(06/29/2018) A Second Sacred Pair

A depiction of Abraham, Sarah and Isaac

Today, reply is on the divine use of Abraham and Sarah as a sacred pair sharing a single personhood in relationship with the Creator through divine appointment and marriage.  Marriage as a sacred tool is intended to produce “godly seed” (see Malachi 2).  As with Noah and Moses among the Patriarchs, and Jesus Christ who has provided the new creation, his church, Abraham is spoken of among Christian believers as a “second Adam.”  Developing believers are, first, to acknowledge, and then understand, that authority, dominion and power over existence, duration, and everlasting life are with the Lord our GOD.  The many occasions and sacred events (we say, miracles) where divinity has operated according to divine laws, rather than natural laws to bring about human reproduction, birth, and new life include the birth of Samson, a Judge of Israel; the birth of Samuel, who is called the last of the Judges/the first of the prophets; the birth of John the Baptist, the son of a Levitical priest who was born full of the Holy Ghost; the birth of Jesus Christ as the Son of Man; and the birth of every repenting sinner who is “born again” through water baptism.  A fighter in the “Yahoo! Answers” Religion and Spirituality forum using the ID “Love Unites” (Level 7 with 57,636 points, a member since May 08, 2013) posted the following:


Why did God condone Abraham's marriage to his half sister?


THE GOLDEN ARROW:  Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.  Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.  How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.  And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised:  that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:  And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.  For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.  For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:  Because the law worketh wrath:  for where no law is, there is no transgression.  Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,  (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.  Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.  (Romans 4:  8-18, King James Version, KJV)


THE DOUBLE DAGGER:  Abraham Demonstrates Spiritual Growth (05/30/2018); Christianity Is A Relationship (04/05/2018); The Heir To Abraham (10/23/2016); An Eternal Inheritance? (06/26/2016); Ye Are Abraham’s Seed (07/10/2015); Blessing and Inheritance from Abraham? (06/05/2014); On Christians Executing Judgment (06/06/2014); Circumcision and Promise? (07/16/2013); The Bible and Stupid People (07/17/2013)


“Love Unites”, Abraham found grace in the eyes of the Lord.  Adam (the first male and female) were held to be one and a sacred pair before GOD by virtue of their creation.  Abraham and Sarah are to be accounted as one on the basis of their both having been chosen to fulfill eternal purposes that expressed divine prerogative and sovereign will; on the basis of their spiritual joining through marriage; and on the basis of their having received endowments of spirit content from the Creator that allow displaying oneness without sameness.  For Adam and Abraham, marriage was not a man-made or social institution structured by law regarding family and maintained for human survival so much as it continued to be a tool of divine fullness (we say, the Godhead; the Trinity; the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit) for making actual the multiple possibilities of sacred law, divine incarnation, inheritance, judgment, eternal life, and the necessary revelation of GOD to his own created beings and living creatures.  Abraham’s experience of divinity incorporated both prophetic visions and divine visitation.   Abraham was called by GOD to live as a nomad on the earth; and the Patriarch eventually commanded a household that may have numbered thousands, for it included the families of his male servants who also served as an army of more than three hundred.  Everywhere he traveled he dug life-giving wells for water; built altars for sacrifice; continued circumcision and covenant relationship; practiced intercession, praise, and prayer; and demonstrated worship of the true GOD.  Together with Sarah, Abraham was to accomplish a sacred event (miracle), the birth of a firstborn to a barren woman pass the age of fertility.  The birth of Isaac was to be a platform for the birth of Jesus Christ as Messiah.  Consider again the following that uses language from the Bible:

(1.)  Genesis 18:  1-5, King James Version (KJV):  1 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre:  and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;  2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him:  and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,  3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:  4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:  5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on:  for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.

(2.)  Genesis 18:  23-28, KJV:  23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?  24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city:  wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?  25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked:  and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee:  Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?  26 And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.  27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:  28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous:  wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.

(3.)  Genesis 18:  9-14, KJV:  9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.  10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.  11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.  12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?  13 And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?  14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

There is far more that should be said, correctly examined, and spiritually apprehended.  (For example, (4.)  Genesis 18:  17-22, KJV:  17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;  18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?  19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.  20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;  21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.  22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom:  but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.)  Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful.  Be it unto you according to your faith.

