Category Archives: Extra Thoughts

By Power, They Testified About Power

“And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all,”
Acts 4:33 (LEB).
Notice, it does not say, with great love for each other they gave testimony to the resurrection. It does not say, by their bold testimony under persecution, they gave testimony of the resurrection.
Here is a question. What is the resurrection?
ANS. It is POWER!
Therefore, the passage reads with GREAT POWER ( I.E. healing and miracles) they testified to the resurrection.

By power, they testified about power.

What was the result of this context? GREAT UNMERITED FAVOR was poured on them. Many are asking in America, how can we have God’s unmerited favor poured on us in a great way, because right now we need it. Well, now you know how. By power of healing and miracles testify of Jesus’ resurrection power. In this context we can expect, Great unmerited favor will be poured out. Because God is able, He will do it.

You Are Righteousness, For Believing I Will Prosper You

Isaac wealthy on account of Abraham’s blessing:

” And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in that same year a hundredfold, and Yahweh blessed him. And the man ⌊became wealthier and wealthier⌋ until he was exceedingly wealthy.”

Genesis 26:12–13 (LEB).

“And Yahweh appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you, and I will bless you and make your descendants numerous for the sake of my servant Abraham.:

Genesis 26:24 (LEB).

__________

What did God promise Abraham?

“And Yahweh said to Abram, “Go out from your land and from your relatives, and from the house of your father, to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great. And you will be a blessing.

Genesis 12:1–2 (LEB).

God promised, not to make His name Great, but Abraham’s Name, and to bless him and make him a blessing to others. (etc)

__________

Summary:

God: “Abraham, I will bless you, I will make you wealthy and prosperous, I will give you supernatural health, I will highly favor you in all things, I will exalt your name before the world, I will give you a son and love your children as I loved you.”

Abraham: “OK, I believe You are able.”

God points His finger at Abraham and says:

“righteousness.”

____________

You are part of Abraham’s blessing.

Therefore does the one who gives you the Spirit and who works miracles among you do so by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness, 7 then understand that the ones ⌊who have faith⌋, these are sons of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the good news in advance to Abraham: “In you all the nations will be blessed.” 9 So then, the ones who have faith are blessed together with Abraham who believed.

Galatians 3:5–9 (LEB)

Miracles are almost always physical and material. Isaac reaping 100 fold was a miracle

of favor in physical and material. Peter getting money from a fish’s mouth is a material miracle to pay taxes with money they did not work for. Healing for the body is a physically and material blessing. Yes, God is still sovereignly and faithfully keeping His promise that He made to his covenant friend, Abraham’s. God is sovereignly keeping His promise to bless with favor for all the children of faith.

———————————————————————

“God promised that Abraham would have a son, and that his descendants would become numerous like the stars. He promised that he would make his name great. It was not presented as a promise of salvation or justification as such, and it was not a call to suffering discipleship. It was a promise of healing, prosperity, and glory for Abraham. And Abraham was justified by believing in this promise. The sort of message that false teachers call heresy today has been the foundation for the calling of Moses, the coming of Christ, and the salvation of Christians. Abraham recognized that his own body and his wife’s body were old and barren, but because God said that he would have a son, natural circumstances became irrelevant. He believed that God was able to perform a miracle of healing.

It would have been redundant to believe that God was willing to do what he said. Of course he was willing — he said it. God said, “Abraham, I have made you the father of nations. You are going to have a son. I will make your name great.” Imagine if Abraham had said, “I know you are able, but are you willing to do it?” This would have made no sense, but somehow it has become a pillar in Christian reasoning. “Well…I just said you are going to have a son.” “Right, I heard you. But are you willing to do it?” Should we treat God like a child? It is even more absurd to focus on the will of God for healing given all that the Bible says about the nature of God, the work of Christ, and the ministry of the apostles and the believers. Even the attempt to demonstrate the will of God for healing seems redundant and ridiculous. Abraham believed that God was able to do this thing that was impossible for human power to accomplish. And that was faith.”

