T L C

prenote:
God is really amazing how he is making this possible to come about. It seems as if everything that has been hammered on through posts to various threads all comes down to this. IRL and online: verses, comments, things spoken, Bible passages studied, etc. recently all seem to be pointing to this.

Presently, it seems that this text may not spell out plainly enough to readers just how in effect God's Law is, especially to we who believe.

(It is just begun to be seen how all this is fitting together. This first part is one aspect to texts/threads that will follow (D.V.). It is not yet known what aspect of "The Everlasting Covenant" will be typed next. This is not really considered 'my' work, so anybody who has anything to add, corrections, verses, comments, questions to put out for discussion, feel free to share in this. There is no claim to this being complete, but it's hoped that this text has enough of a foundation, that there is a starting point to build upon.)

(This first began as a promise to mguldner> "Re: Communion" Though this first text is not the beginning, it represents -(an exerpt)-praxis of the doctrinal portion of the second part of communion through covenant,i.e., sanctification towards taking greaterpart in the body of Christ.)

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The Everlasting Covenant
(unedited exerpt from Part 5)

T he
L east
C ommandment

Matthew 5:
17 "DO NOT think that I came to abolish the Torah or the prophets: I came not to annul; but I came to make (these) fully valid.

18 I tell you the truth! Not so much as one yud or stroke: these shall never perish from the Torah, until the whatsoever of everything is completely finished.

19 Whoever disregards the least of these commandments and instructs men in that way, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and instructs (these commandments (-in the Torah and in what i now tell you-), shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 For I tell you, unless your 'approval-from-God' exceeds 'Those-who-reveal-the-teachings-of-the-Law', and 'Those-studying-and-training-to-fit-commandments-into-their-daily-lives', you shall never go towards entering the kingdom of heaven.
(transliterated from the Textus Receptus; comp. Mt. 5:17,18,19,20

Hours ago, paths were crossed with a brother who, though not spelling out details, revealed through words was an attempt to find self-justification for whatever sin it was he was convicted about ( Lk. 6:45) .

H. onestly
O. penly and
T. ransparently

Though the exact words are not recorded, and the more than obvious sin he indicated remains edited out of this text, the course of the conversation happened like this:

"Hey, i wanna' ask you a question."

"Have you asked God?"

"Yeah, but i wanted to see what you said."

" Why? "

" Cause you say things that have helped in the past."

"If there was any help from this mouth it came from above. Do what God has shown you."

"...But..."

"BUT WHAT?"

"O.K. here Goes. Christ is the end of the Law, right?"

"Not the end as in it is over. He is the end as making everything completely valid. He is the end as the completion of an incomplete circle. The Law is the means to bring us to walk in Jesus' obedience."

"Well... we are under grace and not Law, right?"

"Not exactly. If you have been revealed His light and truth, His grace also gives the power to obey."

"why am i having trouble living as God has shown me?"

"Brother, it's called the flesh. You know this. If we fail to die, to kill off our selfish desires, no matter what they are, we can never walk in the spirit of his ressurection. If we by the Spirit, put to death the deeds of our flesh, in the trusting, it happens."

"...but the Law is only a shadow, and Christ is the substance, so the law is done away with right? "

"But nothing! Show me one verse that says the Law is done away with. I can show you so many that show clearly it has not been done away, it will make your head swim."

"If i sin, if i confess my sin, he is faithful and just to forgive me. Right?"

"Forget that foolishness. Without substance there is no shadow. No Jesus, no Law. In Jesus, THE SUBSTANCE, there is Law, THE SHADOW OF HIS SUBSTANCE, as well as the power, one aspect of His grace, to do all that God expects. It's called sanctification. The real question is if you are walking in Christ or do you think working out rules and plans to avoid breaking rules will make you any better? Doing good in your ability is as much walking in the flesh as choosing to sin. In both, we are making our own decision and relying on our own capacity to either do right or wrong."

"But if i confess my sin?"

"Do you know what that word "confess" really means?"

"It means to tell God that i agree that i sinned against him."

"There is more to it than that."

"Oh no, here we go again..."

"What?"

"Every time you say 'there is more to it than that', there is something i did not know that i really do not want to hear."

"OK. i gotta' go."

"NO, explain it."

"i am not your source of relationship. Jesus is. So, if there is sin, get it right, then you talk to our Father in Heaven."

"It's about some Bible verses..."

"Who then is better to tell you?"

"But, i can't do what it says."

"Neither can i. i have to get this food home to my Queen and Princesses."

"But, what were you going to say?"

"OK, quickly, but if you have any more questions call the pastor.

"Confession means to agree with God about everything he says about us, including, "all are sinning and falling short of God's glory" along with "we are changed from glory to glory" conforming to Christ's image. If it is sin you are confessing, recognize it is in your inherited human nature to always do this. You do not just go and try to fix yourself. This profession is not about saying a certain thing in agreement and that's it. Confession, agreement with God, is a constant lifestyle of repentance, knowing what you think is wrong from the git-go, and conversion into His thoughts and His ways. Words and actions flow out naturally from this walk.

