Christianity Oasis Forum

[saint701]

Hello All,


Blessings!

Keep reading and studying to the end. You will be blessed!


PART TWO
Of our Lord, the Apostle John wrote.
John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in Him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Many of our New Covenant promises, the exceedingly great and precious promises Peter reminds in Second Peter chapter one verse four:

2Pet.1
[4] Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
are found in the Old Testament. I do not have time here this evening to address the multitude of those scriptures that belong to us, but will focus on those two in Ezekiel that foretell of our new nature in Christ Jesus. These two scriptures, verses 26 and 27 are a summary of the great covenant God has made with us in the blood of Jesus Christ.
Ezekiel 36
[26] A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
[27] And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
The significance of these two verses is to tell us that our salvation is God’s work. He it is at work in us if we will turn from our flesh to His Spirit that is at work in us to will and to do.
It boggles the mind when one thinks back over the centuries to Christian writings that were only mental exercises presented by scholars and theologians who thought they knew so much more about Christianity than others of their day, when in reality they knew nothing.
I had a childhood friend 4 years older than myself named Ronnie Gray. He had a younger brother my age named Jerry. Jerry wasn’t very athletic, but I was, and Ronnie would frequently ask me to join him and his buddies that were his age at the local little league baseball diamond for pickup games. I just can’t begin to tell you how much fun I had playing baseball with those older boys. But one of the coolest stories came out of an argument, rather than the game itself.
There were times when I would overhear one of Ronnie’s buddies get into some kind of argument with him. The two would argue for a while. That was ok with Ronnie. He would never get mad or upset because he carefully chose every word that came out of his mouth for one purpose, and one purpose only, and that was to bate the other boy into taking a stand such that he thought himself the winner of the debate. At that point Ronnie had his buddy just where he wanted him.
Ronnie would say, “Well, so you think you know you’ve won the argument, do you?”
The friend would always come back with, “I don’t think! I know!”
That’s where Ronnie ended the debate. He would look his buddy in the eye and say, “I don’t think you know either.” That always left his adversary speechless, and Ronnie would walk away victorious. He was the clever one, he was.
I accept those words of our Lord in the Gospel of John as fact. If He isn’t involved in what He has put His hand for us to do, then we are just spinning our rear wheels in a mud pit. We’re stuck in a rut.
Do any of you all out there know what a creed is? (PAUSE). Would you please define it for us the best you can? (PAUSE). Very good. Wickipedia defines a creed as a statement of belief —usually religious belief or faith —often recited as part of a religious service.
Various Creeds created in centuries past have presented a basis for belief involving the resurrection of our Lord, but these same groups have stopped far short of demonstrating any understanding of the gospel of our Lord’s Resurrection. If they understood, they would have added their understanding of such into their creed.
The three most common creeds are The Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Constantinople Creed. All of these creeds are the basis many denominations build their faith in Christ upon. Now hang with me as I read from these creeds as there are things we need to understand about them.
First, I will read from the Standard English Creed, a revised version of the Apostle’s Creed written sometime in the A.D. 500’s. Then I will read from the Nicene Creed and Constantinople Creeds, creeds from sometime during the A.D. 300’s. They are all very similar, so please pay close attention. I will read slowly from all three and I would like for you to listen very intently in order to hear whether or not these creeds demonstrate an understanding of the significance of our Lord’s Resurrection? For example, do they light the pathway of the straight and narrow that leads to life everlasting? Do they lead any into the life giving well spring of the Spirit of our Lord? Are they capable of imparting the knowledge, the understanding, and the wisdom made alive in us that have risen in Christ? If we search these creeds will we find the love of God who gave himself for us? Do they lead us to know the Father, or do they just make us religious?
Now these creeds are exalted among many Christian denominations today as summing up the framework for their denomination’s belief system. A creed provides a framework for the creation of a religion.
But I reject all religions, including Christian ones. Now don’t get up and walk out just yet. Please give me one more minute of your time. I would like to ask you just one question. Is your human family a religion? Of course not! You can do things religiously and practice the same religion, but your family is not a religion, it is a family.
You can say, “Our family is Lutheran, or our family is Baptist.” You can even say, “We are a family of Methodists.” But you cannot truthfully say, my family’s name is Methodist Jones, or Jones Methodist, or my name is Wyatt Methodist Jones, or Wyatt Jones Religious Methodist. The fact is, you are from the Jones family, and your first name is Wyatt. I suppose your parents could name you Methodist Jones, or Religious Jones, but you still would not be part of a religion, you would be part of a family.