Vincent Cheung. “Healing: the Will of Man“

Announcing the Lord’s Death

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 (NLT)

For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.”

For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

Paul says in the Lord’s supper we are not announcing Jesus’ resurrection, but “His Death.” The other crucial point to mark is the emphasis on, “Do this in remembrance of Me.”

The positive focus and command is for us to remember Jesus in the atonement, with an emphasis on HIS broken body, and HIS blood. Then both of these are to be focused in regard to “His death,” rather than resurrection.

What does this mean?

First, it is NOT mainly a focus on you. It is about Jesus. He is asking you, to remember Him!

Second, it is what Jesus’ “death” accomplished at that particular time and place.

After reading and watching some of the faith preachers, I have noticed an abnormal focus on “you” receiving healing when taking the Lord’s Supper. The mistake is not in that one is able to receive healing when they take the Lord’s Supper, but that it is not emphasized that way in the Scripture.

Below is a quick positive teaching on what the “broken bread” and “blood” mean, in light of Jesus’ “death.” One part will deal with Jesus’ body broken for our healing.

Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (or Christ). Upon hearing the word of Christ, in the Lord Supper, it is more than possible for faith to rise up and receive the promises of God; however, the focus of the Lord Supper is about remembering Jesus’ body and blood, in His death. It is not mainly about you.

Jesus says to remember His broken body. The question then is simple. What does the Scripture say about Jesus broken body? What does the Scripture say about Jesus body and its death? The broken body of Jesus was about the substitutionary atonement. What does the Scripture say about this?

First, is the overall nature of God. God loved us. Jesus loved us.

The Body:

As to the details, Isaiah 53 says some specific things about the body of Jesus in the atonement.

4 Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy]. [Matt. 8:17.]

5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole. (Isaiah 53 4-5 AMP).

The fact that our sins were upon His body, is not disputed. In verse 12 it uses the Levitical word (the one used in Lev. 16 about the escape goat) for borne our sins. That is, our sins were transferred off us, and put-on Jesus, by the judgement of the Father. Thus, the Father, broke, beat and punished the “body” of Jesus, all the way to death, for the sin that it carried.

However, the same Levitical word is also used in verse 4, when it says, He borne our sickness and pain. That is, our sicknesses were transferred off us, and transferred to Jesus, by the Judgment of the Father. Then verse 4 concludes that the “body” of Jesus looked like it was “afflicted,” as if “with leprosy.” Thus, the Father broke the “body” of Jesus with affliction for the sickness it bore.

However there is more about this death of Jesus.

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, for your sake he became poor, in order that you, by his poverty, may become rich.” 1 Corinth. 8:9 LEB

This passage cannot be spiritualized away. It is about money. When doing context and systematic theology we read Paul saying something similar about sin and righteousness in his second letter to the Corinthians, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God,” (2 Corinth. 5:21 LEB). And so, by the substitutionary poverty of Jesus, just as in His substitutionary sin, we become rich and we become righteous.

Jesus borne on His body, our poverty. His body was stripped naked. He was so poor, His body was naked in its death. Jesus in His ministry had so much money, that Judas was able to steal from the money bag and it not cause a problem. In His substitutionary death, Jesus was penniless and naked. He became our poverty so that, now in this place, in Him we might have an abundance to wealth, and in this have an abundance to give to the gospel ministry and poor.

However, there is more about this death of Jesus.

“But it is from Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became God-given wisdom for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, (1 Corinth. 1:30 HCSB)

Here Paul, sums up the substitutionary atonement of Christ as, “Jesus became righteousness for us.” In this list we hear of a new aspect, Jesus became our wisdom for us, in this atonement death. Since this atonement is already defined by Paul as a substitutionary death for all our negative things, when we know in order for Jesus to be our wisdom in us now, we know He was our ignorance on the cross for us first. Jesus did not fight back with words to His accusers. On the cross, Jesus’ body was silent to the mocking. Think about all the cruel things the mocked Him with, when He hung on the cross. The only time He spoke is when the high priest used his authority to make Jesus give an answer. He looked ignorant and stupid. He born that shame on this silent body, on the cross.  Jesus took on our stupidity and ignorance, so that in Him we might become the Wisdom of God.

Time would fail me to mention all substitutionary transfers His body borne for us, such as Jesus taking on our abandonment. His body borne the shame of abandonment. All forsook Him. His body did not have a friend hugging and clinging onto Him in love to comfort Him. No. His body borne our abandonment for us, so that in Him we become the children of God, with endless brothers and sisters!

The main aspect of the Lord’s Supper, about the “body” of Jesus, is not the positive aspect of what we receive; rather, it is about the negative aspect of all the negative things Jesus body received for us! The death focus of this Supper is about what died in the death of Jesus body. Our sin was transferred off of us, onto the body of Jesus, and it died on His body. It died there, once and for all, at the Place of the Skull. Our poverty was transferred off of us, onto the body of Jesus, and it died on His body. Our sickness was transferred off of us, onto the body of Jesus, and it died on His body at that place and time. Our ignorance was transferred off of us, onto the body of Jesus, and it died on His body. Our abandonment was transferred off of us, onto the body of Jesus, and it died on His body.

All these negative things were taken off of us, and DIED in the body of Christ, once and for all. Your sins have already died. Your sickness has already died. Your ignorance has already died. Your poverty has already died, in the body of Jesus.  By announcing the Lord’s death, you are announcing all the negative things that was once yours, were transferred upon the body of Jesus, and died there.

The blood:

The blood of Jesus, as Paul says, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood.”

This phrase about “God being our God, and we His people,” is what God promises in the New Covenant.  Thus, it is not surprising to see Jesus making this phrase and connecting it to the new covenant and then to “His blood.” Why the blood? And what does this have to do with announcing His “death.”

“Now when someone leaves a will,[g] it is necessary to prove that the person who made it is dead. The will goes into effect only after the person’s death. While the person who made it is still alive, the will cannot be put into effect.

That is why even the first covenant was put into effect with the blood of an animal.” (Hebrews 9:16-18 NLT)

The reason Jesus mentions us to remember His “blood,” and the New Contract, is that the “DEATH” (blood) of the tester makes the contract “active.” Whereas the body of Christ is purely a negative focus on all the negative things Jesus body borne, the blood is (although negative directly) more of focus on the positive aspect of the New Contract being “effective” in Jesus’ death. Jesus’ bloodshed, not ours, activates the new contract. God promises, in the positive, I will not remember your sins, I will write my Laws upon your heart, I will not stop from doing you good, I will be Your God, and you will be My people.”

The blood and death of Jesus makes this already active for us. We are to remember the blood that poured out of His body, for so many hours. We are to remember, out of love for us, He is letting His blood flow out, so that in His death the new contract of unmerited favor becomes active for us!

When we proclaim Jesus’ death we proclaim that,

In His blood, “God is our God, we are already His people!”

Devil Victimized People with Sickness, God Healed Them

The devil made people sick. God made them well. The devil victimized people with sickness. God destroyed the work of the devil by healing and loosing these oppressed people from Satan’s power. Jesus was the stronger One; He bound and plundered the devil’s house.’
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They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed. Matthew 14:36 (NLT)
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A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all. Matthew 15:30 (NLT)
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 Or how can someone enter into the house of a strong man and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he can thoroughly plunder his house, Matt 12:29 LEB
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… Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and

healing all who were oppressed by the devil,

for God was with him. Acts 10:38 (NLT)

Let God’s Favor Be On You, as it is in Heaven

“May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” (LEB Matt 6)

Deduction is an application of knowledge. It is the necessary inference from premise to conclusion. If the premises are true, then the conclusion is true. Deduction does not manufacture new information, not already in the premises, and magically puts into the conclusion like all induction does. If Paul says in Romans 3 that, “(1.) All humans have sinned.” Then I can say, “(2.) Oshea is a human; thus, (3.) Oshea has sinned.” This conclusion is what the Bible asserts, because the information in the conclusion, “Oshea has sinned,” is contained in the Biblical premises, “All humans have sinned.” Deduction applies this knowledge to the specific, or points out a small part of information that is already part of the bigger part that is affirmed in Scripture.

When Jesus instructs us to pray, “Your will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven,” this is obviously meant in the broad category of all things about God’s will being done in heaven (which is done without opposition of demons and unbelief and lack of ability in those who are His), to then it being done on earth. If there is a focus about this, it would be about Jesus’ focus of ushering in the Kingdom of God by defeating the devil in both spiritual and natural victories (both forgiveness and healings, healings, resurrections (etc.)).

An appropriate application (or deduction) of this is how this relates to us. Our lives are in heaven, hidden with Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:3). Thus, to pray for God’s will which is in heaven, reminds us that our lives are in heaven, at the right hand of the Power, in Christ.

Think about the actual prayer that follows. Surely, Jesus is giving words to pray that will usher in God’s Will being done on earth? What does He say?  Jesus teaches us to pray, “gives us our daily bread, and forgive our sins.” The first two things Jesus teaches us to pray for after asking for God’s Will to be done on earth is for OUR spiritual and material blessing. Since few seem to disagree with God wanting to bless us with spiritual things like forgiveness, we will move on to the other point, “our daily bread.” Some super-duper pious people might think that daily bread about our bear minimum food requirements, but this would be both an intellectual and spiritual mistake.

When we do systematic theology to make sure we are not contradicting other parts of the scripture on the same subject, we read Jesus in the same Sermon saying, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we wear?,’  for the pagans seek after all these things. … seek first his kingdom … all these things will be added to you,” (Matt 6:31-33). Jesus teaches that He will give us the material blessings the “PAGANS” seek. The pagans do not seek the smallest possible amount of food, clothes and houses. Jesus wants us to seek His righteousness and by this receive what the pagans want. Thus, receiving our daily bread and God’s will being done in this context is not less than praying for God to help us seek His righteousness, not worry and receive the material abundance that the pagans seek. The prayer is that God is the power and ability to give us this prosperity by His favor, and not by mere human effort. This would make Genies in movies blush, for God is giving wish, after wish, after wish, after wish, without end.

God’s will in heaven, for His Son is to overtly bless His Son with favor (aka “love) and blessings. And so, to pray for God’s Will to be done on earth, is to pray for God to overtly bless us with love (or for us this favor is, “unmerited favor/grace”) and blessings. Sure, it means more than this, but not less than (this is the important part). So, when you pray for God’s will to be done on earth for you, as it is in heaven, remember your life is already in heaven in Christ, because God thinks so. The foundation of being favored is God, not something else. God thought about it, made it a reality in Christ’s atonement, and now considers your life in Christ, at this very moment. This is God’s world, and He does what He wants, and this is what He has done with you. Remember, God is super-abundantly favoring Christ in Heaven, and you are there with Him. For God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, is to have God’s favor rest on you as it rests on Christ in heaven.

Oh what love (favor) God has shown us, that we should be called children of God.

Let Man’s Will be Done on Earth

Matthew 15:28 (LEB)

Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, your faith is great!

Let it be done for you as you [will].”

The Greek here is similar to what Jesus says later in Matthew 26 in His prayer to the Father about letting this cup of the cross pass from Him.

Matthew 26:42 (NKJV) Jesus said, “Your will be done.”