"Here is how we agree with God. We do it His way or it's the highway...and on that highway to hell we continue to flounder in the sin nature which so easily besets us.
On the other hand, when we think we stand, consider that we can just as easily fall ...and without resting our confidence in Jesus' and what he did on that execution stake for us, that is what happens. Focus every thought in relation to Jesus and what you have learned he has done, is doing, and will do. Doing what God expects can only flow out of this one thing alone. It gets harder as you continue in this, but he makes a way for you.

"Gotta' go ...however, you need to spent quite a bit of time in Rom. 5:6 through to the end of chapter 7."

"OK, see ya' Sunday?"

"Lord willing. Later tater... D.V."
(It seemed he was quite glib about the whole matter, but i have been wrong in my own thinking more often than not. Heading home, i know this sounds crazy, but thoughts were about being a french fry for Jesus.)

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Many well meaning and sincere people have said that God's Law does not apply to us anymore: Jesus forgives.

Rom. 7:1,5,8,10-11 state how much the Law has ended. It talks about the continuing fact of sin because of the Law's reality.

Jas. 2:10, and Jesus' words in Mt. 5:18-19 tell us that God's Law is still in full force.

Still, scripture plainly states that we are not even made right with God by obeying them, Rom. 3:20; Ps. 14:2,3

Jesus' death on the cross did alleviate the Law of Moses' ordinances against the gentiles. Eph. 2:12,13,14,15

The Law in no way shape or form was ever ...no, it was never done away with. Jesus death on the cross put the Law of God into the fullest force yet known. Jesus Death on the cross did not do away with the Law. Jesus death made God's Law a greater obligation to follow than ever before. Jesus crucifixion validates God's Law.
Heb. 10:26,27,28,29,30,31; Heb. 12:24,25

Here's God's offer to us:
(recieve it, believe it, and continue to walk in it)

God will never change, so nothing He says or does is changable. He honors His Word above his very name, so His commandment is permanent.

Because we are spawn of Adam, in this flesh, we will never be able to keep God's unchanging requirements. Rom. 5:12

Because God made us, he also knows exactly how we are, what we desire, and what we do. Eccl. 7:20; Jer. 10:23

For this reason, He sent His Son to earth, in our form, like us humans, to pay the price of our failing to keep His unchangable Law. Phil. 2:7,8; Rom. 5:7

God's wrath for our sin of breaking His -(righteous, holy and good, i.e., Rom. 7:12)- command in His holy Law was poured out on Jesus. Is. 53:5; II Cor. 5:21, I Pet. 2:24

Believing into Jesus finished work accomplished through his willing sacrafice on the cross, the punishment for breaking God's Law is paid in full. Jn. 19:30

When we rest our confidence in Jesus' sacrifice for our resistant rebellious nature against His will and way, then obey God's way He established for our acceptance by Him, we can experience His power to grow into greater communion with Him, Jn3:36(ESV). Through this process of continuing to conform to Jesus, living in and through Him, we grow into Him. In this, we ever increasingly share in experiencing the very life and nature of God in life. Jn. 15:5

Jn. 14:15,21,23
Is. 55:6,7,8,9,11

CIAO!
g
Acts 20:32

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. There are alot of sincere people who are sincerely driving down that 3 lane highway. In varying degrees, many think that to live a better life, they have to live life faster and harder. At full throttle break-neck speeds, some bullet down the highway to hell and through that widely gaping gateway. Others take their time, even coasting, or pausing to smell the roses before it hits them by surprise: the belching black clouds of smoke, the everlasting flames licking out from the pit, and that vile stench of brimstone taking their breath away.

Very few realize, and even fewer experience the truth that, in order to live you must die. Once we really experience that we must deny our own thoughts and ways, taking up our own cross becomes easier. A higher clearer view about everything becomes reality hanging up there. Through this alone, we know for sure that to even plan on getting our flesh off of our execution stake, the only way to go is down.

by mguldner on 2010/4/24 18:43:09:
Perhaps I misunderstand this post, its in favor of following every commandment in the Bible?

Hoping to give a clearer view, g writes:

there are 7 Hebrew words directly related to law under the rule of the Theocracy-being a Law biding citizen in Israel-established through Moses. Of these 7, Jesus speaks of two, regarding being a law biding citizen in the kingdom of heaven: torah and mitzvot.

Torah is not, as many misunderstand, the first 5 books of the Bible, and here is where Jesus breaks with Jewish tradition handed down since Sinai. He talks of torah that is only relative to mitzvot, and totally disregards the other five terms that are oftentimes misunderstood to be the word commandment.

