I did not know where to start this for several reasons: I wanted to make it brief enough so that the gist of the message would not be lost within the paragraphs; But, I wanted to make it comprehensive enough because the saints deserve the very best. I hope what I wrote strikes somewhere in the middle.
In order to abridge the message for consumption, I made a lot of assumptions about the reader’s knowledge and understanding of scripture and did not include the references. I hope, for those of you who know the scriptures, they many come to mind as you read this. This is actually the point on which I want to open.
God gives us the natural to understand the spiritual. Even an unspiritual man may discern the ways of God by examining creation. Where men fall, or where they show their fallen nature, is when they refuse to retain God in their knowledge. The conclusions of such men become errant, or worse: perverse. Nevertheless, truth is always available because it is part of everything made, it’s “baked in” if you will. This is why men are “without excuse” when it comes to their relationship to God. So:
Point 1: The ways of God can be discerned by examining creation.
My next point is that there are only two sons in the earth. There are those who remain the sons of Adam and live according to their fallen nature and evil and there are those who are sons of God who live by faith in Christ.
Now, the objection that stares us in the face is that we know there are more than two people alive. This is easily explained: This understanding of “son” is a corporate understanding: it defines the whole as one. Just as Christ is corporate (the many in One) Adam is also corporate.
Point 2: There are two sons in the earth: Adam and Christ.
The next point is that these two sons are maturing together as the current age advances. The sons of God will mature to righteousness and godliness while the sons of Adam will mature to perversion and evil. As the Age advances the distinction between the two sons (and the people who make up the corporate body of each) will become clearer and clearer. At the culmination of the Age neither son will admire the ways of the other.
Point 3: The corporate evil son and the corporate Christ are both maturing at the same time.
If it is true that we are reaching a point when this Age will end and that certain terrible things must come into the earth before the end comes, do you believe that God will provide those in Christ with the necessary resources with which to live and thrive?
Let me put it another way: when do you begin to teach a child to drive: when they are infants or when they are closer to the legal age to drive?
We should absolutely expect that Our Father, the Living God, will equip the son to endure to the end of the Age.
And…
What He equips us with today will be different than what He equipped the saints with in the past.
THIS IS NOT SAYING THAT WE NEED AMENDMENTS TO THE BIBLE. The canon is closed. What it means is that the Word for us today will be succinct for our daily walk ESPECIALLY as the Age comes to a close.
Point 4: God attends to His Son according to the season He is in and equips Him accordingly.
The above point makes the distinction between the logos word and the rema word.
This is NOT, as some Pentecostals and Charismatics preach, the belief that what is spoken and what is written are of equal relevance. But we must understand the distinction:
Jesus Christ is the Word of God, the Logos. One way to think about it is that He embodies the fullness of who God is and what God is doing.
The Rema (or rhema) is what is spoken or what is relevant to the moment. It is used in this verse:
Ephesians 5:26 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word…”
This is the appropriate word at the appropriate time: Rema.
One should not use the scriptures like magical incantations: believing that if we find the right string of words we can dispel all the troubles that come our way. Typically, Christians will throw all kinds of scriptures at the “trouble wall” to see what sticks or at least to get a “I feel better” from the one they were trying to help. This is foolish, or at least immature, and it assumes that the string of words, out of context, have some sort of power. Social Media is rife with this kind of stuff.
Instead, like a husband to his wife, or like a father to a son; because these relationships are characterized by closeness and intimacy, the husband and the father should speak the specific word for the specific time (this is often from scripture). This requires 1) a relationship of intimacy and 2) revelation and wisdom for the father and husband. Christ speaks to our spirits in this way, giving us what we need for the moment. This is the standard of “My sheep hear My voice”.
One point I want to emphasize (because Christ emphasized it)…
Any man, and even Satan, may handle the logos word: they can speak what is simply written. But only those who walk in the Spirit can speak the rema word, the word for the moment. The gift of “teaching” has such a standard. If teaching were just about reading the scriptures and telling people what it says there would be no need for a deposit of empowerment, from the Spirit, to teach. The Pharisees were like this: they knew the words but they could not discern Christ as He stood in their midst. We must know the Father and Christ whom He sent. Without this we will not be equipped for the day we are in.
So, do not necessarily be impressed with those who use Greek or Hebrew versions of words found in scripture to prove their point. There is no magic to them. Such knowledge may be useful when studying the scriptures but such knowledge is available to all men, even those who are of Adam.
Point 5: The Rema word is required for the day in which we live. This requires wisdom and revelation which arises out of a relationship (walking with) the Lord.
That's all for now. I intended to get into the subject of "Antichrist" but this has already gone too long. I'll get to it soon enough. Thanks for reading. I hope it was encouraging and insightful.