Now if we say we are brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, then we are no longer a religion, but a family. If such is true, that you are brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, you are not a religion, and you are not a Methodist family. You are a Christian family, and if a Christian family then you are of the household of our Heavenly Father, who is God Almighty, and your brother is Jesus Christ our Lord. We are no longer a family of flesh and blood, but a family of the Holy Spirit, made of the same spirit of Christ our Lord, and soul of our Lord, and when we see our Brother Jesus our Lord we will be like Him. We are named with the name greater than any name, the name of Jesus. Jesus is our family name. Listen to what Paul has to say in:
Ephesians 3
[14] For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, [15] of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.
Now if we are a spiritual family, then we are not a religion. And what ties us together as a family is the Spirit God has made us alive with in Christ Jesus. And that name that is above every name has been given to us because of our Lord’s resurrection!
Back to those religions built upon creeds. If those councils that wrote the creeds were alive today, I would pose this question to them. “Oh, so you think you know that your creeds sum up the pure framework of the Gospel of our Lord do you?”
All would confidently reply, “We don’t think! We know!”
And I would reply back, “I don’t think you know either.”
Now some of you might think me quite bold in saying that.
But such is what I think of all self willed and presumptuous Christian efforts. Self willed and presumptuous Christian efforts have striped Christians of their inheritance of the saints in light and replaced that inheritance with the vanity of impure religions. Pure religion is this, and this alone.
Jas.1
[27] Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep him/her (self) unspotted from the world.
Pure religion does not have a name. It is not complicated with vain rituals and dogmas and arguments and view points or creeds. It is simply doing good things.
But as Christians, we have not been made religious. Even pure religion cannot give us life. We receive life and an inheritance through the resurrection of our Lord. For example:
1John.4
[13] Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
Col.1
[12] Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Paul says we are joint heirs with Jesus, but Jesus is the first born and is our King, but we will reign with Him in glory according to
Rev.1
[6] And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
2Pet.1
[4] Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
The greatest of those promises is the promise of the Holy Spirit, and it is through Him that we become partaker of the divine nature. He builds into us the life of our Lord Jesus. He gives us life and becomes our life.
And it is through the Holy Spirit that all Christians are supposed to be made of one family, with one mind, that of Christ, that we might be one with our Lord Jesus and our Heavenly Father;
But humans always think they know more about life than God, and instead of bringing us together in the unity of one Spirit, they have removed the one Spirit so that we all might be made of many religions. Such is confusion, and God is not the author of confusion. We have been made alive in one, and that one new nature in one, even the nature of our Father, and that of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which are all one in the Father’s love.
Now therefore, if we have become partakers of the divine nature through the one Holy Spirit that is perfecting us, then Paul says:
Rom.8
[17] If we are God’s children, then we are heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
It is through these scriptures that we begin to take a look at what we have been made in Christ Jesus by virtue of His resurrection from the dead when we were raised up alive in Him.
We will now take a look at those lifeless creeds. Please listen carefully to see if the Lord brings any magnificent truths of the gospel before your eyes that the authors of the creeds have omitted. Do not think to discover within your own mind those things left out, in fact, exercise your mind only to focus on what the Spirit of our Lord in you might show you. Give place to exercise your spiritual intellect, the mind of Christ that is within you. His mind is pure and makes peace within you. Ask your spirit to show you the answers you seek. Knock on the door of life within you. Whatever you see, hold fast. Whatever pops into the mind of your soul, cling to it. Ask of the Spirit, Seek of the Spirit, Knock on the door of the Spirit. Remember, the Kingdom of Heaven is within you. Practice asking, seeking, and knocking on that which is within, and you will be surprised just how quickly you will begin to see and understand those things freely given to us which are living realities, not dead religions.
First comes the Apostle’s Creed. It was supposedly written some time during the A. D. 500’s.

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

Ok, fine, but where in this creed is the way to life or our life in Christ our Lord?
Next comes the Nicene Creed from the First Council of Nicea. It was written around A.D. 325.
First Council of Nicea (325)
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father [the only-begotten; that is, of the essence of the Father, God of God], Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father;
By whom all things were made [both in heaven and on earth];
Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man;
He suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven;
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
Again, where is the way to life in this life?

