Spiritcode

Paul O’Sullivan
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Getting spiritual understanding

  1. MAY 3

    UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION

    UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION  I asked last week what went wrong with the gospel, quoting Paul who wrote concerning a wrong gospel saying there are some who trouble you (tarasso - to strike one's spirit with fear and dread - Galatians 1:7). He says they want to reverse (metastepho) the gospel. Since the time of Christ, a World population of almost 70 billion people has existed, and how many people have heard the true gospel? I believe certain English words have been prejudicially translated from the original language that have altered the nature of the gospel and reversed our perception of a loving saving God. And we will look at some of those words today. And how has that affected our current global Western culture relationally and morally 2Peter 3:9 The Lord…is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (metanoia – a change of mindset). I am proposing that the trajectory of Scripture presents God’s judgment as ultimately restorative rather than purely retributive, and that words and concepts traditionally interpreted as eternal punishment may instead work through age-to-age judgment, truth, and revelation until human creation is brought into alignment with God. I am arguing that God’s redemptive power and purpose is not ultimately defeated by human resistance.  Philippians 3:21 He will transform our lowly body (tapein??sis – lowly estate) that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. I would like to personally query three aspects of the nature of the gospel today. This will take more than one session. Is God’s nature one of loving restoration or retributive punishment? What is hell and judgement and the consequence of sin? What is eternity? I perceive God as a divine architect who has designed a relational home where he might enjoy loving relationship with his human family, for them to find utter fulfillment in his company. The home was built on a foundation of love and peace and order. Then the foundation became destructively cracked and flawed by the pride and disorder of Satan. Immediately following that the damaged foundation was built upon with inadequate flawed human material and it has crumpled and subsided time after time. Then a new divine/human foundation was laid which was Christ and a new creation was invited to build upon this new foundation of love and peace and order. The home was made to be filled and not emptied, so the flawed foundation had to be fully restored, and the flawed human material had to be fully redeemed so that it could be filled.  In Matthew 22 a King prepared a feast for his son, and most of the invited guests were too busy or distracted to turn up, but he wanted his house filled with guests for his son so sent his servants out and they ended up having to invite people from the highways and byways, both bad and good. And the house was filled. God wants a full house. The highways and byways people can be seen as ‘fringe people’ The edge or fringe becomes the meeting place of exclusion and inclusion in Scripture, and examples include Ruth as an outsider being included in Israel through marrying Boaz, and the gentile woman who touched the fringe of Jesus’ garment and was healed. It is also typified in the priestly garments and the boundary materials of the tabernacle. And even one of the wedding guest fringe people resisted and was cast into outer darkness for not wearing a wedding garment and I’ll cover that redemption theme at another time. I believe the plan for God’s house being filled was designed before time began, and what follows in real time is restoration and the events of purifying and restoration in the history of human life.  2a. The nature of sin and its consequences – The common established belief is that Sin separates us from God and that sin can finally result in going to hell. The following Scripture is commonly taken to mean that if you believe in Jesus, you will not perish (go to hell) but you will receive eternal life (go to Heaven). John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 2b. The names implying what hell is are Hades, Gehenna, Lake of fire, Tartarus, Sheol and even Outer darkness. Hades (O.T. Sheol), does not really describe the place of eternal torment. It described the realm that is not visible to the living (ha – not and ideis – seen) the unseen, the hidden, what lies beyond the horizon of the living. It occurs in the Epistles once in Revelation, where it is done away with to no longer exist.  Jesus spoke of Gehenna, the Valley of Hinnom in Jerusalem where the fire of spontaneous combustion destroys the rubbish which symbolizes the judgment and destruction of sinful corruption (also James 3 re the tongue and corrupt speech). I’ve seen Smokey Mountain on a missionary trip to the Philippines with 2 young people. Thousands lived ther and made a living there scavenging what was not consumed by the fire. The epistles interpret the concept of fire as a process of transformation where God’s fire removes what is of the flesh so that life in Christ remains. I’m proposing that the nature of fire called hell is purifying and corrective discipline rather than retributive punishment.  We will get to the others later…Lake of fire …Tartarus…Outer darkness… I have already compared Jonathan Edward’s sermon of ‘sinners in the hands of an angry God with the writings of Athanasius in 350 AD. Edwards said ‘Why should God love you because you have never loved him’. The apostle John answers that - ‘We love him because he first loved us’ (1John 4.18).  Athanasius wrote that Jesus died out of sheer love for us so that… he might turn men again to incorruption who had turned back to corruption and make them alive through death… and by the grace of his resurrection thus he would make death to disappear from them as utterly as straw from fire. The refining fire of God’s love is the divine method for transformation because it looks forward to what is possible and applies the purifying trials of faith to get there. Punishment and retribution look backward at what was done and demand payment to what seems to be to no good end. The fire of judgment in this truth is not the satisfaction of divine wrath; it is the completion of divine purpose - and redemption is the restoration of what was always meant to be. God’s divine wrath is the intense indignation at what sin has done to cripple the souls of his children and it is aimed at the source of evil itself and not the victims of it. That indignation shakes whatever can be shaken to rid it from his children so that what remains cannot be shaken – the Kingdom life within. And whatever evil or darkness we harbour in our own lives will get shaken from our ignorant or resistant grasp for our own sake and those around us.  Hebrews 12:1… let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith… do not despise the chastening of the LORD…He does that for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; Paul says that as a wise master builder (architekt??n) he has laid the foundation. 1Cor 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. This purifying fiery judgement and Hades, and Gehenna all overlap but some are used more as warnings than encouragement. 1 Corinthians 3:13–15 distinguishes between the work and the worker. The work may be tested and found wanting, may be burned away as wood, hay, or straw. But "he himself will be saved, though as through fire." The person passes through and the fire does not consume them - it consumes what was not them. With Peter the illustration is that as that seed grows through faith, the outer husk of the seed, our outer soul-self life, is burned away by the fiery trials of faith. 1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 1Timothy 5:24 some mens’ sins go on beforehand to judgement and some they follow after. This means we can have the wood and straw burned off in this life or in the next age. The Greek word translated judgment – krisis, throughout the New Testament primarily means decision and judgment. The word carries the act of separating, sifting, distinguishing. A crisis is the decisive moment, the point at which the true nature of something becomes apparent and that can clearly involve adverse outcomes.  The Bible uses the following words; krisis  judgment, decision, evaluation and accountability. kolasis Matthew 25:46 - corrective pruning (like trimming a tree) paideia Hebrews 12 - discipline, training of a child  dike – Justice and being weighed in the balance. Judgment is not retaliatory destruction, but a process that exposes, purifies, and restores. Even the judgment in the apocalyptic vision of Revelation which we will look at in later sessions is about sifting, not retribution, so the pattern holds even at the level of judgment itself. But is the redemption payment enough for

    40 min

  2. APR 26

    UNIVERSAL GOSPEL What went wrong?