THE BLACK PHOENIX

Washington, DC

(06/28/2018) The Witness of Oceans

Today, reply is on the existence of the ocean as a “proof” of the existence of divinity.  Correctly understood, the living are to be the witness that GOD lives; and divine spirit is the highest, most legitimate “evidence” for divinity.  A fighter in the “Yahoo! Answers” Religion and Spirituality forum using the ID “Anonymous” (no profile data appears) posted the following:


Are the oceans proof of God? Without the oceans, no rain. No rain, no life on earth?


THE GOLDEN ARROW:  Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen:  that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he:  before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.  I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.  I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you:  therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.  Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand:  I will work, and who shall let it?  (Isaiah 43:  10-13, King James Version, KJV)


THE DOUBLE DAGGER:  “I Am The Resurrection” (03/25/2018); Heaven Temporal, GOD Eternal (12/12/2017); Relying on Sacred “Evidence” (11/20/2017); Proof That GOD Exists? (10/16/2016); GOD Is A Spirit (12/07/2014); The Mystery of His Appearing (12/08/2014); The Fullness of GODhead? (01/09/2014); World Without End? (01/10/2014)


“Anonymous”, the acknowledgment of divine fullness (we say, the Creator; the GODhead; the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit) as the origin and source for all that exists and lives is not to be on the basis of appetite (hunger, thirst, sexual cravings), sensation (hearing, seeing, tasting, touching), emotion/mental process (fantasy, intelligence, logic, carnal reason), or the material objects of the natural world (forests, lakes, mountains, rivers, the sun, moon and stars) so much as on the basis of divine consciousness and spirit content imparted from divinity to indwell created beings and living creatures.  While many things reveal and serve as tools to make the inseparable aspects of unseen divinity visible as an active presence, it is the makeup and spirit substance of GOD that most directly communicates to created beings and living creatures.  Included are faith, forbearance, forgiveness, holiness, longsuffering, lovingkindness, oneness without sameness, personhood, wisdom, and wrath against sin.  Here are some points you might find useful as you continue your study that use language from the Bible:

(1.)  Psalms 19:  1-6, King James Version (KJV):  1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.  2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.  3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.  4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,  5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.  6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it:  and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

(2.)  Jeremiah 5:  21-23, KJV:  21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:  22 Fear ye not me? saith the LORD:  will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it:  and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?  23 But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.

(3.)  1st Corinthians 2:  7-14, KJV:  7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:  8 Which none of the princes of this world knew:  for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.  9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.  10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit:  for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.  11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.  12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.  13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.  14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:  for they are foolishness unto him:  neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

(4.)  Romans 1:  16-23, KJV:  16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:  for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.  17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith:  as it is written, The just shall live by faith.  18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;  19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.  20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:  21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,  23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

There is far more to be said, correctly examined, and spiritually apprehended.  (For example, (5.)  Revelation 21:  1-4, KJV:  1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:  for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.  2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.  4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:  for the former things are passed away.)  Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful.  Be it unto you according to your faith.

THE BLACK PHOENIX
Washington, DC

(06/27/2018) Deposits Of Sacred Substance

Today, reply is on the obligation of Christian believers to display divine spirit content from the makeup of GOD more than to perform acceptable behavior in obedience to godly law.  Sinners who are born again are to serve as vessels of divine law, the revelation of GOD through the holy writings, and the judgment of GOD to acknowledge and preserve the sacred substance deposited within created beings and living creatures.  The Scriptures offer more than instruction on law and obedience, good and evil, right and wrong.  The eternal purposes begun in the Creation of heaven and earth that are being fulfilled through Jesus Christ and his creation, the church, are described in detail.  The fighter in the “Yahoo! Answers” Religion and Spirituality forum who uses the ID “Anonymous” (no profile information appears) posted the following:


If we do not concern ourselves with good and evil, does that mean we don’t need to listen to any other commands in scripture?
As you grow up it doesn’t take an idiot to realise the basic things like do not steal, and that there is only one God, even if you don’t follow the abrahamic God it is not beneficial or logical to serve several masters. Soon you have to grow up and settle down. We already worked that out in the classical age, well mostly only the educated elites in the Greece-Roman world believed in the one ‘God’. As for the Ten commandments, that is more of a legal code and forgivable right from wrongs are not the same as good and evil, the Ten Commandments does not concern itself with outright evils, in the same way that you can’t expect a child to not develop paganistic tendencies. Why submit yourself to a miserable wretched life by continuing to read a book that makes demands you cannot reach, if only for the sake of knowing Good from evil? If you need words to communicate with God I’m sorry for you, but not all of us need to be told to not kill one another


