The Good Of The Father (The Jesus Narrative) # 2148

 

With Christ have I been crucified, yet I am living; no longer I, but living in me is Christ.  Now that which I am now living in flesh, I am living in faith that is of the Son of God, Who loves me, and gives Himself up for me 

Paul to the Galatians 2: 20, Concordant New Testament 

There has been a narrative spoken within the mainstream church for thousands of years.  This is the narrative that we, as sinners, needed a savior in order to atone for that which we had done.  Enter Christ Jesus.  Enter the Jesus narrative.  It is a consensus among Christian believers that Jesus is that sacrifice for that which we have done.  In fact, it is the foundation of the Christian faith.  But this is but a piece of that narrative.  It is also taken as fact that God treated Jesus like a red headed step child on that cross.  That He turned His back on His beloved Son and poured out His righteous anger upon Him.  How else could one explain the torment which Jesus endured?  After all, we're sinners (Yes, we're still considered such by the church), and we deserve the Lords violent anger as a result of our sin.  But we didn't receive that penalty, Jesus did.  It is believed that Jesus received the full wrath of the Lord which our sin deserved.  This is the narrative which I grew up believing in.  So, I believed that God could not deal with me on a personal level, that I had been separated from Him because of my sin nature.  Again, this is all a part of the Jesus narrative.  The passage which opened my eyes to the truth of the death of Jesus was spoken by the apostle Paul in the book of Galatians.  It is this very passage which shoots the Jesus narrative all to hell (If there even is a hell, but more on that later).  Paul speaks to the truth that Jesus did not receive the full wrath of God on that cross, but that WE died with Him at His side.  That's right, Jesus died TO  sin once for all time {Paul to the Romans 6:10}.  This is referred to as Penal substitutionary atonement, the belief that Jesus died absorbing the wrath of God which had been meant for us.  Thus, He became that savior which we so desperately needed.  But is it more believable if Jesus absorbed our sin, or if the sin itself was put to death?  But the early Christians had a different view of what Jesus endured on the cross.  They didn't refer to it as punishment, but of victory.

Very few Christians refer to Jesus' death on the cross as a victory, but that's exactly what it was.  For on the cross, Jesus didn't absorb the wrath of the Father, but marched into enemy territory and defeated the enemy which had held the Lord's children in bondage for so long.  On that cross, Jesus conquered sin {Paul to the Romans 6:6}, death {Paul to the Corinthians (1) 15:55-57}, and wickedness {Paul to the Colossians 2:13-15}.  But this truth never has and never will fit into the Jesus narrative created by those within the church.  We're sinners, we're guilty and WE deserved the Lord's punishment.  As our Savior, Jesus took the penalty of that sin, along with the anger and wrath of God, all for the forgiveness of our sins.  It's a good story if you can sell it.  And that's exactly what the mainstream church has been doing for thousands of years, selling that Jesus narrative.  Is it any wonder that Paul asks the question, "O, death, where is your victory" {Paul to the Corinthians (1) 15:55}?  For Paul the answer is simple, Jesus defeated death on that cross.  He also knew the answer to the sin issue which surprisingly continues to plague us thousands of years after the death of Jesus.  For anyone who worries they are still condemned by their sin, which those within the church continue to preach, Paul had the answer for that, too.  "We, who died to sin, how shall we still be living in it?" {Paul to the Romans 6:2}.  As Paul spoke in Galatians, we have DIED to sin!  We have been crucified beside Jesus on that cross.  It is that sin which has been defeated by Christ Jesus on the cross {Paul to the Romans 6:6}.  Again, this truth spoken by Paul goes against the Jesus narrative preached by the church.  This is why so many believers believe that they continue to live in bondage to sin, because the church says that we do.  There is a reason that the gospels never speak of God punishing Jesus in our place, because the Jesus narrative had yet to be invented.  What the scriptures DO speak of is the victory of Christ Jesus over what once held the Lord's children in bondage.  But I guess that doesn't fill many seats on Sundays.  