    UNIVERSAL GOSPEL What went wrong? Paul was entrusted with the Gospel of the Word of Reconciliation. And he entrusted that to Timothy and it has been entrusted to us.  2Timothy 2:2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.  The Gospel Word of Reconciliation. 2Corinthians 5:18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, God was  in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their sins against them, and entrusting to us the message (logos) of reconciliation (katalasso). Logos – (Strong’s Concordance)the Divine Expression (Christ) — account, cause, communication concerning doctrine.  This is the ‘logos’ message, the Good news that God entrusted to Paul. Reconciliation is Katalasso - kata thoroughgoing intensity, alasso means to alter or change and in God’s work of reconciliation he brought Divinity into humanity in a thorough mutual exchange. This was done through the incarnation of Jesus who became eternally changed from pure spirit being into the divine plus human spirit being of Jesus as a new creation, and we become this New Creation in Christ (Isaiah 7:14 – Virgin has a Son, Emmanuel ‘God with us’). Peter also received the revelation of being made one in the spirit with Jesus and he preached the same message about the logos word of God as the seed that brings forth the life of the New Creation. He uses a simpler more organic language to convey it. 2Peter 1:4 we have been given exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature. 1 Peter 1:23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God (logos) which lives and abides forever. All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever +++. And this word (logos) is the good news that was preached to you. With Peter the illustration is that as that seed grows through faith, the outer husk of the seed, our outer soul-self life, is burned away by the fiery trials of faith. 1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good. This redemptive transformational suffering result in the forever saving of our souls. 1Peter 1:9 Receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation/healing of the soul.  Peter and Paul both had the same gospel, which was that Jesus the new seed of Heavenly life is sown into humanity (Incarnation) so that Divine life and human life become one new life. That describes the initial saving of the human spirit. Then occurs the ongoing salvation of our soul through faith and the purifying of our soul by the fiery trials of faith. John and James also preached this same universal work of the human spirit being eternally joined to God through the incarnation of Jesus. John 1:10 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. Vs.16 And of His fullness we have all received,  James 1:21 receive with meekness the implanted word (logos), which is able to save your souls. There are people who are getting this revelation of the exchanged life of ‘God with us’ day after day because of the work of the Holy Spirit revealing the truth taught in the Bible. They can have this truth without knowing exactly what Paul wrote concerning Reconciliation or what Peter wrote about the logos seed of life, or what John or James wrote, but their hearts have received grace and been purified by faith - that is God’s work of grace. I am not insisting upon a dogmatic compliance to what I have found in these Scriptures - but having understood it by the grace of God I am compelled to not withhold anything that may be profitable to you for the sake of the Gospel. Galatians 1:11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; The Gospel comes by revelation from the Holy Spirit in a myriad of ways.  Peter comments on Paul’s message of Reconciliation – and politely says that it can be difficult to understand, but that it is inspired and should not be diminished or twisted. 2Peter 3:15 consider that the longsuffering (withholding of condemnation to achieve transformation) of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures. Paul and Peter and James and John jealously guarded the integrity of this amazing salvation of the human spirit by the grace of God and the ongoing transformation and salvation of the human soul.  Paul warns the legalistic Galatians about this. Galatians 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you (tarasso - to strike one's spirit with fear and dread) and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven or anyone else should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed (anathema) Being ‘accursed’ or being ‘anathama’ in the Greek is ana- handing up and tithemi – the gift. It is handing something up to God as a sacrificial gift to be purified from corruption. The handing over leaves that person ‘cut off’ in isolation but the purpose is that the corruption will be destroyed so their spirit and soul can be purified. This is a redemptive act to transform and resttore someone from corruption.  Paul makes this clear later when he says that Jesus has become the anathema curse for us. That is because Jesus took his incorruption up to the altar of the cross as a sacrifice to redeem humanity’s corruption.  Galatians 3:13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the all people in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.  In 1 Corinthians 5:5 Paul even handed a man over to Satan for the ‘destruction of the flesh’ - his embodiment of a serious sin - that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. It was the sin of committing adultery with his father’s wife. The man was cut off from the church community and afterwards turned from his sin and was forgiven and restored. That was not done out of a desire to punish but out of a redemptive desire to see forgiveness and transformation and restoration, which is what happened.  Paul took the integrity of the true Gospel message very seriously. He sought to embody the Gospel in his soul as being one of love and care, and not one of motivating people by fear or from a place of assuming power over other people’s lives. 1Thessalonians 2:4-10 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak... But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own souls (psyche), because you had become dear to us. The Gospel message became diminished and narrowed over time, starting when Rome lorded Christianity over people turning it into Christendom, but then Martin Luther received the revelation of justification by faith in the reformation in the 1500s till denominational conflict and legalism crept back over the years. there are some who trouble you (tarasso - to strike one's spirit with fear and dread) Jonathan Edwards was a profoundly spiritual man of puritan and reformed theology who preached powerfully and sincerely in the eighteenth century about the death and resurrection of Jesus as our saviour from sin, and many thousands responded to his message. But his influence of puritanism and Calvinism shaped the character of American Protestantism for many years, and it still distorts much modern evangelicalism, a gospel of retribution rather that transformation and restoration. The following is an excerpt of Jonathan Edward’s preaching from ‘Sinners in the hands of an Angry God’. ‘The bow of Gods wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart and strains the bow and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all that keeps the arrow for one moment from being made drunk with your blood.’ And why should God be obliged to express such wonderful love to you, who never exercised the least degree of love to him in all your life? You never have loved God, who is infinitely glorious and lovely; and why then is God under obligation to love you, who are all over deformed and loathsome as a filthy worm, or rather a hateful viper?  (1John 4:18 perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment–kolasis punishment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us). And why then should God be looked upon as obliged to take so much care for your happiness, as to do such great things for it, as he does

