The Good Of The Father (For Heavens Sake) # 2162

 

And in My Fathers house are many abodes; yet if not I would have told you, for I am going to make ready a place for you.  And if I should be going and making ready a place for you, I am coming again and I will be taking you along to Myself, that where I am, you also may be

Johns Account 14: 2-3, Concordant New Testament Translation 

Depending on what your own view of Jesus is, you might have a differing view on heaven as well.  There are some who see it as a future reward, while I tend to look at it as my present reality.  Like I said, this knowing depends on your own personal knowing of Jesus.  Do you see Him as a distant savior, or as the very reason for your life?  Those within the church will tell us that sin has distanced us from God.  That we have been separated from the Father by our own sins.  While it is true that all have sinned and wanted for the glory of the Lord {Paul to the Romans 3:23}.  Many misread or simply ignore the passage which follows Paul's warning we find in Romans.  That verse which proclaims that we have been justified "Gratuitously in His grace, through the deliverance which is in Christ Jesus" {Paul to the Romans 3:24}.  Yes, we've sinned, but Jesus has given Himself for the death of that sin {Paul to the Romans 6:10}.  Not only that, we  ourselves have also died to sin with Jesus {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  Here is where the present reality of the kingdom of Heaven comes into play.  Jesus has spoken that "I am going to make ready a place for you" {Johns Account 14:2}.  If you believe that Jesus is not simply a far off observer, but the purpose of your life, then you will hold a different view of heaven than those in the church who claim to be the experts on preaching about it.  Jesus has spoken that our life is now lived in union with He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  So, if we live in union with the Father, are we not in heaven now?  Isn't God dwelling in heaven?  If you adhere to the teachings of the mainstream church, you might just consider this line of thinking as blasphemous.  Yet I do not speak to this truth of my own accord, but of that which has been recorded in the scriptures.  

For some, it might be difficult to understand how heaven could resemble such a reckless, sinful place as the world in which we live.  Yet even the apostle Paul reminds us that "Our realm is inherent in the heavens, out of which we are awaiting a savior also, Jesus Christ" {Paul to the Philippians 3:20}.  Are we still awaiting a savior?  The way I understand it, that savior, Christ Jesus, has already arrived.  Paul's words are but another example of the truth we find that our home is now in heaven with the Father.  The world around us may not look much like the gold lined streets of the Fathers kingdom, but rest assured heaven is real and it is now!  Like I said, your own view of heaven will depend on your view of Christ Jesus.  I see my life as being lived within the love of the Father.  My home is not of this world, but in the Fathers kingdom.  THIS is my home.  However, if you are of the mindset that you live a life separated from God, then you might have difficulty in understanding your place in the Fathers heaven.  For you, sin is still the obstacle needed to be overcome in order to "Punch your ticket" into heaven.  As if our place in heaven is something we must achieve ourselves.  Jesus has spoken that He has gone to make a place for us, "That where I am, you also may be."  If I live a life within the love of the Father, then I believe that heaven is a current reality for me.  I AM where the Lord Jesus is.  My home is in heaven, not within this world.  

For our realm is inherent in the heavens, out of which we are awaiting a savior also, the Lord Jesus Christ 

Paul to the Philippians 3: 20, Concordant New Testament Translation

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (Not Who We Were Expecting) # 2161

 

Who, being inherently in the form of God, deems it not pillaging to be equal with God, nevertheless empties Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming to be in the likeness of humanity

Paul to the Philippians 2: 6-7, Concordant New Testament Translation

Here's a question for all of you out there who claim to know Jesus.  Would you know Jesus if you saw Him?  What would He look like?  Would He resemble those illustrations we've all seen in the children's bibles and paintings?  That traditional image of Jesus we've all been accustomed to seeing?  Indeed, there have been many illustrations and paintings done over that past few hundred years that depict the image of Jesus which the church wants us to see.  But what is the true image of Him?  For myself, I did not realize the true image of Christ until I had been out of the church for more than a few years.  Up until then, my image of Jesus was exactly what I saw in the bible illustrations and paintings of Him.  An unkempt, bearded man, sometimes sporting a halo over His head, sometimes not.  In 2008, Christian author Wayne Jacobsen penned a book titled "So you don't want to go to church anymore."  In it, the main character has encounters with an individual which he suspects resembles (In characteristics) the apostle John.  So, along those lines, would you recognize Jesus if you were to encounter Him on the street?  What would you be expecting He would look like?  Well, you might be surprised to learn that you may have already encountered Him more times than you can count.  You might be even more surprised to know that you are more than able to enjoy that personal relationship with Christ Jesus, but you simply have not realized the truth of who you are in Him.  That's right, you and Jesus linked together in an unshakable bond.  The apostle Paul speaks to this union in Galatians.  Paul proclaims that "Yet I am living; no longer I, but living in me is Christ" {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  Paul understood that his life as he once knew it, was no more.  Having been crucified with Christ, what was once his life as he knew it, was now Jesus in Him.  Or, for lack of a better definition, He in Christ.  

