In John 9 is the record of the healing of the man born blind, one of the many healings brought into manifestation by Jesus on the Sabbath. I say “brought into manifestation” rather than “performed by” since Jesus didn’t actually “heal” the man’s eyes. Jesus’ consciousness of the man’s true spiritual identity that cannot experience blindness and the man being “touched” by that consciousness is what caused the man to see.
The Sign of Jonah: Jesus’ Use of Scripture
We read in the book of Jonah that “the word of the Lord came unto Jonah . . . saying, . . . ‘go to Nineveh’. . . . But Jonah rose up to flee . . . from the presence of the Lord, and . . . found a ship going to Tarshish” (Jonah 1:1-3).
Continue reading “The Sign of Jonah: Jesus’ Use of Scripture”
Understanding Scripture
When the lawyer came to Jesus asking what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus responded, “What is written in the law? how readest thou?” We have to ask ourselves the same question, “How are we going to read what is written in Scripture?”
All Things to All Men
I was reading the book of Titus where Paul is giving Titus instructions about the qualifications for the elders that he is to “ordain” “in every city.” I wondered why this was even included in Scripture as I began to see how many doctrines have come from Paul’s words (both here and in many of his other letters containing instructions), doctrines that have come from reading these scriptures by the “letter” rather than the “Spirit,” doctrines which have put people under the law and in bondage, the very thing Paul warned us against in so many of his writings.
By Your Words You Are Condemned
July 4, 2017
Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
If “I” (the personality man; old man; natural man) am “dead,” it cannot speak. If the Christ (my true identity) is living me, then when I speak the word “I” it is the Christ speaking and what it says can refer only to that Christ, not to the “old man” that is dead. If I say “I am sick,” I am saying that the Christ is sick because a dead man cannot be sick.
Curse of the Law
This morning I was awakened by a dream in which I had made a u-turn in the middle of a two-lane road as I was driving. The driver immediately in front of me had made the same turn with no repercussions. There was a bus, not a police car, behind me. As soon as I made the turn, I stopped, as did the bus. The driver of the bus “arrested” me as if he were an officer of the law. I “explained” that I was from another state and that I saw the car in front of me do it. But inside I knew I was guilty, knew it even before I made the turn. It was at this time I woke up.
Parables as a Teaching Tool
Using the word “parable” in its broadest sense (to include word pictures, personifications, similes, metaphors and allegories), it is probably the most common and effective means of both spoken and written communication available. It is the primary tool employed by Jesus when teaching. Actually, there is scarcely any account of anything in Scripture where the parable isn’t used—from the Garden of Eden in Genesis to the New Jerusalem in Revelation. And yet orthodox Christianity prides itself on sticking to a literal reading of Scripture whenever possible. Of course there are countless instances where it isn’t possible for even the most literal-minded person to read it thusly.
What Is the Word of God?
The writer of the book of Hebrews says concerning the Word of God:
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick [living and active], and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
What is the Word of God that is so powerful? Is it the Bible?
The New Creature
Because I was an English major in college, immersing myself in British history and literature, I’ve become something of an “Anglophile.” Living in England for two years (a fantasy of mine that came true) only enhanced my fascination with all things British. I’ve recently been re-watching “Downton Abbey,” “binge watching” really. The story began to occupy my thoughts and even my dream life. I awakened during the pre-dawn hours this morning feeling very anxious and unsettled. So I came into the living room and began to quieten myself inside to listen to the Holy Spirit—not exactly an easy skill to master but, arguably, the most valuable one; for inside is where God dwells (see “Where Is God?”) and therefore where we find answers, solutions and direction.
Where Is God?
Of course we know that God is omnipresent, which means that He is everywhere present, not in a geographical location. And of course God is not a “He” because He is not a man: