Fellowship – BT10:  Prophetic rhema words about Christian fellowship

 

 

Please follow the BLOG Etiquette to stay on topic and pass the moderator’s check.  Bold, underlined text below = future links to the BLOG pages.

 

The Lord has directly spoken prophetic rhema words to me many times about koinonia sharing about the Spirit, about the beauty of joy, about Spirit-practice of music and Spirit-practice of drums, Spirit-performance of music and Spirit-performance of drums, about peaceful-rest, and many other things I will share throughout this website and on my God-Messages page and Drum-Declarations page.  And I long for much more of this sharing with God and with you!  Here are a few examples:

 

Sharing about the fruit of the Spirit:  God showed me that Galatians 5:22-23 is only a partial list of “flavors” of the singular fruit/nature of the Holy Spirit of God who is Unconditional-Love per 1 John 4:8, 16!  Paul expands on this in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, the “Love Chapter.”  The Lord desires to share all these ‘flavors’ of Him so that we can progressively, genuinely, fully, experientially, relationally epiginosko know Him!  He desires to share the Spirit’s unconditional-love ‘flavor’ of “self-control/mastery” with Christian musicians, sharing His skill with them so they aren’t putting their trusting-relying-faith in their Zechariah 4:6 “might and power” of their own flesh, but instead putting their trusting-relying-faith in “by-the-means-of MY Spirit!” of the completely-different-in-kind-NEW Covenant.  The Holy Spirit is God’s “interface or WAY to powerfully-enable all of this!”

 

Sharing the beauty of joy in creation:  The Hebrew word yatab and Greek word kalos for joyful singing and playing includes the idea of being gloriously and harmoniously beautiful by nature – they don’t have anything to do with skillful singing and playing as some bibles have mistranslated – see Bible Info for other translation problems!  God told me He was revealing His beauty in sunsets, flowers, birds and their songs, and music – if we were still and restful long enough to observe them closely, then we would start to see and feel Him and come to genuinely, fully, experientially, relationally epiginosko know Him. God told me once: “All of creation is because of ME, through ME, and for ME, and still held together by ME, LOVE.”

 

Brother Thomas of Celano wrote in his biography of St. Francis:  “As he looked out of his cave and down to Assisi from the heights of Mount Subasio, it was as if the whole of creation were spread out beneath his cave, and God’s ‘Goodness’ rushed in upon him. He could only think of that pure ‘Goodness’ and how God shares His life with us. Everything ‘good and beautiful’ comes from God.  St. Francis praised The Artist in every one of his works; whatever he found in things made, he referred to The Maker. He rejoiced in all the works of the Lord’s hands, and with joyful vision saw into the reason and cause that gave them life. In beautiful things he came to know The Beauty itself. They cried out to him, ‘He who made us is infinitely Good.”

 

Sharing music:  That’s why He put music, His own creation, into musicians to discover – not to just find FOR themselves, i.e., their own pleasure, fame, money, or whatever they want to use it for.  This is all “might and power” flesh.  No!  He shares His music with musicians so that they will pause when they feel those intense feelings – yes, pause, be still, and start to experience God’s very nature.  God wants to share Himself with musicians so that they can genuinely, fully, experientially, relationally epiginosko know Him.  I will share much more about this on the Spirit-Practice of music and Spirit-Performance of music pages.

 

Sharing drumming:  Once while I was Spirit-practicing through George Lawrence Stones’ Stick Control, I found myself going “into the zone” in almost a focused trance, feeling incredible joy and intense curiosity and fascination, so much so that I was being overwhelmed.  I had to stop because I was tearing up and couldn’t see the page!  I asked why this was happening to me.  Then words came into my mind and I understood that God was sharing His profound emotions He has when He plays music.  I was shocked to hear/see this!  He said, “Do you think you created music?  Remember who I AM.  I enjoyed creating music long before any man discovered it.  I’m still fascinated when I explore it and still enjoy it immensely.  I am sharing My curiosity, fascination, sense of adventure, and joy with you so that you can know Me better.  I AM My thoughts and feelings.”