For some reason, the translators, which almost always translates ‘thelo’ and ‘thelema’ (Strongs 2307 and 2309) as “will” puts Jesus’ words to the Canaanite woman as “desire.” (Maybe bias?) Nothing wrong with the word “desire,” but it might hide the fact it is the same meaning that Jesus uses in His own prayer. And thus, to make sure we do not miss the impact of this, we will use the same word of “will” for both verses. It is the same used in the Lord’s prayer, “Your Will be done on earth.”

Jesus referring to the broad category of God’s plan to only minister to the Jews, and not the gentiles, says by implication that it is “not God’s will” to heal her daughter. Jesus further argues that it is wrong to take what belongs to someone else, and then give it to another person. As Vincent Cheung states, she “asserts an argument of faith.”[1]  Jesus, God in the flesh, God’s Will in the flesh, the most God centered man who ever lived, does a 180 concerning God’s will.  Jesus ignores God’s will and says, “woman, your will be done.”  Jesus declares, “let man’s will be done on earth.”

When people have faith in God’s promises, Jesus over and over, affirmed the will of man. This is not some overly makeup guy, sitting in a gold chair on TBN. This was God Himself, in direct verbal revelation, affirming the “will of man,” when man engages God’s promise with faith. Your theology must deal with this. Your theology must include “man’s will being done on earth,” is as God-centered as Jesus Christ is God-centered, because He is the one who taught the doctrine. The issue people have man’s will being done on earth, is that Jesus is too God-centered for them. There is just too much God involved. They hate that God gets to do whatever He wants, and what He wants is man’s will to be done. 

When James says in chapter one of his letter that if you have faith you will be given wisdom, he does not say, “only if it is God’s will.” Rather, he says it is man’s accountability to get wisdom from God. If you lack faith, then you will lack wisdom when you ask. And if you failed to get the wisdom, then the accountability is on “your” lack of faith, not the will of God. That is, if you have faith, and you are in a trouble of life that you need some wisdom and you ask, then God’s response is that the will of man (“Lord, I want wisdom”) is to be done on earth. James says the same thing about healing and forgiveness in chapter 5:15. When man’s faith engages the promises of God, then God Himself affirms “let man’s will be done.”

————Endnotes————-

For more see on this topic, see the essay by Vincent Cheung. (Healing: The Will of Man)
(I am not affiliated with Vincent Cheung.) 

[1] Vincent Cheung. Faith Override. 2016

James: FAITH vs Unbelief   

The book of James is addressing faith. The thesis for the book of James is, “True faith vs. a false faith (a lie).”[1] That is, “You say you have faith, but do your works prove this only a lie? Have truly assented in your mind the truths of the gospel?” This is the rhetorical question from this book. The letter starts with faith and ends with faith.

A false faith is like a man who looks at a mirror and walks away, forgetting what he looks like–because he never had true assent to begin with. It was a lie of the mouth. Some say they assent to God’s mercy given to them, but they show partiality (prejudice or favoritism) with the rich, the poor and/or their favorite club or group. However, mercy triumphs over judgment. Their assenting is a lie. It exposes that their mind never assented to the Scripture.

Do demons really “believe in God?” If they truly assented to God’s INFINITE power, then why did they side with Satan, thinking they could defeat INFINITE POWER? You cannot believe God is undefeatable and then do “works” that deny God is undefeatable, by challenging Him as if you can beat Him. No. You never believed in God’s power to begin with. Obviously, if your faith is like a demon, you are a worthless piece of trash.  You say you have faith, but your works deny it.

If your faith is true and you lack wisdom, then you are able to ask God who gives liberally and you WILL actually receive wisdom from God, because you ask without doubting. James says that you WILL receive wisdom. This is true faith. James defines as getting from God what you ask; this is in direct contradiction who define faith as merely asking and not getting what you ask for because their “God’s Will” fallacy.[2] The Bible says here that real faith is proven not by the act of prayer, but by you receiving a fish for a fish, and wisdom for wisdom. If your faith is true, then your actions will show that you have indeed assented to the truths of God.

