Paul's Passing Thoughts

Part 4: Abraham and the Family Affair

God put two trees in the midst of Eden, “The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” This series will not speculate on why God presented this choice or in some people’s assessment an actual temptation, but the backdrop was the rebellion of Lucifer.

Something else should also be noted moving forward: the creation account and subsequent deception in the garden raises a host of interpretive questions that remain unanswered by organized religion. For instance, after the deception, God prevented Adam and Eve from eating from the other tree in the midst of the garden that they were previously allowed to eat from, “The tree of life” lest they “take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” The tree of the knowledge of good and evil brought forth death while eating from the other tree would have brought forth eternal life. It seems strange indeed that Adam and Eve could have reversed their mortality by merely eating from the other tree. The only way these challenging questions will be answered is by diligent and free collective study of God’s people apart from agenda-driven orthodoxy.

True Christianity is fundamentally individualist resulting in the collective good, not the other way around. This will be explored in the future parts of this series; ie., the difference between an organized body and institutions. The collective and free actions of individuals lead to the collective good, not the dictation of “good” determined by an elite few. Stated another way: the individual has direct access to God; there is not an epistemological pecking order.

All in all, most religion has always been predicated on philosophy proffering the idea that God has appointed knowers over those who cannot know reality. And by the way, the knowers usually find their credibility in the idea that no one can know; so, the knowers are the knowers because they know that they cannot know. This series will address that construct in detail.

But for now, we will explore what God did in response to the deception, and what the Jews have to do with that. As stated before, the two trees represent a backdrop of epic conflict between God and the rebellion of angels led by Lucifer. This epic conflict is good versus evil, and life versus death. We are safe in regard to that assessment via the very descriptions of the trees and the stated result of eating from them. But God’s initial response, among many other things, marks one of His modes of operation: whatever His detractors do, He responds by upping the ante so-to-speak. God’s enemies cannot strike without God making something better of it. In this way God mocks evil; the evil actions of God’s enemies results in the previous good being made very good.

Adam and Eve were created beings, but after they were deceived, God responded by making them His very family. He created mankind as living beings that would have a family structure for organizing and increasing their state of happiness, but in response to the deception He elected their means of reconciliation (salvation) by making them His very own family. Mankind was elevated from created beings to His literal children.

Religion strongly emphasizes the forgiveness of sin, but in reality forgiveness is a by-product of becoming part of God’s family. Mankind is reconciled to God by becoming family.

The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Aside from a myriad of discussions and interpretive questions that could be discussed about this passage and many others in the Bible, it is clear that there would be “enmity” (hatred) between two posterities: The “offspring” (many other translations use “seed”) of the serpent and the offspring of the woman. Much of the Bible’s historical documentation reports this enmity between God’s offspring and the serpent’s offspring. In fact, the enmity begins with the first siblings of human history, Cain and Able:

1John 3:12 – We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.

All are born into the world with indwelling sin and are thereby children or offspring of the one who executed the deception in the garden. People become God’s offspring; ie., “righteous” when they believe God and what he says resulting in a “walk” with Him. Different creatures walk differently—they walk according to their nature. Ducks waddle and kangaroos hop because of how they are created.

From the beginning, starting with Adam and Eve, people were reborn into the family of God resulting in becoming God’s literal children. The Bible refers to this as being “righteous.” Don’t confuse this Old Testament new birth with the New Testament “baptism of the Spirit” which makes Jew and Gentile one body with Christ. This is “the promise” which will be further developed as we move forward.

Religious scholars are fond of constantly referring to Genesis 15:6,

Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness (NIV).

This verse, on its face, seems to indicate a mere declaration that Abram was righteous by noting the word “credited.” The Hebrew word translated “credited” can mean that, but it can also mean “to fabricate” or create. At any rate, Old Testament believers were in fact recreated as righteous beings who were credited as such and acted as such. They were righteous as a matter of their state of being. How do we know this? Christ said their very life blood was righteous:

Matthew 23:34 – Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

These were not only deemed righteous; their very life blood was righteous. That’s because they were, in fact, righteous. This new birth comes via another seed in the Bible; God’s word. Faith comes by hearing the word of God and believing it;

Romans 10:17 – So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (KJV).