THE GOLDEN ARROW:  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.  And he said unto me, Write:  for these words are true and faithful.  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:  which is the second death.  (Revelation 21:  6-8, King James Version, KJV)


THE DOUBLE DAGGER:  Bible Language About Spirit? (06/13/2018); Condemned By The Bible? (06/08/2018); The Meaning of “Faith” (03/28/2018); Whoso Keepeth His Word (03/09/2018); What Is A Spirit? (03/06/2018); Standing On The ABCs? (11/09/2017); Deeds Of The Law? (09/10/2017)


“Anonymous”, we need to speak of some things difficult to apprehend; it is the duty of all Christian believers to display Christlikeness.  Many things that are written in the holy writings can not be applied and correctly understood without the support that comes by existing within a community of committed and mature adults who are capable of realizing the meanings and operations of divine substance (we say, breath; life essence; spirit; word).  Because we must begin with ideas concerning attitudes, behavior, self-control, and our usefulness to one another as living persons, most young people require many years of correction, discovery, gradual growth and learning to grasp that the primary focus for the affections and thoughts of Christian believers are to acknowledge the active presence who is the origin and source for existence and life as well as to recognize and respond to the multiple appearances of the otherwise invisible divine fullness (we say, the Godhead; the Trinity; the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit).

In addition to a record of divine law provided to create a kingdom and nation on the earth that will continually manifest the presence of GOD (i.e., the Ten Commandments), the Scriptures impart sacred knowledge instead of secular knowledge revealing the character, makeup, and substance of the Creator by using thousands of events from thousands of lives, over the course of thousands of years.  Along with the terms for divine dominion, ownership, and the sovereignty of GOD over all created beings and living creatures, the Scriptures document the terms for multiple covenant relationships, sacred proclamations, promises, and prophecies.  More than simply a book or narrative, the  Scriptures are to actually convey and impart inseparable aspects of spirit content that can be discerned and recognized as absent or present.  Included are faith, forbearance, forgiveness, holiness, longsuffering, lovingkindness, personhood, wisdom, and wrath against sin.

The demands of final judgment have more to do with examining ones spirit content, identifying the image of GOD, determining ones fitness, and completing a transformation whereby mankind becomes an immortal, incorruptible companion to divinity.  Consider again the following that uses language from the Bible:

(1.)  Exodus 20:  1-7, King James Version (KJV):  1 And God spake all these words, saying,  2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.  4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them:  for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;  6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.  7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

(2.)  Exodus 19:  3-6, KJV:  3 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;  4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.  5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people:  for all the earth is mine:  6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

(3.)  John 3:  1-12, KJV:  3 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:  2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God:  for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.  3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.  4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?  5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.  8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth:  so is every one that is born of the Spirit.  9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?  10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?  11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.  12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

(4.)  1st Thessalonians 4:  13-18, KJV:  13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.  14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.  15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.  16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:  and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:  and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

There is far more that should be said, correctly examined, and spiritually apprehended.  (For example, (5.)  Romans 8:  5-9, KJV:  5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.  6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.  7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God:  for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.  8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.  9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.)  Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful.  Be it unto you according to your faith.

THE BLACK PHOENIX
Washington, DC

(06/26/2018) Discernment And Godly Love

Today, recalling David and Jonathan, reply defines “love” as an operation of the spirit substance imparted from the makeup of GOD and an acknowledgement of divine personhood, rather than primarily an emotional, romantic, and social process.  Association, friendship, independence, and sexuality were never intended to separate mankind from the Creator.  Self-centered and sex-centered passion transgress the laws of natural and sacred process whereby GOD is to be continually enthroned upon the hearts of those on whom he has bestowed the precious gifts of consciousness, existence, and life.  Since the fall of Adam, mankind now must be taught how to properly love (Titus 2:  4, King James Version (KJV):  4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,  5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.)  Godly love expressed through created beings and living creatures pertain to life, the fulfillment of sacred law, and the survival of Creation as well as the completing of sacred judgment that sees the adding and assigning of duration and value.  Thus, to lay down ones life is not so much to die as to willingly give oneself to serve as a living sacrifice.  The fighter in the “Yahoo! Answers” Religion and Spirituality forum using the ID “?” (Level 1 with 1 point, a member since April 19, 2018) posted the following:


Spiritually speakinq, how do you separate qay love and love from two true frineds?
you see colleqe basketball players, those real nice ones, they kissed each other's faces, those acts are just like qay couples. how do you think about them.