What is missed here by some is that if you pray for wisdom, but doubt, and thus not receive the wisdom, then you are disobedience to God’s command. Many who find themselves in this place, rather than admit their lack of faith as disobedience will say, “it was God’s will.” This is disobedience piled on top of more disobedience. It is never God’s will for you not to repent in faith and receive His promise of forgiveness in Jesus. It is God’s standing command give to you. It is never God’s will for you to not receive wisdom by your faith in His promise to give it. It is His standing command to you. If you lack faith; you are in disobedience.

Abraham assented that he believed God, and his actions demonstrated this was indeed true when he was about to sacrifice Isaac at God’s word. If you say you assent to God’s sovereignty, then you will not boast about what you will do tomorrow.

James says in the beginning of the letter to take tribulation and learn endurance. As stated this endurance under hardship is true and good. And we ought to obey God here with true faith. However, it does not stop here. James later brings in Job. JOB. This man had learned endurance and hardship in a severe way; however, false humility will cause many to stop here. What does James say about Job who endured? What does it say? He says this story is about “God’s compassion and mercy!” Well, what does this mercy and compassion look like in the actual context? Was it merely invisible spiritual blessings like forgiveness? No. It is recorded God’s mercy to Job was wealth and health. Indeed, Double wealth and health. This is not coming from some overly makeup guy on TNB, sitting in a gold chair. This is Scripture’s definition of God’s mercy: that Job be the double richest and healthiest man in the entire area.  Scripture tells us that God’s mercy is not merely spiritual but physical. Mercy includes health and wealth. And all mercy is by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Your theology must include this.

If your faith is true and not false, then your faith will both endure hardships of life, and you faith will overcome them, even with double wealth and health. God is a merciful and compassionate God.

If your faith is true and righteous, then like Elijah–who was a mere human like you, who opened up the skies to rain through faith — you can ask and God will both rise a sick man from the bed and they will also be forgiven. Faith is proven not by a prayer, but by you getting what you pray for. Jesus says this over and over again in John 13-16, and James his brother, was merely repeating this teaching. Jesus Christ says the exact answer to your prayer is proof that you are a disciple doing disciple things (John 15). And James says this over and over in this letter. A fish for a fish, No rain for a no rain, rain for a rain, forgiveness for a forgiveness, and healing for a healing.

James 1:2–8 (LEB)

Trials, Testing, and Faith

2 Consider it all joy, my brothers, whenever you encounter various trials, 3 because you* know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.

What about a trail that involves
lacking Wisdom for something?

5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask for it from God, who gives to all without reservation and not reproaching, and IT WILL BE GIVEN to him. 6 But let him ask for it in faith, without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed about. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

What about a trial of sickness?

(James 5:15)

Is anyone among you sick? He should….call….pray….

“AND THE PRAYER OFFERED IN FAITH “WILL” MAKE THE SICK PERSON WELL;
THE LORD “WILL” RAISE HIM UP.
IF THEY HAVE SINNED, THEY “WILL” BE FORGIVEN.”

The command is if you have been blessed, then you “OUGHT” to praise Him. This is not a suggestion. This is also about faith. If you truly believe God has blessed you, then the fruit or work of this faith is praise. It is what God’s precept.  Do not keep it to yourself.

If you are sick, the command is to get healed in a prayer of faith. If you failed to get the result of wisdom because of doubt, James tells us to blame our unbelief and not “God’s will,” which so many do. The same with healing. We are still in context of the Letter of James; we are still in his emphasis on our faith vs false faith(unbelief). The subject did not suddenly and magically change to “God’s will,” or decree. It is not a suggestion to get healed. It is not a suggestion to get forgiveness, if you have sinned. It is God’s standing decree and precept, that you by your faith get healed and get forgiveness. If you fail, the accountability and responsibility is on your faith, not “God’s will (decree).”  If you believe God has commanded you to be healed, then you will prove this by the work of getting healed by your prayer of faith.  If you believe God’s command about forgiveness, then you will prove this by the work, of being born again, by your faith. Because it is God’s standing command to be healed by your faith, then it is always God’s Will(ethic) for you to be healed. Because it is God’s standing command get wisdom by your faith, then it is always God’s Will for you to get wisdom. Always.

