Podcasts about his godhead

Transcript:Hello this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective. One of my favorite ancient creeds, the Athanasian Creed (c. 6th century), though not written by its namesake (A.D. c. 296-373) is nonetheless appropriately attributed to him. Athanasius was the great 4th century church leader who defended the Trinity against false views that followed a general pattern of denying or twisting one biblical truth to make it more “rationally compatible” with another. So, for example, if the Bible says there is only one true God, then there cannot likewise be three divine persons. How is it “rational” for God to be both one and three at the same time? The problem of course is that this is precisely what the Bible does claim.  And so, with precision and eloquence the Athanasian Creed* summarizes the divine mystery of the Triune God: … we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity;Neither confounding the persons nor dividing the divine essence.For there is one person of the Father,another of the Son,and another of the Holy Spirit. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one,the glory equal, the majesty coeternal…. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal.  And yet they are not three eternal beings but one eternal beingAs also there are not three uncreated beings nor three incomprehensible beings, but one uncreated and one incomprehensible being. Well put! Beautiful and true! Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective. “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'”~ Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV) *Athanasian Creed1. Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith; 2. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. 3. And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity;4. Neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance.5. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit. 6.  But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one, the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. 7.  Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit. 8.  The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated. 9.  The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible. 10. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. 11. And yet they are not three eternals but one eternal. 12. As also there are not three uncreated nor three incomprehensible, but one uncreated and one incomprehensible. 13. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Spirit almighty. 14. And yet they are not three almighties, but one almighty. 15. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; 16. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God. 17. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord; 18. And yet they are not three Lords but one Lord. 19. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord; 20. So are we forbidden by the catholic religion to say; There are three Gods or three Lords. 21. The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten. 22. The Son is of the Father alone; not made nor created, but begotten. 23. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding. 24. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. 25. And in this Trinity none is afore or after another; none is greater or less than another. 26. But the whole three persons are coeternal, and coequal. 27. So that in all things, as aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped. 28. He therefore that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity. 29. Furthermore it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 30. For the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man. 31. God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and man of substance of His mother, born in the world. 32. Perfect God and perfect man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting. 33. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood. 34. Who, although He is God and man, yet He is not two, but one Christ. 35. One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of that manhood into God. 36. One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person. 37. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ;38. Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead; 39. He ascended into heaven, He sits on the right hand of the Father, God, Almighty; 40. From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. 41. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies; 42. And shall give account of their own works. 43. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.44. This is the catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully he cannot be saved.

As you grow closer to God you will, at times, feel many things. Some will encounter feelings of rejection by God. God never rejects us but the interior feelings of rejection can be real. This leads some to despair. If you find yourself, now or in the future, struggling with despair, do not be afraid and do not give in. Let God come to you in that experience and be present to you as you suffer through it (See Diary #23).Continue to look deep within your heart this day. What do you see? If it is painful to look inside, then know that this pain is a pathway toward God. It may not make sense and it may be hard, but God the Father chose the path of the Cross for the Son. By embracing His Cross both exteriorly and interiorly, Jesus united all human nature to His Godhead. Let your suffering become a means of your holiness this day and a source of your unity with God.Lord, as I continue to look deep within at my heart, help me to see myself as You see me. Help me to sort out any pain and suffering I carry. And help me to freely unite that interior pain to Your Cross just as You did. In this act, help me to discover The Divine Mercy You won for the world. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2023 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Pastor James continues our series in the Gospel of Mark, looking to Mark 1:29-45.“In short, our Lord prayed always, and did not faint. Sinless as he was, he set an example of diligent communion with his Father. His Godhead did not render him independent of the use of all means as a man. His very perfection was a perfection kept up through the exercise of prayer. “A praying Master, like Jesus, can have no prayerless servants. The Spirit of adoption will always make a man call upon God. To be prayerless is to be Christless, Godless, and in the high road of destruction.” - J.C. RyleLife Church exists to glorify God by making disciples who treasure Christ, grow together, and live on mission. Salisbury, NCFollow us online:lifechurchnc.comFacebookInstagramYouTubeTwitter

The term Godhead is found three times in the King James Version. In each of the three verses, a slightly different Greek word is used, but the definition of each is the same: “deity” or “divine nature.” The word Godhead is used to refer to God's essential nature. We'll take a look at each of these passages and what they mean. We are the offspring of God, not by images made by men. We were made by God or a part of his lineage. Paul's argument is that all of creation virtually shouts the existence of God; we can “clearly” see God's eternal power, as well as His “Godhead” in what He has made. We know he spoke these things into existence. This is written in Genesis, chapter 1, but what we don't realize is that once he spoke the word, then his craftsmanship started taking place by the power of his words. He went into full intelligent design, knowing that someday we would be able to see his wonders beyond the naked eye. God intended for us to see the galaxies and the planets. Let's take a deeper dive into this study by listening to the podcast. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ray-martinez7/message

“Who do the crowds say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”  Luke 9:18c-20Peter got it right.  Jesus was “the Christ of God.”  Many others spoke of Him as one who was only a great prophet, but Peter saw deeper.  He saw that Jesus was uniquely the Anointed One who is of God.  In other words, Jesus was God.Though we know this to be true, we can sometimes fail to fully comprehend the depth of this “Mystery of Faith.”  Jesus is human, and He is God.  This is hard to comprehend.  It would have been hard for those of Jesus' time to comprehend this great mystery, also.  Imagine sitting before Jesus listening to Him speak.  If you were there before Him, would you have concluded that He is also the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity?  Would you have concluded that He existed from all eternity and was the great I AM WHO AM?  Would you have concluded that He was perfect in every way and that He was also the Creator of all things and the one who keeps all things in being?Most likely none of us fully would have comprehended the true depth of the meaning that Jesus was “the Christ of God.”  We most likely would have recognized something special about Him, but would have failed to see Him for who He is in His full essence.The same is true today.  When we look at the Most Holy Eucharist, do we see God?  Do we see the Almighty, Omnipotent, All-loving God who existed for eternity is the source of all good and is the Creator of all things?  Perhaps the answer is both “Yes”  and “No.”  “Yes” in that we believe and “no” in that we do not fully understand.Reflect, today, upon the divinity of Christ.  Reflect upon Him present in the Most Holy Eucharist as well as His presence all around us.  Do you see Him?  Do you believe?  How deep and complete is your faith in Him.  Recommit yourself to a deeper understanding of who Jesus is in His Godhead.  Try and take a step deeper in your faith.Lord, I do believe.  I believe You are the Christ of God.  Help me to comprehend even more what that means.  Help me to see Your divinity more clearly and to believe in You more fully.  Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2022 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Christ must not be divided, either in His natures or His offices. There may be an abuse of the orthodox assertion of His deity, for if we reflect exclusively on that and neglect His great condescension in becoming flesh, we miss the chief intent of His incarnation-to bring God near to us in our nature. On the other hand, if we altogether consider Christ's humanity and overlook His Godhead, we are in danger of denying His super-eminent dignity, power and merit.

Reflection 26: Uniting Your Interior Cross With ChristAs you grow closer to God you will, at times, feel many things. Some will encounter feelings of rejection by God. God never rejects us but the interior feelings of rejection can be real. This leads some to despair. If you find yourself, now or in the future, struggling with despair, do not be afraid and do not give in. Let God come to you in that experience and be present to you as you suffer through it (See Diary #23).Continue to look deep within your heart this day. What do you see? If it is painful to look inside, then know that this pain is a pathway toward God. It may not make sense and it may be hard, but God the Father chose the path of the Cross for the Son. By embracing His Cross both exteriorly and interiorly, Jesus united all human nature to His Godhead. Let your suffering become a means of your holiness this day and a source of your unity with God.Lord, as I continue to look deep within at my heart, help me to see myself as You see me. Help me to sort out any pain and suffering I carry. And help me to freely unite that interior pain to Your Cross just as You did. In this act, help me to discover The Divine Mercy You won for the world. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2022 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Thursday July 1, 2021 "Descended" - down to the Virgin's womb, to the manger, His Godhead in the frame of an infant, to the home and bench of a village carpenter; to the scorn of sinners, to death on the cross, to the underworld. Mat 12:38-40 for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2456

