Tag Archives: jesus deity

Why is the Sabbath not relevant in the New Covenant?

Religion - Christianity, , , , , , , ,

Sabbatarian asked: “If the Sabbath was kept in the Old Testament and it will be kept in the Millennial Kingdom, why do Christians say the Sabbath is not relevant in the New Covenant?”

The Sabbath that will be celebrated in the Millennial Kingdom is the Sabbath given Israel’s children beginning in Exodus 16 i.e., the OLD Covenant. The Millennial Kingdom will host elements of the Old Covenant’s sacrificial requirements as the Millennial Kingdom will glorify our resurrected Messiah as He will be given the Kingdom denied Him at His First Advent.

Neither the Old Covenant or its celebration and fulfillment in the Millennial Kingdom are relevant concerning the New Covenant of Grace. In the New Covenant, those redeemed by faith in Jesus, are not under law, days, diets, traditions, clothing mandates, but the “law” in the New Covenant is the spiritual law (Romans 2:14-15) that has been written upon the heart of human kind beginning on Day 6 of Creation as human kind is created in the spiritual image of Elohim and thereby received certain divine communicable attributes from Elohim that separated Adam from the beasts of the field.

This spiritual law, in the New Covenant, is enlivened by the indwelling Holy Spirit who walks the redeemed in Jesus in daily Christian sanctification and through His anointing, He produces divine fruit (Galatians 5:15-23) through the redeemed and this fruit fulfills all law; both, codified and spiritual, and this fruit pleases the Father and proves one to be a faithful disciple of Jesus (John 15:8).

In the New Covenant, the redeemed are not under the laws, days, diets, traditions, of Sinai or Moses (Romans 6:14) and in the New Covenant, the redeemed honor the Sabbath’s intent through faith in Jesus who is the fulfillment of all the Sabbath Day foreshadowed.

Faith that saves includes obedience. True or False?

Religion - Christianity, , , , , , , , , ,

Snake Oil sales pitch: “Faith that saves includes obedience.”

Incorrect. Faith saves through grace (unmerited favor), a gift that even obedience cannot earn. Once faith, belief, is established in Jesus and redemption is present via the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14), the redeemed having been “born again” (John 3; 2 Corinthians 5:17) they naturally begin to produce divine (Galatians 5:16-23) fruit via the anointing and sanctification of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

This production of fruit (Galatians 5:16-23) is what pleases the Father and proves one to be a disciple of Jesus (John 15:8), but obedience is NOT an element of salvation, faith/grace are.

Obedience that pleases the Father is the production of divine fruit via the anointing of the indwelling Holy Spirit that FOLLOWS salvation by faith, alone. When your faith “includes” obedience for salvation, you’re a religious cult as you negate the sufficiency of Jesus’ blood to atone for your sin apart from works/obedience. Your selling snake oil, I’m not buying.

In closing, it’s very important to remember that your works, your obedience, as strategies to please the Father and earn your forgiveness, this is self-righteousness and the Father considers your works for self-righteousness as a “filthy garment” (or in the Hebrew – a bloody menstrual cloth) (Isaiah 64:6).

We don’t work, strive to keep laws, be obedient, to be saved, it’s a gift of grace (unmerited favor) from the Father earned for us by Jesus at Golgotha. A Christian works because the indwelling Holy Spirit arbitrates the spiritual law written upon their heart during daily Christian sanctification and thereby produces fruit through them, this is Christian obedience in the New Covenant and that divine fruit fulfills all law that governs obedience.

Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,

Did Jesus claim to be Deity?

Religion - Christianity, , , , , , ,

Response to one who denies Jesus’ Deity,

Your spiritual misunderstanding is mind boggling considering that your rejection of Jesus as God, Deity, proclaims your status as unredeemed, remaining in your sin (John 8:24).

I don’t suggest that understanding the necessity for Messiah’s deity is an element of salvation but I will profess that once one is redeemed by faith in Jesus and has received the indwelling Holy Spirit as Guarantor and the Seal of New Covenant promise (Ephesians 1:13-14), they will KNOW and they will openly confess that Jesus is God/Elohim who is Creator, Warrior, Messiah and Judge; this, because the Spirit of Truth (John 16:13-15) testifies of Jesus’ Deity and the necessity for same.

“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am “He,” you will die in your sins.” John 8:24 (NASB)

In John 8:24, the word “he” is added by translators. While English Bibles (like the NIV or KJV) use “I am he,” the original Greek simply says “I am” (egō eimi). This directly mirrors the divine name used in the Old Testament (Exodus 3:14), with Jesus claiming equality with God.