 

Another time, He showed me making a sandcastle on a beach, lost in a daze of curiosity and fascination.  When I looked back at the sandcastle, it was me playing my drums since I was 8 years old!  He said that there was no better place to be than in that place of curiously exploring my drumming creativity and He smiled with pride.  I have had many such conversations since and look forward to more!  He also told me that He would share His control/mastery (a) with me if I didn’t make “might and power” skill (b) my objective as the Gentiles run after (c), but instead His “by My Spirit” (b) presence.  I will also share much more about this on the Spirit-Practice of drums page. <Notes> a) Galatians 5:23, b) Zechariah 4:6, c) Matthew 6:32.

 

Sharing peaceful-rest:  After my many Spirit-baptisms where God shared His overwhelming unconditional-love with me, resulting in a flood of tears of joy that He also shares with me, which often just wrecks me for at least a half-hour, then I have noticed God then shares with me this “peaceful-rest of God that surpasses all reasoning-mind that guards [like a military sentinel] our hearts and/coupled [us] IN Christ Jesus” (a), for this too is a “flavor of the singular fruit/nature of the Spirit who is Unconditional-Love (b).”  <Notes> a) Philippians 4:7, b) Galatians 5:22.

 

While in bed on one occasion, He has told me to share His peaceful-rest and I could then feel the Spirit’s comfort wrap around me like my warm bed comforter.  Many times He has told me to “be still, cease my activity, and ‘take a vacation’ to experientially, relationally know God” (a), to share in His “Sabbath Rest” (b), because the Lord knows that I’ve been really driven most of my life.  This He showed me was the “taskmaster spirit” that was in those people who whipped the Jews to make bricks out of mud and straw. <Notes> a) Psalms 46:10, b) Hebrews 4:9; Luke 23:56.

 

Now He tells me, “Get up from your work, change gears, and stay in joy!  Get up from the burden of bible-study for My yoke/harness (a) to learn from Me is feather/cloud-light and so custom-fit/tailor-made for you to carry” (b).  I’ve also been told while Spirit-practicing drums that “tension is evil” because the “works of righteousness” just don’t work, “it doesn’t perfect anything,” and instead that I am to “share in His rest by relaxing, staying loose, staying in His joy, and letting the skill come to me.”  <Notes> a) zugos:  harness that connects inexperienced animals with experienced animals for training purposes; a common metaphor in Judaism for the Mosaic Law strictness (Acts 15:10; Galatians 5:1; 1 Timothy 6:1), particularly the scrupulous observance of the oral Law in order to be a disciple of a particular rabbi, most who had greatly expanded the “burden” of scripture placed on people to obey.  Christ’s “yoke of discipleship” was completely different-in-kind, b) Matthew 11:28-30.

 

Reflections:

 

As Christian musicians, has God shared with you anything about fellowship and sharing with Him or others that would be helpful to others?  Please share in the comments below and/or on the video(s).

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Education, My prophetic words about koinonia fellowship sharing, The Lord shares many things of Himself with us so that upon close examination we may know Him better, beauty, music, drumming, love, joy, peaceful-rest, Christ’s yoke/harness of learning isn’t hard bible-study or heavy burden of commandments, Christ’s yoke/harness of gentle learning is directly from Him, Christ’s burden is light as feather to carry because only 2 commandments of faith & love that is 1, Christ’s yoke/harness is custom-fit & tailor-made to each of us so pleasant & effective

 

 

 

 

 

Fellowship – BT9:  Divine limits to our Christian fellowship with others

 

 

Please follow the BLOG Etiquette to stay on topic and pass the moderator’s check.  Bold, underlined text below = future links to the BLOG pages.

 

But just as with  unconditional-love, there are divinely-specified limits as to how far you can go with koinonia fellowship, especially with unbelieving, divisive, false teachers in the Church (a), especially that we should carefully, watchfully, be wary of the legalistic leaven of the Pharisees (b), even to “have nothing to do with this, do not be koinonia partners with this, flee this, destroy every argument and lofty opinion raised by them, taking every one of their thoughts captive to obey Christ, rebuke them sharply, silence them, and even charge them to stop” (c). Notes> a) Romans 16:17, b) Matthew 16:6, 11-12; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1; 1 Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9, c) Titus 1:11, 13; 1 Timothy 4:7, 6:10; 2 Timothy 2:14, 23; Titus 3:10; Ephesians 5:7; 2 Corinthians 10:5.

