan chen bla ma) is a tulku of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama is traditionally involved in recognizing the Panchen Lama, and the Panchen Lama is part of the process by which each new Dalai Lama is chosen.[1] Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is recognized by the Gelug school as the Panchen Lama. Within three days of the announcement by the 14th Dalai Lama, the Chinese authorities kidnapped the 6 year old child and his family and instead installed another boy, Gyaincain Norbu in his place as the 11th Panchen Lama. The United Nations and human rights groups have condemned this act.[2] Gedhun Choekyi Nyima has not been seen in public since 17 May 1995.[3]
Human solutions can always be circumvented by humans with suspect motives. The (RED) Chinese government want to control Tibet and the Lama stands in the way of total control so, if they can get the Lama they want and influence him...Remind you of the Pharisees stepping in to get rid of the religious leader so they don't have to deal with him?
We hear from atheists that Jesus was followed as a political leader and that His power came from martyrdom. Some claim it was fake; others say he died willingly and the Apostles took the death and faked his return. This dies nothing to expain the power of the resurrection and the change in the human condition brought on when those who chose to follow him came along. We detailed how the need to read the Bible led to the destruction of the ultimate political power of the Catholic Church in our examination of John, but, more important, led to the deliverance of millions who could read the word in their own language. It lead to literacy on nations where reading the Bible became essential in the Protestant cause.
The Apostles themselves, save John, died as martyrs, Many of the translators died as martyrs. All of them had to flee persecution and death by burning at the state. Read Foxe's Book of Martyrs to discover that the Inquisition was not so much about killing witches and atheists but about killing Protestant believers who would not hold the Pope as the final word of God. They wanted to know the Word and, knowing the Word, could not accept the current political power.
Had Jesus been a political solution, then the problem would have been solved by him taking power, even by him taking Satan's offer of power in the wasteland when he was tempted:
Matt 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit up into the wilderness, to be tempted by the Devil.
2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterwards hungry.
3 And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If You are the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4 But He answered and said, It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."
5 Then the Devil took Him up into the holy city and set Him upon a pinnacle of the Temple.
6 And he said to Him, If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down. For it is written, "He shall give His angels charge concerning You, and in their hands they shall bear You up, lest at any time You dash Your foot against a stone."
7 Jesus said to him, It is written again, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God."
8 Again, the Devil took Him up into a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.9 And he said to Him, All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.
10 Then Jesus said to him, Go, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve."
11 Then the Devil left him. And behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
(MKJV)
Romans 5 again:
Ro 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Through Him we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice on the hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only this, but we glory in afflictions also, knowing that afflictions work out patience,
4 and patience works out experience, and experience works out hope.
5 And hope does not make us ashamed, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us.
6 For we yet being without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will with difficulty die for a righteous one, yet perhaps one would even dare to die for a good one.
8 But God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
10 For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
11 And not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation.
12 Therefore, even as through one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed on all men inasmuch as all sinned:
13 for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is the type of Him who was to come;
15 but the free gift shall not be also like the offense. For if by the offense of the one many died, much more the grace of God, and the gift in grace; which is of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.
16 And the free gift shall not be as by one having sinned; (for indeed the judgment was of one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses to justification.
17 For if by one man's offense death reigned by one, much more they who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore as by one offense sentence came on all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came to all men to justification of life.
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous.
20 But the Law entered so that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound,
21 so that as sin has reigned to death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
(MKJV)
EVERYTHING here is important. EVERY word. But we will dwell on the just a bit. Paul wants to emphasize the Spiritual aspect here. It was the human spirit eternally lost unless someone came to redeem it.
But Paul understood that the Flesh would resist the power of the Spirit. He expands further on in Romans 7:
But Paul understood that the Flesh would resist the power of the Spirit. He expands further on in Romans 7:
15 For that which I do, I know not. For what I desire, that I do not do; but what I hate, that I do.
16 If then I do that which I do not desire, I consent to the law that it is good.
17 But now it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwells no good thing. For to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I do not find.
