THE HEAD SCRATCHING GOSPEL

[p_rehbein]

The head scratching Gospel of Christ

Often times, when Jesus was teaching, I suspect there were those in the crowd who were scratching their heads, wondering what this Man was talking about. He seemed to be talking in a backwards way as He addressed this life.

Consider what is recorded in the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 8, verse 35…. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.

Scratching their heads, they had to wonder how one could save their life by dying? How could one lose their life by saving it? Yet Jesus, in His special way, was teaching them the importance of our spiritual lives. Our eternal life, and not our earthly lives.

Jesus (in verse 36) went on to say: For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37) Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

This teaching is the teaching that we must die to self in order to live in Him. The Apostle Paul said:
1 Corinthians 15:31) I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

And, back in Mark, Jesus prefaced His comment from verse 35 by saying: 34) And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.

This teaching had to be a mystery to many there, and they surely walked away wondering what sort of man this Jesus was.

But this teaching runs through all of His Gospel. Consider what He told Nicodemus (found in John 3:5) Jesus answered, Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. 6) That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit. 7) Marvel not that I say unto thee, Ye must be born again.

This goes hand in hand with what He taught in Mark, and what Paul said in 1 Corinthians. Dying to self, to live in Christ.

Yes, Scripture tells us that it is appointed for every man to die once, but this death is the physical/earthy death, not our spiritual death. In Christ Jesus, we have assurance that our spirit will never die!

John 11:25) Jesus said unto her I am the resurrection and the life, he that believeth in me, though her were dead, yet shall he live. 26) And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Praise God! Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

(Inspired by the writings of Joe Stowell)

 

[PurerInHeart]

The head scratching Gospel of Christ

Often times, when Jesus was teaching, I suspect there were those in the crowd who were scratching their heads, wondering what this Man was talking about. He seemed to be talking in a backwards way as He addressed this life.

Consider what is recorded in the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 8, verse 35…. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.

Scratching their heads, they had to wonder how one could save their life by dying? How could one lose their life by saving it? Yet Jesus, in His special way, was teaching them the importance of our spiritual lives. Our eternal life, and not our earthly lives.

Jesus (in verse 36) went on to say: For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37) Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

This teaching is the teaching that we must die to self in order to live in Him. The Apostle Paul said:
1 Corinthians 15:31) I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

And, back in Mark, Jesus prefaced His comment from verse 35 by saying: 34) And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.

This teaching had to be a mystery to many there, and they surely walked away wondering what sort of man this Jesus was.

But this teaching runs through all of His Gospel. Consider what He told Nicodemus (found in John 3:5) Jesus answered, Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. 6) That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit. 7) Marvel not that I say unto thee, Ye must be born again.

This goes hand in hand with what He taught in Mark, and what Paul said in 1 Corinthians. Dying to self, to live in Christ.

Yes, Scripture tells us that it is appointed for every man to die once, but this death is the physical/earthy death, not our spiritual death. In Christ Jesus, we have assurance that our spirit will never die!

John 11:25) Jesus said unto her I am the resurrection and the life, he that believeth in me, though her were dead, yet shall he live. 26) And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Praise God! Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

(Inspired by the writings of Joe Stowell)

Yes, He used physical examples to describe spiritual things. God purposely made it to where we have to study, ask, seek, and knock for understanding. He wants us to dig deep into the word and compare scripture to scripture to get the full meaning, and to recognize false doctrines.

 

[Zmouth]

The head scratching Gospel of Christ...
Scratching their heads, they had to wonder how one could save their life by dying? How could one lose their life by saving it? .

What did they say?

Yet Jesus, in His special way, was teaching them the importance of our spiritual lives. Our eternal life, and not our earthly lives
Jesus (in verse 36) went on to say: For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37) Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Then wouldn't thy self be dead; how can we live to him being dead?

So what is the soul? It is not the spirit because there are three things in the flesh that give it life, the spirit, the blood and the water. Or at least IMO.

Since it is written that the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: Yet in Luke 24:39, it is written that Jesus said unto Thomas, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see." I had to pick up my Bible and look at that a little closer.

Yet the verse continues, "for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as you see me have." It is right there in the Bible, look for yourself. But a spirit hath not flesh and bones is liken to the spoken word has ink and paper, yet not since a spirit is matter without mass, it like a photon which is a particle of light which is said to be massless. But of course it is just as real as matter having mass, like our skin and bones.

This teaching is the teaching that we must die to self in order to live in Him

I thought the idea of believing was to avoid perishing, like written in John 3:16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. So if we are in the world, and God so loved the world he sent his Son to be crucified in the flesh then how is killing the spirit within living unto to Him since the life of the flesh is in the blood and the flesh without the spirit is dead?

 

[HeRoseFromTheDead]

This teaching is the teaching that we must die to self in order to live in Him. The Apostle Paul said:

1 Corinthians 15:31) I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

I think we have to be careful using this expression. Saying that we have to die to self can easily turn into self-negation and passive belief for some (many?), which just opens the door to mystic/gnostic influences. I don't think we have to die to self as much as we ourselves have to die. Living with that reality lets Christ live. Dying to self can (does?) actually keep self very much alive.

 

[oldethennew]

LUKE 5:37.
And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled,
and the bottles shall perish.

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.

EPH. 4:27. - Neither give place to the devil.

 

[p_rehbein]

Too, too funny...........

Mark 8:35, John 11:25-26 and John 3:16 are all saying the same thing........too, too funny.....

 

[p_rehbein]

I think we have to be careful using this expression. Saying that we have to die to self can easily turn into self-negation and passive belief for some (many?), which just opens the door to mystic/gnostic influences. I don't think we have to die to self as much as we ourselves have to die. Living with that reality lets Christ live. Dying to self can (does?) actually keep self very much alive.

I understood what I was saying, but that doesn't mean I explained it very well. Upon reflecting, I could have used this passage from Luke:

9:23) And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

coupled with this passage from Acts:

17:11) These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
12 .) Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

Showing the commonality between what Jesus said and what the Apostle Paul said.........

I suppose these Scriptures can mean different things to different folks, but this is what they mean to me.