THE GOLDEN ARROW:  Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.  Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment:  because as he is, so are we in this world.  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear:  because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.  We love him, because he first loved us.  If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar:  for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?  And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.  (1st John 4:  15-21, King James Version, KJV)


THE DOUBLE DAGGER:  Rendering Our Reasonable Service (06/15/2018); Christianity Is A Relationship (04/05/2018); Whoso Keepeth His Word (03/09/2018); To Define “Godly Love” (08/20/2017); The Extravagance of Love? (04/02/2017); Natural and Spiritual Law? (06/30/2016); Sodom and Gomorrah Again? (05/30/2016); Gender, Sex and Christian Beliefs? (05/18/2016); The Judgment Against Sodom? (04/10/2015)


“?”, spiritually speaking, “love” (we also say, charity) is an inseparable aspect of the makeup of GOD like faith, holiness, longsuffering, oneness without sameness, and righteousness.  Love speaks to the bond between the Creator and the created, rather than lust, sexual appetite, or social needs.  Therefore, love can not be “lawless”; and love addresses such features as dominion, forbearance, forgiveness, inheritance, ownership, and sovereign will.  (One of the highest, most misused holy names of GOD is “Jealous”.)  Among mature Christian believers, the divine fullness (we say, the Godhead; the Trinity; the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit) is to be acknowledged as the origin and source for consciousness, existence, and life process.  GOD is to be recognized and responded to as the most necessary and primary aim, cause, goal, and object; however, divinity is not to be thought of as merely an abstraction, a hypothetical construct, or a product of human imagination.  Organic process and continuous relationship are to be maintained with the Creator through such elements as communication (e.g., gestures, praise, prayer, proclamation, silence, utterance, vows), divine law, exchange, infilling, and interaction that express confession, gratitude, obedience, respect, reverence, truth, and trust.  Our potential as those living on the earth includes that we may display an animal, a human, or a divine nature.  It is an error to think that love is the expression of our animal and human side.  Genuine love always entails accepting accountability; making commitment; using discernment (i.e., using divine spirit as the standard to recognize the spirit content within events, oneself, other persons, the holy writings, etc.); enduring disappoints, hardship, loss, separation, and suffering; making required sacrifices; sharing wisdom, and unselfish service.  Consider again David’s lament for Jonathan who had honored the son of Jesse as though giving David his own place as the heir to King Saul, and the following that uses language from the Bible:

(1.)  1st Samuel 18:  1-4, King James Version (KJV):  1 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.  2 And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house.  3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.  4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.

(2.)  2nd Samuel 1:  25-27, KJV:  25 How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places.  26 I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan:  very pleasant hast thou been unto me:  thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.  27 How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!

(3.)  1st Corinthians 13:  1-7, KJV:  1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.  2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.  3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.  4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,  5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;  6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;  7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

There is far more that should be said, correctly examined, and spiritually apprehended.  (For example, (4.)  John 15:  8-15, KJV:  8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.  9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you:  continue ye in my love.  10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.  11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.  12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.  13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.  14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.  15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth:  but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.)  Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful.  Be it unto you according to your faith.

THE BLACK PHOENIX
Washington, DC

(06/25/2018) When Speaking Of Christlikeness

Today, reply is on language to correctly describe the transformations of body and mind that must occur for each Christian believer.  Doubting in the manner of the Apostle Thomas is not to be commended; however, believing, praising and acknowledging Christ as “my GOD” and “my Lord,” as did Thomas, are not to be dismissed.  More than simply fitting in with others, leaving the past behind, seeking self-improvement, or “turning over a new leaf,” repentant sinners are to strive to become Christ-like.  The fighter in the “Yahoo! Answers” Religion and Spirituality forum who uses the ID “Doubting Like Thomas” (Level 7 with 78,023 points, a member since May 25, 2011) posted the following:


Why does "Let Jesus into your HEART!" sound like a nice invitation while "Let Jesus into your BRAIN!" sounds like a parasitic infestation?After all, the BRAIN is the organ which makes most of the decisions.