Here is the creed written by the first council of Constantinople. It was created around A.D. 381.
First Council of Constantinople (381)
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds (æons), Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father;
by whom all things were made;
who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man;
he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father;
from thence he shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead;
whose kingdom shall have no end.
And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spake by the prophets.
In one holy catholic and apostolic Church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Oh, that’s just dandy. We can only look for life in the world to come!
These creeds are wonderfully articulated, but omit many of the most important benefits of the Gospel of our Lord’s Resurrection, such as the life of God in us in the here and the now causing us to do right. Who would like to tell us what truths of the gospel you found missing in these creeds? What have you seen or heard in the spirit? What has the Spirit/spirit popped into your head?
(PAUSE)
In the church I go to we have a very good adult Sunday school teacher. He is the most loveable and humble old man you would ever want to meet. But if he asks us a question during our class time most just freak out, clam up, and focus eyes downward. Now we claim to be a charismatic church because many speak in tongues. However, the function of speaking in tongues is supposed to be to talk to God, to ask Him questions and get answers. We can be led by God by our praying in tongues. However, this is not understood in my Sunday School Class. And the truth is, our loveable old teacher teaches out of Christian history books and The Bible, which isn’t bad of course, but His Christian experience should testify to the reality of Christ within giving life to the Holy Scriptures.
Now the reason he teaches as he does, he says, is many of the things Christians knew during the time of the Apostles we just don’t understand today because they are no longer part of our experiences.
I don’t freak out, clam up, or focus my eyes downward when he asks a question, but if I answer a question with a spiritual truth they all should be walking in the light of , it flies right on by them because they won’t tap into the spiritual life that is inside them.
For the most part I keep my mouth shut only because if I told them that the experiences they think have passed away are alive in me it would scare them to death.
Our purpose this evening is to increase clarity of thought about the life given to us in Christ Jesus when He was raised from the dead.
PAUSE!
Does anyone else have any thoughts on the creeds they would like to share?
Ok, here’s my take on those things missing in the creeds.
First of all, concerning the Gospel of our Lord itself, the Great Commission is omitted in all three creeds.
Nowhere, it seems, are the general religious public accounted worthy to go into all the world and preach, teach, or write that all should be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Nowhere in the creeds are we accounted worthy to make disciples of all nations. You see, the gospel of our Lord is all about discipleship. Discipleship belongs to all of us, not just a few grumpy old religious people that are supposed to be our leaders.
Nowhere in the creeds are we told that we must be born again.
Nowhere is it told to us that after being baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we should receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Nowhere in these creeds is any mention of the blood of Jesus.
Nowhere in these creeds is any mention of the working of Christ within us or our place of glory in Him.
Now understanding such things we should see that many of our denominations today that hold these creeds in high regard are in reality subjecting their masses to a superficial and many times powerless gospel; except for the going into all the world part. Many have gone into all the world, that isn’t the problem. The problem is that they have gone with a religious message. Far too few have gone in the power of the Spirit of God. There are far too many believers out there that have just barely touched the Lord. And many of them sit in misery each day thinking that somehow they themselves must die to themselves which is an impossible task. Our job in our redemption is to cooperate with the Spirit of God within us.
And in another part of our preaching of the gospel is omitted. The problem for many of those that went was that they were not sent. They lacked the understanding that Jesus Himself must be involved in His working within us in order for disciples of all nations to be made. It is disciples our Lord desires. However, we have just recruited many to sit in churches to adhere to a particular belief system. From the creeds we have made religions.
Such is a very weak and sorrowful gospel indeed. From the beginning it was not so. The gospel from the beginning was a magnificent message! It sent chills up and down the spines of those that believed, were baptized, and filled with the Holy Ghost! It was a message of a resurrection of our Lord so great, so magnificent, so glorious, so powerful, so dynamic, so life giving, that sinners would sit in the rafters of a dwelling for hours to hear the Life Giving Truth about The Word of God! He has risen, and He is alive forever more! And we are alive in Him!
I have been in many denominational churches. If I had known then what I know now, I would have looked around and said, “How is it so many have lost not only the understanding of the great salvation provided for us in the power of our Lord’s resurrection, but the power of the cross working in us the death of our flesh. Jesus Christ was raised from the dead to be the first born of many brethren, not many religious! We were raised up in Him with a glorious sinless body made alive in the Spirit, that we should no longer walk according to the lusts of that thing covering us, but walk in the magnificent splendorous almighty power God our Father made alive in Christ Jesus, no longer men and woman of flesh and blood, but new creatures, a new divine species made of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God!
And through the resurrection of our Lord, we are made alive in our souls by the quickening power of the Holy Spirit, no more to be called men and women of the Earth, but brothers and sisters of The Word of God, and the offspring of the Most High, The Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Lord God Almighty Love Dad!!!! We are Priests and Kings seated in Heavenly places! We are a Holy Nation created by the mighty power God wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead.
Behold His Glory! For what manner of love is this that God has given us that we should be called His Sons and Daughters and be like Him when we see Him!
Can you say Amen and give The Almighty God, our Father, and the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the glory for the great things He has made us in Christ Jesus! Praise the Father, Son, And Holy Ghost! Give ‘em all the glory!
We are God Almighty’s Royal Family. We have the blood of the Lord of Lords and King of Kings coursing through the veins of our recreated natures. We are of the Household of God Almighty.
Is it so great a thing that we should shudder from ever thinking such great things must be said about us?
No! How can we be more than conquerors through Him that loved us if we do not understand who God Almighty has made us in Him. The Almighty Lord of Lords and King of Kings is our Dad, our Papa. Jesus is our Lord and Savior and brother and the Holy Spirit is our Life. Amen and Amen.
Now is there anyone here this evening that would like to receive the Lord Jesus Christ and all His fullness that has been given to us by virtue of His resurrection? Is there anyone here this evening that needs to call upon the name of the Lord for salvation? Is there anyone here this evening that needs to receive the true greatness of our Lord’s salvation and miss hell? Glory to you Lord, Glory to you Lord.