As you grow closer to God you will, at times, feel many things. Some will encounter feelings of rejection by God. God never rejects us but the interior feelings of rejection can be real. This leads some to despair. If you find yourself, now or in the future, struggling with despair, do not be afraid and do not give in. Let God come to you in that experience and be present to you as you suffer through it (See Diary #23).Continue to look deep within your heart this day. What do you see? If it is painful to look inside, then know that this pain is a pathway toward God. It may not make sense and it may be hard, but God the Father chose the path of the Cross for the Son. By embracing His Cross both exteriorly and interiorly, Jesus united all human nature to His Godhead. Let your suffering become a means of your holiness this day and a source of your unity with God.Lord, as I continue to look deep within at my heart, help me to see myself as You see me. Help me to sort out any pain and suffering I carry. And help me to freely unite that interior pain to Your Cross just as You did. In this act, help me to discover The Divine Mercy You won for the world. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2021 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

“Who do the crowds say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”  Luke 9:18c-20Peter got it right.  Jesus was “the Christ of God.”  Many others spoke of Him as one who was only a great prophet, but Peter saw deeper.  He saw that Jesus was uniquely the Anointed One who is of God.  In other words, Jesus was God.Though we know this to be true, we can sometimes fail to fully comprehend the depth of this “Mystery of Faith.”  Jesus is human, and He is God.  This is hard to comprehend.  It would have been hard for those of Jesus’ time to comprehend this great mystery, also.  Imagine sitting before Jesus listening to Him speak.  If you were there before Him, would you have concluded that He is also the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity?  Would you have concluded that He existed from all eternity and was the great I AM WHO AM?  Would you have concluded that He was perfect in every way and that He was also the Creator of all things and the one who keeps all things in being?Most likely none of us fully would have comprehended the true depth of the meaning that Jesus was “the Christ of God.”  We most likely would have recognized something special about Him, but would have failed to see Him for who He is in His full essence.The same is true today.  When we look at the Most Holy Eucharist, do we see God?  Do we see the Almighty, Omnipotent, All-loving God who existed for eternity is the source of all good and is the Creator of all things?  Perhaps the answer is both “Yes”  and “No.”  “Yes” in that we believe and “no” in that we do not fully understand.Reflect, today, upon the divinity of Christ.  Reflect upon Him present in the Most Holy Eucharist as well as His presence all around us.  Do you see Him?  Do you believe?  How deep and complete is your faith in Him.  Recommit yourself to a deeper understanding of who Jesus is in His Godhead.  Try and take a step deeper in your faith.Lord, I do believe.  I believe You are the Christ of God.  Help me to comprehend even more what that means.  Help me to see Your divinity more clearly and to believe in You more fully.  Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2020 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Name It is derived from the word zukhruf-an which occurs in verse 33 of this Surah. Period of Revelation It could not be known from any authentic tradition, but a study of its subject matter shows that this Surah also was sent down in the same period in which the Surahs Al-Mumin, As-Sajdah and Ash-Shura, were sent down. It appears that the revelation of this series of the Surahs began when the disbelievers of Makkah were planning to put an end to the Holy Prophet's life. Day and night they were holding consultations in their assemblies as how to eliminate him, and even an attack on his life also had been made as has been clearly referred to in vv. 79-80. Theme and Topics In this Surah a forceful and severe criticism has been made of the Quraish and the common Arabs creeds and superstitions of ignorance in which they persisted, and their stubbornness has been exposed in a firm and effective way, so that every member of the society, who was reasonable in some degree, should be made to consider the evils in which the community was involved and its tyrannical treatment of the person who was trying to redeem it. The discourse starts in a way as if to say: "You, by means of your mischiefs, want that the revelation of this Book should be stopped, but Allah has never withheld the appointment of His Prophets and the revelation of His Books because of the mischief of the people, but has destroyed the wicked people, who obstructed the way of His guidance. The same He will do again. A little further in vv. 41-43 and 79-80 the same thing has been reiterated. Though the people who were plotting against his life are meant, the Holy Prophet has been addressed to the effect: "whether you remain alive or not, We will certainly punish the wicked," and the people themselves have been plainly warned to the effect: "If you have decided to take an action against Our Prophet, We too will take a decisive action." Then, it has been told what is the reality of the religion that the people are following so devotedly and what are the arguments on whose strength they are resisting Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and Blessings). They themselves admit that the Creator of the earth and heavens and of themselves and their deities is only Allah. They also know and admit that the blessings they are benefiting from, have been bestowed by Allah; yet they insist on making others associates of Allah in His Godhead. They regard the servants as the children of Allah, and that too daughters, whom they regard as disgraceful for themselves. They believe that the angels are goddesses; they have carved their images as females; they adorn them with female dresses and ornaments, and call them daughters of Allah: they worship them and invoke them for the fulfillment of their needs. How did they know that the angels were female? When they are rebuked for these superstitions, they present the pretense of destiny and say :"Had Allah disapproved of these our practices, we could not have worshiped these images, whereas the means of finding out whether Allah had approved of something or not, are His Books and not those things which are happening in the world according to His Will. For under His Will not only idol worship but crimes like theft and adultery, robbery. murder, etc. also are being committed. Can this argument be used to justify as right and proper this commission of every crime and evil is the world? When it is asked: Have you any other authority, apart from this wrong argument, for the polytheism of yours? They reply, "The same has been the practice since the time of our forefathers." In other words, this in their opinion is a strong enough argument for a creed's being right and true, whereas the Prophet Abraham, descent from whom is the only basis of their pride and distinction, had rejected the religion of his elders and left his home, and he had discarded every such blind imitation of his forefathers,

As you grow closer to God you will, at times, feel many things.  Some will encounter feelings of rejection by God.  God never rejects us but the interior feelings of rejection can be real.  This leads some to despair.  If you find yourself, now or in the future, struggling with despair, do not be afraid and do not give in.  Let God come to you in that experience and be present to you as you suffer through it (See Diary #23).Continue to look deep within your heart this day.  What do you see?  If it is painful to look inside, then know that this pain is a pathway toward God.  It may not make sense and it may be hard, but God the Father chose the path of the Cross for the Son.  By embracing His Cross both exteriorly and interiorly, Jesus united all human nature to His Godhead.  Let your suffering become a means of your holiness this day and a source of your unity with God.Lord, as I continue to look deep within at my heart, help me to see myself as You see me.  Help me to sort out any pain and suffering I carry.  And help me to freely unite that interior pain to Your Cross just as You did.  In this act, help me to discover The Divine Mercy You won for the world.  Jesus, I trust in You.

