The Good Of The Father (The Fathers Reach) # 2072

 

O man! who are you, to be sure, who are answering again to God?  That which is molded will not protest to the molder, "Why do you make me thus?"  Or has not the potter the right over the clay, out of the same kneading to make one vessel, indeed, for honor, yet one for dishonor? 

Paul to the Romans 9: 20-21, Concordant New Testament 

There are many Christians who have spoken to the arrogance of man, but there is no more arrogant belief than that which speaks to man having a free will of his own.  The apostle Paul speaks to this folly in the book of Romans.  It is here where Paul asks the reader, "Has not the potter the right over the clay" {Paul to the Romans 9:21}?  The arrogance of man assumes that he himself decides what he will do as well as how he will be doing it.  As the apostle would say, what folly!  To be clear, what part of our lives is God not so intimately involved?  What part of His creation does God not dictate what, when and where things will occur?  Man claims that he himself chooses to follow God and/or Jesus.  Jesus Himself declares that "No one can come to Me if ever the Father Who sends Me should not be drawing him" {Johns Account 6:44}.  So, it is not by our own volition by which we come to know Jesus, but it is by the will of the Father.  In fact, I would argue that there is nothing which man does of his own accord.  This seems logical seeing as it is God who has created all which surrounds us {Genesis 1:1}.  It is also logical knowing that we have had nothing to do with our own birth, but that God Himself has created all in His own likeness {Genesis 1:27}.  I do not recall having anything to do my own conception or birth.  Nobody asked me if I wanted to be born into this world.  My guess is that nobody else was given that opportunity either.  Man takes pride in taking credit for that which God is responsible for.  Yes, I've been among those as well.  For their part, those in the mainstream church don't do us any favors by continually speaking to the false belief that we have been separated from God by our own sin.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  But what sin has done is enslaved man into the lie that his life is solely his own.  If anything, man has distanced himself from God by accepting the lie spoken by the deceiver in the garden {Genesis 3:1-6}.  By our own accord, we have accepted that which has never been true, that we are beyond the Fathers reach.

A gym friend of mine has developed the habit of proclaiming that all must "Come to Jesus and accept Christ," as if it is in our abilities to do just that.  Yet, Jesus has spoken that no one comes to Him but through God Who draws them to him.  Of course, many well meaning believers continue to swallow the bait and hold to that belief that it is they who decide what they will do and when and how they will do it.  So, you decide what is to happen in that which you had no hand in creating?  Yeah, good luck with that.  I am not vain enough to recognize that my efforts are but an example of Gods presence here on earth.  It is He who ultimately decides what will happen and when.  You could say that we are simply along for the ride.  But this truth goes against all which is spoken from the pulpits of the church.  Yes, they will acknowledge that it is God Who has created all.  Yet, knowing this, they do not act according to that which is true.  In the theology spoken by the church, God created all, but man decides how he will conduct his life.  This is the error of the belief that man has been created with a free will of his own.  The belief that God has zero influence in whatever man decides to do.  Again, this is not speaking to the truth of the Father.  For our life has never been outside of Gods influence, but within Him.  Jesus Himself speaks to the union between man and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  Knowing this truth, what will man ever do that God is not intimately connected to?  In fact, I would argue that it is God who decides how and when we will do what He has set forth for us {Jeremiah 29:11}.  

For the scripture is saying to Pharoh that "For this selfsame thing I rouse you up, so that I should be displaying is you my power, and so that My name should be published in the entire earth" 

Paul to the Romans 9: 17, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (Brought To Jesus) # 2071

 No one can come to Me if ever the Father Who sends Me should be drawing him, and I shall be raising him in the last day

Johns Account 6: 44, Concordant New Testament 

Christianity has taught us that among mankind there is a choice that needs to be made.  That in order to enjoy the glory of a life in Christ Jesus that one must first and foremost "Choose" to allow Jesus into their life.  That they must choose to accept Him and all which He offers us.  This has been enshrined in church doctrine for centuries.  Of course, this all centers upon mans own ability to make such a choice for himself.  We've been conditioned to believe that this is indeed the case.  Adam and Eve chose the apple.  Able made the choice to kill his brother Cain.  The Jews made the choice to bow before a false God.  But what if we've gotten it wrong all along?  What if we never really had that choice, but sere simply adhering to the ultimate plan brought forth by the Father?  Think about this, did we have the choice to be born?  To my knowledge, nobody ever asked me my opinion before I was conceived.  I'm sure that nobody was ever offered that choice as well.  Yet we will profess all day long that we ourselves need to somehow make a choice of our own volition to choose Jesus.  How about this, accept the fact that everything which we will ever see is from God.  Everything which we will ever do is from God.  It is well known fact that I have been created in the Fathers likeness {Genesis 1:27}.  That it is God who has breathed into me the breath of life {Genesis 2:7}.  All that I will ever be is because of Him.  So, how is it that I can claim that I am the only one who make that choice to accept Jesus into my life?  Do I even need to accept Christ into my life?  For it is Jesus Himself Who has spoken to the truth that our life is in union with He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  If we accept the church claim that we need to somehow choose to accept Jesus, then we fail to see ourselves as we truly are.  It has never been about ourselves alone.  In fact, it can be shown that there is but one self-operating independent self in the universe, and that is God {Isaiah 45:5}.  