    28 min

  3. APR 19

    UNIVERSAL RECONCILIATION

    UNIVERSAL RECONCILIATION I’m calling today’s word Universal Reconciliation. This is going to be a doctrinal outline of New Covenant Salvation. I will be discussing the three stages of salvation – salvation of the spirit, salvation of the soul and salvation of the body. And firstly, I want to talk about the foundation, which is about God's initiative through Christ of reconciling the world to himself. God is the initiator and the accomplisher of reconciliation for all humanity through Jesus Christ. This is the salvation of the human spirit. The scope of Christ’s work in reconciliation powerfully surpasses the scope of Satan’s work in the fall of Adam, and the reach of grace surpasses the reach of sin.  Romans 5 :10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life… vs 18 therefore as through one man's offence (that was Adam) judgement came to all men resulting in condemnation even so through one man's righteous act (that is Jesus) the free gift came to all men resulting in justification of life.  The free gift of reconciliation came to all men through God's grace in Christ for us to share his life with our life. This results in us being justified – which means being empowered to live in alignment with his heart and mind through faith. Reconciliation is the objective removal of separation between us and God not merely the offer of it. It describes the journey of God's divinity coming into humanity through the Incarnation of Jesus.  2Corinthians 5:18-19 (NKJ) Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation (Katallasso), that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world (universal – not just some people) to Himself, not imputing (logizomai – not taking an inventory – not counting) their sins  against them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. I would like to look at the Greek word for reconciliation which is KATALASSO which means a thorough mutual changing of two different yet similar things or entities into an entirely new entity. In Strongs concordance it says that KATALASSO is a combination of two words kata and alasso – kata gives the meaning of thorough intensity, alasso means to alter or change and in God’s work of reconciliation he brought two entities into effecting one another into a thorough mutual change – a mutual exchange. This was done through the incarnation of Jesus. God moved from one age called BC to the next age called AD, becoming eternally changed from pure spirit being into the divine plus human spirit being of Jesus as a new creation. God had prophesied this through Isaiah. Isaiah 7:14 therefore the lord himself will give you a sign behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call his name Emmanuel, God with us.  Then through the death and resurrection of Jesus and the sending of the Holy Spirit humanity was eternally changed (Katalasso) from mere human being into God with us spirit being as partakers of the divine nature.  2 Peter 1:4 through which we have been given exceedingly great and precious promises that through these we may be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (epithemia- wrong desires) This is for all of humanity and is waiting to be catalysed by our faith to come into the new creation of Christ in us. We become the expression of God's love and goodwill in the earth through Jesus.  By saying that Reconciliation was God's initiative it means that God as Jesus Christ joined himself to us as humanity without consulting us or asking for permission. He planned this before the foundation of the world - not imputing trespass means no longer counting sin as separation. It was his unilateral act, regardless of human virtue or merit That is why reconciliation is classified theologically as an ‘ontological’ Process. That process occurs when one entity causes a new entity to come into being – and the two things have become one new thing - and the second thing cannot not exist without the first but the first now doesn’t exist without the second. For example, the surface skin of an apple is not fully itself without the apple and the fruit of the apple only remains intact when it is within its skin. God did this with himself and humanity in Christ. People who existed before Christ were obviously dependent upon God because they were created by him, but they were separate from him as lesser human beings not just because of sin but because they did not have the oneness of being with him together - as an apple and the apple skin. The Bible says  But your iniquities have separated you from your God. (Isaiah 59:2 also Ephesians 2:1- you who were once dead in trespasses and sins.) But Reconciliation has done away with both separation and sin.  And now the New Creation being of Christ has become eternal in Heaven and we are one with him forever. The only proper human response to this then must be faith as this has no meaning to a person who does not know it and believe it and live it. A big challenge! But the startling paradox is that faith does not create reconciliation - faith awakens us to reconciliation as something already done that God in Christ has achieved as the Scriptures above have said. Our obedience of faith to this truth aligns us with the full outworking of reconciliation - For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2Corinthians 5:1). What a mighty outcome! What an important goal!  But - notwithstanding the significance of the outcome and the goal - I want to emphasise how important the process is – We are to live in the process of being reconciled with Jesus and the Father and the Holy Spirit and we leave the outcomes to God. That is living in the reality of what the overall purpose and goal of God for our lives is from day to day. It is living in the process that brings spiritual growth – not trying to imagine the nature of the goal. That is what God accomplishes in us.  Philippians 2:13 It is God who works in you to will and to do his good purpose. As I said at the beginning the scope of our salvation as a threefold process of salvation.  1.The salvation of our spirit. 2. Salvation of our soul. 3. Salvation of our body. 1. The salvation of our spirit is God’s work of Reconciliation that has already been accomplished 2000 years ago. We have become joined in spirit to the Lord  1Corinthians 6:17 he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. 2Corinthians 5:17 The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation Doctrinal Statement Faith does not create reconciliation—it awakens us to it and aligns us with it. The full outworking of reconciliation is living in the reality of being a New Creation. 2. The salvation of the soul is about us being saved – the process of being transformed and being brought into alignment in our minds and hearts to God as a New Creation. That is the outworking and the result of reconciliation - the justification of life, which comes through our faith. Our focus is the process and God brings about the outcomes. 1 Peter 1:9 receiving the goal of your faith the salvation/healing of your souls. Romans 5:10 having been reconciled we will be saved by his life. (the saving of the soul)  1Corinthians 1:18 for the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (perishing – the wasting/ruin of a life) Doctrinal Statement The soul is being saved through faith – through transformation by participating in the life of Christ, and it is progressive as a growth experience. 3. The third phase or the third process of our threefold salvation is the body the future completion that is the resurrection and glorification of the body.  Romans 8:23 we also who have the first fruits of the spirit even we ourselves groan within ourselves eagerly awaiting for the adoption the redemption of our body (full purchase)  1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all die, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (allass??) I somewhat sadly imagine a conversation in Heaven at Jesus’ Resurrection where the Father congratulates Jesus for his wonderful work of reconciliation for humanity. ‘You’ve achieved the most ultimate work of loving sacrifice for our beloved children my Son. They will be enraptured with joy and gratitude to know this and to believe it and to live it. The epistles will faithfully record it, and the message will be faithfully delivered. One of them will powerfully write in his epistle that we have committed to all who read it the message of reconciliation to be ambassadors for Christ, as though we were even pleading and imploring them on your behalf my Son, to be reconciled to God – to consciously live in the reality of it, not just quote it and hang it on the fridge door. For their sake I made you my Son to be sin who knew no sin so that in you they might become the righteousness of God. They will know that it is no longer just their lives they are living, but that it is your life that is living through them. Epistles wi