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” John 8:58 (NASB)

Again: the original Greek says “I am” (egō eimi). This directly mirrors the divine name used in the Old Testament (Exodus 3:14), with Jesus claiming equality with God.

The Jewish audience and their religious leadership clearly understood Jesus’ proclamation of Deity and sought to murder Jesus by stoning; ultimately, charging Jesus with “blasphemy” and handing Him over to Pilate, Herod, for execution.

Your initial error is failing to understand the context upon which Hebrews 1, John 1, Colossians 1, are based; that is, Jesus in His hypostatic union as fully man and fully Elohim. Jesus has enjoyed coequal glory and omnipotence and omnipresence with the Father and the Spirit from Eternity past; this, before the World was created (John 17:5). When the Father speaks of the Son as the “firstborn” and “begotten” and having been “appointed” and “sit at my right hand”…the Father is speaking of the unique position of the eternal God-Man, Jesus our Messiah, unique to all of Eternity and Jesus will continue in this unique positioning as the “firstfruits” of those resurrected from the dead with a glorified body…the same type of body the saints in Jesus will receive at the resurrection of the righteous.

The Father is speaking in terms of a resurrected Messiah who had previously set aside many of His deific attributes in order to take on flesh, subject Himself to the constraints of Time and physics and rely solely upon the Holy Spirit for power and miracles and conquering Satan at Golgotha (Luke 4:1; 1 John 3:8). It is this same Jesus that the Father is glorifying for OUR benefit demonstrating the power of obedience and honor and dignity displayed by the Son who will reign King forevermore. King in the Millennial Kingdom and the Eternal Kingdom, the New Jerusalem.

You assume that the Father’s delineation of authority somehow suggests Jesus is a lesser being than the Father but this is not true or accurate. Jesus has never been a lesser Deity than the Father as Jesus is the same yesterday, today, forever (Hebrews 13:8).
I’m not sure what cult or sect you’ve involved yourself in, perhaps the cult of the Jehovah’s Witness, but you are far from the Kingdom. You might have a nice little religion but you and yours don’t know Jesus.

How is a Gentile “grafted” into Israel? (Romans 11)

Religion - Christianity, , , , , , , , , ,
How is the Gentile “grafted” into Israel and what is the relevance of this “grafting?” (Romans 11)

The Christian’s “grafting” concerning Israel is relevant initially and primarily due to the promises Elohim made to Israel through Abraham (a Gentile); that is, through Abraham would come One who would be a blessing to every family of the Earth (Genesis 12:3); both Jew (Israelite) and Gentile.

The blessings promised Israel through Moses’ inspired writings (Torah) were, in large part, contingent upon National obedience (Deuteronomy 28); unfortunately, Israel failed Elohim; Israel conspired to murder their Messiah upon a tree and rejected the New Covenant, the Gospel, the Great Commission thus blaspheming the Holy Spirit and insulting the Father; therefore, Israel has fallen under divine judgment (Romans 11:25); consequently, only a mere “remnant” of Israel’s children will escape destruction in Hell due their rejection of Messiah (then and now) and their ancestors insistence that Messiah’s blood be upon them and their children (Isaiah 10:22; Romans 9:27; Matthew 27:27).

The promises and covenants relevant to Israel and the “grafting” of the Gentile into those promises and covenants are ALL fulfilled in Jesus and their divine fulfillment is realized in the life of a Christian ONLY by faith in Jesus as Messiah and the daily work of sanctification via the indwelling Holy Spirit as promised in the New Covenant spoken of by both Jeremiah and Ezekiel; therefore, the only true “grafting” has manifest through the Messiah and the promises made to Israel have been realized through faith via the Gospel; this, having little to do with one’s identification with Israel but ONLY through the Messiah who emanated through Israel’s child, Judah. I am NOT saved from Hell by Israel or his children, I am saved and grafted into the promises of Elohim through faith in Messiah Jesus who chose to enter Time through Israel’s offspring…this is my “grafting” as a Christian.

What is the “true” grafting?

The true, divine, grafting is the imputation-gifting of Jesus’ divine perfection over my life by faith in Jesus as LORD by which I am declared “not guilty” by my Heavenly Father and consequently welcomed into the family of Elohim as His child (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Spiritual Ignorance: Satan’s Victory – Humanity’s Defeat

Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,

Spiritual Ignorance: Satan’s Victory – Humanity’s Defeat

Somehow and for some reason, perhaps innate narcissism due the Adamic Fall, humanity considers itself far more relevant and important than same actually is. You think yourself something special in the grand scheme of things concerning our Creator, His creation narrative, Elohim’s eschatological will concerning the current war between good v. evil that rages around us and permeates our very existence. YOU ARE NOT!!!