Those within the mainstream church will preach all day long that we have been separated from God due to our own sin.  This is the false separation theology spoken by the church.  It is based upon the lie spoken by the deceiver in the garden, that if Eve took of the forbidden fruit, that she would somehow "Be like God, knowing good and evil" {Genesis 3:5}.  As we all know, Eve swallowed that lie hook, line and sinker.  Not only that, but mankind has been living the lie ever since.  A self-independent man, really?  Remember that God is the ONLY self-operating self in the universe.  Man cannot be a self-operating self because it was not how he was originally created.  We were originally created to be live within the Father, to be an extension of Him.  It is man who has perpetuated the lie that we are separated from God.  This has never been the Fathers intention.  Knowing this truth of who we are in the Father, how is it that man can ever make the independent choice to accept Jesus?  We have never been independent of the Lord, therefore we do not possess that ability to choose for ourselves.  What we DO know through scripture is that man is drawn to Christ Jesus through the work of the Father {Johns Account 6:44}.  It is God who ultimately brings us unto His Son, not our own choice.  This is the desire of the Lord, that all will be saved through Christ Jesus {Johns Account 3:17}.  We have zero ability to choose our salvation in Him.  

There is no independent, self-operating self in the universe, except the One who calls Himself the I AM {Exodus 3:14} and says, "I am the Lord and there is none else, there is no God beside Me {Isaiah 45:5}.

No Independent Self ~ Norman Grubb 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (The Jesus Cult) # 2070

 

And I hear another voice out of heaven, saying, "Come out of her, My people, lest you should be joint participants in her sins, and less you should be getting of her calamities 

The Revelation of Jesus Christ 18: 4, Concordant New Testament 

I asked an important question to a friend the other day.  The question was, when did Jesus advocate that we follow any organized religion?  I believe that this is an important question if we are to come to really know Jesus and our life in Him.  Well, his first response is a passage many believers point to when it comes to advocating that we MUST find a bible believing church and that we must become members and worship in that church.  This passage is found in Hebrews, and it implores the reader "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves" {To the Hebrews 10:25}.  This seems like a clear directive from the author (This may be Paul, or another of the apostles) that we should not neglect to gather in the worship of the Lord.  This is all fine and good, but I believe that some context is in order here.  When this scripture was written, the lands of the Middle East were dominated and ruled by the Roman empire.  These Romans were not very agreeable to the public worship of the followers of Jesus.  Truth be told, the Jews of Israel were not that fond of them either.  Remember, it was the Jewish authorities who persecuted and killed Jesus for the blasphemous words they felt He spoke.  So it was that the early followers of Jesus were persecuted if they were found worshipping in public.  Therefore, many chose to meet in secret, or not at all, to avoid this persecution and torture at the hands of the Romans.  Therefore, the writer of Hebrews is encouraging the early church to not forsake their gathering together in His name.  The last time I checked, we here in the United States are not being persecuted for attending a church.  So, again I ask, when did Jesus advocate for organized religion to those who followed Him?  Where did He advocate for Sunday morning praise music?  Where did He advocate for an offering in His name?  To my knowledge, Jesus had but one request for those who would follow Him...Follow Me.  We find His request not only in the calling of His disciples, but in those who would follow Him as well.  