Israel’s Messiah and the Incarnation Introduction Good morning, everyone! Let’s start by praying! Today we’re picking up in the second of our four weeks studying Christology, our understanding of what Scripture teaches about the person and work of Jesus Christ. If you missed last week, it was recorded and all of the notes for it are online as well at forestgate.org/sunday-school. By the end of the day today, notes for today’s class will be up there as well, so don’t worry if you miss something. Last week we looked a bit at the doctrine of the Son in the context of the Trinity. We saw that there is no gospel apart from the doctrine of the Trinity, and the gospel is the place where our Triune God has revealed himself. As part of that, we saw how the Bible teaches us to understand the Son of God as eternally the Son, and we talked a little about what a comfort that is: it’s his sonship we are adopted into, and the Father’s fatherly love that he has given us by his Spirit is real fatherly love, the true fatherly love, which our fathers on earth can only dimly picture. This week, we’re turning to two doctrines that build on all of that and see how God revealed himself to us: that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah, and the Incarnation. And there’s a reason for that order! Part 1: Israel’s Messiah Jesus is the Messiah of Israel. God has acted in history—the history of a specific people, through whom he has brought salvation for all other people. Jesus is not an abstract savior for abstract people; he is Israel’s messiah, and because he is Israel’s messiah, he is our savior. The doctrine The Westminster Confession sums it all up this way: This covenant was differently administered in the time of the law, and in the time of the Gospel: under the law it was administered by promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb, and other types and ordinances delivered to the people of the Jews, all foresignifying Christ to come; which were, for that time, sufficient and efficacious, through the operation of the Spirit, to instruct and build up the elect in faith in the promised Messiah, by whom they had full remission of sins, and eternal salvation; and is called the Old Testament. Under the Gospel… Christ, the substance, was exhibited… There are not therefore two covenants of grace, differing in substance, but one and the same… Scriptural basis One way we could trace this through Scripture is by reading all of Hebrews, whose theme this is. But here I want to follow the author of Hebrews by reading some of what they were reading! I want us to hear the story and see how Christ comes to satisfy the hopes and longings and calling of Israel. This promise is for all from the beginning: from the moment when God speaks to the serpent after his deception in Genesis 3: I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel. But throughout the rest of the Old Testament we see the promise getting more and more specific about this salvation. In Genesis 12, God calls Abram out of Haran. In Genesis 15 God promises Abram descendants as uncountable as the stars in the heavens, and a land for them to dwell in. In Genesis 18 God says the purpose of this promise: “all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.” The generations after see this promise narrowing: the hope is through Isaac (not Ishmael), Jacob (not Esau, the firstborn), and Judah (the worst among his brothers!) whose descendant would rule. And then after Israel’s long years in Egypt, God called Moses: a prophet to save his people from their slavery and to show them their God. Through Moses God gave his people the law and a covenant and calling to be priests for all nations—and the promise of another prophet like Moses. Through Joshua he led them into the land, and then almost immediately they broke the covenant and fell away from God’s law. Generation after generation the cycle repeated, and the priests did their duty under the law. Bulls and goats and birds, slaughtered and slaughtered and slaughtered for the sins of a people who were always falling away. There came the day when Israel wanted a king—and they needed a king who was righteous, but they wanted a king who was merely mighty. After Saul and David’s failures—alike in kind, unlike in their response—God promised David something spectacular: I will raise up after you your descendant, who is one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for Me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to Me. I will not take away My faithful love from him as I took it from the one who was before you. I will appoint him over My house and My kingdom forever, and his throne will be established forever. But Solomon and all the long line of kings through the years after him failed, too—even the best of them. And so that promise kept ringing in Israel’s ears, echoing in new ways through the Prophets. On the one hand, in Isaiah 49:6: I will also make you a light for the nations, to be My salvation to the ends of the earth. And on the other, in Isaiah 50:6: I gave My back to those who beat Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spitting. And in Jeremiah 33:14–16: “Look, the days are coming”— this is the LORD’s declaration— “when I will fulfill the good promises that I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a Righteous Branch to sprout up for David, and He will administer justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely, and this is what she will be named: Yahweh Our Righteousness. There are many, many more, but the New Testament claims them all for Jesus. The Gospels show us his descent from from David, from Judah, from Abraham, from Adam; they show us his gentleness not to break bruised weeds or blow out smoldering wicks like Isaiah 42 says; they show us his back beaten and beard torn out and scorn and spitting as he went to the cross; they show us that he was both just and merciful; they show us that he did not sin; they show us his atoning death and his triumphant resurrection. In sum, Jesus fulfills Israel’s hopes. He really is the Messiah they had been hoping for. And wonderfully, it is because he fills up all those promises to Israel—fills them to overflowing—he is our savior. The hope, remember, was for Abraham’s offering to be a blessing to all nations, for Israel’s priesthood to be for all nations, for the servant to be a light to all nations… Israel was the means by which God chose to bring about his promise of hope for humanity from the beginning. In our lives First and foremost: God keeps his promises and accomplishes his plan. Down all those years when Israel went back and forth and back and forth from fidelity to infidelity, he was never for one second thrown off. We are saved because (not in spite of) the specificity of Jesus’ coming to Israel. Because he came to fulfill Israel’s calling: to be a blessing to all nations, to be priests and light for all nations; and to answer Israel’s longing: for— a prophet who reveals God to us and teaches us how to walk with him, a priest who intercedes for us with God, and who has dealt with our sin, and a king who is both just and merciful, that is, who is righteous. And that’s good news in at least two ways: First, we, too, are people who are often unfaithful, tempted to worship false gods, to trust in ourselves and our own might instead of in God—and he saves people like us. And second, he is a God who keeps his promises to real people in real history—in fact he has done so. And so when he promises us that he will return, that he will resurrect us all, that there is a land waiting for us better than this one, we can believe him! We can, as Hebrews 11 reminds us, hold fast to the hope set before us just like those who waited for Christ to come; and we have this sure and steadfast anchor of the soul as we wait: that Christ has come and gone for us into the inner place behind the curtain where only a righteous high priest could go. Questions? Now, what questions do you have? Part 2: Incarnation Last week we established that our Savior is God, had to be the eternal Son for the gospel to hold. But we also just saw that the savior is Jesus, the son of Mary, of the line of David and of Judah and of Abraham and of Adam. He was a human being, just like us. Our second doctrine for the day—the Incarnation—falls out of the first: God has acted in history by coming into history himself. We usually talk about the Incarnation at Christmas—and that’s good, but not good that we tend to talk about it only at Christmas, because the doctrine of the Incarnation is good news all year long, in every part of our lives. I said last week that Hebrews is a book that says “Hold fast because Jesus ____” and then fills in the blank with a great many things. At the root of all of those, though, is the work of Jesus who is not only the Son forever (as we saw last week) but who is also a human being who is “like us in every way, yet without sin,” as we just saw. The doctrine I’m going to open with a summary by Gregory of Nazianzus, who served as a pastor in the 400s A.D.: [That] which He has not assumed He has not healed; but that which is united to His Godhead is also saved. If only half Adam fell, then that which Christ assumes and saves may be half also; but if the whole of his nature fell, it must be united to the whole nature of Him that was begotten, and so be saved as a whole. Let them not, then, begrudge us our complete salvation, or clothe the Savior only with bones and nerves and the portraiture of humanity.1 In other words, if the Son only united himself to some parts of us when he became incarnate, only those parts are healed. If he didn’t really have a body (that’s the heresy of docetism, where it just looked like he had a body but didn’t really), our bodies don’t get saved. His death and resurrection are shams. If he doesn’t have a human soul, a human intellect, human emotions, how can we say he has any idea what it’s like to be tempted as we are? In what sense did he actually overcome sin? Because temptation is something we experience both bodily and mentally. And Scripture tells us both that God cannot be tempted to sin and that Jesus was tempted as we are. He had to have a human soul for our souls to be redeemed. And of course, he’s not coming up with this as mere speculation. He’s following Hebrews! Scriptural basis Hebrews Chapter 2 has most of this, so I’m just going to read a lot of it and then summarize it. Try, as we hear this again, to really hear it! Starting in chapter 2 and verse 8: As it is, we do not yet see everything subjected to him. But we do see Jesus—made lower than the angels for a short time so that by God’s grace He might taste death for everyone—crowned with glory and honor because of His suffering in death. For in bringing many sons to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God—all things exist for Him and through Him—should make the source of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying: I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing hymns to You in the congregation. Again, I will trust in Him. And again, Here I am with the children God gave Me. Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the Devil—and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. For it is clear that He does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring. Therefore, He had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tested and has suffered, He is able to help those who are tested. We hear here a really remarkable list of things he could accomplish only because he was truly man as well as truly God: he was perfected through suffering—and God does not suffer; only man does and can he could, and did, die—to destroy the devil and the fear of death he became like us in every way in order to become a merciful and faithful high priest who could actually make propitiation for our sins he became able to help us when we suffer and are tested—because he has suffered when tempted And the author picks up this theme again later; he sympathizes with us, 4:15 tells us, because he has been tested in every way, just like us—but without sinning. Paul tells us the same thing in 1 Corinthians 15:21–22: For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. And we could cite many other passages—from Genesis, to Isaiah, to Luke, to John… Jesus Christ was really a man, and also really God. What the church has said I’m going to open with a long quote from the Council of Chalcedon. Hang with me; we’re going to tease work through the hard parts together. following the holy Fathers, we all with one voice confess our Lord Jesus Christ one and the same Son, the same perfect in Godhead, the same perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man, the same consisting of a reasonable soul and a body, of one substance with the Father as touching the Godhead, the same of one substance with us as touching the manhood, like us in all things apart from sin; begotten of the Father before the ages as touching the Godhead, the same in the last days, for us and for our salvation, born from the Virgin Mary, the Theotokos, as touching the manhood, one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way abolished because of the union, but rather the characteristic property of each nature being preserved, and concurring into one Person and one subsistence, not as if Christ were parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son and only-begotten God, Word, Lord, Jesus Christ; even as the Prophets from the beginning spoke concerning him, and our Lord Jesus Christ instructed us, and the Creed of the Fathers has handed down to us. And yes, that’s a single sentence! We’ll pull it apart a bit in just a minute. First, though, a bit of context: this document exists because of a meeting a lot like a Presbyterian general assembly, if GA were a month long. The meeting was focused primarily on a controversy over that word _Theotokos_: was it right or wrong to call Mary the mother of God? They concluded that we must say Mary was the mother of God—because to say otherwise is to say that the one she bore in her womb was not truly God. She did not have two persons in her womb, but one! But we know from everything we saw last week that that one person must be God the Son, and from what we saw in our first section today that that one person must be a human being. Our salvation hangs on the truth that in Mary’s womb, there was one person, with two natures: God-nature, and human-nature. That is “the same perfect in Godhead, the same perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man.” But then the obvious questions: how do those two natures relate? The church answered with four negations: “without confusion, without change, without division, without separation”. Why those four? “without confusion”—because God’s nature and human nature are not mingling in the Incarnation; they don’t turn into some kind of _third thing_ that’s neither exactly God nor exactly human; the divine nature and human nature remain distinct. One person, two natures. “without change”—God’s eternal being is not altered by the incarnation; he is still “the same yesterday, today, and forever”; and human nature did not stop being human and become something else in the incarnation, which is good news for us, because we’re still fully human in nature! “without division”—this was not somehow breaking apart the nature of God or the nature of humanity. For one thing, God’s nature is indivisible; you cannot have the will of God apart from the love of God, or something like that. And on the other hand, the Incarnation is not God’s mind and a human body but no human mind. All human nature is present in the incarnate Son. and finally “without separation”—meaning, these two natures cannot be pulled back apart; this person is forever God the Son, the man Jesus Christ, one person. And that’s how they conclude: “one Person and one subsistence, not as if Christ were parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son and only-begotten God, Word, Lord, Jesus Christ.” So that’s the doctrine, and it’s heady, and it’s hard to wrap your head around all of it. Just like we talked about last week, though, getting this right is at the core of the gospel. Now, in all honesty, the first time I read this, I thought “Okay, I think that’s right, and I can see how it’s important to defend those things”… but I didn’t immediately connect it to the gospel. Gregory of Nazianzus’ quote was part of what connected it for me. The other part was reading another church father, Athanasius. His book On The Incarnation is a rich exposition of how in Christ God has taken our corruption, our falling back into the nothingness from which we were created in the beginning and said “NO!” and saved us—renewed us into his image, by becoming, as Colossians puts it, “the image of the invisible God” just as we were meant to be from the beginning. He “turn[s] [us] again from to incorruptibility and give[s] [us] life from death, by making the body his own and by the grace of the resurrection banishing death from [us] as straw from the fire.” (That’s the shortest quote I could manage here; I could just quote pages and pages because it’s so rich and good.) At this point I’d normally also share from a Reformed confession, but I’m going to skip that today because they all just reiterate—often word for word—what the creeds said. The church Fathers did an incredible job hammering out what we must and must not say if we are to hold fast to the gospel we have received. Once again, I’m profoundly grateful for the faithful saints who went before and safeguarded the gospel for us. I will quote the Heidelberg Catechism again, though, because of how beautifully it sums up the necessity of the full divinity and humanity of our savior: 15: What kind of mediator and deliverer should we look for then? One who is a true and righteous human, yet more powerful than all creatures, that is, one who is also true God. 16: Why must the mediator be a true and righteous human? God’s justice demands that human nature, which has sinned, must pay for sin;1 but a sinful human could never pay for others. 17: Why must the mediator also be true God? So that the mediator, by the power of his divinity, might bear the weight of God’s wrath in his humanity and earn for us and restore to us righteousness and life. Nothing but a human being could pay for human sin; but no mere human could do it—only God is sufficient and able to bear God’s wrath. So our mediator is both. In our lives As we wrap up this section I want to highlight a few things that encourage me in this. The first is the same point we hit last week: we have the same Father our Lord does; he calls us brothers and sisters, and astoundingly his Father has become our Father through his work. The second is the thing I think about most with the Incarnation: in everything we experience in life, we are not alone. God the Son has come down and walked through all of them with us. When we think about what it is to watch our loved ones die, and to know them really dead, even if we stand in hope of resurrection—our Lord has felt that grief! When we are weary and tempted to fall away in the face of trials—our Lord knows that weariness! He prayed for deliverance from death, and God heard his prayers! …and answered them through his death. When we are suffering, tired, lonely, grieving, facing evil—God is with us, he has shared our griefs, he has borne our sorrows, he knows exactly what we endure. And he never sinned! He can be the high priest we need, who made an offering of himself for us that finished the job, and who can and does intercede for us forever. All this is true because in Jesus Christ we see God and man, two natures in one person: his divinity empowering his humanity to bear our sins and heal our brokenness. Questions Now: what questions do you have? I’m sure there are some! Conclusion As we close, I want to read you a bit from Karl Barth, who’s little book Dogmatics in Outline is a really wonderful meditation on the Apostles’ Creed. He has a chapter on “God in the highest,” which includes this wonderful bit: He whose nature and essence consist, whose existence is proved, in His descending into the depths, He the Merciful, who gives Himself up for His creature to the utter depths of the existence of His creature—He is God in the highest. Not in spite of this, not in remarkable paradoxical opposition, but the highness of God consists in His thus descending. This is His exalted nature, this His free love. Anyone who wants to look up to some other height has not understood the utter otherness in God, he would still be in the tracks of the heathen, who look for God in an endlessness. But He is utterly other than we think our gods. It is He who calls Abraham and who led that retched nation through the desert, who never swerves through the centuries-long disloyalty and disobedience of this nation, who causes Himself to be born in the stable at Bethlehem as a little child and who dies on Golgotha. He is the glorious Lord, He is divine.2 I love this word: God’s highness is revealed precisely in Jesus, the man with dusty feet from Bethlehem. Let’s pray! Gregory Nazianzen, To Cledonius The Priest Against Apollinarius (ep. CI)↩︎ Karl Barth, Dogmatics in Outline, p. 40.↩︎