Matthew 13:18 – “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.[b] 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Matthew 4:4 – Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Galatians 3:2 – Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?

1Peter 1:22 – Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

Abraham believed God and was made righteous. As we will see, he is a key person in God’s elected plan to reconcile mankind to Himself by making those who believe His very family. God the Father, His only Son, and the executor of the righteous offspring—the Holy Spirit. Abraham is a key figure in God’s grand plan involving a righteous royal family and its kingdom that will make all things one as opposed to sin’s major objective to divide.

And a last point before we move on: God’s word is a seed that gives us new birth, but for those born again, it is also the milk by which we grow. According to 1Peter 2:2, that must be “pure” milk. This is a call to the individual born of God to ascertain what is pure truth and not pure truth. We are not to take other people’s word for it and thereby be tossed about like the waves in regard to every wind of doctrine.

paul

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Part 3: Whatever Happened to Goodness?

In the first two parts, mankind is put in a very poor light because of indwelling sin. Man is pictured as enslaved to control-lust. This lends credence to Dominion Theology which is a lie. So, it is time to balance the first two parts with biblical information.

First, Dominion Theology has been the way of the world and the primary applied politic from the very beginning of time. It is the elitist philosopher class ruling over the great unwashed masses for the collective good. In all cases, the knowers are appointed by God to, according to one well-known evangelical, “save God’s people from ignorance.” And if they are to save God’s people from ignorance, how much more the rest of the world?

Remember, this necessarily requires the idea that God has established His kingdom on earth as a prerequisite to utopia. The command in the Bible to have dominion over the earth supposedly includes other men, so; argumentation over who really understands God fosters plenty of wars in and of itself aside from the other numerous issues that evolve from the basic premise. Research history for yourself; the original question, “Has God really said?” fueled innumerable religious wars and will continue to do so. Though Americanism greatly disrupted historical business-as-usual, the book of Revelation tells us that mankind will return to the pagan-state (prior to the 4^th century) / church-state (post 4^th century) construct with a vengeance.

Whether secular or religious, it is a theology of dominion because it separates knowledge from the common man and makes truth property of the state. Truth is always found in some higher power that appoints select classes of people to rule over others on the higher power’s behalf whether that is God, gods, Mother Nature, or “The Force.”

That’s the politic: the marriage of faith and force. The politic comes from sin which desires to enslave all things and indwells mankind prompting him to do the same. But does that mean mankind is totally depraved and in need of knowers to manage his misery? No, actually, according to the Bible, mankind is good enough to have an internal conflict with sin. Romans 2 states,

14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

People in general are conflictive. They have indwelling sin and indwelling law. The latter makes the individual capable and in many instances a force for good. This is what the founders of Americanism hit upon for the first time in human history as opposed to the common total depravity construct. The Protestant claim that total inability is unique to Protestantism…is absurd.

Total depravity and deterministic caste have always been the business-as-usual politic of human history. Communism replaced the church-state void created by the American Revolution. Communism is merely an irreligious version of total depravity requiring an elite class of knowers to manage mankind’s misery. This may all be interpreted through the individualism versus collectivism question. What is the role of government? To maximize the individual’s internal work of God’s law, or manage his totally depraved misery?

Note in the aforecited Romans text that those who have never been exposed to the Bible will be judged by their internal law created in every person. The internal law of God executed by one’s conscience is part of the whole idea of being created in God’s image. Internal sin causes one to sin against God and others resulting in the conscience accusing them, or excusing them when they do well.

This ability to do well is what the founders of Americanism emphasized; i.e., individualism. Collectivism limits well-doing to the dictation of a small elitist class of people who rule over the masses. Of course, according to what they deem as being good according to their assessment of mankind in general. You do the math; it never ends well.