THE GOLDEN ARROW:  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:  but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 3:  13-14, King James Version, KJV)


THE DOUBLE DAGGER:  Those Apt To Teach? (06/20/2018); Changed And Made Christ-like? (06/19/2018); Self-Will And Christian Integrity (06/11/2018); What Divine Salvation Requires (05/15/2018); Accepting Christ, Accepting Change (10/20/2017); Acorns Become Oak Trees? (02/09/2017); Plantings of the Lord (02/10/2017); Become Like Jesus Christ? (10/27/2016)


“Doubting Like Thomas,” the goal of every sinner who returns to divinity through Jesus Christ eventually must become to acquire and display the image of GOD that Jesus revealed by appearing in human form, and ministering on the earth (we say, by his Incarnation).  It is inappropriate and unsuitable to speak of Jesus as only being a man in the flesh, the Son of Man (Adam), and a “biological specimen” as though the personhood he shared was only carnal, material, and social.  The sinner must undergo a permanent transformation of his own essential makeup that is so all-inclusive and complete, we do not merely say, “from head to toe”, we say, You must be born again!  The inborn spirit must die, be buried, and become resurrected, so to speak; and the sinner enters into a rebirth containing divine seed.

Those containing the new seed are “born again,” and become developing believers who must “grow up again” and become mature/ripe by meeting the same life challenges, “growing pains,” hardships, and even sufferings as others on the earth.  However, these believers are set apart (we say, dedicated; sanctified) because their fresh endowment of life essence (breath; spirit; word) imparted from the makeup of divinity enables them to exist as sons and daughters of GOD, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, and those whom the Savior will receive as his harvest from the earth at the Advent (we also say, his appearing; the Rapture; the Second Coming).

Apprehending divinity and becoming Christ-like requires multiple streams of discovery, gradual growth, perseverance, sacred practice, and unselfish service.  How we think and speak must express that we are a new creation through Jesus.  Thus, believers are encouraged to use meanings and understandings that will acknowledge and strengthen their own and the consciousness in others of the divine presence, the crucial workings of the Holy Spirit, and the interactions among the inseparable, unseen aspects of GOD they have now received.  Included are faith, forbearance, forgiveness, holiness, longsuffering, lovingkindness, oneness without sameness, wisdom, and wrath against sin.  Developing believers are less like to use such words as “the heart” that describes emotion, deep thoughts, and sentiment; or “the mind” that speaks to attitudes, intelligence, logic, carnal reason, and critical thinking.  It is more correct to apply discernment that acknowledges divinity as the origin and source for life, and that recognizes and responds to spirit substance deposited from GOD within events, messages, oneself, other persons, the holy writings, etc.  Consider again the following that uses language from the Bible:

(1.)  Isaiah 55:  6-12, King James Version (KJV):  6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:  7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts:  and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.  8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.  9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.  10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:  11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth:  it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.  12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace:  the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

(2.)  Jeremiah 17:  5-10, KJV:  5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.  6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.  7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.  8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.  9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked:  who can know it?  10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

(3.)  Philippians 2:  5-11, KJV:  5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.  9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:  10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;  11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

(4.)  Colossians 1:  12-20, KJV:  12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:  13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:  14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:  15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:  16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers:  all things were created by him, and for him:  17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.  18 And he is the head of the body, the church:  who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.  19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;  20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

There is far more that should be said, correctly examined, and spiritually apprehended.  (For example, (5.)  Romans 8:  5-9, KJV:  5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.  6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.  7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God:  for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.  8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.  9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.)  Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful.  Be it unto you according to your faith.