In the book of John, Jesus has proclaimed that we now live in union with He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  So, I ask you again, would you know Jesus if you were to encounter Him?  I would suggest that the Jesus you've been looking for looks nothing like you expected.  One of the most difficult truths which I have struggled to unpack is the truth that I live as Jesus.  Follow me here, we know that Paul has spoken to the truth that we no longer live, but Jesus lives within us.  We know that Jesus Himself has proclaimed that we now live within the love of the Father.  So, knowing this truth, what does Jesus look like?  Well, how about this, try taking a look in the mirror.  What you see is who you really are, a reflection of Christ in Whom you now live.  The sad part of this is that the mainstream church has tried to deflect this truth for over 1500 years.  This is why it has been so difficult for me to address that it is not I who live, but that I live within the Father.  Trust me, 1500 years of church teachings are difficult to overcome.  But this in no way diminishes the fact that we now live within God.  Through Jesus, we have been reconciled once again unto Him {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:18-20}.  The church will tell us that sin has separated us from God, but this is but one lie spoken by those within the Christian religion.  For Jesus Himself, and we as well, have died to sin "Once for all time" {Paul to the Romans 6:10}.  Those within the church will wring their hands upon hearing this.  They will say, "What about our daily sin?"  Fortunately, Paul gives us his response to this in his evangel.  As he proclaims, "We, who died to sin, how shall we still be living in it?" {Paul to the Romans 6:2}.  Indeed, the Jesus you have been looking for is most likely not the savior you were expecting to see.  Not only do you look like Him, you ARE Him.  

Yet all is of God, Who conciliates us to Himself through Christ, and is giving us the dispensation of the conciliation, how that God was in Christ, conciliating the world to Himself, not reckoning their offenses to them, and placing us in the word of the conciliation.  

Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5: 18-19, Concordant New Testament Translation 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (The Carnal Mind) # 2160

 What, then, shall we declare?  That we may be persisting in sis that grace should be increasing?  May it no be coming to that!  We, who died to sin, how shall we still be living in it? 

Pual to the Romans 6: 1-2, Concordant New Testament Translation

I recently saw a video posted by disgraced Christian pastor Mark Driscol in which he made the statement that sexual sin has been the cause of many families to cease to exist.  Now, I can't dispute his claim, as my own family was broken up over the misguided thoughts of my father.  Meanwhile, my own thoughts once migrated to the desires of the flesh as well.  Like father like son?  Growing up, my main goal was that I did not become the man that my own father had been.  I'm thankful to say that it never happened.  While I might have dabbled in the misguided thoughts of the flesh which he did, my thoughts would eventually be guided by the Father and not the flesh.  Many Christians might have described my fathers life as one prone to sin, and they might not be too far off the mark.  What is obvious is that his thoughts were focused on the flesh and not on the man he truly was in the Father.  This is where I and my father differ.  While I may have gone through a time when my thoughts were focused on the pleasures of this life, I eventually realized that this is not the man that I am.  This knowledge of the flesh came knocking at my door once again recently as I have been aware of the thoughts and actions of an acquaintance of mine.  I look at him and I see that which I once partook in.  I see in him the thoughts of the flesh.  This is the carnal mind.  The mind directed more towards thoughts of what this world has to offer than what the Lord has already given unto us.  The scripture tells us that to be carnal minded is death, but to dwell in the spirit is "Life and peace" {Paul to the Romans 8:6}.  Again, I would say that when are thoughts are on the pleasures of this world, that they are misguided.  THIS is not who we are.  Indeed, when it is revealed unto us who we truly are in the Lord, our thoughts and mind will follow.  My own father never realized that which was revealed to him.  