However, the founders of Americanism were primarily concerned with government’s relationship to the individual and contrary to popular belief, not the biblical gospel. As a foundation moving forward, we may say that the primary goal of the gospel (the good news of God’s kingdom) is not to be judged by any law, but rather to be guided by it.

If one is judged by the law, either God’s Bible or the internal law or both, it is impossible to distinguish between love and escape—love or self-preservation—restraint only to prevent judgement. However, if one cannot be judged by either law, if judgment is vanquished, if the law’s ability to condemn is eradicated, every upholding of the law must be grounded in the motive of love. With condemnation vanquished, the only possible motive still standing is love.

This is what the gospel does. It eliminates judgement and infuses the individual with a love for God’s law. And this is the difference between two kingdoms: the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of darkness; their citizens. The former is called such because it is located in heaven and not on earth. It is yet future.

What is the state of being in regard to the citizens of each kingdom, and how does it apply to real life? And what do the Jews have to do with it? Because we are still laying the foundation the former will be further developed in the next part while the latter will be developed as we move forward.

How are the citizens of the kingdom of heaven removed from judgment and infused with a love for God’s law? How can their only motive be love, and why do they at times fall short of love?

paul

Christians ought to speak the truth and not throw around spiritual bumper stickers that are not true. Jesus’ righteousness is not imputed to us. Actually, the statement is a false gospel. First, it…

Source: Stop Saying That Jesus’ Righteousness Is Imputed to US Because it’s NOT True

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Part 2: In the Beginning, Caste

In part one we looked at the beginning of the mediation caste system. This system is driven by sin. This is a word that we should take careful study of. Exploring the use of the serpent by Satan to do his bidding will not be an objective of this series, but it should be noted that at some point sin was found in Satan (Ezek 28:11ff., Isaiah 14:12ff.). Sin is presented in the Bible as an independent entity and not necessarily the personification of Satan. Sin is a characteristic of Satan, but not wholly defined by him. They are separate entities. Certainly it is likely that Satan made the creation of sin possible, and perhaps he is even the creator of it, but sin is also a separate entity that he has no control over.

The Bible defines sin as an entity driven by a desire to control.

Genesis 4:7 – If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.

Regardless of the deception in the garden, God is still talking to mankind face to face; individually if you will. This is the second presentation of the gospel by God himself to mankind. What is presented here is no different than any other gospel fundamental presented in the rest of the Bible: indwelling sin’s desire to control the individual must be ruled over by the same individual. Note that sin crouches in wait for something that enables it to control the individual: not doing well; an act of sin. This leads to condemnation which is sin’s case for controlling or enslaving the individual. Sin seeks to possess and dominate the individual with its own desires resulting in enslavement with the endgame being death. God’s presentation to Cain is a construct that never changes throughout Scripture.

James 1:13 – Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

After the deception, sin indwelled mankind and caste was born. This is because sin’s paramount desire to control others is now manifested in mankind. From the top of humanity down, people seek to control each other through a massive number of different means and techniques. After the deception, this dynamic was found in the parents of humanity:

Genesis 3:16 – To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”

Unlike God’s command to Cain to rule over sin which desired to enslave Cain, this is a statement of fact: because of sin, the woman will desire to control her husband, but he will instead rule over her. This is because women are in general physically inferior to men and perhaps less aggressive as a practical matter.

What God is stating here is an unfortunate reality caused by the introduction of sin into humanity that goes along with the other bad news in the same verse, not His intended design for man’s relationship to the woman. Sin finds cause for divisiveness and the demeaning of others as inferior in every aspect of reality. Various and sundry relationships between men and women, including marriage, are no exception.