THE BLACK PHOENIX

Washington, DC

(06/24/2018) Divine Knowledge And Wisdom

Today, reply is on the requirement of divine knowledge and wisdom among Christian believers.  Souls are won through diligence and love, not by accident, by chance, by bribery, fraud and lies, or through bad luck/good luck.  There must be an appearing of godly power and presence.  Those endowed with spirit substance from the makeup of GOD are used to impart divine knowledge and wisdom to those choosing to repent of sins.  Often the operations of sin are initiated through continuing ignorance that is taken to be innocence, rather than by defiance of the law, malice, and rebelliousness.  The eternal purposes of divinity can not be achieved and fulfilled by the servants of the Lord without them having correct sacred knowledge and an ability to apply godliness in practical ways.  The fighter in the “Yahoo! Answers” Religion and Spirituality forum using the ID “Blind Freddy” (Level 1 with 2 points, a member since October 01, 2013) posted the following:

 
The Bible tells us to seek Wisdom (Prov. 4) above all, in God's word & commandments. Does accumulated knowledge, Atheists aquire,? 

amount to Wisdom?
Knowledge & wisdom are not the same


THE GOLDEN ARROW:  Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.  He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame:  and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.  Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee:  rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.  Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser:  teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom:  and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.  (Proverbs 9:  6-10, King James Version, KJV)


THE DOUBLE DAGGER:  Bible Language About Spirit? (06/13/2018); Comparing Sacred and Secular (03/15/2018); Salvation By Good Works? (03/08/2018); The Option of Atheism (02/11/2018); Wisdom In A Mystery (11/22/2017); Foolish People and Unwise (10/26/2017); Tools For Knowing Divinity (05/12/2017); Achieving Feats of Righteousness? (05/05/2017); Abstractions, Atheism and I.Q. (08/18/2016)


“Blind Freddy”, sinners who acknowledge that they are called to repentance also are to understand they have been recruited to serve as evangelists, priests & kings, teachers, and soul-winners for the Lord.  They must be given and taught to use godly tools that include discernment; empathy; expectation (hope); sacred knowledge in place of secular knowledge; prophecy; the promises of GOD; and divine wisdom.  Through baptism (i.e., death, burial, and rebirth of ones inborn spirit), sinners are to become vessels who contain spirit substance from the makeup of GOD.  Included are faith, forbearance, holiness, longsuffering, lovingkindness, oneness without sameness, righteousness, and wrath against sin.  Where a sinner becomes “born again” they are a new creation through Jesus Christ; even so, they must “grow up again” to become mature/ripe for harvest at the Lord’s Advent (we also say, his appearing; the Rapture; the Second Coming). 

Developing believers are to exist on the earth, and are to rely for their survival on such elements as balance, discovery, fellowship with mature believers, praise, prayer and regular study of the holy writings as well as unselfish service and heartfelt worship.  As the people of GOD living under the sovereign authority of the Creator, believers are to learn to apply sacred law for the resolution of all conflicts and the settlement of all disputes.  Consider again the following points from the Bible:

(1.)  2nd Chronicles 1:  9-11, King James Version (KJV):  9 Now, O LORD God, let thy promise unto David my father be established:  for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude.  10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people:  for who can judge this thy people, that is so great?  11 And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king:

(2.)  James 3:  13-18, KJV:  13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.  14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.  15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.  16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.  17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.  18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

There is far more that should be said, correctly examined, and spiritually apprehended.  (For example, (3.)  2nd Peter 1:  2-11, KJV:  2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,  3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:  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.  5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;  6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;  7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.  8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.  10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure:  for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:  11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.)  Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful.  Be it unto you according to your faith.

THE BLACK PHOENIX
Washington, DC

(06/22/2018) A "Feel Good" Lifestyle?

Today, the reply focuses on moderation, sobriety, and whether there are “feel good” aspects of becoming and serving as a mature Christian believer.  Contentment, pleasures, and the fulfillment of ones sexual aspect are not denied to the people of GOD, yet, the church founded by Jesus Christ is to be “the evidence of things unseen.”  An important lesson from the Scriptures concerning appetite and conscience declares:  Romans 14:  22-23, King James Version (KJV):  22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.  23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith:  for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.  Where Christian believers become members of a church congregation, they agree to obey a code of conduct, follow counsel and guidelines from clergy and the appointed leadership as well as to perform specific duties that are required to continue in good standing (e.g., attend business meetings re church finances; participate in fund raising; pickup and distribute church fliers and programs).  Christian believers all are sinners called to repentance and a new life wherein they serve as priests and kings of the divine kingdom Deity is establishing upon the earth.  Every sinner must become transformed through life events and operations by divinity (e.g., cleansing, healing, repentance, sanctification) that may require their entire lifetime, and that will be completed for some only in an instant at the appearing of Jesus Christ.  A fighter in the “Yahoo! Answers” Religion and Spirituality forum who uses the ID “?” (Level 1 with 231 points, a member since February 06, 2018) posted the following:

Would a life style with out any stimulants benefit you as a person or drive you crazy?