You were born into war for a specific purpose; you were born in Time because of war and you will die in Time and your body will rot away due WAR and its consequences; you might NOT like it, you obviously don’t understand it or believe it but the reality of this Spiritual War exists and that war has been relegated to Time and physics (Genesis 3:15; 1 John 3:8b); fact is, you’re fading away by the minute like a vapor breathed upon a mirror on a cold winters morning (James 4:14) – YOU ARE IRRELEVANT in the grand scheme of things as Elohim restores order and peace to His Kingdom as a result of the hate and rebellion and death and destruction of the god you serve in your foolish atheism, nihilism, unbelief; your god’s name is Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4).

You have been provided an opportunity to enjoy victory over Satan through faith in Jesus and His death for your sin and shame and uselessness (John 3:16; 1 Peter 1:18-19). Because of Jesus’ faithfulness, you can be something of relevance in Eternity due what Jesus has done for you in this very temporary Realm of Time; otherwise, you will rot in nihilism (Revelation 20:11-15).

Those who reject Jesus as Messiah are a foolish stooge of deceit and lest one repent and find Truth in Jesus, they will rot in shame. Elohim’s Reality is NOT concerned about YOU or your pitiful life when that life is lived in servitude to Elohim’s enemy, Satan. True life and meaning are only possible through faith in Jesus and receiving the indwelling Holy Spirit as your Teacher, your Wisdom, your Discernment! You must be “born again” through faith in Jesus apart from this life of war and destruction; otherwise, you have no hope (John 3).

Possessing Volition to choose death or life…

Religion - Christianity, , , , , , , , ,

Possessing Volition to choose death or life…

It is a valid statement that you did not ask anyone to die for your sins. Neither did you ask anyone to be placed within the constraints of Time and physics in a body of flesh subject to decay and death but here you are!

There is much that you have absolutely no control over but what you do have authority over is your eternal destiny and that two-fold destiny, eternal life or eternal death, was made possible by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus our Messiah. You might not fully understand why Jesus died for you, why Jesus created you, your divine purpose within the temporary Realm of Time, but you do understand this one most relevant truism, Jesus is recorded in the Scriptures as paying the price for the sin of humanity via His shed blood (Matthew 26:28) and by trusting-believing in Jesus as your Messiah who died for you, you are able to escape the eternal penalty for sin, disobedience, against our Heavenly Father’s divine will (John 3:16). You possess the free will, volition, to choose Jesus and live eternally with Jesus in the New Jerusalem or reject Jesus and die in Hell in your sin (Revelation 20-22).

How does one “break the Sabbath” in the New Covenant?

Religion - Christianity, , , , , , , , , , ,

How does one “break the Sabbath” in the New Covenant?

The Genesis Sabbath (Genesis 2:3) and the Sabbaths given Israel’s children beginning in Exodus 16 all foreshadowed the divine “rest” that would be made available through the Messiah, Jesus our Lord and God/Elohim (Genesis 1; John 1; Hebrews 1; Hebrews 4; Colossians 1); therefore, Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Sabbaths foreshadowed (Colossians 2:16; Hebrews 4); therefore, in the New Covenant, one breaks the Sabbath by denying Jesus as Messiah, a denial of Jesus’ sacrifice for their sin, a sin-burden that weights man soul to the depths of Hell…a denial of divine rest from the condemnation of sin, a divine rest from self-righteousness/legalism, a sin that cannot be forgiven if one dies in body having rejected Jesus as Messiah by faith (John 3; John 8:24).

A Legalistic Misinterpretation of Matthew 7:21-23

Religion - Christianity, , , , , , , ,

Concerning the Legalistic interpretation of Matthew 7:21-23,

Your theological summation of Matthew 7:21-23 is incorrect. None of the works performed by those rejected were “lawless” or sinful on their face…Matthew 7:21-23 is NOT about law keeping or works or human effort or quality of work done but Jesus is teaching the necessity of establishing divine, personal, intimate, RELATIONSHIP with the Father through faith in the Son…first.

First of all, what is the “will of the Father?” – the will of the Father “is to believe in the One He has sent into the World” (John 6:29).

Matthew 7:21-23 is about works done in the flesh, self-righteousness, void the Holy Spirit and these works are defined by the Father as a “filthy garment”…literally, in the Hebrew…”a bloody menstrual cloth” (Isaiah 64:6).