    28 min

  4. APR 5

    JESUS AND ISRAEL

    On the day of the Resurrection the Bible says. that Jesus rose and left his tomb ‘while it was still dark’ (John 20:1), and women with anointing spices visited the tomb as it began to dawn (Matthew 28:1). As I speak it is now 3.30 am in the Middles East on Sunday where Christians will shortly be celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus. And on this same day many religious Jews will also be celebrating the ‘Feast of Sheaves’, which is the prophetic Jewish feast that remarkably symbolises The Resurrection of Jesus.  There is no one Gospel sequential narrative of how things happened on Resurrection Sunday, but I am joining the dots scripturally using four Gospels and five Epistles plus Old Testament Scriptures to join the Jewish feast of Sheaves to the Christian faith reality of Resurrection on this defining day for both religions.  My question is – What is the prophetic symbolism of Sheaves concerning Jesus as being the First Fruits of the Resurrection? After Jesus dies on the cross he first descended to the lower parts of the earth, both to hades or the place of the grave and to Paradise (Luke 16:19) where Abraham was, and he also said to the robber on the cross ‘this day you will be with me in paradise.  Ephesians 4:8 “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive… He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things. Jesus proclaims the leading captivity captive in the book of Revelation.  Fear not; I am the first and the last: -- I am he that lives and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and I have the keys of hell and of death. (Revelation1:17,18) When he descended Jesus set many faithful captives free from their captivity of time, till heaven came to get them,  1Peter 3:18 He died once for the sins of all sinners although he himself was innocent of any sin at any time, that he might bring us safely home to God. But though his body died, his spirit lived on, and it was in the spirit that he visited the spirits in prison preaching to them  The Bible mentions a company of people rising from their graves when Jesus rose, and they briefly appeared to people who would recognise them from their earthly life. Matthew 27:52 And when the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. Many bodies of the saints who had died were raised up and came out of the tombs after his resurrection, and they went into the holy city and appeared to many.   These people represent stalks of the sheaf of what Israel called the ‘Feast of Sheaves’ – the offering of the sheaf of the First Fruits of the promised harvest. After the very brief visit to earth in their new recognizable forms, these upward travellers would regroup with Jesus and resume their journey – from the earth to the sky. This is a remarkable fulfillment of what happens in Jerusalem on our Resurrection Sunday. Jesus is called the First Fruits of the Resurrection - as the first to rise from the dead into everlasting life. He represents the main stalk of the sheaf, but he took other stalks of grain with him to represent the promise of resurrection life for all of humanity in Christ. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order and Christ the First Fruits  (1 Corinthians 15:20), JESUS AND ISRAEL THE JEWISH FEAST OF FRUITS Leviticus 23.9 When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first Fruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the LORD. Those other members of the ‘sheaf offering’ left their graves to visit friends when Jesus had united himself again to the wounded shell of his shrouded body in the tomb and left the headpiece and shroud lying separated from one another (John 20:7).  The women who had prepared oils and spices to anoint the body of Jesus arrived and were astonished to see that the stone had been moved and the guards had fled. They peered inside the tomb and were met by two angels sitting in the place where Jesus had been laying. ‘Are you looking for Jesus?’ One angel said. ‘He has come back to life as he said he would. Go and tell the disciples that he will be coming to see them, and that they are to wait for him in Galilee.’ The women ran to tell the disciples, but Mary Magdalene held back, walking through the garden, still confused and weeping. She almost collided with Jesus who was also walking in the garden, and she apologized, not recognizing him, thinking he was the gardener. And he called her by her name and said, ‘It’s alright Mary, it is me. ’She ran towards him, but Jesus held up his hand and said, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father. but go to my brethren, and tell them, I am ascending to my Father, and your Father; to my God, and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things to her. (John 20:17) Jesus then ascended and offered his blood to the Father in the early hours of that day - to return later in the day in another form (heteros morphe) as stated in Mark 16:12. He then met two disciples travelling to Emmaus.  Towards evening after walking to Emmaus with the two disciples Jesus went to meet with the other disciples who had not gone to Galilee as Jesus had instructed Mary Magdalene to tell them to do. They were instead hiding in fear in Jerusalem. And when Jesus walked through a closed door and greeted them, they thought they had seen a ghost, but Jesus said. I am not a ghost because a ghost does not have flesh and bones - he did not say blood - because he had spilled his blood at Calvary and it had been spiritually presented to the Father in Heaven already, and he had returned to earth still bearing the marks of the wounds to his hands and feet and side from the cross. But what he did say was ‘touch me’. He was now able to say ‘touch me’ - not as when he met Mary and said touch me not, because he had just ascended to the Father, and he had also instructed Mary to tell them that. Luke 24.37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” Jesus was fulfilling the symbolic prophetic Feast of the First Fruits and the waving of the sheaves that we read about earlier.  Leviticus 23.9 And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the LORD.  Jesus had ascended as the Lamb without blemish, untouched by the world (the ‘touch me not’ to Mary), to fulfill the offering of his blood to his Father in Heaven. Jesus had just marked the end of blood sacrifice for sin for all time by sprinkling his blood on the earth at Golgotha for the forgiveness of the sins of the whole world and now the spiritual presentation was made in heaven.  The record of that spotless presentation is beautifully stated in Hebrews. Hebrews 9:11 But Christ came as High Priest of the better things to come … Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. The Old Testament meaning of ‘life is in the blood’ (Leviticus 17:11) has been radically changed into ‘life is in the Spirit’. Sin once demanded a blood sacrifice of death which had to be repeated daily and that was called the ‘Law of sin and death’. But Paul wrote, The Law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus set us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2) After Jesus met with his disciples that day, he would spend forty days on earth as a witness to his resurrection and at the end of those forty days he would finally ascend into Heaven, from where he would begin his new mission upon the earth to save the souls of mankind through the Holy Spirit.  We are part of that mission on the earth now of Jesus from Heaven, and I pray Lord that today at this moment in Jerusalem that religious Jews celebrating the Feast of the Sheaves of the First Fruits may get a revelation that the resurrected Jesus, their Messiah, is the fulfillment of their Feast. Give us the grace to be the demonstration of your love and power in the earth today which is crippled by unlove and corrupted power. Amen.