Daily Devotions from Charles Spurgeon, read by Doug Smith.  To read the entire book online, visit spurgeon.org.  For more information about the program, visit brotherdougsmith.wordpress.com. April 28 It Becomes Mutual I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (2 Corinthians 6:16)  Here is a mutual interest. Each belongs to each. God is the portion of His people, and the chosen people are the portion of their God. The saints find in God their chief possession, and He reckons them to be His peculiar treasure. What a mine of comfort lies in this fact for each believer! This happy condition of mutual interest leads to mutual consideration. God will always think of His own people, and they will always think of Him. This day my God will perform all things for me; what can I do for Him? My thoughts ought to run toward Him, for He thinketh upon me. Let me make sure that it is so and not be content with merely admitting that so it ought to be. This, again, leads to mutual fellowship. God dwells in us, and we dwell in Him; He walks with us, and we walk with God.... Oh, for grace to treat the Lord as my God: to trust Him and to serve Him, as His Godhead deserves! Oh, that I could love, worship, adore, and obey Jehovah in spirit and in truth! This is my heart's desire. When I shall attain to it, I shall have found my heaven. Lord, help me! Be my God in helping me to know Thee as my God, for Jesus' sake.

Name It is derived from the word zukhruf-an which occurs in verse 33 of this Surah. Period of Revelation It could not be known from any authentic tradition, but a study of its subject matter shows that this Surah also was sent down in the same period in which the Surahs Al-Mumin, As-Sajdah and Ash-Shura, were sent down. It appears that the revelation of this series of the Surahs began when the disbelievers of Makkah were planning to put an end to the Holy Prophet's life. Day and night they were holding consultations in their assemblies as how to eliminate him, and even an attack on his life also had been made as has been clearly referred to in vv. 79-80. Theme and Topics In this Surah a forceful and severe criticism has been made of the Quraish and the common Arabs creeds and superstitions of ignorance in which they persisted, and their stubbornness has been exposed in a firm and effective way, so that every member of the society, who was reasonable in some degree, should be made to consider the evils in which the community was involved and its tyrannical treatment of the person who was trying to redeem it. The discourse starts in a way as if to say: "You, by means of your mischiefs, want that the revelation of this Book should be stopped, but Allah has never withheld the appointment of His Prophets and the revelation of His Books because of the mischief of the people, but has destroyed the wicked people, who obstructed the way of His guidance. The same He will do again. A little further in vv. 41-43 and 79-80 the same thing has been reiterated. Though the people who were plotting against his life are meant, the Holy Prophet has been addressed to the effect: "whether you remain alive or not, We will certainly punish the wicked," and the people themselves have been plainly warned to the effect: "If you have decided to take an action against Our Prophet, We too will take a decisive action." Then, it has been told what is the reality of the religion that the people are following so devotedly and what are the arguments on whose strength they are resisting Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and Blessings). They themselves admit that the Creator of the earth and heavens and of themselves and their deities is only Allah. They also know and admit that the blessings they are benefiting from, have been bestowed by Allah; yet they insist on making others associates of Allah in His Godhead. They regard the servants as the children of Allah, and that too daughters, whom they regard as disgraceful for themselves. They believe that the angels are goddesses; they have carved their images as females; they adorn them with female dresses and ornaments, and call them daughters of Allah: they worship them and invoke them for the fulfillment of their needs. How did they know that the angels were female? When they are rebuked for these superstitions, they present the pretense of destiny and say :"Had Allah disapproved of these our practices, we could not have worshiped these images, whereas the means of finding out whether Allah had approved of something or not, are His Books and not those things which are happening in the world according to His Will. For under His Will not only idol worship but crimes like theft and adultery, robbery. murder, etc. also are being committed. Can this argument be used to justify as right and proper this commission of every crime and evil is the world? When it is asked: Have you any other authority, apart from this wrong argument, for the polytheism of yours? They reply, "The same has been the practice since the time of our forefathers." In other words, this in their opinion is a strong enough argument for a creed's being right and true, whereas the Prophet Abraham, descent from whom is the only basis of their pride and distinction, had rejected the religion of his elders and left his home, and he had discarded every such blind imitation of his forefathers, which did not have the support of any rational argument. Then, if these people had to follow their elders only, for this also they selected their most ignorant elders and abandoned their most illustrious elders like the Prophets Abraham and Ishmael (on whom be peace). When they are asked: "Has ever a Prophet or a Book sent down by God also given this teaching that others beside Allah too are worthy of worship? they present this practice of the Christians as an argument that they took Jesus son of Mary as son of God and worshiped him; whereas the question was not this whether the community of a Prophet had committed shirk or not, but this whether a Prophet had himself taught shirk. Jesus son of Mary had never said that he was son of God and that the people should worship him. His own was the same teaching which every other Prophet had given "My Lord as well as your Lord is Allah: so worship Him alone." They were disinclined to believe in the Prophethood of the Holy Prophet because he was neither a rich man nor a person of high worldly position and rank. They said "Had Allah willed to appoint a prophet among us, He would have appointed one of the great men of' our two cities (Makkah and Taif). On that very basis, Pharaoh also had looked down upon the Prophet Moses and said: "If Allah, the King of the heavens, had to send a messenger to me, the king of the earth, He would have sent him with bracelets of gold and a company of angels in attendance. Where from has this mendicant appeared I am superior to him, for the kingdom of Egypt belongs to me, and the canals of the River Nile are flowing under my control. What is the status of this man as against me? He has neither wealth nor authority." Thus, after criticizing each practice of ignorance of the disbelievers and rejecting it with rational arguments, it has been pointed out: "Neither has God any offspring, nor are there separate gods of the earth and heavens, nor is there any intercessor who may be able to protect from His punishment those who adopt deviation knowingly. Allah is far above this that He should have children. He alone is the God of the whole Universe: all others are His servants and not associates in His attributes and powers, and only such men can intercede with Him, who are themselves followers of the Truth and they also can intercede only for those who may have adopted obedience of the Truth in the world." Source: Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Quran

Jesus gave up Himself. Sometimes it is hard to grasp the fact that our Creator, who with the power of His word commands and it is so, gave up His authority, concealed His Godhead, and poured out His life for His creation ... I don't know that we can ever truly grasp that. And if it be so (it is), then God help us to let Him be our God. That we would put our trust in Him and His Word - not in us and temporal treasures.

Theme: The person of the Mediator Point 1: What He has to be, Point 2: Who He is, Point 3: Out of what He is known, Bible text description: Q. 16. Why must He be very man, and also perfectly righteous? A. Because the justice of God requires that the same human nature which hath sinned should likewise make satisfaction for sin; cannot satisfy for others. Q. 17. Why must He in one person be also very God? A. That He might, by the power of His Godhead, sustain in His human nature the burden of God’s wrath; and one who is himself a sinner. Q. 18. Who then is that Mediator, who is in one person both very God and a real righteous man? A. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. Q. 19. Whence knowest thou this? A. From the holy gospel, which God Himself first revealed in Paradise; and afterwards published by the patriarchs and prophets, and represented by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law; and, lastly, has fulfilled it by His only begotten Son.

"He who is full empties Himself. He emptied himself of His Godhead for a brief time so that I might share in His fullness." St Gregory Nazianzen. The post The Wonder of the Incarnation appeared first on Cradio.