I don't think that I would be too far off base to say that my acquaintance is suffering from a mental disorder.  His mind is set on that which is not beneficial to him.  This was my own mindset for some time.  Of course, along with these thoughts came those of guilt and shame over what I was doing.  Yes, I knew that what I was doing went against those plans which the Lord had for me, but I also had been taught that God was on a different plane that I was.  I hadn't yet realized that my life...is His life.  Jesus has spoken to the union which we have within the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  There is truth in the passage that we will know the truth and that it shall make you free {Johns Account 8:32}.  That truth is knowing who we are in the Father.  If Christ Jesus has set us free, then we shall indeed be free {Johns Account 8:36}.  It is Christ Who has freed us from that bondage, that we would no longer be "Slaving for sin" {Paul to the Romans 6:6}.  Those within the church will describe the person entrenched in thoughts of the flesh as someone engaging in sin.  Yet the apostle Paul had a different understanding.  He understood that one who has died to sin cannot be living in it any longer {Paul to the Romans 6:1-2}.  The truth is that we have died to sin together with Christ {Paul to the Galatians 2:20, Paul to the Romans 6:8}.  This is the truth which sets us free.  Free from the guilt and shame of a mind focused on the carnal world.  Free from that which once held us in bondage.  Our issue, as with my own father, is that we do not yet realize that Christ has freed us.  

Now if we died together with Christ, we believe that we shall be living together with Him also 

Paul to the Romans 6: 8, Concordant New Testament Translation 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (Truth That Sets You Free) # 2159

 If ever, then, the Son should be making you free, you will be really free 

Johns Account 8: 36, Concordant New Testament Translation 

I had a conversation the other day about those doubts fears which I used to carry with me for so many years.  Fears of not being accepted by others.  Fears of not being accepted by God.  In a sense, I wasn't free at all.  Sure, I knew Jesus in the sense that I had read and heard of Him, but I didn't truly know Him, and this is why I was not free.  Jesus has spoken in the book of John that "If the Son should be making you free, then you shall really be free" {Johns Account 8:36}.  So, you could make the case that without knowing Christ Jesus, we are not really free at all.  We might think that we are, but only through knowing the truth which we have in Christ can we really be free.  Those within the church will talk about being free in Jesus, but they rarely preach the truth which truly makes us free.  Growing up in the Christian religion, it was my understanding that freedom in Christ meant following the rules set forth by the church.  That was the depth of my understanding of Jesus.  What I knew about Jesus came from what the church taught me.  What the church taught me was that Jesus and I were separated.  The best that I could ever hope was to "Be like" Jesus.  My friends, THAT is not true freedom in Christ.  What it is is submission to the narrative preached by the church for over 1500 years.  The narrative that man is inherently sinful, and that is what separates him from God.  The root of this lies with the Roman emperor Constantine, who in 325 AD convened the First Council of  Nicaea.  This gathering of bishops was convened in order to attain consensus in what the church taught.  That is, to affirm the narrative which they would preach to the masses.  That narrative still exists today, and it has kept many from realizing the truth we find in Christ Jesus and knowing true freedom in Him.  

In order to realize the freedom which we have in Christ, one must know who we are in Him.  Jesus has spoken to this truth, that we do not live our lives separated from God, but within His love {Johns Account 14:20}.  When I swallowed the church kool aid, I had no idea of that freedom which I already had in Christ.  The truth that I was already saved through Him, and just didn't realize it at the time.  This is the predicament which too many believers find themselves in today.  Free in Christ Jesus, yet unaware of who they are in Him.  All they know is what the church feeds them.  I've mentioned to a good friend of mine a few times the fact that the struggle we face is fighting 1500 years of church teaching.  The truth found in Christ is not found in a Sunday sermon, but by the revelation of the Father.  For all of the years I spent warming a pew each Sunday, I didn't realize who I was in Christ until I made the decision to leave the brick and mortar church.  Once free of the false teachings and theology, I was free to discover who I was IN Christ Jesus.  The words of the apostle Paul were beneficial in that Paul speaks in his evangel that "Living in me is Christ" {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  Jesus in me?  You mean, I'm not a sinner like the church told me for so many years?  Again, Paul helped me to understand the truth found in Christ.  That Christ Jesus died to sin "Once for all time" {Paul to the Romans 6:10}.  That the sacrifice of Jesus is real and final.  Sin is no longer an issue for us, for through Christ we have been freed from it.  Paul affirms this when he speaks that "We, who died to sin, how shall we still be living in it" {Paul to the Romans 6:2}?  THIS is the truth we have in Christ Jesus.  This is the freedom we have in Him.  