    22 min

  5. MAR 29

    NOT FORSAKEN

    NOT FORSAKEN   This coming week is a critical week regarding the Middle East conflict between the USA and Iran and Israel. And this week we are entering Holy Week in the approach to Easter for Christians, and Passover for Israel – a defining time for the spiritual reality of Christianity and the religion of Judaism (but not for Islam). For our Christian faith Easter focuses on the death of Jesus at Calvary and his Resurrection and the spiritual fulfillment fifty days afterwards of the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. For Israel Passover is about the supernatural deliverance of Israel out of Egypt and their Covenant of possessing the Promised Land. The future implications of Christianity and Judaism sharing these significant events at this critical time in history will one day become clear and evident, but only one day and no one knows when (The peace talks between USA and Iran have been put off till next week, the day after Passover ?!). There’s a lot to think and to pray about as the sword of the Word that Jesus brings is testing all things. Today we’re looking at the Easter event of the crucifixion of Jesus at Calvary and the nature of human forsakenness. Forsakenness is the most desolate feeling a person can have, from feeling abandoned, rejected, betrayed, deserted or estranged. It was what Adam and Eve felt when they believed Satan’s lie that separated their minds and hearts from God’s love, plunging humanity into separation and feeling forsaken in our unbelief. The truth is that God had not forsaken them (Hebrews 13:5). But forsakenness was what Jesus felt from many, many people throughout his ministry. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. (Hebrews 12:3) Jesus was derided by his brothers in his own family (John 7:3-5) and threatened by the people of his own hometown of Nazareth (Luke 4:29), and by the leaders of Israel, and by the Samaritans. He was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, arrested by the Jewish guards, then forsaken and deserted by his own disciples at Gethsemane, then rejected by the people of Israel when they chose Barabbas, then mocked and scourged by Herod’s soldiers, then brutally marched up to Calvary to be crucified by the Romans. As Jesus hung on the cross that day his innocent being, spirit soul and body, suffered the full impact of Satan’s hostility as all hell's hateful fury hit him, and as every vile thing ever done by countless millions of crippled hearts down through the ages and for the times to come assailed him. As he was about to die thunder cracked and the earth began to shake. He continued to rally his strength, but a certain missile of horror careened into him with more deadly impact than anything before.  Mark 15:33 Now when the sixth hour had come (noonday), there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour (3pm) Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me. Jesus then began to live out the prophetic fulfilment of the first verse of Psalm 22 written by David (but originally spoken in eternity before the foundation of the world by Jesus the logos). ‘My God My God why have you forsaken me?  But as we probe the words in that psalm we see this prophetic statement of Jesus change from hopelessness through hope to grateful victory. Psalm 22:7 All those who see Me ridicule Me;They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, “He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!” Then vs.16 - The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots. he gathers more hope and in vs,21 he says – You have answered Me. I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You. Jesus is actually declaring absolute victory. Jesus never departed from his Father in spirit, and that loving connection strengthened his blameless soul at all times. And then he says ‘Into your hands I commit my spirit  That was for us - that upward path from feeling forsaken in our cross experiences to the healing and salvation of our soul. The Bible says that Jesus was tempted in all points just as we are, so he was tempted to feel forsaken here just like we would be in our humanity. Jesus knew he had not been forsaken by his Father, but in his humanity, he had experienced forsakenness for a moment, so that we in our human weakness need never feel forsaken by God, for he has said I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5) Jesus faced every temptation and triumphed—not by escaping pain, but by holding fast to the Word of truth. His journey shows us how to move from feelings of forsakenness and abandonment to faith in a loving God in our journey of the healing of our soul. We are not alone. Jesus in his last moments cried out “Father into your hands I now commit my Spirit.” Then in one last gasp he shouted loudly for all about him to hear. “It is finished! “And he and we were placed securely in The Father's loving hands. Matthew 27:50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. The Resurrection is next Sunday At the moment of his death the cosmos convulsed (Mark 15 at the ninth hour - 3pm).  And at that moment there were priests in the temple about to sacrifice the Passover lamb. Sacrifices were offered on that day from between 2pm and 5pm.  Exodus 12:3 On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household... you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. (so the Lamb was kept for four days before sacrificing it) When their knives would have pierced the sacrificial animal the true Lamb of God offered himself on Calvary as the final sacrifice for all sin. The temple shook and the great veil in the temple proper which separated the place of God’s presence in the holy place from the rest of the temple was torn from top to bottom.  When that temple veil was torn it signified that Christ as both man and God had done away with the separation of mankind from God in the temple of our bodies. He also put an end to all Covenant Temple sacrifice for religious Israel, and that is very significant for the days in which Israel now live. He had gone ahead for all of us so that we could now have faith to come confidently through the veil of unbelief into the holy place of his abiding presence. We can now find a new hope as the anchor of our souls, and receive the power of his life within us to do what is right and pleasing to God.  The moment Jesus died the cosmic law of sin and death was being overturned to make way for a new cosmic law to come into effect - the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. That cosmic law did not exist in Eden with Adam and Eve. It would occur only after Jesus rose from the dead and sent the Holy Spirit to give us the risen life of Jesus within, and a new heart like his own. Our hearts can now be fulfilled with a new desire that freely chooses to fulfill the desires of God’s heart – that is how grace works in us. There are many people worldwide feeling forsakenness and confusion in these times and the times to come, and wherever we are we can be used of God to bring grace and truth to comfort those in need. Thank you, Jesus, for overturning the law of sin and death, and for giving to us the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. May we enter through that torn veil and live that life through the power and love of the Holy Spirit. Amen Paul O’Sullivan – pauloss@me.com