E.g no TV, no technology , no drugs / alcohol nothing that gives you "a feel good " boost. Just drinking water when thirsty and eating a light healthy meal when hungry. For fun or hobbies you could do something creative such as read or draw, or exercise.

THE GOLDEN ARROW:  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:  By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also:  knowing that tribulation worketh patience;  And patience, experience; and experience, hope:  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.  (Romans 5:  1-5, King James Version, KJV)

THE DOUBLE DAGGER:  Rendering Our Reasonable Service (06/15/2018); Christianity Is A Relationship (04/05/2018); A Matter of Conscience (04/07/2017); How Is Flesh Evil? (10/28/2016); Material Things in Heaven? (11/10/2016); The Witness of Conscience (09/23/2016); Freedom of Foul Speech (09/10/2014); Dating and Worship? (09/11/2014)

“?”, there is a great deal of diversity among the lifestyles and daily living routines of those who turn to Jesus Christ hoping to receive a new life from their Creator.  There are various principles and standards shared within the body of Christ (the church) that have been derived from divine law, sacred practices, and wisdom from the Scriptures.  Examples include regularly gathering and sharing fellowship with like-minded believers (e.g., attending church, Bible study, working to complete necessary tasks); Sabbath-keeping; praise within ones congregation; prayer in the home; evangelism, missions, and prison ministry; visiting shut-ins and those who are sick; and heartfelt worship.  Differences in age, commitment, sacred knowledge, secular knowledge, and spiritual maturity make it that there is no single set of attitudes, behavior, and disciplines that will be displayed by everyone in any given situation.

Those who become “born-again” in baptism (i.e., death, burial, and resurrection of the inborn spirit) must “grow up again.”  Their goal should be to acknowledge their own accountability, to become Christ-like, and to maintain self-government under the authority of GOD.  Sinners are to become developing believers who must mature/ripen to be harvested from the earth at the Advent of Jesus Christ (we also say, his appearing; the Rapture; the Second Coming).  All must meet “growing pains” and the life challenges that come by living on the earth.  Included can be bereavement, disappointments, duty (things you must carryout and perform, like it or not), hardship, sacrifice, and suffering.

The fresh endowment of spirit substance imparted from the makeup of divinity shields and strengthens a new believer, as they discover, gradually grow, undergo permanent change, and serve as true vessels of divinity, offspring of GOD, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.  Inseparable aspects of the divine makeup are received such as balance, discernment, faith, forbearance, holiness, joy, longsuffering, lovingkindness, oneness without sameness, restraint, wisdom, and wrath against sin.  These working together transform otherwise confusing, mundane, or painful life experiences in a way that allows the believer to operate as having assurances and certain victory, even though there are still obstacles and threats to be overcome, and they may still be in the midst of a storm.  Consider the following that uses language from the Bible:

(1.)   Proverbs 23:  29-35, King James Version (KJV):  29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?  30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.  31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.  32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.  33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.  34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.  35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not:  when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.

(2.)  Romans 6:  3-5, KJV:  3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death:  that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

(3.)  Romans 14:  13-21, KJV:  13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more:  but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.  14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself:  but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.  15 But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.  16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of:  17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.  18 For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.  19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.  20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.  21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

(4.)  Philippians 2:  12, KJV:  12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

There is far more that should be said, correctly examined, and spiritually apprehended.  (For example, (5.)  Revelation 21:  7-8, KJV:  7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.  8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:  which is the second death.)  Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful.  Be it unto you according to your faith.

THE BLACK PHOENIX
Washington, DC

(06/21/2018) Completeness, Integrity And Wholeness?