 

Paul doesn’t mince words!  Therefore closely watch so-called Christian teachers (a), even who you may ordain for ministry because you don’t want to koinonia co-participate in their sins (b), even closely watching yourself so you don’t lose your reward by lambano ‘taking hold of to receive’ people who “don’t abide in the teaching of/about Christ,” not even greeting them so as to koinonia co-participate in their wicked works (c).  There are definitely limits to your love and fellowship! <Notes> a) 1 Timothy 4:16, b) 1 Timothy 5:22, c) 2 John 1:8-11,

 

There’s certainly a divinely-specified limit how far our unconditional-love and koinonia fellowship with UNBELIEVERS can go!  Paul warns Christians to in-possibility-NOT be changed-sharers-together-with (a) the sons of disobedience for which God’s wrath is coming, [I strongly urge you to] ongoingly in-possibility-NOT sugkoinoneo co-participate-together-with the unfruitful deeds/works of darkness but rather reprove (b) them” (c).  One of those “unfruitful deeds” was common temple sacrifices to idols.  These sacrifices are actually to demons and so Paul thelo ‘strongly desires or wills’ that they absolutely-in-fact-NOT ongoingly have koinonia fellowship with demons” (d). <Notes> a) sun + metochos, b) elegcho: correct/convince with solid, compelling evidence, c) Ephesians 5:5-11, d) 1 Corinthians 10:19-20; Revelation 9:20.

 

Paul also strongly urges with the imperative:  “Ongoingly do in-possibility-NOT routinely/habitually unequally-yoke/harness/connect-together with (a) unbelievers, for what changed-sharing (b) has righteousness with lawlessness, or what koinonia fellowship has light with darkness” (c)?  The Lord’s voice warns Christians “to come out from Babylon in order that you definitively/wholly in-possibility-NOT sugkoinoneo co-participate-with her sins, lest you receive her punishing-calamities/plagues” (h).  Many prophecy experts have seen “Babylon the Harlot” as the corrupt Roman Catholic Church at the end of time before Christ’s return.  Many have seen the Vatican ties to corruption throughout the world.  The Vatican’s net worth is at least 15 billion.

 

<Notes> a) heteros + zugos = with different + harness that connects inexperienced animals with experienced animals for training purposes, or a disciple/student with a rabbi/teacher.  If mismatched animals, then the harness won’t work very well and/or the animals won’t learn from each other.  Either way, their training will be either take much longer or never happen to get the job done, b) metoche from metochos: changed due to sharing or being an active-partaker with, c) 2 Corinthians 6:14, h) Revelation 18:1-4.

 

But there’s even a limit to fellowship with so-called Christians!  1 Corinthians 5:9-13 says “in-possibility-NOT to ongoingly mix-to-identify-with (a) sexually-immoral people – not at all meaning the sexually-immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to leave this world, but now I am writing to you in-possibility-NOT to ongoingly mix-to-identify-with (a) anyone who bears the name of ‘brethren’ if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler – even in-possibility-NOT to eat with such a one.  For what have I to do with judging outsiders?  Is it not those inside the Church who you are to judge?  God judges those outside!  ‘Purge the evil person from among you!’”  Once again the teaching that “we should never judge anybody” is just a false “wind of doctrine” to mislead people!  See Unconditional-Love – BT16 for starters.  <Notes> a) sunanamignumi: with + up + mix, so mix closely/intimately-together with upward toward a purpose, thus to be identified with.

 

2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14 “orders (a) in the name/authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw/keep-away from any brethren who is routinely/habitually walking/living as a transient (b) and/coupled in-possibility-NOT kata down-from/according-to the tradition that you received from us . . . if anyone does absolutely-in-fact-NOT obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and/thus do in-possibility-NOT ongoingly mix-to-identify-with (c) him in order that he may be ashamed – see Donations & Ministry Finances.  <Notes> a) paraggello: orders or charges, as a commander his troops, b) ataktos: not + arranged/ordered, so out-of-line, disorderly, unruly, in context: that refuses to work for their own food/needs, c) sunanamignumi: with + up + mix, so mix closely/intimately-together with upward toward a purpose, thus to be identified with.

 

Reflections:

 

As Christian musicians, why are we judging non-Christian musicians more harshly than Christian musicians living in just about every sin imaginable?  Isn’t judgment supposed to start in the house of God?  I’m ashamed to say that I’ve been in worship-ministries for pastors that were actually teachers of the Law that were pointing the finger at every other church completely oblivious that Paul would have kicked them out of the Church for teaching Moses!  And when I said something about it, they said, “Maybe you need to find another place to worship?”  Then couldn’t admit that they violated the clear doctrine of the NT.  Some were teaching philosophy from an unbelieving world!