    21 min

  6. MAR 15

    WARS AND TERRITORY

    WARS AND TERRITORY Throughout history, most wars have been fought over territory—taking it, defending it, or reclaiming it. When territory is won, a flag is planted, signalling a new political or ideological rule. But beneath the battles over territory there are always deeper forces at work—political power, culture, religion, and economic interests. Often the land is destroyed rather than possessed, yet the struggle for control continues. The growing tensions in the Middle East, particularly around Iran and involving many nations, could increasingly take on the appearance of a religious war with the banners of Islam and Judaism with Christianity somewhere in the middle. But in reality, the vast majority of people in these faiths do not want war. Religious wars are rarely about pure theology—they are usually about historical grievances, territorial identity, and political power. Jesus said he did not come to bring peace but a sword and his sword is exposing and testing every political power structure and religious identity.  Pray that Western powers operate with justice and integrity as well as force in the conflict and not end up facing a lose–lose situation. And as for religion the question becomes how will followers of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity live out their belief systems when those beliefs are tested THE CHRISTIAN BATTLEFIELD For Christians, the battle is not over geographical territory but many are becoming divisively contentious over this. Christianity does not seek to control land. It seeks to win the territory of the human heart. My question is What is the real territorial battle of God’s people today? Our struggle is not against people or nations. Our battle is against territorial spiritual principalities and powers of darkness that influence the hearts and minds of humanity in every culture and society. (Ephesians 6:12) Paul said that we all once followed the prince of the power of the air…but now we have been made alive in Christ (Ephesians 2) Our real conflict is a spiritual battle for the human heart. IN OUR DISCUSSION GROUPS re THE CHURCH AT EPHESUS Paul saw something powerful happening in that church. He thanked God for two things: Their faith and love for one another in Christ. For Paul, these two signs meant that believers were participating in the life of Jesus. When the gospel came to Ephesus something dramatic happened. Acts 19:18 After Paul preached in Ephesus God performed extraordinary miracles through him and many who practiced sorcery confessed their sins, gathered their expensive magic books/scrolls, and burned them publicly and the value of these books was estimated at 50,000 pieces of silver. (twenty million dollars today) The Spiritual territory had changed hands.   ISRAEL AND THE LAND OF PROMISE The Bible makes it clear in 2 Thessalonians and in the Book of Revelation that Israel will be occupying Jerusalem in the final battle of Armageddon when the corrupt lawless world leaders oppose the victorious return of Jesus territorially in Jerusalem. But as to what happens between now and then and despite the myriads of prophetic Scriptures, we will have to wait and see. And in the Old Testament God did promise actual land to Israel. The promise began with Abraham. God said: “To your offspring I will give this land.” (Genesis 12:7- 13:14).   Later the promise to Abraham expanded and the boundaries were defined.  ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.’ Genesis 15:18.  Then came ‘boots on the ground’ territorial warfare. Under Moses God rold Israel not to worship the idols of the surrounding nations. Deuteronomy 9:4–5 It is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out before you.” This was not Israel’s superiority, but God’s judgment on idolatry and injustice.  Eventually the promise was fulfilled. Scripture records: Joshua 21:43–45: Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side… Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.” The land became the place where Israel lived out Old Covenant life with God. But the New Covenant life relationship with God is no longer tied to geographical territory but to territory of the human heart. The Bible tells us that the old covenant has become obsolete.  Hebrews 8:13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete A WORD ABOUT ISLAM Islam does not appear to have the same strict covenant structure of land occupancy found in the Bible as in Judaism. And I do not understand Islamic covenant structure fully, even though I have studied it and corresponded with Muslims on my teaching. They have responded to my recent podcast on the Mystery of Christ and the religious Muslims I have had contact with are of the spiritually devotional sect of Sufism who practice and teach on finding inner peace. Thay have treated me with kindness and are eager to maintain dialogue. (Write to me if you want details). I pray that the Spirit of God touches their hearts and peoples’ hearts everywhere, because the truth that Jesus brings is for everyone. THE MYSTERY OF ISRAEL The New Testament describes Israel as a mystery. Romans 11:25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles (nations) has come in. And then all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins. Concerning the gospel, they are hostile with regard to you but concerning my calling upon them they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. Paul uses several images: Religious Israel as an olive tree and national Israel as the fig tree Spiritual Israel as Christ the true vine with Christian believers as the branches. God’s covenant purposes all ultimately converge in Christ in the New or Eternal Covenant which transcends time or territory. The promise to Abraham ultimately expanded far beyond the land of Canaan. Jesus revealed this in the Sermon on the Mount: (Mattthew 5) “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” He was talking about the Kingdom promise of our inheritance in Christ through faith - his Kingdom world to come, which was not of this world. Paul says in Romans 4:13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.” And more than that - What began as a promise about land becomes a promise about a whole Renewed Creation (Romans 8:21). Peter writes of a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:13) Revelation also speaks of the new heaven and a new earth. ABRAHAM THE PILGRIM Interestingly, Abraham himself never possessed the territorial land of Israel. Stephen when he was being martyred in front of Paul said Abraham did not even own a foot of ground. (Acts 7:5) He lived there as a sojourner. Why? Because Abraham was looking beyond the land to something greater, and Paul then wrote about Abraham that he was looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. He desired a better country—a heavenly one. Hebrews 11:9–10 By faith Abraham went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land…For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God…They desired a better country, that is, a heavenly one.”  The promise was always bigger than Canaan and the Middle East. Abraham became a pattern of faith - living as a pilgrim, trusting in a spiritual but tangible inheritance - and looking beyond immediate possession. THE REAL TERRITORY When Paul thanked the Ephesian believers for their faith and love, he recognized that the flag of God’s New Creation Territory had already been planted in their hearts and they were conquering that territory in the hearts of the people in Ephesus, and they were winning. This how we measure up as Christians in the world, no matter what the turmoil and confusion of the world’s values and power struggles impose upon us.  Our identity is not defined by political systems, national borders, or religious conflicts. It is defined by participation in the life of Christ. We may see religion fighting against religion in the days ahead, but religion alone doesn’t have Godly power without the centrality of Christ. It may have political and commercial and territorial power, but it fails the need of the human heart to have love and faith and power in the Holy Spirit. War is about territory and Jesus has won the decisive war against darkness to gain the territory of the human heart. Onward Christian soldiers. Paul OSullivan  pauloss@icloud.com