James shows God’s kindness, in that our faith is not always mature and strong; and thus, we can call on the elders of the church to help us pray, so that  in faith we receive what we ask for. There are 2 quick things to note. One, do not take God’s help and kindness as if it negates God’s command on your faith to acquire from God, that is, your accountability. Second, if the elders of you church attempt to obey this command, (but I have rarely seen it), and their prayers do not commonly bring healing, they are worthless disobedient trash and should be excommunicated. It is the command of God (i.e. God’s will as in ethics) for faith to get the healing (accountability). It is one thing for lay people to be disobedient, but for the elders to be in direct disobedience of God, is inexcusable.

—-END NOTES—-

[1] This basic thesis statement of truth faith verses false faith was brought to my attention by Vincent Cheung.

[2] I call it a fallacy because I see this phrase more than not, used in a category error fallacy by Christians, by mixing up Christian ontology with Christian ethics. Or meaning the right category, but not using the right category in the right context the way the Bible dose.

Make us One Lord: Is to Have What You Pray For

…Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth.

Just as You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

And so for their sake and on their behalf I sanctify (dedicate, consecrate) Myself, that they also may be sanctified (dedicated, consecrated, made holy) in the Truth.

Neither for these alone do I pray [it is not for their sake only that I make this request], but also for all those who will ever come to believe in (trust in, cling to, rely on) Me through their word and teaching,

That they all may be one, [just] as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me.

I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one [even] as We are one:

I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and [definitely] recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved them [even] as You have loved Me.

… that the love which You have bestowed upon Me may be in them and that I [Myself] may be in them…

John 17:17–23, 26 (AMP)

Here is a question, in context of this prayer (of the dialog that lead up this prayer in John 13-16) how did Jesus define Him being made one in us and us in Him?

It is correct, Jesus made a focus on loving one another in this dialog. However, there was another focus as well. This focus was repeated (if not more) as much as the command to love. What could this be?!

This command was to ask Jesus for anything in prayer and He will give it to you. Before His death Jesus kept focusing the conversation on the fact He was going to give them the Spirit, as He had the Spirit. Jesus kept trying to expand the disciple understanding of their standing and identity as sons of God. Jesus kept repeating that they were to ask and then receive what they ask for! Jesus was about to leave the earth and was passing the torch to His church. They were to pray and by answered prayer defeat the kingdom of the devil (Acts 10:38, Luke 24:49), and usher in God’s kingdom of power and love.

In essence Jesus was making a divide with love between man and man, and love between God and man. Or, horizontal love and vertical love.

We love the church by preferring them as we prefer ourselves with favor; or that is, we wash our feet and so we wash the feet of the elect.

However, how is God’s love united in us and us in Him, in the vertical sense?

…If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

When you bear (produce) much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine.

I have loved you, [just] as the Father has loved Me; abide in My love [continue in His love with Me]…

John 15:7–9 (AMP)

Jesus defines the context as “love.” Then defines this love as how His love stays in us and we in Him. The answer given is an antecedent and consequence. This vertical love is maintained by us keeping His word in us. Then the necessary result or proof of His love in us and us in His love, is answered prayers. The proof of God’s love alive in our souls, is getting the very thing we ask for. Many might be repulsed by this, but it is how Jesus defines vertical love in disciples. It was not some overly tan guy, sitting in a over-the-top gold chair on TBN saying this. God said it.

Thus, when Jesus prays Him to be one and united in us, so as to prove God love is in us, you cannot define this without the context of Jesus defining oneness and unity on both the horizontal and vertical love. Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3 instructs us that our inner man grows stronger as we know and believe in God’s great love for us!