Today, reply is on the integrity and soundness of divinity that must be revealed to the living in order that Deity be understood as more than an abstraction, a mental construct, and a product of human imagination.  Every aspect of the divine fullness must display completeness and wholeness.  The holy writings proclaim the honor and integrity for the multiple persons of divinity using memorable and strong language:  Deuteronomy 7:  9, King James Version (KJV):  9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; also, Numbers 23:  19, KJV:  19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent:  hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?  Isaiah 42:  8, KJV:  8 I am the LORD:  that is my name:  and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.  John 17:  24, KJV:  24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me:  for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.  While there are infinite possibilities for expression by divinity all are not “expedient” as organic process and operations that join created beings and living creatures to the divine origin, works, and source of existence.  Secular knowledge, religious doctrines, intelligence, carnal reason, and self-will (willpower) of themselves do not establish consecrated consciousness, duration, and life.  Breath from the Creator (we also say, life essence; spirit; word) was imparted to a lifeless form to make the first man, Adam, a “living soul;” and those who would have life as part of the new creation through the ministry of Jesus Christ must receive a fresh endowment of sprit substance from the makeup of divinity.  A fighter in the “Yahoo! Answers” Religion and Spirituality forum who uses the ID “Anonymous” (no profile information appears) posted the following:


If Jesus is God why did he say he didn’t know the day of the end only the father did in Mark 13:32?

New International Version
"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father


THE GOLDEN ARROW:  Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:  To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:  And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.  For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?  And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:  and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.  And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.  And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;  Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.  (Acts 1:  2-11, King James Version, KJV)


THE DOUBLE DAGGER:  Why Spirit Displays Personhood (06/06/2018); Divinity In Continuing Incarnation (02/07/2018); The Divinity of “Word” (01/26/2018); Thoughts On Divine Personhood (12/07/2017); GOD Appearing As Christ (12/03/2017); Jesus Demonstrated Perfected Humanity (10/29/2017); Continuing A Perpetual Covenant (08/03/2017); GOD is Faithful (12/03/2015)


“Anonymous”, for Christian believers, the appearance of Jesus Christ on the earth is to be acknowledged as the most complete revelation of the Godhead that now may be apprehended by created beings and living creatures.  The character, makeup, and process of both human existence and life require that, for divine fullness (we say, the Godhead; the Trinity; the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit) to be knowable, approachable, and capable of communicating and participating in continuing relationship, divinity must appear and be revealed to the living as active presence who displays sacred attributes (e.g., immortality, incorruptibility, purity, righteousness), eternal purpose, form, personhood, and sovereign will.  Incarnation is sufficient to establish multiple streams of sacred truth, yet, can not remove all the unspeakable enigma and mystery that pertain to godliness.  Where you will continue to seek GOD through praise, prayer, regular study of the holy writings, and unselfish service the following points should be helpful for avoiding spiritual confusion:

(1.)   The integrity of Jesus Christ as a human being on the earth accountable for obedience to divine law, requires that he be born of a woman, that he develop through the patterns of aging and growth, that he become adult through such operations as discovery, intuition, trial-and-error, and risk-taking, and that he complete mortality (die).

(2.)  The integrity of the Deity as Almighty GOD and the Father who will always remain unseen requires that His divine heart, mind, and will be manifest through ongoing events, sacred events (we say, miracles), binding law, prophecy (the use of agents and spokespersons) as well as the fulfillment of covenants, promises, and eternal purposes (e.g., judgment, reconciliation, redemption, salvation, the second death).

(3.)  The integrity of the Holy Spirit as autonomous and having independence requires his appearance and operation through the living as gifts, fruits (we also say, effects; manifestations; outcomes).

(4.)  The integrity of the divine fullness requires their appearance as co-eternal having oneness without sameness, and accomplishing specific divine purposes through their being in accord and joined.  There must be the use of distinctive names and titles by created beings and living creatures that provide guidance for access, exchange, and interaction.  Thus, Creator, Savior, Most High, Everlasting Father, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth all are indicative of specific resources and aspects of sacred knowledge that must be applied, invoked, and relied upon in heaven and on the earth.  Consider again the following that uses language form the Bible:

(a.)  Deuteronomy 29:  29, King James Version (KJV):  29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God:  but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

(b.)  Proverbs 20:  11, KJV:  11 Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.

(c.)  Colossians 1:  12-20, KJV:  12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:  13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:  14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:  15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:  16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers:  all things were created by him, and for him:  17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.  18 And he is the head of the body, the church:  who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.  19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;  20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

There is far more that should be said, correctly examined, and spiritually apprehended.  (For example, (d.)  John 14:   8-11, KJV:  8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.  9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?  10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself:  but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.  11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me:  or else believe me for the very works’ sake.)  Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful.  Be it unto you according to your faith.

THE BLACK PHOENIX
Washington, DC