    25 min

  7. MAR 1

    I DID NOT COME TO BRING PEACE BUT A SWORD

    I DID NOT COME TO BRING PEACE BUT A SWORD  Matthew 10:34 Do not think (nomidzo – assume) that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household… He who loves them more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life (psyche – soul) will lose it, and he who loses his life (soul) for My sake will find it. There appear to be two paradoxes here. One is that Jesus the ‘prince of Peace‘ comes with a sword The other is that if we try to save our soul, we lose it. In the first paradox there are two kinds of peace and two kinds of sword. In the second paradox there are two kinds of soul – the self-serving soul and the self-surrendered soul. In the middle is – take up your cross and follow me The two kinds of peace.  The peace of the world of wrong allegiances. (Peace-eirene- to be at one with). The true peace of our allegiance to Jesus and being at one with him and each other. The two swords. The first is the more external sword of truth that divides between our right and wrong religious, social, and political allegiances. The second sword is the word of truth that divides between soul and spirit in our inner lives as seen in Hebrews 4:12. I will come to that later. But Jesus here in Matthew is directly quoting Micah Chapter 7, where the people were forming wrong allegiances with ungodly nations and taking on a false identity and not their Godly identity as his people. He is talking about the first kind of peace and the first kind of sword, that involved both religious and political allegiance. Paul spoke about the religious Jews who resisted the sword of the word of truth about the Kingdom of God that Jesus brought to them. Romans 2:23. You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonour God through breaking the law? For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles (nations) because of you,”   They misunderstood the Kingdom of God as being external and of political power and not of the inner spiritual power of God in Christ. But Jesus doesn’t bring division – he brings a sword of truth – allegiances bring division. The same thing is happening even in Christianity on a global scale today where that sword is out there in the public square – in social interaction, social media, and the internet. There have never been so many identity-driven allegiances competing with such hostility regarding cultural ideology and political power. The cross represents the death of any socially protected identity agendas.  AND  Politicians and the media and other influencers have redefined antisemitism in so many ways in the US that more and more evangelical Christians there are becoming divided concerning alliance or non-alliance to the State of Israel, but they don’t seem to fully understand what they are divided over despite the many prophetic Scriptures that deal with Israel. This is especially relevant in the current conflict between The US and Iran on this very day, that profoundly implicates Israel, and these lines of division are growing and the hostile division deeply concerns me BUT that’s what the sword is about…  Only the sword that Jesus brings will shed light and truth on all of that in due time – God has the last Word. The problem with Christians having so many irons in the fire in this, is that there is more heat than light. We should be the bearers of light rather than heat. So stay in prayer. It is more volatile in America and Europe than in Australia, but the same principles apply here in the general global and domestic issues – and our voter polls are scattering in all directions like never before. But Scripture tells us how to respond as both citizens and Christians in two Godly ways.  The first way is that we are urged to pray for our leaders.  1 Timothy 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  The other way is the perfect way of loving our neighbour. In the parable of the good Samaritan Jesus admonishes the Jewish people about not having love or even care for their Samaritan neighbours because of their religious and political tribalism. Jesus also said But love your enemies, and do good to them, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. So be merciful, even as your Father is merciful (Luke 7:35). Even if I left the discussion there, we would have some worthwhile aspirations to faithfully attend to with a sense of purpose and reality. But it cannot be left there. The sword goes deeper than political, social, and family allegiances. THE SECOND SWORD AND THE SECOND PEACE SINCE JESUS DIED AND ROSE AGAIN There is the second sword that Jesus brought – not just about the outward world of earthly Kingdoms but the sword that divides our inner spiritual world between our soul and our spirit. Without this second inner work we cannot attend faithfully to those other instructions about praying for leaders and loving our neighbours. The second sword is the logos word of God that divides between our soul and our spirit. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. That refers to the final words of the opening Scripture that Jesus uses to summarise his statement regarding coming with a sword. He who finds his life (psyche – the soul formed by survival strategies) will lose it, and he who loses his life (the soul formed by survival strategies) for My sake will find it (They find the soul formed by a spiritual renewal of the mind and heart in Christ). Now the paradox makes sense. The healing and salvation of the soul requires the second sword of re-allegiance. The sword exposes what in the soul is not aligned with the Spirit.  And that sword brings the second Peace (Eirene – at one with) our oneness with God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit To become brothers and sisters living at peace with another in the Church, the Body of Christ, that second sword should cut within us before divisions try to cut between us.   Ephesians 4:1 I beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Paul wrote a message to the church at Rome about how to live in the bonds of peace with an amazing freedom of an uncompromising faith. But this freedom came with loving acceptance of people who had different ideas about how to honour God in the way that they served him. Some observed legalistic religious rules that narrowed their freedom in serving God. Paul said that the criteria we were to abide by was the other person’s sincere heart to honour God in how they served or worshipped him. Romans 14:1 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. 5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord… 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9  10 Why do you judge your brother or sister[a]? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. 13let us stop judging on one another. And also do not put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 15 If your brother or sister stumbles because of what you do you are no longer acting in love.  The apostle John declared that this would be the true sign or witness that God was living  within us through Jesus and he Holy Spirit.  John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

