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Stewardship and Dispensations: The Significance of Οικονομός and Οικονομία

Stewardship and Dispensations:

The Significance of Οικονομός and Οικονομία

The sixty-six books of the Bible span thousands of years of human history and beyond. They begin before God created man and end with the creation of new heavens and a new earth where righteousness settles down and feels at ease[1]. Within the pages of the Bible, we see changes in God’s relationship and standard for mankind and the failure of mankind to live up to God’s expectation, which ultimately brings judgment. In the Garden of Eden, Adam was not allowed to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil[2]. Upon eating the fruit from this tree, his spirit was separated from God[3], he became subject to physical death, and he was expelled from the garden[4]. Having been expelled from the garden, God’s expectation for humans was for them to properly govern the manner of their lives by the knowledge of good and evil, now that they possessed it. However, again, men failed, and God judged the earth by bringing a flood[5]. After the flood, God instructed Noah that men are to govern themselves and that capital punishment is to be implemented[6]. Again, men fail to follow God’s instruction, reject God, and seek their own way. Therefore, God brought judgment and forced man to separate and spread across the earth[7]. This judgment brought about multiple languages and the division of the continents, which caused man to spread out across the earth[8].  Having scattered man across the face of the earth, God then approaches Abram and ultimately offers him four covenants[9]. These covenants included a promise of land that Abraham and his descendants […]

Stewardship and Dispensations: The Significance of Οικονομός and Οικονομία2024-09-08T17:47:28-07:00

Desiring to Live Godly (Manifesting God’s Quality of Life)

2 Timothy 3:12 and indeed, all the ones desiring to live Godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Living a life that expresses godliness is such a wonderful thought; however, this type of lifestyle can bring persecution into our lives. When persecution comes to mind, we tend to think of physical suffering. However, the word “persecution” comes from a Greek word that also has the meaning of “pursue” or “harass”, along with causing on to run or flee. It has both good and bad meanings, that is, we can pursue something good such as peace. We as Christians are to pursue peace among ourselves, maturity in Christ, the mark of the price of the upward call of God in Christ, doing that which makes others happy not just for other Christians but for all people, righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and meekness, fighting the good fight of the faith. On the other hand, we can suffer persecution; both physical and mental suffering caused by another. When we even desire to pursue a life of Godliness, the bad side of persecution is coming our way. At the very least we will be harassed by those who do not want to see God’s quality of life that we are living out.

In addition, persecution not only comes from other people, our three enemies can cause persecution also. Anytime we choose to live a life that glorifies God over doing something that lacks in character we have an internal battle. Within our minds, there is a battle for the control of our thoughts. Do we give in and focus on the flesh, or take the way of escape and continue to live godly?

There are periods in our lives when the […]

Desiring to Live Godly (Manifesting God’s Quality of Life)2013-02-06T20:59:12-08:00

Feeling at Ease with Who You are In Christ

John 15:1, 2, 4 I am the true vine and the Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me not bearing fruit He lifts up and every branch bearing fruit He cleanses in order that it may bear more fruit…. Abide in me and I in you. Just as the branch does not have the natural ability to bear fruit from itself except it abides in the vine, thus neither can you, except you abide in me.

When we believed the Gospel for Salvation (Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures) we were placed into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. This body is a new creation by God in which Christ is the head and we are the body. In this new creation, old thing have passed away. We are no longer in Adam and therefore no longer condemned. Behold, all things have become new. We are in Christ, were we are now counted to be righteous before God, our spirits are connected to God, we are no longer a slave to the sin nature, we have a quality of the mind of Christ, and share in a quality of the Divine Nature. The change that happens at salvation is not a visible change because it begins in our spiritual part, and ends with our full redemption at the rapture with a resurrected body and a saved soul. Nonetheless, this change is very real. We are now able to receive the things of the Spirit and live a life that manifests the character of the resurrected Christ.

How comfortable are you with who you are in Christ? When Jesus first revealed the […]

Feeling at Ease with Who You are In Christ2023-11-23T10:32:24-08:00

SET APART CHRIST AS LORD: Always ready to give a defense

1 Peter 3:15 But set apart Christ as Lord (Master) in your hearts and always be prepared towards a defense to all who ask you a word concerning your hope, with objectivity of mind and respect…

If someone asked you why you believe what you believe, could you answer intelligently?

When we are asked about the hope that we have, it is not much of an answer to say, “We believe because we believe.” Or, in other words, we are not able to give a reason, or articulate, why we accept as truth the things we believe. We cannot have faith for the sake of having faith. Since a promise is always the basis for faith there is no such thing in Scripture as blind faith.
In the context of the book of 1 Peter, the author is encouraging Christians who are suffering unjustly and facing false accusations against their character because they are not getting involved with the lifestyle of unbelievers around them. When we live a life the follows God rather than the ways of the world, we are discernably different to unbelievers because of our actions, not our words, which can give the perfect opportunity to share with an unbeliever the Gospel for salvation and the resulting hope from believing when we are asked why we are so unusual and dissimilar to others.
You do not have to be a theologian to know what you believe. You may not be able to read the Bible in the original languages, or explain every verse, but that does not mean you cannot know what you believe and why you have the hope that you have. All Christians can and should mature enough to know at the very least […]

SET APART CHRIST AS LORD: Always ready to give a defense2023-12-14T12:31:19-08:00

THE PROCESS OF A TEMPTATION: HOW TO MANAGE BAD THOUGHTS

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “for though in the flesh we walk, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not pertaining to the flesh, but pertaining to the natural ability of God towards the tearing down of fortresses; pulling down logics and every high thing lifting itself up against the experiential knowledge of God, and taking captive every thought into the obedience of Christ.”

How do you control the thoughts in your mind?

So often we struggle with thoughts that are of a “lacking in character” type, which flood our minds all day long. Perhaps they are thoughts that we will never do because ultimately our conscience would not permit such an action; nonetheless, we struggle with them. Perhaps we would do them if the opportunity presented itself knowing full well that we should not be involved with that type of action. Or perhaps they are thought that seem to be impossible to resist. They take over our minds, making us feel guilty and unworthy before God for even allowing such a thing in our minds, not to mention actually doing them.
We need to remember that our battle is not a battle of the flesh; we are not waging war against fleshly enemies. Our enemies are spiritual and affect our way of thinking. When it comes to how we deal with thoughts in our minds we need to realize that the thought is not a sin, or even a trespass. The thought in itself is nothing until we make it something.
In James 1:12 we are told how we are tempted by a desire to do something that lacks in character. First, the lust has to enter your mind, hence, a […]

THE PROCESS OF A TEMPTATION: HOW TO MANAGE BAD THOUGHTS2023-11-23T12:48:41-08:00
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