[Paul Swartz]

WOW, And praise the Lord brother.You truly hit the nail on the proverbial head!
NOW is the time to build GODS ARMY! We have been chosen! To What? To spread the Gospel. We are Ambassadors for the KING. Let us not disappoint He who
commissioned us! Thanks Brother,hope to here from you,till then, may the peace,and grace of God the
Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ be multiplied unto you. your brother in Christ, Paul.

[saint701]

Hi Paul,


Blessings!

It is great to hear from someone that is so on fire for our Lord. I apologize for not replying sooner, but this is the Lord's timing, and I will just go along with that. I am happy to hear you have a minister that is not afraid to share the heart and truth of the gospel with his audience. We need need need more more more like him and you.

I don't want to be long winded about this, but I've only been teaching and preaching the gospel for 2 years. Yes, way back in the 80's I studied the Bible quite a bit and read numerous books about the Bible, and even got to where I had a great deal of faith. However, for whatever reason, the Lord held me back from what I would think to be reasonable service for a good 20 years. I have various explanations for that. First an foremost would be that it wasn't the Lord's time or will that I render Him reasonable service during those years. Additionally, I was too worldly and too soulish, and would have used my faith in Him for the wrong purpose, like just padding my bank account.

When the Lord's time for me to enter the ministry came a couple of years ago, the Lord slammed my face into circumstances just about as bad as it can get and planted me on my knees for a month of fasting and praying. During that time I asked the Lord to give me the gift of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God. He not only gave me that gift, but understanding along with it. That was enough to get me on started on His way, which in my case has involved quite a bit of fasting and prayer and a snip of my soul here, and a snip of my soul there.

Oddly, I don't have to do anything to see a revelation. They just come up before the eyes of my understanding as the Lord wills and I see what the New Testament authors meant in certain places that have remained pretty dark and unknowable for many ministers for centuries. The number one thing that helps me present the word with the knowledge of God is the grace He has given me to experience those things I write about. Such is all the upside of the walk of faith the Lord has given me. Next comes the downside.

I have pretty much been unemployed and virtually bankrupt the past 2 years living at my brother's house, cooking, cleaning, cutting the grass, doing laundry, that kind of thing; so I have a significant amount of time at hand for the Lord's use. And I yield myself to Him willingly and happily as often as He needs me.

Thank you so much for sharing your love and joy and power of our Lord's gospel and I pray that the Lord will always use you mightily in His work, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.


Blessings!
Love, In Christ Jesus, Saint701.