    23 min

  8. FEB 22

    THE SEAL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

    THE SEAL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT I’m reading from the discussion group session two weeks ago from Ephesians 1:11 Ephesians 1:11. In him we have obtained an inheritance (kleroo-share of possession), having been predestined according to the purpose (prothesis-set plan) of him who works all things according to the counsel (boul??- deliberate decision) of his will (thel??ma – what he delights to do). 12. So that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory, (People who live it first then share it with others, for them to also believe so that their lives too will bring glory to God, not themselves)  Paul goes on to say… 13. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,  14. who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. We had discussed earlier (in Ephesians 1:3) that the Father predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself. And here in verse 11 today we see Jesus obtaining for us another predestined blessing from the Father - his inheritance, his dominion over all things, which he shares fully with us. I have two major questions for discussion regarding today’s reading. 1. What is the predestined Inheritance? 2. What are the roles of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in our receiving the inheritance? The predestined inheritance  For those who believe, the Inheritance is sharing in the dominion over all things that Jesus has inherited from the Father, both on the personal level and the utmost level of all things in the heavens and on the earth. It is important to realise that that includes our authority over all the powers of darkness. That has huge significance and consequence for our walk of faith. Furthermore, this inheritance is a legal and binding declaration. We will come to that shortly…Now we come to the second question. The roles of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit There is a pattern of the work of the Trinity in this first chapter of Ephesians in the bestowing of all of these spiritual blessings that we receive. The Father is the origin of every blessing and the one who adopted us into his family, and Jesus is the beloved Son, in and through whom the blessings are shared with us. Jesus brought us in as being as accepted as he is in God’s family, and Jesus is also the one who obtains for us the Inheritance, his inheritance that we now share with him.  The Holy Spirit, is the one who stamps his seal upon all our ‘Spiritual blessings’. (Ephesians 1: 3,14). He is the one who seals God's Covenant bond with us, as the guarantee and guarantor, giving us a foretaste of the fulfillment of all that God has in store for us  As mentioned earlier, the inheritance is a legal and binding declaration. In the terms of a Covenant of agreement between two parties, there is a contractual arrangement where one person makes a promise of something of value to the other person for a certain cost or sacrifice. They agree on those terms and the transaction occurs. However, another essential ingredient to the terms of agreement is that the Covenant is sealed with a unique seal or personal signature that guarantees full possession of the promise with binding power. In the Old Testament (Covenant) the promise made by God to Israel his  Holy Nation included their deliverance from slavery to the Egyptians and ongoing deliverance and protection from any enemies that oppose them. It also included God’s countless  miracle material blessings and favour, and finally, occupation of the Promised Land.  The sacrifice or cost to Israel was their obedience to the Law and Commandments and the sacrificial offerings offered by the priests.) The seal of the Old Covenant of Moses as the Sabbath rest (It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel Exodus 31). It was obeyed on a weekly basis on the seventh day but it was disobeyed totally in the failure to observe the Sabbath rest of one year in every seven years (Leviticus Ch.25), and this was the Sabbath of consequence that God judged Israel for. They disobeyed it for 490years since the reign of Saul and it had the drastic consequence of Israel being defeated in battle and taken into bondage in Babylon for seventy years (490÷7=70) Israel failed to sign off on the seal of that Sabbath rest of faith and failed to pay the Covenant cost or sacrifice of obedience to the law.  Our sabbath rest is now the rest of faith. Note that the Scriptures make it clear that the legal Covenantal sign of the Sabbath and obedience to the Law no longer apply to the terms of our new Covenant relationship with God as his Holy Nation through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel (Exodus 31). The Bible says that we are to obey the spiritual rest of faith, and enter into the rest of the finished work of Christ – Every Day - (Hebrews 4:1,8) Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it…There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his own works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience In the New Covenant the Promise is summed up in the promises of all the spiritual blessings that we see here in Ephesians and also elsewhere, as in the gift of reconciliation and mercy and forgiveness and the Law being written on our New hearts. (2Corinthians 5, Romans 5, Hebrews 8 and 10, ++).  The sacrifice or cost of those promises has been fully paid by Jesus Christ in his sinless death upon the cross and his resurrection and ascension. The sign or seal of the New Covenant is the receiving of the Holy Spirit of Promise by someone who believes, as we read in verses 13 and 14. All of this is not just as a blessing to us but also through us to glorify God. 13. In him also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14. who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. Jesus said in Acts… Acts 1: 4 Wait for my Father’s promised gift, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 1:8 you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The Book of Acts also tells the story of Paul arriving at Ephesus and finding people there who claimed to be disciples and believers. Something prompted Paul to `question them concerning their spirituality, and he said ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they replied No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.  Tongues is not the evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit by faith, but simply ONEsign, like prophecy, along with other faith assurances ranging from quiet serenity to joyful exuberance. In the mid-seventies I was once sharing about the Baptism of the holy Spirit and a few of us would then pray for people to receive it, and many people spoke in tongues upon receiving it as that had also been mentioned. I prayed for one man who was a strong Christian and loved God’s Word, and when I prayed, he did not speak in tongues but began to joyously laugh and I felt a witness in my spirit that he had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. But the deacon standing next to me said that the man had not received the Holy Spirit because he didn’t speak in tongues and he was taught that tongues was the evidence. I had to disagree, saying that the Bible did not say that tongues was the evidence, but that it was just a sign (1Corinthians 14:22). There are many signs and this fellow’s joyous laughter was a sure sign - and he laughed from that day on whenever we were gathered together in worship or whenever he was touched by the Holy Spirit. Some of you will remember him. Now and again someone would say I should have told him to stop laughing but I never did – it was real. The activity of the Holy Spirit of promise is a seal of the promises of the New Covenant for a believer. However Jesus taught about another prior activity of the Holy Spirit for unbelievers, which was the Holy Spirit of conviction, which works in every person who comes into the world. Jesus taught the disciples that when he left them he would send the Holy Spirit into the world (not just the church) John 16:8.But if I go, I will send The New Helper (The Holy Spirit). And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me. Conviction of sin is the truth about the sin of unbelief – guilt doesn’t convict or change people, conviction does, and righteousness is about the grace to becoming aligned with God’s will (righteousness), otherwise it’s self-righteousness –  and the truth of Satan being judged is about having freedom from the bondage of darkness and the overcoming of Satan – as that is the other spirit that is at work in the world (Ephesians Ch.2). The Bible says that the people loved hiding and covering up in darkness more than coming into the light (who has never been there? John 3:19). However, the

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About

Getting spiritual understanding

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  • Creator
    Paul O’Sullivan
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2026
  • Episodes
    462
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2016 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Spiritcode

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