Pastor Jeff Williams: May 22, 2011 Going Beyond, Part IV, “Beyond Listeners.” (Clip is played about Harold Camping's prediction of the world ending on May 21, 2011. Link can be found here: http://www.faithcommunitychurch.net/beyond_listening Click on “Beyond Listening Video Clip 1.”) Interviewer: “Let's talk about the coming of the Lord on May 21. You're not just saying this is a strong likelihood. You're saying absolutely this is going to happen.” Camping: “I am saying this is going to happen May 21-Judgment Day will begin, but thank you for calling and sharing; and shall we take our next call please. Welcome to the open forum. “There are 14 days left, my, my…” Pastor Jeff: I think we've all heard of this gentleman by now, right? The end of the world, the rapture of the church [was supposed to take place] yesterday. The end of the world in five months… How many of you just found out about Mr. Camping? Let me see your hands. [How many of you] just recently found out about this? Our series is called, “Going Beyond,” and this morning, we are talking about “Going Beyond Listening,” so that we don't become just listeners of the Word of God but students of the Word of God. We don't just swallow hook, line, and sinker anything that's taught to us, but we examine it in light of the Scripture. The Christians in Berea in the Book of Acts were called noble-minded because they took what Paul said and they checked it out for themselves. They listened to Paul, and they went back and examined the Scriptures to see if what he said was true. Paul didn't reprimand them for that. From time to time, I would listen to the teacher whose name is Harold Camping. He is the gentleman who predicted the end of the world. I remember listening to him and thinking, “He's not very good.” I don't know how he got on the radio. There was nothing else to listen to, so I would just listen. Then one day I heard something I couldn't believe. I heard him predicting not just the year, but the month, the date, and the time that the church would be raptured, and I heard him say a lot of other false things about the Bible and about the church. I was appalled. I got out my pen as I was driving my car, and I said, “I am writing down the call letters of this station. When I get back home, I'm going to look them up on the computer. I'm going to call this radio station, and I'm going to complain.” I'm going to say, “Do you know what one of the people on your radio station is teaching? Do you have any idea? You should not let this guy on your airwaves.” I got home and I punched in Family Radio. I looked it up, and it turns out he owns the station (congregation laughing), so that was going to be a problem. In fact, not only does he own that station, but he owns 140 stations around the world. He is in most major cities in America and in many others around the world. He started buying these radio stations in the 1970s, all the way through the ‘80s, ‘90s, and through the 2000s. He is a retired civil engineer who is very successful at what he does. He accumulated and massed all these radio stations. Several years ago, probably even sooner than that, he started to predict the end of the world-May 21, 2011. That's what we've been hearing about in the news. This scared a lot of people. There are people who sold their homes. There are people who quit their jobs because of this. There are people who bought expensive cars and took expensive vacations. One man called him and said, “Mr. Camping, thank you for helping me to understand this. I am with my family in Europe, and we are taking a cruise. I quit my job; I sold my home. We are living large in Europe. I have just enough money to make it to May 21. Thank you for all you've done for me and my family,” so he is somewhere stranded in Europe right now. That may be humorous, but there are some sad stories. There are people who put down their pets because of this; and I can't confirm this for you, but I've heard from two different sources that some parents might have taken their child's life because they didn't want their child to endure the Apocalypse. This is serious stuff. People left the church by the droves because of this guy. You know there is going to be kooks out there, but what was amazing to me was that person after person, caller after caller-and they sounded like reasonable people-would listen to unreasonable, non-Biblical answers by this gentleman. They'd simply respond by saying, “Thank you. Now I understand. Thank you. Okay.” He'd been on the radio for 50 years. Some of those people had listened to him since they were kids, so whatever he says “is Gospel.” Whatever he says “is going to happen.” They put their whole trust in him. One of his favorite lines is, “Don't trust me; trust the Bible. The Bible is the authority, not me. I'm simply a teacher. Don't trust me; trust the Bible.” In essence, he threw God under the bus because now when it doesn't happen… “The Bible said it was going to happen-now what? We don't trust the Bible?” In light of the current events, I'm still going to keep the same topic, but it's going to take a new twist. I'm going to talk a little bit more than I would have-had this not become this national story-about false teachers and give you some warnings about false teachers. We're going to keep the same topic, but I'm making an adjustment in light of this. Predicting the end of the world is not something new. There will be other teachers like Mr. Camping in the future, and there have been others like him in the past. In fact, since the very beginning when Christ said He would return, there have been people who have come up with theories and ideas and started rumors concerning the coming of Christ. Did you know that in the very beginning of the church these rumors existed? It is nothing new. Please turn in your Bibles to the Book of 2 Thessalonians 2:1 (page 1172 of pew Bibles). Paul is writing to the church in Thessalonica, and he says in Verse 1, “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him, we ask you, brothers, not to be easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come.” So somebody was starting a rumor. Somebody was pretending to be Paul and circulating a letter, sending out Tweets and texts. I don't know if his Facebook page was hacked (congregation laughing), but somehow he's sending out these alarms that the day of the Lord has happened. This is a little different. Harold is saying here's when it's going to happen, and this group was saying it's already happened. “You've been left behind. You missed it.” It reminds me of a prank they played on a guy in college at Trinity. They played a joke on this guy where they set his alarm clock to go off at a certain time, but then they put the shower on, the water faucets on, started the razors and left them going. They had the hair dryer going. They put his clothes on the floor and vacated the rooms, so when this guy woke up and started walking around the suite, all this stuff was on, but nobody was there (congregation laughing). It was this elaborate hoax where he thought he was left behind. He didn't think it was funny, but you guys apparently do. You're laughing at his pain. This is a dark group here. Paul is trying to say, “Hey, listen, don't let anyone deceive you in this way. Here are the things that need to happen before the day of the Lord comes.” He reminded them of what Daniel says and what Revelations says. He is saying, “Look, these things haven't happened yet, so, no, the day of the Lord has not yet come.” He reminded them of what the Word says. He does it in a nice way, but I think Paul is really shaking his head thinking, “You should have known better. I shouldn't have to say this. You should be a student of the Word. You should know what Daniel and Revelations say has to happen before the Rapture comes. You should know this.” The two Books that have the most to say about the end times-there is one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament-are Daniel, in the Old Testament, and Revelation, in the New Testament. Those two Books work together. In Harold Camping's eschatology, a theological term that means the last things, Revelation and Daniel are hardly a blip on the radar. He doesn't even mention them much to speak of. Yet that's where we get most of our information from. Paul writes and says, “Listen, be a student of the Word.” I want you to turn back one page in your Bible to 1 Thessalonians 4 (page 1171 of pew Bibles). This is the same church, but this is Paul's first letter. This is one of the oldest Books of all the New Testament and also is one of the first Books Paul ever wrote, 1 Thessalonians. He says in Verse 19, “Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good.” So if you hold on to what is good, what do you do with what is not good? You discard it. What is the context in which he says to test everything? He says, “People are going to pretend to speak for God all the time. Let them speak; beware of what they say. Maybe it's of God; maybe it's not. Test it.” The context of this is the end times. Look at Verse 1 of this Chapter (Chapter 4 of 1 Thessalonians, page 1171), “Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” Don't worry about times and dates. Don't try to set times and dates. Don't worry about that because it's going to come when you least expect it. Christ will come as a thief in the night. So the context in which Paul says to test things is in the context, interestingly enough, of people postulating about the last times, about the end of the world. I want to share with you several tests [to find out if what you hear is true or false] because false teachers are everywhere. They may speak to thousands through radio, as Mr. Camping did. They may write books, as Mr. Camping did. They may be well-known or they may be obscure. They may be teaching a Bible study or leading a small group in their home with just a handful of people coming. I guarantee you there are false teachers in Rock County right now. Think of any major city, and there are false teachers there right now. You may not know them, but they are there. Someday somebody is going to hand you a book, hand you a tape, invite you to a small Bible study group, and you're going to encounter false teaching. It may be false teaching about the end of the world; it may be false teaching about what Jesus did on the cross, about the Word of God, or about the Resurrection-who knows what-but you're going to encounter this; and there are several tests that we want to talk about to identify these false teachers. In light of Mr. Camping and his revelation, we're going to take a different turn. Let's look at test number one: Test #1: Do they demonize outsiders? If there are false teachers, they don't want their followers being mislead. What they like to do is demonize outsiders-not just say outsiders are wrong but [what they say is] “come away from the outsiders.” In this case, it's “come out of the church. If you are in the church, you're not really a Christian, so don't have anything to do with them. Don't listen to them. They're of the devil.” Let's listen to Mr. Camping talk about you and me and talk about the church. This is his own propaganda. (Link can be found here: http://www.faithcommunitychurch.net/beyond_listening Click on “Beyond Listening Video Clip 2.”) Mr. Camping: “Well, the fact is whether you're a male or a female pastor or whether you've been a pastor a long time or a short time, if you are still preaching in a church, you are a servant of Satan.” Interviewer: “That is one of the more shocking things to hear that Satan is ruling in the churches. Mr. Camping: “Yes, it is, and you know we would never believe that, but we read in 2 Thessalonians [2:3],'Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall' not'come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed…' [2 Corinthians 11:14-15]'…as Satan as an Angel of Light…' And his ministers of righteousness says, [Matthew 24:15-16]'When you see the abomination of desolation…' that is Satan, Satan sitting in the holy place.'