In His wilderness temptation, Jesus' response to netsach clarifies what he meant by mitzvot, when repeating "the teaching"(the seat of your affections = perception and intentions)

mind->(memory/imagination, thought, reason)

soul->(the channel by which attitudes/emotions,intellection, and volition become apparent)

strength->(the way everything is carried out physically)

Many look at God's Law so negatively, and in doing so, they are in rebellious defiance of what God says of it, Rom. 7:12.

If the scripture states the Law(of God) is Holy, shouldn't we?

If it says the commandment is good,right, and holy, shouldn't we?

It is interesting to note that there is one same Hebrew word for blessing or curse. Here is the concept behind it: If one wants to continue to think and do as they please, they will bring a curse down on themselves. If they will conform to the mitzvots in the way stated earlier, God's only prescribed way, from the inside out and not the outside in, blessing flows accordingly.

The way a person speaks about God's Law indicates which side of the coin they are on: recieving it's blessings or it's curses.

Read and re-read Gal. 3:19-29, because this is where people often confuse the issue. This passage clearly states that Paul is talking about the Law of Moses, see v. 19.

Moses' ordinances are not the Law of God, were written on parchment by Moses' hand, through an angel mediating, and were placed beside the Ark of the Covenant. The Law of Moses was given after God's Law was written by God in stone. It also was to be understood that when Messiah came, it would no longer be in full effect. (They missed their day of visitation.)

(We should already know this to be true regarding the Ceremonial Law and Ordinances of Moses; but, will we miss our day of visitation?)

The Law of Moses is not the issue here.

Mitzvot, the Law of God, written in stone by the hand of God, without mediator... these ten commandments are the only law in the Ark of the Covenant. It was given before the Sinai covenant ensued and is to be obeyed by all mankind from the beginning to the end of time.

Hopefully, everybody can understand more clearly that (God's)Law and Grace are not in opposition to one another. Obedience to God, from our heart, flows into our world through blessings, the first being keeping His commandment.

This is all part and parcel of walking in love.

Hope this helps.

g

I Tim. 6:

13 I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;

14 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:

15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting.
Amen.

NOTE: if you do not want to wade through the first comments. scroll down to where you see these: "..."

First thank you so much for actually taking time to look more closely. There's alot of words there and it needs to be edited. Any questions or comments are places i see my own flaws in the explanations and assuming that this is right.

As well, curiousity has killed the cat, and am wondering about your experience mentioned in another post, it being so rowdy in church you could not even worship like you desired? I've been there myself.
(Actually, there is more of that heading on down the pike in the very near future, maybe not in your vacinity, but it's coming NTL.)

Many here have said this all needs to be put in a book, and i tell them they have a Bible and it's all there. i know that seems harsh, but they are also told to come and share in what i know by experience through the living of it, and i have yet to see more takers around here than i can count on one hand. (these people are not sincerely seeking God. They are looking for a quick fix so they can carry on with life AS THEY THINK it should be, in total disregard to our Living and Abiding Word of God, Jesus Christ.) You read a book once and it's set down. You start to live in Him and He sticks closer than a brother.

This whole issue of your question can be covered more completely when there is more time later, (that is if this does not tell you what you ask or if there are further questions).

>

For us Christians, motzvot consists of everything that only God commands, and if you study into the writing of the ten, with passages from other scriptures, you will recognize that it is Jesus Himself who wrote these down with his own finger.

Mitzvot = command(ment): and Jesus only recognized His Living Abiding Word as such. This is why John calls Him The Word of God. So, everything in the N.T. that is written in the imperative, i.e., present-tense continuous, is a mitzvot (aka:command) from the Holy Spirit to us.

God's grace to us first flows into our hearts through God's Word, and from our hearts into our surroundings.

There were 603 ordinances, precepts,ceremonial laws, etc. added to the original 10. The whole of these 613 rules and regulations composed the Mosaic Law.

All ten commandments were in effect and given before Sinai, though it will take more time than is available presently to search this out to show where from the scriptures.

When our love for God and man grows purer by remaining (aka:abiding) in Jesus, His love being shed abroad in our hearts, we will experience His blessings flowing.

The ten are actually the two great commandments: signposts that we are either on the right track or not. The first great commandment can be found in all ten, however, it is speaking specifically of the 1st four of ten. The second great commandment is speaking of the last 6 of 10.

The issue is not "Now what do i gotta' do"?

As we experience ourselves conforming to the image of Christ Jesus, our hearts being purified, we desire to follow God's every revelation.

It becomes a matter of desiring to serve God.

It's not about us doing anything but abiding in Christ Jesus. As we do, it just happens brother! A godly urge grows so strong in us that we let nothing stand in it's way.

The issue is, how pure is my heart becoming?

How am i growing into Christ?

The signposts give us clues that we are walking on that straight and narrow pathway.

How am i allowing God in working His life and nature out through this earthen vessel?

It starts and ends by looking to Jesus, The Author and Perfecter of this faith(fulness).

II Cor. 4:6,7

CIAO!
Gotta' Go!
g
Acts 20:32