Who rouses Him from among the dead, yet also being dead to the offenses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He vivifies us together jointly with Him, dealing graciously with all our offenses, erasing the handwriting of the decrees against us, which was hostile to us, and has taken it away out of the midst, nailing it to the cross, stripping off the sovereignties and authorities, with boldness He makes a show of them, triumphing over them in it 

Paul to the Colossians 2: 13-15, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (Mandatory Jesus) # 2147

 

The God that makes the world and all that is in it, the Lord inherent of heaven and earth, is not dwelling in temples made with hands, neither is He attended by human hands, as if requiring anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all.  Besides, He makes out of one every nation of mankind, to be dwelling on all the surface of the earth, specifying the settling of the seasons and bounds of their dwelling, for them to be seeking God, if, consequently, they may surely grope for Him and may be finding Him, though to be sure, not far from each one of us is He inherent, for in Him we are living and moving and are, as some poets of yours have also declared, 'For of that race also are we.' 

Acts of the Apostles 17: 24 - 28, Concordant New Testament 

I ran across an interesting video from outspoken pastor Martin Zender the other night with the catch line being, "God forces us to love Him."  I immediately thought that he had somehow gone off the rails until a friend explained what it was that he was referring to.  See, for a long time I have been hammered with the church teachings that I needed to accept Christ Jesus in order to be saved.  Indeed, there is some scripture basis to back up this claim {Paul to the Romans 10:9-10}.  Jesus has spoken that He is the one true pathway to the Father {Johns Account 14:6}.  But this isn't what Zender was referring to at all.  What he was basing his statement on is something which many in Christian circles wring their hands over.  That the God they supposedly serve, is all in all.  That God is within all which he has created.  And, since all has been created by the Father, He is within every last bit of it.  For there is nothing which has ever escaped His notice.  Now, Christians do a good job of professing that they believe that God is the creator of all which is in the universe and around us, yet they fall short when it comes to putting that belief into practice.  I should know, because I was once walking with that crowd myself.  Back in my church days I believed that I was indeed separated from God because of my sin.  That sin which Jesus gave Himself to die for {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  That not only had Christ Jesus perished on that cross, but that my old nature was crucified with Him {Paul to the Romans 2:20, Paul to the Romans 6:8}.  This is why I can boldly say that I have been freed from that which I once was.  That through the sacrifice of Jesus, I am no longer a sinner.  Yet those within the Christian faith often bristle when I speak of this freedom that I have in Jesus.  "So, you can simply go on sinning?"  No!  To believe this nonsense is to disregard not only the works of Jesus but the very words of Paul as well.  When asked this question, Paul had the answer.  "We, who died to sin, how shall we still be living in it" {Paul to the Romans 6:2}?  

Now, when we understand and believe that God is all in all, this begins to make sense.  That contrary to the false teachings of those within the church, that God has never been separated from that which He has lovingly created.  That He has always been an intimate part of who it is that we are.  So, what does this say of the popular Christian narrative that we must somehow "Choose" to accept Jesus in order to be saved?  Well, if God is indeed all in all, what choice do we actually have to make?  Jesus has spoken that we do not live our life outside of the Father, but within His love {Johns Account 14:20}.  So, if our life is lived within the Father, can we really utilize that which is known as the freedom to choose?  Indeed, if we were separate from God, as those in the church are so fond of pointing out, then perhaps that moment of free choice would seem more plausible, but we're not.  So, is this more of God guiding us into that realization of our life within His Son than of our own freedom to choose?  I would say yes to that.  Hence, this is where I run afoul of many within the Christian religious community.  Those who continue to believe that they themselves have that ability to choose for themselves.  That our salvation is ultimately dependent upon whatever choice we may or may not make.  Do they really believe that God has no say in what we do?  Has the veil of the deceiver so clouded their vision that they accept whatever version of God the pastor comes up with?  Apparently so.  But even through this confusion, it is God Who is within it all.  and THAT is the truth we need to understand.  

For in grace, through faith, are you saved, and this is not out of you, it is Gods approach present, not of works, lest anyone should be boasting 

Paul to the Ephesians 2: 8 -9, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~