In essence, God proves He is our loving Father and we prove we are His loved children by asking Him to give us what we want, and as a Father He actually gives it to us. He loves us, what other outcome did you expect? This is how we prove our oneness with God, to the world around us. This how we show that God’s love is us and that Jesus is in us, and we in Him. We ask and He gives us whatever we ask from Him. This fruit bearing is proof of His love in us, and us in Him.

My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you… abide in My LOVE

Lord make us one with You, and one with each other. Amen.

No one is that dumb and evil, right?

Dude: “People in the church have made too many mistakes personally to me, and just mistakes about things in general; therefore, I have abandoned the church and God. The Bible does not necessarily mean truth.”
 
Me: Ok? Let us play this game with other aspects of reality and see how that works out?
 
“My math teacher made 16 adding mistakes; one of those were on grading my homework; therefore, I have abandoned the idea that math is correct, or that, 2 + 2 = 4.”
 
No one is that dumb and evil? No. Wait. Maybe they are.
 
Its sad people do not play that silly game with any other aspect of reality, but they do so with God and His Word. They will not have an excuse before the Throne of Power.
 
 
 
——–
Logically speaking, this is in the general fallacy of a point of non-relevance. It is type of ad hominem fallacy.  People’s mistakes have no necessary connection to the argument. Even without taking a logic class people know this because they do not play that game with math, for example, they only become that debasingly stupid and wicked when God is in the picture. 

No Threshold too High or too Low, for God’s Policy of Favor

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. (Ephesians 3:16-19 NLT)

Paul says you grow stronger by understanding and having faith in God’s limitless love for  you.

Vincent gives a great definition for God’s love,

“…[Love and hate] are policies of [God’s] thought and action. Since God is impassable, and his mind cannot be disturbed, it means that divine love is not a disturbance of the mind, but an intellectual disposition of favor and mercy. And hate is a disposition of disfavor and judgment…”[1]

Also, God’s has absolute mastery and control of His mind. He only “does what He wills.” Or that is, He only does the polices of thought, He has will do to.

“…Love is not an emotion in the Bible, but a volition. The spiritual man is marked by self-control, and has achieved mastery over his emotions. The mind of God is so integrated that he does only what he wills. As we increase in faith and holiness, our emotion should increasingly come under our conscious control, so that we become excited because we decide to become excited, become angry because we decide to become angry, and we can stop when we decide to stop…”[2]

If we add that to what was just said: Paul says that you grow stronger by believing God’s policy of thought and action of favor for you in Christ.

As in most things a “policy” might have a highest or lowest threshold that triggers the policy. Like a computer program, you might have thresholds that trigger a particular a program to execute. However, the Scripture defines God’s policy of thought and action of favor for His elect as not having something to small or to high that would escape His favor for them from being triggered and applied.

The death of God’s own Son, did not negate God’s policy of thought and action to give favor to His elect, to trigger and engage.

 “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners,” (Romans 5:8 NLT).

Paul argues from this that if God’s policy of favor triggers for such a huge thing, then how much more for the little things.

“Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else,” (Romans 8:32 NLT)”

Jesus also affirms this truth.

Thus, even the smallest things, like counting the your hairs, is not too small to trigger God’s policy of thought and action of favor to His elect.

“What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin[k]? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows,” Math 10:30-31)

Thus, no matter what trouble of life today you find yourself in, if you cry out in faith to God, it triggers God’s policy of thought and action of favor. You realize you do not deserve such love? Great! It is unmerited. Your faith qualifies you. Your faith gives you direct access to heaven, to trigger God’s favor for you.

— Endnotes —

[1] Vincent Cheung. Systematic Theology. 2010. 78 [] -added by author.

[2] Vincent Cheung. Systematic Theology. 2010. Pg 61.