When I first read the critical words which Jesus spoke to the Jewish Pharisees and authorities I was a bit disheartened.  Here was Jesus being critical of that church structure that I had been raised to respect.  Growing up in the church, it was expected that Sunday was church day.  It was rare that we were not sitting in a pew on a Sunday morning.  I was taught that this was the command of the Lord, to worship Him.  Now, I have nothing against worshipping and gathering in his name, I'm all for it.  But where is it that Jesus commands that we assemble in a brick and mortar church building in His name?  What Jesus DOES do is speak to the Samaritan woman He meets at the well that "God is spirit, and those who are worshipping Him must be worshipping in spirit and truth" {Johns Account 4:23-24}.  He does not mention a specific place or even a synagogue, only that she worship in spirit and truth.  In the very words of Jesus, "For the Father is also seeking such to be worshipping Him" {Johns Account 4:23}.  Jesus does not mention a Sunday sermon nor an offering to the woman at the well, only that she worship in spirit and truth.  I believe that the same holds true for all who desire to come to know Jesus.  For all who feel burdened by the practices and traditions of the mainstream church.  The truth we find is that Jesus is not found in a brick and mortar church, but inside of us.  It is Jesus who has spoken to our union with He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  Our life is in Him.

"But coming is the hour, and now is, when the true worshippers will be worshipping the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is also seeking such to be worshipping Him.  God is spirit, and those who are worshipping Him must be worshipping in spirit and truth"

Johns Account 4: 23-24, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (God All In All) # 2069

 

Seeing that out of Him and through Him and for Him is all: to Him be the glory for the eons! Amen! 

Paul to the Romans 11: 36, Concordant New Testament 

I look at the morning headlines today and I see God.  Now, some might ask how God can be seen in such a fallen world.  Have you forgotten who created this place we call home?  Sure, He reorganized it with a flood during the days of Noah, but He never has undone that which He has created.  Knowing that God indeed created all which we see, is it therefore possible that we can see God truly as all in all?  Some well meaning believers might have a tough time accepting this truth of God.  I know that I did growing up in the church.  Growing up there was good and there was wickedness.  God loved one and despised the other.  The good would be rewarded and the wicked punished.  Unfortunately, we see this theology continue to play out in the modern church as well.  But has God ever actually hated that which He has created?  Many in the church will say that God has reached that point where He has regretted creating mankind {Genesis 6:6}.  They point to this passage as proof that we remain sinful.  But how is it that God can be sinful?  The apostle Paul speaks to the idea of the Father being all in all in Romans {Paul to the Romans 11:36}.  So, if God is all in all, as I believe He is, then He is a intimate part of all which surrounds us.  If we accept that God created all we will ever know, it isn't too difficult to believe that He is within all of His creation.  I was first introduced to this truth during a local hike with a good friend.  His question was simple, can we see God in the trees that surround us?  Remember, that in the beginning He created the heavens and the earth {Genesis 1:1}.  Personally, I don't believe that it's at all possible for that which has been created to not have the imprint of its creator upon it.  That is why I have such difficulty accepting the church mantra that our sin has separated us from God.  How can we who have been created in the very likeness of God ever be without Him?  Despite our former sin nature, were we ever separated from our creator?  I would say no to that all day long.  

And now for something that just might knock the socks off of some Christians and cause others to accuse me of a false message and heresy.  Hs God always been an intimate part of His creation?  If we agree to this then we must also agree that He has been within the bad as well as the good.  That God was in wicked men such as Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin.  Is God in the tragedies of our life as well?  Was God in the illness which took my mothers life?  I would answer yes to all of these.  For if we see God as all in all, which he is, then we must also see Him in the negative as well as the positive.  For all are part of His creation.  Did God create men such as Hitler and Stalin as wicked?  Or, as I believe, did those men make choices that ignored who they truly were in the Lord?  Keep in mind, that Satan was never created to be wicked, but his own choices led him down that road {Isaiah 14:12}.  Indeed, Lucifer was created by the Lord as one of the most beautiful of the angels, yet he chose wickedness over righteousness.  He chose his own pride over the Father who created him.  Lucifer was not created as wicked, but he made that choice on his own.  Knowing this, again I ask, did God create men to be wicked?  Or, as with Lucifer, have certain men chosen the path of wickedness on their own?  If we understand God as all in all, we know that He has created all and has declared it as good {Genesis 1:31}.  Even as God has created all to be good, that does not mean that He is not in that which we see as bad.  Remember that His ways have never been our ways {Isaiah 55:8-9}.  At the time I did not understand why God allowed my mother to be taken from this world.  That does not mean that He was not in my grief for her.  He has been in all we will ever experience in this world. 