In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you

Johns Account 14: 20, Concordant New Testament Translation

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (What You Never Knew About Jesus) # 2158

 

For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified 

Paul to the Corinthians (1) 15: 22, Concordant New Testament Translation

The prevailing wisdom among Christians is that Jesus died on the cross that our sins would be forgiven AND that those who believe in Him shall be saved.  Yet somehow, those within the mainstream church have succeeded in hijacking this truth for a counterfeit message spoken from the pulpits for thousands of years.  The message that our salvation is somehow a transaction which must take place.  That in order to be saved one must accept Christ Jesus.  Growing up in the church, I often struggled with if I was indeed saved or not.  Was I behaving well enough?  Was my belief in Jesus sincere enough for Him to allow me to be saved?  This is what the false message spoken by the church has given us.  But what if I was to tell you that your salvation is less about what we do, and all about that which Jesus has already done?  Would you be interested?  Most Christians will hold the line that salvation rests with our decision to accept Christ Jesus into their lives {Paul to the Romans 10:9}.  Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved {Acts of the Apostles 16:31}.  This act of acceptance has become the transaction by which our salvation is purchased.  But how is it that we can conduct a transaction with that which has already been freely given unto us {Paul to the Ephesians 2:8-9}?  As the apostle Paul has spoken in his evangel, salvation is the free gift of the Lord unto us.  Paul knew that were salvation simply a transaction, that those who have been able to achieve it would boast of their own status of being saved.  This is something which I have witnessed first-hand within the church.  This is not how salvation was meant to be.  Yet too many believers are not aware that they have already been saved.  That Jesus has already provided for our eternity within the Fathers presence.  Again, Paul speaks to this relatively unknown truth in his evangel.  The truth which speaks to "As in Adam, all are dying, yet, in Christ, shall all be vivified" {Paul to the Corinthians (1) 15:22}.  

What Paul is speaking to is that salvation is less about a transaction and all about the person of Christ Jesus.  Now, I have written about the concept known as universal salvation before, but never with the understanding that our salvation rests not with our acceptance of Jesus, but in the truth that Jesus Himself IS our salvation {Paul to the Romans 5:19}.  Indeed, through the obedience of Christ Jesus shall many be considered saved.  The simple truth is that you have already been saved, you simply are not aware of it.  You're not aware of the truth that salvation has never been about what we do, but all about what Christ has done for us.  Too many Christians have had this truth hidden by the false narrative preached from the pulpits of the church.  Therefore, it does not surprise me in the least that very few have the understanding that their salvation lies within Christ.  My own realization of salvation has only recently been revealed unto me by the Father.  Like most, I've struggled with thoughts of if my salvation was indeed secure.  The truth is, when we see our life for what it really is, this truth becomes more and more apparent.  Jesus has spoken that our life is lived within the love of the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  This is our union life with Him.  This is also our salvation given to us through the obedience of Christ Jesus, that our life AND our salvation now reside with Him {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:15}.  We no longer live to ourselves, as those within the church are so fond of saying, but to Christ.  THIS is the Jesus you never knew. 

And He died for the sake of all that those who are living should by no means be still living to themselves, but to the One dying and being roused for their sakes 

Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5: 15, Concordant New Testament translation 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (The Case For Salvation) # 2157

 That in the name of Jesus every knee every knee should be bowing, celestial terrestrial and subterranean, and every tongue should be proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord, for the glory of God, the Father 

Paul to the Philippians 2: 10-11, Concordant New Testament Translation 

Ask most Christians who it is that will be saved and you'll probably hear of a conditional salvation.  That is, Gods free gift salvation with a condition attached.  That being that one must accept and believe in the Lord Jesus.  I get it.  This has been something which I have struggled with for some time.  Not because I don't believe in Jesus, but because it seems that our salvation is tied to something which we do on our own, of our own free will (more on free will later).  The apostle Paul makes it clear in Ephesians that our salvation IS NOT of our own efforts {Paul to the Ephesians 2:8-9}.  Now, the rub comes from if we constitute our choosing to believe in Jesus as conscious effort on our behalf.  If so, then we're contradicting the very words spoken by Paul that salvation is not of our own doing.  This has been my struggle with the truth of salvation.  But there's another wrinkle to add to this discussion.  Suppose that it was never Gods intent that any of His children would be condemned to hell.  This is the concept of universal salvation, and many Christians bristle at the very mention of it.  In their minds, the good must be rewarded and the wicked punished.  This is what they have been taught through years of church theology.  This is what I was taught growing up in the Christian faith.  If I was good enough, then I would be saved.  But I continued to worry that God would somehow find me unworthy of His salvation.  I blame the church for this, for it is the mainstream church which espouses the teaching that good and wicked are separated.  Not only that, but that sin has separated us all from God.  Many Christians use the words of Paul spoken in Romans that all are deserving of judgement {Paul to the Romans 3:23}.  But they seldom mention that passage which follows this verse, that "Being justified gratuitously in His grace" that through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus that sin no longer defines us {Paul to the Romans 3:24}.  I am no longer condemned.  So, does this guarantee my salvation?  I've believed in Christ, I've fulfilled my part of the deal.  