…then let those who are in Judea flee to the hills…' And there are other Passages that tell us'get out of the churches because if you remain there, you-are-going-to-be-worshipping Satan.' Can you think of anything more horrible than that?” So he talked about me, and he talked about you. I'm an agent of the devil because the devil is in charge of the church now and has been since 1988. It's interesting that Mr. Camping was kicked out of the church in 1988. The elders kicked him out of the church for false teaching, so now, of course, the Holy Spirit has left the church. Nobody has been saved in the church since 1988. You have to leave the church and listen to him on the radio, and then God will open up your spiritual life. This is a new kind of a cult, really, that we've seen before. This man is ruling over his little flock from the airwaves; so right now, this morning, you are worshipping the devil, according to Mr. Camping. You probably didn't realize that. When we send our team to Haiti at the 11 o'clock service this morning, they are going out to do the devil's work when they go. Sally, as she leaves for mission work, is doing the work of the devil, according to Mr. Camping. This is an awful heresy to teach. What it does is it demonizes outsiders, so when people try to help-these people were passing out tracks in all the major cities, warning of the end of the world-when Christians come up and try to talk to them or their family members who are Christians try to talk to them, what have they been taught? They are “agents of the devil.” Now even “my own family is an agent of the devil. I'm not going to listen to you even though you love Jesus because you're worshipping Satan.” In this way, he is able to keep control. He's not able to be challenged because those who would challenge are already written off. They're not credible because they are under Satan's control. Let's look at test number two: Test #2: Is their theology complex? Jesus says, “Whoever comes to the Kingdom must come as a…” what? Little child. “Come to God as a little child.” The Gospel is not hard to understand. It's not at all; however, what Mr. Camping and others try to do is take what is very simple and make it very complex. There is an advantage to that. If I'm the only one who understands what I'm teaching-it's so complex that you can't even follow it-then I must be correct, right? If you're trying to understand, and you can't understand, and you're trying to read the Bible, and you don't see it-but I see it. I understand it-then I have an inside contact with God that you don't have. You become very dependent on me to explain things to you because it's too hard for you to understand. He stresses that over and over again. The Bible is extremely complex, extremely hard to understand, and it takes years and years and years of study “to be a scholar like I am,” he says. Listen, if you've been doing something poorly the whole time-it doesn't matter how long you've been doing it, right? If you build houses that fall down every time the wind blows and say, “I've been a carpenter building houses for 50 years,” if you're doing it inadequately, then it doesn't matter how long you've been doing it. You may have been studying the Bible for 50 years, Harold, but you've been studying it poorly, so it really doesn't matter how long you've been doing it. Maybe I'm being too harsh on him. Maybe we should just let him explain to you one of the ways that he came up with this date. Maybe it's not complex at all. Maybe I'm just picking on the guy. (Link can be found here: http://www.faithcommunitychurch.net/beyond_listening Click on “Beyond Listening Video Clip 3.”) Let's listen to a little bit of his: Interviewer: “There are a few numbers that have spiritual meanings that are important to this timeline, so could you give me each number…five.” Mr. Graham: “Number five signifies the atonement.” Interviewer: “Number ten.” Mr. Graham: “Ten signifies completeness-whether it's ten or ten times ten or ten times ten times ten, it is the completion of whatever is used; and that's used throughout the Bible that way.” Interviewer: “And the number seventeen.” Mr. Graham: “Seventeen points to Heaven and points to being caught up to be with Christ in Heaven. I've learned that through studying and studying and studying that a larger number can be broken down into insignificant numbers-(5 x 10 x 17) x (5 x 10 x 17)-and those are traumatically significant numbers.” Interviewer: “One more time, so (5 x 10 x 17) x (5 x 10 x 17) equals…” Mr. Graham: “722,500, which are the number of days inclusively from April 1, 33 A.D. and May 21, 2011, when the rapture occurs, which is the final date of the completion of our salvation. You have to have the numbers inclusive in order to include the whole extent of God's salvation plan. Does 722,500 go from the day that Christ is hanging on the cross demonstrating how He had made payment for our sins, and five is the number of the Gospel of atonement to the day when God's salvation plan is completed. Number ten, completeness, and the completeness of it is when we receive our glorified spiritual body. Seventeen is the catching up to finishing, when we are raptured. Seventeen, (5 x 10 x 17), and then it's doubled because that shows that it absolutely is going to come to pass and will come shortly to pass.” See? It's easy! (5 x 10 x 17)… You had no idea you had to be a math major to understand the Bible, right? Let's look at test number three: Test #3: Is their theology esoteric? The word esoteric means something that's known by a few, that we have been initiated. We have privileged information that the rest don't share. There is a restaurant in Milwaukee called the Safe House. The only way you can get in is through a password. They make you do stupid things if you don't have the password while everybody else in the restaurant watches you on TV. It's not how much money you're going to spend or who you know or how much you like the food; it's do you have the password? Do you have the secret word? That's what esoteric theology is. It's like “we're the only ones who understand this truth. Out of all the Christians of all generations that ever lived, only our little group and only our leader has found this truth.” If I'm doing my job, and the other pastors when they teach are doing their jobs, you'll walk out of here going, “Okay, I have a better handle on the truth that's already been revealed. I understand this truth better having been here. I have more clarity and direction on this truth.” You should not walk out of here going, “Oh, I got a bunch of new truth today. I just found out things in the Bible that nobody has ever taught.” In fact, the only mention of Revelation in his eschatology is right here: he said, “Jesus opened up the seals,” the seven seals in Revelation 5-6. “Jesus opens up the seals, and when He opened up the seals, now we have understanding.” When He said to Daniel, “Save these things till the time of the end,” this is the time of the end. God has revealed these things to Harold Camping, okay (congregation laughing)? Then Harold revealed it to the world. In the Book of 2 Peter 1:19 (page 1204), Peter writes a warning about teachers like this. He says, “And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophesy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Go back to Verse 20; no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of private interpretation. If somebody comes to you and says, “Hey, here is something in the Bible nobody has ever learned before. Now the Bible is giving us this new truth,” that is a flag. Peter warns about that. Listen to what Harold has to say when he's asked the question, “Does knowing this date affect whether or not a person is saved?” (Link: http://www.faithcommunitychurch.net/beyond_listening Click on “Beyond Listening Video Clip 4.”) Interviewer: “My question is really does knowing this have anything to do with our salvation?” Mr. Camping: “Knowing the date?” Interviewer: “Yeah.” Mr. Camping: “Well, yes it does because it's very… In 1 Thessalonians 5 is scary beyond measure because there God starts out in that chapter and says, now you know'full well Christ is coming as a thief in the night.' That has been…That has been God's intention or that that be known that way throughout the church age. And but then he says Christ is coming as a thief in the night, and those who believe they are safe and secure-that is they believe they are believers'sudden destruction will come upon them.' Wow! Let me read that. That's, that's, that's scary because that that's exactly what's going on in every church. They believe that we can't know the day or the hour, that it's Christ who's coming as a thief in the night, and then God says there will come a time when you believe that and… I'm, I'm turning to that in 1 Thessalonians 5. He says,'For yourselves…' Now I'm reading Verse 2,'…for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night for when they shall say “piece and safety,”‘ and that's all those who are in the churches. They're very or, or they're not concerned because'oh, we're, we're, we're a child of God, and He can come anytime. He can come tonight. He can come next year and so on,' but we cannot know anything about His coming. Then sudden destruction cometh upon him. That's talking about the day of Judgment. That's talking about the wrath of God.” Interviewer: “Okay.” Mr. Camping: “As it's to reveal upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. That's, that is a scary statement, but then he says,'But ye, brethren, are not in darkness.' In other words, there are people for whom Christ is not coming as a thief in the night. He is saying for those who, who hear Christ is coming as a thief in the night, they're still in spiritual nighttime.” Interviewer: “I understand what you're saying…” When he talks about destruction coming upon the wrath of God, he is speaking about the church-the church who does not know this date. Does it matter if we know the date? “Oh yes! You have to know the date.” Relatively speaking, how many people-how many Christians-knew the date? Even though he has a large following, there are 2 billion Christians in the world. But a fraction of a fraction of a fraction knew about this-not very many, yet he is saying, “God is opening your eyes to seeing this date that God has shown me which is what your salvation rests on.” Your salvation does not rest upon knowing Jesus, putting your faith in Christ. Your salvation rests upon this hidden knowledge that has now been revealed. It is the theology esoteric. It is known by only these few. We're the only privileged few that know this new truth that God has revealed. Let's look at a fourth test: Test #4: Do they make bold claims? Do they claim something big is going to happen? Let's go ahead and play his clip (Click on “Beyond Listening Video Clip 5” at this link: http://www.faithcommunitychurch.net/beyond_listening ). Interviewer: “Can you tell me about the great earthquake that is going to hit and exactly what is going to happen?” Mr. Camping: “Whenever a city or an area of the world comes to 6 p.m. Standard Time, about that time, and it's May 21 on their calendar, there is going to be a great earthquake in that city. Now how, whether it's going to be a whole series of earthquakes up and down from north to south, we don't know. “The fact is that you should be praying and begging God that you might be one of those that are to be raptured, but those who are left behind, it is going to be a super, super horror story-an earthquake far larger, far greater than anything that has ever happened. “And if you are thinking well then it's going to somehow be business as usual, you are going to be bitterly disappointed'cause it will not be. “And then when the next city at 6 p.m., they will have their earthquake, and every time there is a great earthquake, it means that Judgment Day has come to that area. “And so I don't even want to think about those kind of things that you're suggesting, but thank you for calling and sharing, and shall we take our next call please?” So