19 For I do not do the good that I desire; but the evil which I do not will, that I do.
20 But if I do what I do not desire, it is no more I working it out, but sin dwelling in me.
21 I find then a law: when I will to do the right, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man;
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 being in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
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.
(MKJV)
See this clearly. The Law was Spiritual. Given by God as a goal for living, as the way to please God, but more, as a description of the action of the Messiah. He could be identified because He would keep that Law IN SPIRIT. Humans might actually keep the Law, Likely the Pharisees did it b=very well, then they added to the Law to make it impossible for the poor to keep it, essentially closing the door to heaven for those "less" than them. Politicos will always value the rich over the poor no matter if they claim capitalism or socialism. Ask the current "communist" Chinese who use their people to enrich the administration and fund dorms and minimal living conditions for their workers. The Messiah, meanwhile, offers life for each individual believer. He does not endorse any system or any other leader save the Holy Spirit. The only way to obey the Law in spirit was to be IN the Spirit. Any other obedience was human power. Jesus alone, being the Son of God, first obeyed the Law in the flesh, then, when he was joined the the Spirit at baptism, obeyed in the Spirit. Recall we saw with Moses temper, with Baalam's betrayals, that the Holy Spirit gives us the option of obedience. Jesus' obedience to the Spirit of the Law, to the meaning of leading to salvation by providing the roadmap of obedience that would identify the Messiah even as Scriptures gave the prophesies of when he would arrive. https://www.gotquestions.org/Old-Testament-Christ.html
But the flesh betrays us. Even as it betrayed Paul in Romans 7. We WANT to obey, to follow, but we get misled. Jesus talked about the troubles of life raising up and distracting us. every day living being influenced by the sin of the world, misleading us, making us so worried and harried that following takes a back seat at first and then becomes an afterthought, one where we say, "Oh, no. I wasn't supposed to act that way."
So we can now add another quote from Paul:
Galatians 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are clearly revealed, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lustfulness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, fightings, jealousies, angers, rivalries, divisions, heresies,
21 envyings, murders, drunkennesses, revelings, and things like these; of which I tell you before, as I also said before, that they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith,
23 meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 But those belonging to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not become glory-seeking, provoking one another, envying one another.
(MKJV)
So our Fallen Flesh now has the Spirit available , has the Spirit in it and can choose to walk by the Spirit.
Now see the other thing I mentioned earlier in a new light. Our flesh fell with Adam. Paul makes that clear, Adam was in "the form of the One to come." Physically exactly like Jesus. We discussed how science has determined that the first human couple had the genetic make-up of every human being in the planet in them, it just got mixed and remixed and, after the flood, got spread all over. changed to match the environments it found itself in. God, by keeping the Jews together, by keeping them in the area of human creation, made to possible for the genetic structure to begin to recover, for generations of inbreeding to move backward so Mary would arrive, one with the genetic structure and the Spiritual preparation to serve as the vessel for the second genetic Adam. Why was that important? Why would it matter?
The first Adam's genetics were all through every generation right down to ours. The Fallen Flesh was inextricably linked to Adam. That flesh was dragged down and lost. Jesus, by coming in that Adam physical structure was then linked physically to EVERYONE OF US, TOO. When we see that, we see how the resurrection can then physically touch every one of us as well. He has a physical connection with every human being ever born, even as Adam had that connection. By the laws of this universe, he can be the physical savior of us all.
The Spirit can renew everyone's flesh because a bit of Jesus is in everyone of us. We can be saved and can accept it because we have a bit if Him in us. There is no excuse for people not to listen. No excuse that He can't understand us because He was God alone. No way to say God can't grasp what our flesh is like. he can grasp what every one of us is like. Physically. Spiritually.
And the arrival of the Spirit refreshes our physical selves. The renewed human spirit enables the flesh to follow.
But we find ourselves not doing it. Adam's flesh calls us back. And we tedn to answer the phone.
But there's one thing more. There's that guy in the wilderness. We'll spend some time talking about him next post.
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