In Matthew 7, in context, Jesus is continuing His teaching on “fruit”…divine fruit…works-faithfulness-efforts of obedience that are done through the indwelling Holy Spirit given to all who trust in Jesus as Messiah (Galatians 5:16-23; Ephesians 1:13-14).

Jesus is teaching you that if you desire to please the Father through works of righteousness, FIRST establish New Covenant relationship with Him through faith in His Son, receive His Holy Spirit and walk by the Spirit, daily (Galatians 5:16), thereby producing fruits of righteousness that honor the Father as His child and thereby prove yourself to be an honorable disciple of Jesus (John 15:8) as you are a member of Elohim’s family through faith; this, lest your works of righteousness be in vain and you ultimately hear those tragic words, “Away from Me you workers of lawlessness, I NEVER KNEW YOU!”

What is the divine “imputation” that saves man’s soul from death in Hell?

Religion - Christianity, , , , , , , , , ,

What is the divine “IMPUTATION” that saves man’s soul from death in Hell?

Humanity IS certainly imperfect but the One who entered Time from Eternity and walked among us for 33.5-years was and IS perfect in His divinity and He gave Himself as blood atonement for your benefit in order that the mandates of forgiveness for sin could be made manifest in accordance with Leviticus 17:11 (1 Peter 1:18-19); this sacrifice provided you by Jesus initiates the IMPUTATION-gifting of the perfection of Jesus over your life and though YOU are not perfect in the flesh, our Heavenly Father declares you “perfect” – adjudicates you “not guilty” by New Covenant promise (Hebrews 8:12); this, not because of your own self-righteousness or behavior or work or efforts, but on account of Jesus’ faithfulness and HIS perfection…this is why Jesus is our “propitiation” for sin…Jesus is our “substitute” in that Jesus took upon HIMSELF what was due us for our sin i.e., death; therefore, in response to the faithfulness of Jesus, the Father’s New Covenant promise is to remember your sins no more (Hebrews 8:12) and from the moment you acknowledge-believe-confess Jesus as your Messiah who died for you (John 3:16), when the Father sees YOU, He only sees His dear Son IN YOU…not your sin but His Son’s perfection (perfection in flesh and in divinity), forever. Jesus, who knew no sin, became the object of sin for our benefit that we might become the righteousness-perfection of God through Jesus…this a divine gift-promise of the Father that cannot be earned by humanity – a Gift that can only be acknowledged-received by faith-trust in Jesus as one’s Messiah (John 3).

God requires perfection – How can we be perfect?

Religion - Christianity, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Perfection is required for salvation from death in Hell…How can we be “perfect?”

Our Heavenly Father requires absolute perfection in word, thought, deed, in order to enter His Kingdom; problem is, we’ve all failed (Romans 3:23) as we’re all sinners patterned after our first father, Adam (Romans 5:12)…but…the “good news (the Gospel) is…Jesus entered the Realm of Time and walked in perfection before the Father via the anointing of the indwelling Holy Spirit and Jesus gave Himself as blood atonement for our sin and the Father has entered into a New Covenant agreement with all of human kind that anyone who trusts-believes in what Jesus did for us on a Roman Cross by dying for our sin in our place, the Father forgives them of all sin…past-present-future…and the Father declares them not guilty (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 8:12) and the Father endows them with the indwelling Holy Spirit as Guarantor and Seal of New Covenant relationship with Him (Ephesians 1:13-14); this is made possible through the promise of the “imputation” or gifting of Jesus’ perfection/righteousness over the life of the one who believes Jesus is our Messiah; that is, the Father agrees to only see the perfection of His dear Son in the one who believes Jesus is Messiah; therefore, we can be made “positionally right” with our Heavenly Father through faith in the Son, Jesus our Messiah, believing in what Jesus has done for us and not we can do for ourselves…this is the KEY, the right-to-passage into God’s presence, offered each of us who exists in a body of flesh within the temporary Realm of Time (John 3:16).

Therefore…

If you desire this forgiveness, anointing, and eternal life, sincerely “believe in your heart” and “confess with your mouth” (Romans 10:9-10) that Jesus is Messiah who died for you…carefully read the “Gospel of John” and begin an eternal relationship with our Heavenly Father and daily walk by the indwelling Holy Spirit and enjoy a life of peace, assurance, contentment, purpose, love. Jesus IS our “perfection”…trust in Jesus as your Messiah and honor-receive-enjoy the Father’s promises of eternal life, eternal peace, eternal assurance, eternal completion and contentment.