we make these bold claims. They can instill fear in the followers. They can instill a great curiosity-something epic, something big-and that might cause them to send money as is in the case of Family Radio. They've taken in millions of dollars for billboards and literature and so forth. They can instill a great fear that causes me to follow this teacher that's teaching because I don't want to be left behind or I don't want to lose my salvation. The last point I want to make is [as follows]: Test #5: The literal becomes spiritual, and the spiritual becomes literal. They take the Scripture, and they twist it. When asked, Mr. Camping says that in October, everything is disintegrated. There is a Resurrection, and people who were lost are condemned by God, and they become extinct. There is no hell; they're just extinct. There is no judgment. When asked, “Well, what about the Judgment seat of Christ, Mr. Camping, where Paul says,'We must all stand before the Judgment seat of Christ and give an account of our lives?'” Mr. Camping says, “Well, that's figurative. That's not literal. You don't really have to stand before the Judgment seat of Christ.” “Well, Mr. Camping, you have an appointment there. You're 89 years old. You'll probably be visiting that appointment pretty soon.” In Philippians 2:10-11 (paraphrasing Verses on page 1162), it talks about “when every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,” that is spiritual. That really won't happen. That's just a poetic way of Paul saying that Christ is Lord. When it says in the Bible that “He bore our sins on the cross,” when He died on the cross, He was just demonstrating what he did before the foundation of the world. Before the foundation of the world, the Bible says, “He is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.” We understand that to mean that God had a plan-that before man even sinned, God had a plan to redeem mankind. Before the foundation of the world, God had a plan; but Mr. Camping teaches that Christ was literally crucified and died, was buried, and rose again before Creation even happened. Mr. Camping claims all He did on the cross was do a demonstration of what He did before the Creation of the world. He bore no sin on the cross when He came to this earth. On and on we could go about these things that are to be taken literal that he takes figuratively, but then he takes things that are literal and gives spiritual meaning to them. It's important that we understand that the Bible is written and is to be interpreted in a historical, grammatical sense. When Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica, this is a real church; these are real people; this is a real situation he is writing about. We understand these were written in history, so we need to understand who the original audience was, what life was like in Thessalonica, what the situation was in the church in that middle of the first century. It was written in a known language that has rules for grammar, so we have to interpret it through proficient grammar. A noun is a noun, and a verb is a verb. It is written in a spoken language, so we need to understand that. The moment you say, “Well, the Bible is spiritual,” we need to understand things spiritually. I understand the Bible is a spiritual book-yes, I understand that-but if I'm going to take and attach spiritual meanings to things, now it's the Wild, Wild West. Anything goes. I can pretty much make any text say what I want it to say, and I disregard the background; I disregard the original audience; I disregard the author's intent; and I simply can spiritualize any text, and that's what false teachers do. Let me share with you a practical way of how Harold Camping came up with this date. Turn to Genesis 7:4 (page 6). God is speaking to Noah, and He says, “‘Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.'” So who is God speaking to? Noah. Are the seven days literal days? They are literal days, so the clock starts ticking and you have seven days. Were they getting in a literal ark or a spiritual ark? It was a literal ark to keep them afloat when the flood waters came. Now keep that in mind. We understand that was said to Noah; it was a literal ark; it was literal water; it was a literal seven days. Let's look at 1 Peter 3:3-9 (pages 1205-1206). Here is where he connects the dots. “First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say,'Where is this “coming” He promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.' But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's Word the Heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same Word the present Heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of Judgment and destruction of ungodly men. “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” When he says a thousand years is like a day and a day is like a thousand years, is that to be understood literally? No. He is simply telling us that God is not subject to time as you and I. A thousand years seems like a long time to mortal man, but to God, eternal God, a thousand years is like a day. It's like a moment. This language is used in Psalms 90:4 (page 589). It says, “For a thousand years in Your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.” A watch in the night is just a few hours. A thousand years to God is nothing. Peter says don't think God is slow in His promises. He's like, “Oh, it's been 3,000 years or 2,000 years, and nothing has happened.” He says, “To God, a thousand years is like a day.” Well, Mr. Camping then takes that as literal. He says, “That's literal, and what happened to Moses is spiritual.” So Noah had seven days to get in the ark; he knew Judgment was coming. We know Judgment is coming. Since a thousand years is like a day, Noah had seven days; therefore, we have 7,000 years. So he uses his genealogies in the Bible, goes back to the day of the flood. He has figured out the day of the flood too, and then he adds 7,000 years to that date and the calculations came to May 21, 2011. You have 7,000 years to get into the ark of Jesus' safety before God brings Judgment to the world. That's how he came up with the number. If you knew how he came up with it, you would know you had nothing to be afraid of. You didn't have to sell your home; you didn't have to quit your job; you didn't have to put your pet down. I don't know if this has happened to you, but I had people coming up to me in the grocery store, in the restaurant, the gas station, and saying, “Hey, you're a pastor, right? We're going to be okay, right? It's going to be all right? This guy, he's crazy, right?” They're saying that, and they're kind of smiling, but inside they're thinking, “It is okay, right? It's all right?” (congregation laughing). It's been interesting in the last several weeks; I've had some interesting conversations with people. I've had some spiritual conversations that I probably wouldn't have had otherwise. You're in aisle seven of the grocery store, so it's hard to get into a discussion on end times. I just would say, “You know, he's off his rocker. Don't worry about it. Everything is going to be okay.” “Oh, that's good. That's what I thought, yeah, yeah. I didn't think he had anything.” There are people around the world who are watching the clock-not just in America, but other parts of the world. There were whole cities who followed Mr. Camping overseas that gathered together to wait for Jesus' return. When you challenge him with what literal Scripture says, he says, “What is your evidence? What is your evidence?” You'd show him the evidence. You would read to him Mark 13:32 (page 1007). Jesus is speaking in Mark 13 and says this about the end of the world: “‘No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” It seems pretty straight-forward; it seems pretty plain…but not to Mr. Camping. Mr. Camping then just says, “Well, this could not be Jesus. Jesus could not be the Son here because Jesus is eternal God. He is equal with the Father, and if Jesus doesn't know the day or the hour, that would make Him less than God. That would mean He didn't understand something God knew. That's blasphemy to say that the Son is Jesus here! You are blaspheming God because you're saying that is Him!” The Son must be someone else. Even though anytime in Scripture where Jesus talks about the Father and the Son, He is referring to Himself every other time, in this situation, “He is not. The Son must be…” Are you ready for this? “…the devil. He is the son of perdition.” So according to Mr. Camping, no one knows the day or the hour-”not angels in Heaven, nor the devil.” That's what he is saying here. “To say this is Jesus is blasphemy because Jesus is God.” He is saying, “You're saying Jesus isn't God!” The callers would say, “I don't want to say Jesus isn't God! I don't want to do that! Okay! Okay!” And then they listen to that; they buy into that. “Well, how can Jesus say that? If He is God, how can He say that?” In the Book of Philippians 2:5-8 (page 1162), there is a very key Passage in the New Testament. Paul writes and says, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross!” Now, we shouldn't think of it as Jesus emptying Himself of His Godhead. He did not do that. The Bible says He regarded His equality with God as something not to be taken advantage of or not to be grasped. The way I've illustrated it is this: imagine you are a carpenter. You're building a house, and you're trying to teach this new rookie how to build a house. On this job, you have a nail gun, and all you have to do is poof and the nail is in (Pastor motions as if he were putting a nail in something with a nail gun). You want to take this rookie and teach him how it is done, so you keep that nail gun in your belt. You don't use it. Instead, you pull out the old reliable hammer, and you say, “Here is how you hammer a nail,” and you hammer the nail. You demonstrate the old-fashioned way, “Do this.” You are teaching this guy how to hammer the nail. You have the nail gun, but you've chosen not to use it. You've laid aside the privilege of having this superior tool in your belt, and instead you're going to do it the old-fashioned way. The Bible teaches us that Jesus did not empty Himself of deity. He emptied Himself of the privilege of deity. He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped or taken advantage of while He was incarnate as a man. It's interesting to note in the Book of Acts when the Disciples ask Him a second time, “Tell us about the end of the world. When is it going to happen?” Jesus no longer says that He does not know the day or the hour. He simply says, “It's not for you to know the times the Father has set.” Jesus is now restored to His glorified body. Understanding the Trinity and all of that is very complex. That is hard to understand, but make no mistake about it when He says in that Passage in Mark 13 the Son, He was speaking of Himself. If you have any other questions about this, let me know. I'm going to try to answer them as it pertains to Mr. Camping, as it pertains to false teaching. I will try to answer those questions. On Saturday night, we have a little bit more time; so I was able to do some Q & A with that group, but we have to wrap things up here. I hope that it's been helpful. I hope that if somebody else asks you about this, maybe it will help you explain what is going on. There might be some people you encounter who say, “Well, you know, it just shows you the Bible isn't true.” Making a false statement about the Bible and misrepresenting what the Bible says and then having that not come to pass, how does that reflect on the Bible? If you say something that is untrue about the Bible, and it doesn't come to happen, that's not a reflection on the Scripture. That's a reflection on the person who misrepresented the Scripture. There could possibly be some conversations that will come your way in the days ahead, when you go back to work and have some water cooler conversations about the rapture that didn't come. What do you think? Hopefully this time together has helped you with that.