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The Mysteries of God The Blindness of Israel

And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: “Hearing you will hear and will not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.’ – Matthew 13:14-15

For I do not desire for you to be ignorant, brethren, of this mystery in order that you are not alongside yourselves in a frame of mind, because hardness from a part to Israel has come until which the fullness of the Gentiles has come. – Romans 11:25

The nation of Israel has been blinded due to their unbelief for a short time while the Gentiles are being offered reconciliation. God uses an example of a cultivated olive tree to show that the Gentiles are now able to partake in the benefits that belong to Israel, but due to her unbelief she has been cut off until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in.

Therefore, you say, “Branches were broken off in order that I on my part should be grafted in,” Well, by unbelief they were broken off, and you by faith stand not having a high frame of mind but respect. – Romans 11:19-20

The placement of sons, expressing a proper opinion of God, the covenants, the legislation, the religious service, and the promises belong to Israel. The Church does not replace Israel in these, but rather is allowed to partake in the benefits of being in Christ.

For I vow for myself that I myself were separated from the Christ on behalf of […]

The Mysteries of God The Blindness of Israel2023-12-14T08:31:53-08:00

Being Gracious Towards Others

In English the word “forgive” is defined as, “to stop feeling angry towards or blaming someone, or to stop requiring a payment for something”. This is not equal to how Scripture uses the word “Forgive.” The main meaning of the word “forgive” in Scripture is “to send away”. It can be used for a husband and wife, or not leaving anything behind; however, when it comes to sin it is specific to only God Who is the One forgiving, for sin is only against God.

And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce (send away) him. – 1 Corinthians 7:13

You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left (sent away) nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. – Hebrews 2:8

Therefore, leaving (sending away) the discussion of the elementary principles of the Christ, let us go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, – Hebrews 6:1

Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. – Psalms 51:4

Unlike in the Old Testament, which only offered the covering of sins (atonement), the blood of Christ forgives (sends away) our sins. And without payment for sin there is no forgiveness.

And almost all things are cleansed by blood according to the law and apart from shedding blood forgiveness does not come […]

Being Gracious Towards Others2023-12-14T08:32:53-08:00

The Definition of Love – Does not Brag

Love is longsuffering, love is kind, love is not jealous, love does not brag … 1 Corinthians 13:4

Bragging is when someone uses adulations or employing rhetorical embellishments in excessively praising another. Love does not brag about itself. It is not a characteristic of a person’s attitude and actions that desires to be noticed and praised for what it is doing. Those who brag about how much their church gives to the poor, or the different social events and projects they are involved in, or how much they help out their community, are not expressing love. Why? Because, by their boasting they are showing that their actions are not about seeking the best for those who are loved, but getting accolades.

God’s quality of love seeks the best for the one loved, so by its very nature it will not push itself forward to be praised, and certainly will not embellish on its accomplishments. This type of trait comes from a mind that is framed correctly and humble while giving preference to others.

In the fondness unto one another affectionately giving preference to the honor of one another – Romans 12:20

Rejoice with rejoicing, weep with weeping, while considering the same unto one another, not while framing the mind on the high things, but while associating with the humble. Do not be caused to become wise alongside yourselves, while not paying back wrong for wrong, giving prior thought to proper before all men. – Romans 12:15-17

Love is going to withhold its anger against unreasonable people and make others feel at ease by its benevolent nature, while not bragging about itself. This is God’s quality of love. Remember, the world system thinks it can express love without God and many churches today have fallen victim to replacing […]

The Definition of Love – Does not Brag2023-12-14T08:34:36-08:00

Why the Great Commission is not so Great

At the end of the book of Matthew it is recorded that Jesus instructed His disciples to go and make disciples. As a result of this command, this verse has been used as the battle cry for missionaries. Taking the gospel around the world! However, the verse does not actually say that, and when we understand what it in fact states, we see that the Great Commission diminishes what Jesus said.

From the ESV, although most modern translations are basically the same, Matthew 28:19 states, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This is basically the same translation as the King James version even though the ESV claims to take the original language into account. Why is this important? Let us walk through the original statement so we can see.

When it comes to translating Scripture from the original Greek, we need to pay attention to the type of verb that is being expressed. For commands, we typically find these in the imperative. Therefore, it is necessary, urgent, or required that we do the statement. In Matthew 28:19 “Go”, in our translations, is expressing an imperative. However, there is an issue with this, because the word for “go” is not in the imperative in the original language; rather, it is the word “make disciples” that is the imperative. So why does this matter? Well, you see, the disciples were not commanded to “Go”, they were commanded to “make disciples”. Is not the meaning basically the same? Actually, it is not. Let us look at the word “Go” and see. “Go” is not a normal verb, it is actually a participle. […]

Why the Great Commission is not so Great2023-12-14T08:35:56-08:00

The Definition of Love – Kindness

Love is longsuffering, love is kind … 1 Corinthians 13:4

Another aspect of God’s quality of love is kindness. One who is kind is described as having a good or benevolent nature or disposition, which will put others at ease. This is not an aspect of the human nature.

All turned away. They altogether became useless. There are no doers of kindness, there is not even one. – Romans 3:12

Unlike anywhere else in Scripture, here in first Corinthians Love is defined as a verb, where all other times it is a noun or adjective. Kindness is expressed in how we make others feel at ease around us not so much in an emotional sense, but an ease of mind, due to expressing a benevolent nature. This is the kind of person you feel comfortable around, not because they agree with you, on the contrary they are typically the ones that will call you out for doing wrong, but they do not judge, they do not speak harshly, mock, make fun of, or embarrass others. They are just good people to be around who understand the importance of having a benevolent disposition towards others.

If we want our lives to have a big impact on others, we need to pay attention to what God does, for it is the kindness of God that leads us to a change of mind, not hell, fire and damnation.

Or do you think little of the riches of His kindness, and tolerance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the kindness from God leads you into a change of mind – Romans 2:4

Without God showing us kindness, we would not be saved; therefore, this should be our same attitude and actions towards […]

The Definition of Love – Kindness2023-12-14T08:36:19-08:00
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