Grace and Peace,
Aaron56
In order to abridge the message for consumption, I made a lot of assumptions about the reader’s knowledge and understanding of scripture and did not include the references. I hope, for those of you who know the scriptures, they many come to mind as you read this. This is actually the point on which I want to open.
God gives us the natural to understand the spiritual. Even an unspiritual man may discern the ways of God by examining creation. Where men fall, or where they show their fallen nature, is when they refuse to retain God in their knowledge. The conclusions of such men become errant, or worse: perverse. Nevertheless, truth is always available because it is part of everything made, it’s “baked in” if you will. This is why men are “without excuse” when it comes to their relationship to God. So:
Point 1: The ways of God can be discerned by examining creation.
My next point is that there are only two sons in the earth. There are those who remain the sons of Adam and live according to their fallen nature and evil and there are those who are sons of God who live by faith in Christ.
Now, the objection that stares us in the face is that we know there are more than two people alive. This is easily explained: This understanding of “son” is a corporate understanding: it defines the whole as one. Just as Christ is corporate (the many in One) Adam is also corporate.
Point 2: There are two sons in the earth: Adam and Christ.
The next point is that these two sons are maturing together as the current age advances. The sons of God will mature to righteousness and godliness while the sons of Adam will mature to perversion and evil. As the Age advances the distinction between the two sons (and the people who make up the corporate body of each) will become clearer and clearer. At the culmination of the Age neither son will admire the ways of the other.
Point 3: The corporate evil son and the corporate Christ are both maturing at the same time.
If it is true that we are reaching a point when this Age will end and that certain terrible things must come into the earth before the end comes, do you believe that God will provide those in Christ with the necessary resources with which to live and thrive?
Let me put it another way: when do you begin to teach a child to drive: when they are infants or when they are closer to the legal age to drive?
We should absolutely expect that Our Father, the Living God, will equip the son to endure to the end of the Age.
And…
What He equips us with today will be different than what He equipped the saints with in the past.
THIS IS NOT SAYING THAT WE NEED AMENDMENTS TO THE BIBLE. The canon is closed. What it means is that the Word for us today will be succinct for our daily walk ESPECIALLY as the Age comes to a close.
Point 4: God attends to His Son according to the season He is in and equips Him accordingly.
The above point makes the distinction between the logos word and the rema word.
This is NOT, as some Pentecostals and Charismatics preach, the belief that what is spoken and what is written are of equal relevance. But we must understand the distinction:
Jesus Christ is the Word of God, the Logos. One way to think about it is that He embodies the fullness of who God is and what God is doing.
The Rema (or rhema) is what is spoken or what is relevant to the moment. It is used in this verse:
Ephesians 5:26 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word…”
This is the appropriate word at the appropriate time: Rema.
One should not use the scriptures like magical incantations: believing that if we find the right string of words we can dispel all the troubles that come our way. Typically, Christians will throw all kinds of scriptures at the “trouble wall” to see what sticks or at least to get a “I feel better” from the one they were trying to help. This is foolish, or at least immature, and it assumes that the string of words, out of context, have some sort of power. Social Media is rife with this kind of stuff.
Instead, like a husband to his wife, or like a father to a son; because these relationships are characterized by closeness and intimacy, the husband and the father should speak the specific word for the specific time (this is often from scripture). This requires 1) a relationship of intimacy and 2) revelation and wisdom for the father and husband. Christ speaks to our spirits in this way, giving us what we need for the moment. This is the standard of “My sheep hear My voice”.
One point I want to emphasize (because Christ emphasized it)…
Any man, and even Satan, may handle the logos word: they can speak what is simply written. But only those who walk in the Spirit can speak the rema word, the word for the moment. The gift of “teaching” has such a standard. If teaching were just about reading the scriptures and telling people what it says there would be no need for a deposit of empowerment, from the Spirit, to teach. The Pharisees were like this: they knew the words but they could not discern Christ as He stood in their midst. We must know the Father and Christ whom He sent. Without this we will not be equipped for the day we are in.
So, do not necessarily be impressed with those who use Greek or Hebrew versions of words found in scripture to prove their point. There is no magic to them. Such knowledge may be useful when studying the scriptures but such knowledge is available to all men, even those who are of Adam.
Point 5: The Rema word is required for the day in which we live. This requires wisdom and revelation which arises out of a relationship (walking with) the Lord.
That's all for now. I intended to get into the subject of "Antichrist" but this has already gone too long. I'll get to it soon enough. Thanks for reading. I hope it was encouraging and insightful.
Grace and Peace,
Aaron56
-
4
- Show all