As I've said, the idea that all will be saved is often considered to be akin to heresy by many Christians.  They've done their part, they believed, now they want their reward.  On top of that, they want those who haven't believed as they have to be condemned to hell (if there is such a thing, but more on that later).  But is that what Gods desire is for us?  Well, if the stellar requirement for achieving salvation is that one believe in and accept Christ Jesus then God has an answer for that, but it's not one which the church theology Christians want to hear.  Paul speaks in Philippians that "In the name of Jesus every knee should be bowing" {Paul to the Philippians 2:10-11}.  So, eventually, EVERYONE will confess and believe in the Lord Jesus.  Will God condemn to hell all who have done their part to achieve His salvation?  Will He deem their belief in Jesus not good enough, or too late for them to be saved?  Christians are fond of telling stories of death bed conversions, of how those who have not believed suddenly change their minds in their final moments of life.  Are they worthy of Gods free gift?  If we say yes, then we must also agree that in that day all will be saved, as in that day everyone will accept Jesus as Lord.  This is the predicament many Christians find themselves in.  To accept the truth that salvation is dependent upon ones belief in Christ is to accept the truth that all will acknowledge Him as Lord and shall be saved.  Bingo, universal salvation!  But what about the wicked being punished?  This is no longer relevant when every knee bows to Jesus.  Of course, this opens up an entirely new list of questions.  Is there even a hell?  What ultimately happens to the wicked?  Does God condone wickedness?  These are the issues which Christians wring their hands over.  All the while ignoring the truth of the free gift of the Lords salvation.  That all will be saved.  

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 Translation 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (The Perfect Union) # 2156

 

In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you 

Johns Account 14: 20, Concordant New Testament translation

Since it has been my habit from time to time to speak to things you probably more than likely will not hear coming from the pulpits of the mainstream church, I thought I'd add another installment to that list.  So, here's my question, when was the last time that you ever heard a pastor speak to your union with God and/or Christ Jesus?  If I were to guess, not many believers have been introduced to this truth which we have in the Father.  My own knowing of this truth didn't come from some Sunday sermon, but from the revelation of the Lord.  My eyes have been opened, the veil has been lifted.  I'm not speaking from my own personal opinion here, but from the very words spoken by Jesus.  It is Jesus Who has proclaimed that we shall know that He is in the Father, that we are within Christ and that He is in us {Johns Account 14:20}.  Has there ever been a more perfect union than this?  My own realization of my union life within the Father has led me to look at my life very differently than before.  No longer do I see myself as being separated from God, as those within the church have been so very fond of proclaiming.  To put it simply, I go where the Father goes.  I do as the Father does.  I live AS the Father in whose love I dwell.  Is it any wonder why the powers that be within the church would not speak to this truth?  If everyone knew of this wonderful truth of our life lived within God, what need would we have for organized religion?  We would know that He is in us.  We would no longer be searching for Him.  Ironically, my revelation of my union with God didn't arrive while I was still an active church member.  In those days I swallowed whatever the pastors taught me.  It wasn't until after I left the organized church that I began to have these conversations with a good friend of mine.  Conversations of how God was closer to me than I had ever realized.  That sin was no longer the central issue of my life.  THIS is the truth which the church needs to be speaking to.  

My first introduction into what the church might refer to as blasphemy came from the words spoken by the apostle Paul in Galatians.  Paul speaks to the truth of his own death with Christ Jesus {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  Having been raised in the church and Christian theology, this was difficult for me to accept at first.  You might say that I needed to deprogram what I had learned about God up until that point.  The church claimed that I was a sinner, Jesus assures me that I no longer carry that scar with me.  The church says that I need to work for my salvation.  The words spoken by Paul assure us that salvation is the free gift of the Lord {Paul to the Ephesians 2:8-9}.  But what about our life?  That day to day struggle we all endure.  Are you separate from God or do you live each day within Him as Jesus has assured us?  I would say that to live thinking that you're separate from God is to live the lie of the deceiver.  For it is Satan who has spoken the lie that we can "Be like God, knowing good and evil" {Genesis 3:5}.  How is it that we could ever be separated from God Who has created us in His likeness {Genesis 1:27}?  Yet this is what you'll more than likely hear spoken from the pulpits of the church.  Not the truth of our perfect union with the Father, but the lie proposed by Satan that we have been separated from Him.  I firmly believe that we were never meant to live life governed by fear {Paul to Timothy (2) 1:7}.  The fear of not being saved.  The fear of never knowing what it's like to be closer to God.  This is not the life He has in store for us.  The words spoken by Jesus assure us that our life is lived within the Father.  The perfect union. 

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 translation 

~Scott~