Monday, May 25, 2015

Creator


Hand of God reaching out to Adam who receives it

The Apostle Paul warns us in scripture that in the Last Days, men will disregard God as our Creator, and, as a result, the humanity and character, the soul of man, will change. In Romans 1:18-25, Paul says that the truth of the invisible attributes of God were clearly seen and understood through the creation, even His eternal power and Godhead, but men chose instead to suppress this truth, even exchanging the truth for a lie. Choosing the lie instead caused their thoughts and hearts to be darkened, and removed thankfulness from their character. Their very character would become twisted and perverse, valuing the things which were created rather than the Creator. This twist of character rules every aspect of their lives.
Even as we will look back at the Creation as told in Genesis, we will see that the desire of man was to remove the power of God from their lives.
Looking at Gen. Ch. 1, which contains 31 verses, God connects His Name with the creation process 32 times. He emphatically declares by this that we cannot separate His Name from the act of creation. Nowhere else in scripture does He state His Name as frequently. The Name we are introduced to is "Elohim", which is a plural used as a singular, indicating the plural nature of the Godhead. "Elohim" means "Judge, Ruler, Divine One". This is the first revelation of God's character that we receive in scripture. We are familiar with the fact that God spoke the Word, and creation manifested. John Ch. 1 tells us that Jesus was this Word, and was present at this creation. In Rev. 3:14, Jesus identifies Himself as "the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning (Principal, Head) of the creation of God".
However, before the Word was even spoken that would establish creation, something else occurred which requires our notice for its importance.
There existed a great dark emptiness, having the depth of an abyss or pit, even as the measure of the deepest depths of the oceans. Over this great oppressive emptiness and darkness, the Spirit of God moved (Gen. 1:2). The word used for "moved", means to be moved by an extreme emotion, to cherish, to soften or enfold by intense love. Before even the Word went forth, this vast dark emptiness was enfolded by the love of the Spirit of Elohim. The power of creation began in love, intense love. Jesus described these same feelings in the New Testament as He looked upon Jerusalem. At one point, He was moved so deeply that He wept (a wailing, mournful lamentation). He was moved so deeply be the great love that He felt. In Mt. 23:37, He declares over Jerusalem that He had so desired to enfold it, that same enfolding love as mentioned above, as a hen enfolds her chicks under her wings, but He was refused.
As we move into Ch. 2 of Genesis, Elohim reveals His Name as LORD God, or YHWH Elohim. In Exodus, LORD God describes His Name of YHWH as meaning "I AM THAT I AM". It means "existing One, to be, become, come to pass, to be done, to be finished." His Name describes His power of existence, even eternal existence. The Name goes on to mean "to breathe, to live, the breath of every living creature. His Name revealed here identifies the truth of the fact that He IS existence and life. Finally, included I the meaning of "YHWH" is a deep emotion-to wait longingly, wish, sigh, desire, to dwell. We can feel here His deep love and desire towards His creation, and His great longing to extend His power of existence around Him. There is no existence of life apart from Him. He IS existence and life. This is not a removed, remote Creator. Yet man does not understand the foolishness of attempting to separate himself from this Spirit of Life. There is no life apart from the Divine Source, YHWH Elohim.
The lie that man chooses to accept, instead appears in Gen 3. As Satan, a spirit disguised as a creature, approaches Eve, his first words to her show that he rejects the revelation of the Name YHWH Elohim. He asks Eve, "Has God indeed said...?" Eve answers him, following the example of rejecting the new revelation of LORD God's Name saying, "God has said...". Satan wants to convince Eve that she can live and exist independently of LORD God. He assures her "You will not surely die". But Eve was dead the moment she separated herself from the living power of the revelation of the Name "YHWY" or "LORD". The forbidden fruit didn't kill her, her own rejection of the life-giving existence killed her. She chose the same lie that man in the Last Days chooses.
In the Last Days, man rushes headlong into this same rejection in a desire to claim that they live independently from God as their Creator, but they are already dead. Their only hope is to become reconciled back to the Life-giver, and Life-sustainer through the redemption of Jesus. Jesus said... "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives, and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (Jn. 11:25-26). And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life... (Jn. 6:35). And He said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts." (Rev. 21:6).
YHWH Elohim, the LORD God still wishes to enfold us in His Spirit of deep love and life. Even as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. Let us be reminded of this precious truth, and CHOOSE it.

Our Father LORD is Creator.