This is the caste dynamic found in the first two human beings and driven by sin. Because of sin, humankind only desires freedom for the self while desiring to enslave others for one’s own benefit. Again, this sin dynamic touches every metaphysical nook and cranny of humanity. God told Cain, “you must“… “rule over” sinful desire. He told Eve that Adam “shall” rule over her desire to control him. This was more bad news to go along with pain in childbearing, not God’s model for a good marriage. An extreme manifestation of this realty as an example may be found in the movie, The War of the Roses.

As God dealt with mankind face to face in the beginning, even after the garden deception and sin’s subsequent invasion into humanity, he continued to tell man to be fruitful and fill the earth (Gen 9:1). He never told man in the beginning to subdue each other, to have dominion over each other, or to rule over others. It could be argued that God’s imperative against murder is also an imperative against the enslavement of men by other men and the taking away of their freedom. Ruling over others, especially on an international level, will almost always require the taking of life or at least a threat thereof. This is invariably the end result when indoctrination doesn’t persuade one to be subservient. Genesis 9:1-7 is but one example of a mandate by God to subdue the earth coupled with a warning to not take the life of other men; the earth is to be conquered—not mankind.

Hence, in direct opposition to God, mankind refused to populate and subdue the earth and instead invested in conquest of other men. This is more than likely what is going at the Tower of Babel in the eleventh chapter of Genesis. This is because sin seeks to control, enslave, and conquer by any means. Toward the end of human history as we presently know it, and as foretold by the book of Revelation, we find an interesting notation:

Revelation 6:2 – And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. 3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

With the exception of the United States of America, the vast majority of human governments from the beginning of time have been and continue to be predicated on conquest. Sin is at the core of this reality. Found in man, it seeks to control the individual because of its desire to do so and forms the outward behavior of people to do the same. It will seek any excuse to conquer others whether social standing, ethnicity, education, or visual appeal. It manipulates, lies, steals, and if necessary murders in order to gain control of others.

Primarily, human governments have always made their case for ruling over others by claiming they are ordained by God, gods, or some cosmic force to do so. From the beginning, pagan-state governments seek to conquer by divine mandate. They are mandated by God, supposedly, to be a force for the collective good in the world…by conquest if necessary. The caste religion that justifies conquest has always been the same basic model: a determinist god ordains the knowers to guide the masses who are unable to know, and government is ordained by the same god to enforce their state-owned truth. It is absolutely true that Hinduism is the oldest religion known, and this model is well reflected in it accordingly. Until the American Revolution completely upset the apple cart of human history, religious caste was the only game that was played and manifested in pagan-state governments. Later, church-states were added to the murderous fray.

And there is a glaring problem with this model that has manifested itself throughout history: God has never come to earth and ceremonially coroneted any particular government to conquer the earth on His behalf and for His glory. Though church-states have made the case through numerous church counsels overseen by puritan “Divines,” Jesus Christ was never in attendance. Humorous if not so pathetic, Protestant evangelicals have always been fond of placing an empty chair at such meetings to represent the presence of Christ who is apparently sitting there just because they say He is, and allowing others to speak for Him.

The case has always been made and continues to be made in God’s absence. And, the substitute is deception and the sword. For some strange reason, God supposedly wants to use man to conquer others and set up His own kingdom on earth for the collective good. In other words, God has thrown His hat into the ring of political intrigue that has always dominated human history and continues to do so. This indeed is a strange and juvenile concept. When God decides to finally establish His kingdom on earth, Bible prophecy is clear in regard to the means used: He takes care of the matter Himself. In the book of Daniel, a stone made without hands smashes an idol that represents the kingdoms of the world. The message thereof would seem evident.

This series of posts are about God’s true kingdom, a kingdom presently in heaven, not on earth, and the relationship of the Jewish people to that kingdom. We have a long way to go in developing the big picture. That picture exposes the value of a treasured people and why their lives matter so much.

In the next part, we will further explore the anthropology of sin and the characteristics of the earthly kingdoms spawned by it. And as we journey forward, we will examine what God is presently seeking on earth if not a conquering kingdom by proxy.

paul