He who is not loving knew not God, for God is love

First Epistle of John 4: 8, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (Born Of God) # 2068

 

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: 28, Concordant New Testament 

Popular Christian theology speaks to the fact that Christ Jesus was born of God.  Yet those within the church also speak to the lie that although man has been created in the likeness of God, that he shares no connection with Him.  That through his own sin, he has been separated from God who created him.  The truth is that we have also been born of the Father {Acts of the Apostles 17:28}.  More than being created in His likeness is the fact that we were created THROUGH Him {Paul to the Ephesians 4:6}.  This truth is important to describing our life as we now know it.  For we do not live separated from God, but in union with Him {Johns Account 14:20}.  Those in the church will ask, how is this even possible for sinful man?  The answer to that question centers around Christ Jesus.  For if we understand and believe that Jesus came, born of man, to forgive that sin debt of mankind, then we must also understand that man no longer lives toiling in the bondages of sin {Paul to the Romans 6:6}.  Indeed, Jesus has taken that sin debt upon Himself at the cross {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  So, tell me, what sin remains that Jesus has not covered already?  It is through the finished work of Christ on the cross that man has been reconciled to the Father once again {Paul to the Romans 5:10}.  Make no mistake, you will never hear this truth being spoken from the pulpits of the mainstream church.  But just because someone does not speak the truth in no way negates that truth.  It simply means that there will be many who ignore the truth of our life in the Father.  One comment which I have often made to a good friend of mine is the fight we have against centuries of church based separation theology.  It is spoken each and every Sunday in thousands of churches worldwide.  But, as I have said, this in no way negates the truth of our life within God.  Jesus Himself has declared our life in He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  This is the life I live in Him.

My own realization of my life in God has often not been an easy pill swallow.  Growing up in the church, I was fed the sermons and Sunday school lessons spoken by the church from an early age.  I came to believe what I had been taught.  I came to see God as an impersonal being.  God to me was simply someone I went to when I was in trouble or in need.  He was also the one who looked down on me judging every aspect of my life.  There is NO room in this view of God for any kind of relationship with Him.  Yet this is the desire of the Lord, that His children would come to know Him in that intimate way {Johns Account 17:3}.  Indeed, the truth of our life in God and that spoken by the church are in direct contrast with one another.  On one side is the love and forgiveness of a life within the Father while on the other is a life continually burdened by sin.  Sin which Christ Jesus has already given Himself for {Paul to the Romans 6:10}.  I propose that we cannot truly know Jesus if we adhere to the separation theology of the church.  As I sat in the pews of the church, I did not know Him on that personal level.  That all changed when I stepped away from the church and its teachings.  Through the conversations with a dear friend, my eyes were opened to something I never knew I had, a relationship with God.  God is no longer impersonal to me.  My goal through these writings has always been to bring others into the understanding of the Father which has been revealed to me through Him.  That I am indeed born of God. 

Now it is the eonian life that they may know thee, the only true God, and Him Whom Thou dost commission, Christ Jesus

Johns Account 17: 3, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (A Life In Jesus) # 2067

 

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 

Mention your "Life" to the ordinary Christian and you'd more than likely a pretty sticky response.  For many believers, their life here in this world revolves around the misguided belief that they are somehow separated from God.  Even those who claim to enjoy a "Christ" centered life suffer from this delusion.  Growing up in the mainstream church, this idea was pounded into me each and every Sunday.  From sermons to Sunday school lessons, the separation theology of the church was all too apparent.  But why is it that I refer to this as living a delusion?  Well, first off, I suggest that we as Gods creation could never have been separated from He who created us.  Indeed, we're told that we have been created in the very likeness of God {Genesis 1:27}.  And not only that, the scriptures tell us that upon creating man in His own image, that He breathed into him the breath of life, that the man would become a living soul {Genesis 2:7}.  He has formed us in His image AND imparted Himself into His creation.  From the beginning, the Father has been an intimate part of who we are.  Our life has never truly been our own.  Yet many apologists and those within the church continue to cite the scripture from the book of Isaiah in which the prophet claims that "Your iniquities have separated you from your God" {Isaiah 59:2}.  To this I ask the question, what about Jesus?  Has Jesus not given Himself for the forgiveness of those iniquities {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}?  Despite this truth, those within the church continue to preach to the fact the our sins have distanced us from the Father.  They have seemingly ignored the forgiveness given unto us through the work of Christ Jesus on the cross.  They cling to the words of Paul who speaks to the fact that all have sinned {Paul to the Romans 3:23}.  Yet Paul, in the following passage, Paul speaks to the fact that we have been "Justified gratuitously in His grace, through the deliverance which is in Christ Jesus" {Paul to the Romans 3:24}.  Yes, Paul admits that all have sinned, but then asks the same question as I have, what about Jesus?  For it is Christ Jesus who has laid waste to the lie of the deceiver which falsely claims that we have been separated from God. 

Contrary to what has been spoken from the pulpits of the mainstream church, I have come to know the truth of my life in Christ Jesus.  That is, my life WITHIN Him and not of my own volition.  Jesus speaks to this union in the book of John {Johns Account 14:20, Johns Account 17:21}.  Therefore, I can confidently say that this life is not of my own, but is lived in the love and grace of the Father.  God is not just an overseer looking down upon us from heaven, but has always been an intimate part of our life.  Remember, we have been created in His very likeness.  He has breathed into us the breath of life.  This is our life in Jesus and the Father.  Unfortunately, the theology of the church constantly speaks of our "Coming nearer" to God.  Modern Christian music speaks to a seemingly distant savior as we invite Him to "Come Lord Jesus."  The truth of the matter is that we have always been intimately connected to the Father.  We need not ask Him to draw near to us.  He is already there.  What existence would we have apart from him?  A life in Christ is based on the truth that our life has never been independently our own.  Yet it seems that those within the church feel the need to keep the sin issue alive that they can continue to keep their pews filled with those seeking the Lords forgiveness.  But Paul has spoken to the truth that Christ Jesus has died to sin "Once for all time" {Paul to the Romans 6:10}.  I am no longer a church declared sinner, but confident in my life in Him. 

There is no independent, self-operating self in the universe, except the One who calls Himself the I AM {Exodus 3:14} and says, "I am the Lord and there is none else, there is no God beside Me" {Isaiah 45:5}.

No Independent Self by Norman Grubb 

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (What You Were Never Told About Sin) # 2066

 

There is no independent, self-operating self in the universe, except the One who calls Himself the I AM {Exodus 3:14} and says, "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside Me" {Isaiah 45:5}

No Independent Self by Norman Grubb 

Growing up in the church, I was fed the idea that our original sin consisted of Adam and Eve disobeying the command of the Lord and taking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  This has become known among Christian circles as "The fall."  That moment when man resisted the instructions of the Lord and veered off onto his own path.  Therefore, sin has been constituted as turning from God.  Not only that, but we're constantly remined that we are all guilty of it as a result of the actions of Adam and Eve {Paul to the Romans 3:23}.  But, is this an accurate definition of sin, or is there something more at play here?  Because the church will continue to bang that drum that sin remains a large part of our lives.  Not only that, but that our sin has separated us from the Father.  So, was it the really the bite of the apple which led to the downfall of mankind?  I would say that it wasn't so much the actions of Adam and Eve which led to their sin, but their intent.  See, Eve has been deceived by the lie spoken by Satan in the garden.  A lie so appealing, that she was ultimately convinced that she could, be like God.  Believing in the lie of the deceiver, she then took of the fruit and offered it to Adam as well.  The rest, as they say, is history.  But what was the intent of Eve as she took of that forbidden fruit?  What was the lie which was so convincing that it would lead her to disobey God?  Well, it was the same lie which Satan himself had used to deceive himself into believing that he would be greater that God {Isaiah 14:14}.  That he would make himself like the most high.  It was this belief which eventually found him cast out from the Lords presence {Ezekiel 28:17}.  It is this lie which Satan then uses against the Lords creation that we would disobey God.  That by taking of the forbidden fruit, Satan convinced Eve that "You will not surely die.  For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" {Genesis 3:5 NKJV}.  Eve had been convinced that she could indeed "Be like God."  Therefore, the false belief in the independent self was conceived within us.  A belief which persists to this day. 

Walk into any respectable church and you will surely never hear of the truth of our original sin.  The truth that speaks to our independent nature apart from the Father.  Indeed, most sermons we will hear speak to our "Coming near" to God.  But, because of our sin, we can never actually realize the truth of the love of the Lord.  The truth which speaks to the fact that our lives are now lived IN Him {Johns Account 14:20}.  For it is through Christ Jesus that we have been declared innocent of our sin of believing in the lie of the deceiver {Paul to the Ephesians 1:7}.  The truth we will not hear from the pulpits of the mainstream church is that we have never been separated from God.  How is it that we can be separated from He who created us in His likeness {Genesis 1:27}?  Can we ever be separated from our connection to our earthly family?  No!  We might do everything we can to distance ourselves from them, but we are forever linked with them through heredity.  They are eternally a part of who we are.  The same can be said of the truth of our life within the Father.  He not only created us, but has always been a part of who we are in Him.  At its base, this makes the lie spoken by the deceiver just that, a lie not to be believed.  For our sin is no longer before us.  Our sin has been put to death by the work of Christ Jesus.  The lie of the deceiver has been exposed for what it is.  

For I shall be propitious to their injustices, And of their sins and their lawlessnesses should I under no circumstances still be reminded

To The Hebrews 8: 12, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~