"God is Our Creator"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ07nvfArc0

"High Praise"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ07nvfArc0

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Body





In the Book of Hebrews, a verse describes Jesus' entry into the world:
"Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
"Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, "Behold, I have come-
In the volume of the book it is written of Me-
To do Your will, O God."
                                                           Heb. 10:5-7
In the above verse, the word "prepared" means to be fit, sound, complete, to mend what has been broken or rent, to repair, to equip, put in order, arrange, to perfect The root word it comes from contains a prefix that denotes motion or diffusion or direction from the higher to the lower. God Himself, prepared this body above, and Jesus brought it downward to the earth below when He came.This definition can very well describe the Body of Christ made up of His believers, as well. I would like to suggest that it IS the same-that the body that the Father prepared for His Son, as He entered the world was also a physical, fleshly body that includes us. I think there is only one body that pertains to Christ. The scriptures also say this:
"For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit, we were baptized into one body...For in fact, the body is not one member, but many."        
"But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased."
"Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually."
                                                                       1 Cor. 12:12-14, 18, 27
These verses, and the verse from Heb. 10 above, tells us that God prepared the body as He pleased for His Son.
In Ephesians, we are described in the following manner:
"...the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him, who fills all in all."
"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling."
"For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones."
                                                                       Eph. 1:22-23, 4:4, 5:50
The last verse above, tells us that we are not just His spiritual body, but we were incorporated into His actual physical body, even, as stated in the Heb. 10 verse, a body prepared and fitted together before Jesus entered the physical earth. When Jesus ministered in the earth, He wore us. When He was tried and suffered, He wore us ("...inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's suffering" and "...the fellowship of His sufferings"). When He was crucified, He wore us ("I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;..." and "...made conformable unto His death..."). When He was buried and He rose from the dead, He wore us ("buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him...") . When Jesus ascended to His Father after His resurrection, we ascended with Him ("...I am ascending to My Father, and your Father, and to My God and your God..." and "...when He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men"). When He was seated at His Father's right hand in the heavenly places, we were seated with Him (...and made us sit together in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus.").
Jesus said to His disciples, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." Jn. 10:16.
Jesus didn't say that He will have other sheep, but He says, "I have", in the present tense.
As Jesus described our then presence with Him to His disciples of that day, He said "them also I must bring...". The word bring used here means: to lead, take with one, lay hold of and this way to bring to a point of destination, lead by accompanying to a place, attach to one's self as an attendant.
Isn't it interesting that the word bring means to physically attach someone to you in order to lead them to where they have to go? And Jesus described us in this manner to His disciples of that day.
In the above verse, Jesus also says "..other sheep I have...". The word have used here means: to have (hold) in the hand, in the sense of wearing, used of those joined to any one by the bonds of natural blood or marriage, to adhere or cling to, to hold one's self to a thing, to be closely joined to a person. Again He uses a term of physical connection, even "wearing". And of course, there is the having through marriage, interestingly included in this word meaning.
Even as Adam described the woman as being of his flesh and bone, so we are described as being flesh and bone of and from Jesus in the above verse, Eph. 5:50. The Hebrew phrase "flesh and bone", originally used as Adam's description of the woman in Gen. 2:23 means:
"bone" (atsam)- vast, numerous, mighty
"flesh" (basar)-bear tidings, publish, preach, gladden with good news, announce salvation as good news.
The very word "body" in the Greek of the New Testament is the word soma, which comes from the root word sozo, which means "to save, to rescue from destruction."
I saw an amazing thing in the Spirit. The Father took me to Isa. 6:1, where Isaiah tells of his vision of the LORd (Adonai). He describes the Lord as sitting on a throne, high and lifted up. The train (hem of His garment, of a high priest's robe) of His robe filled the temple.What I saw was the LORd, from far above and slightly behind, walking down the center aisle of a huge Temple, or cathedral. He wore a very long train that ran all the way down the long aisle behind Him. It was white, like a bridal train, that was attached at the back and top of the LORd's shoulders. As I zoomed in closer, I saw that this white train was really made up of people wearing white. I could see their heads. Many, many people made up this living train of His robe.
He was wearing us. We were physically attached, or joined, to Him as His train in the above vision.
We cannot be separated from Christ, because we are part of His Body, fitted to Him by His Father. Where He goes, we go (Rev. 14:4). What He speaks, we speak. We are not us, we are Him.

Our Father has prepared a Body.

"I See the Lord"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebzoET4XIj8