 

I had to write a resignation letter to all the elders of the Christ United Methodist Church in Tucson where I worked for a year because they were severely violating scripture in at least 4 ways!  I could no longer violate my conscience playing for a church involved in so much sin.  I could NOT koinonia share/co-participate-in or sugkoinoneo co-participate-together-with or be sunmetochos changed-sharers-together-with or sunanamignumi mix-to-identify-with in their sin!  Yes, there were good, godly people there, but the organization was tolerating abominable sin!

 

Yes, ALL Christians and churches need to judge/critique themselves for “borrowing” so much from the world, in violation of Romans 12:2, to help them become more “successful,” because these are just stones building The Great Wall quenching the Holy Spirit.  I’ve played in several big churches that were run more like a secular corporation, and I’ve worked for enough of those to know this well, than as a godly ministry.  I’ve seen what goes on behind the “Wizard of Oz” curtain!  If more Christians did, they would run from these churches!  I eventually did!  We have to come out from Babylon!  I know more unbelievers who are honest about than their problems, weaknesses, and sin than most Christians I’ve worked with!  Revival always begins out in the streets and some of the last ones to get it are the pastors!

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Education, Divine limits to our Christian fellowship with others, No fellowship with certain people, divisive false-teachers, Law-teachers, Christ-denying (anti-Christ) teachers, unrepentant brethren in wickedness sexually-immoral greedy swindlers idolaters revilers drunkards, brethren who won’t work for a living, paid-ministry was a sign of a false prophet in the Didache, with the sins of unbelievers, idol-worshippers, No unequal yoking with unbelievers, In the end the Catholic Church is Babylon the Harlot, Judgment begins in the Church

 

 

 

 

 

Fellowship – BT8:  Divine fellowship shows up in our giving and evangelism

 

 

Please follow the BLOG Etiquette to stay on topic and pass the moderator’s check.  Bold, underlined text below = future links to the BLOG pages.

 

Our Horizontal koinonia fellowship with others is also reflected in our giving and evangelism.  The Greek words for fellowship in Fellowship – BT1 can also include, based on the context: “the OUTCOME of such koinonia fellowship/partnership, such as a joint contribution, gift, or collection of money that acts to communicate, exhibit, embody, or validate/prove such koinonia fellowship/partnership actually exists, but also sharing-witness that exhibits, embodies, and proves/validates one’s trusting-relying-faith (a). <Notes> a) Philemon 1:5-7; Galatians 6:4-6; 1 Timothy 6:17-19; 2 Timothy 2:6.

 

A great example of this is Philemon 1:6 where Paul talking to Philemon says that he is “proseuchomai conversationally-prays that the sharing-witness of your trusting-relying-faith may become energes active/energetic/effectual by-the-means-of genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of every good thing IN you by-the-means-of Christ.” Our Vertical connection to the Lord is the ‘by-the-means-of which’ we are effective in our ‘Horizontal’ evangelistic sharing with others.  You can’t freely give out what you haven’t freely received (a)!  <Notes> a) Matthew 10:8.

 

Churches wouldn’t need their contrived evangelism programs, which are often just like any another Old Testament ‘work FOR God,’ if their members were actually sharing in the life of Christ through epignosis genuine-knowledge and koinonia fellowship with Him.  For months after every Spirit-baptism I had, you had to stop me from sharing my faith!  My cup runneth over!

 

Another example is in Philippians 4:14-17 where Paul said:  “It was kind of you to share my trouble (v. 13: hunger and need) . . . and you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel [preaching] when I left Macedonia, absolutely-in-fact-NOT even one church shared/partnered with me in GIVING and RECEIVING, except you only.  Even in Thessalonica you sent me HELP for my needs once and again.”  Our Donations & Ministry Finances page is patterned from Paul’s attitude of shared blessing.

 

Likewise, Paul was mystified that the Corinthians had been changed-sharers (a) with their financial GIVING to other so-called “apostles” (missionary church-planters) but wouldn’t do this for Paul, the one who started their church (b)!  <Notes> a) verb metecho, metochos adjective: changed due to sharing or being an active-partaker with, b) 1 Corinthians 9:12.

 

Generosity and evangelism all starts with conversational-prayer to epignosis genuinely know Christ’s working in us to activate, energize, and make effective our koinonia intimate fellowship with Him in order to share/communicate this effectively with others. Generosity and evangelism is an inside job, a bi-product of an koinonia intimate fellowship with Christ.

 

Yet, you hear so many churches – so desperate for money and fuller pews from new members coming that would guarantee this income – constantly preaching sermons on giving to guilt Christians into obeying Old Testament commandments about tithing to avoid the displeasure of God. This is simply manipulation!  They simply don’t understand that “the Torah Law (a) made nothing perfect/mature/complete” (b), and so Paul asks:  “Are you so foolish?  Having begun [the Christian walk] by-the-means-of the Spirit, are you now [attempting to] be perfected/matured/completed by the flesh” (c)?  <Notes> a) of conditional-favor that is based on obedience to 613 commandments, b) Hebrews 7:19, c) Galatians 3:3.

 

We simply can’t mix anything from the old covenant into the completely-different-in-kind chadash/kainos New Covenant or we are violating the definition of chadash/kainos, every verse about it, and Christ’s clear teaching about not mixing the two – see New Covenant – BT7, – BT8, – BT9, – BT10.  Mixing the two builds The Great Wall quenching the Spirit in the Church.

 

Reflections:

 

As Christian musicians, will we trust God to bring people into our lives to share in the blessing of our ministry, or will we get desperate and start cleverly begging for support?  Can we believe that the closer we get to the Lord, the more we will perceive His care for us?  And what about us financially giving to others?  Sharing the Lord will be naturally easier and easier as we actually intimately share more in the life of Christ.  Can we trust that by bringing people into the actual presence of God, then God will direct people the way He wants them to?  We don’t need to coerce people!

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Education, Divine fellowship shows up in our giving and evangelism, Giving & Evangelism are natural as we are filled up by God’s Spirit to overflowing, Genuine relational epignosis knowledge of God produces His nature of generosity, Churches don’t need guilt-manipulation to raise money, Churches shouldn’t be quoting Old Testament commandments to pressure Christians to give

 

 

 

 

 

Fellowship – BT7: Christian fellowship is a Body-of-Christ ministry party, not a 1-man show

 

 

Please follow the BLOG Etiquette to stay on topic and pass the moderator’s check.  Bold, underlined text below = future links to the BLOG pages.

 

See also Body-Ministry – BT9:  Church-Clergy blindness about what we do in Church gatherings

 

In every NT passage that talks about Body-of-Christ ministry you see urgent calls (a) for “[reciprocally and mutually] one another” (b) and “[individually] each one of you” (c) koinonia sharing of the Spirit’s grace-gifts, koinonia sharing of testimonies of God working in their lives (d), koinonia sharing of prophetic-rhema-word revelations even as logos messages of wisdom [from the Spirit] and gnosis-info knowledge [from the Spirit] even in tongues with interpretations and even koinonia sharing as they “conversationally-addressed” or “reciprocally taught one another” a lesson of didache doctrine/teaching [from the Lord by the Spirit] (e).  <Notes> a) by the use of the imperatives, b) allelon: a reciprocal pronoun meaning mutual, back-and-forth action.  This is not 1-way communication but a dialogue, something you rarely see in church services today, c) hekastos: each individual in a group viewed distinctly.  Again, this directly opposes the 1-man show taking over the group, which sadly is the case in most church services today, d) Acts 4:33, 14:3; 1 Corinthians 1:6, 2:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:10; Revelation 1:2, 12:11, e) 1 Corinthians 14:6, 26, 30.

 

Furthermore, they ALL admonished “by placing in mind through urgent reasoning, instruction, or warning” (a), and encouraged or exhorted (b) one another [reciprocally/mutually], even with instrumental psalms with/without vocals, acapella hymns, and Spirit-kind-of psalm/hymn odes that is likely a reference to anointed, prophetic, and spontaneous music (c).  Yes, ALL this was part of ALL their encouragement!  <Notes> a) noutheteo: Colossians 3:16, b) 1 Corinthians 14:3, 14:31; 1 Thessalonians 4:18, 5:11, c) 1 Corinthians 14:26; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16.

 

Furthermore, they were encouraged to:   “Let us ongoingly consider how to excite/provoke one another [reciprocally/mutually] to unconditional-love and/coupled good (a) works (b), in-possibility-NOT routinely/habitually abandoning/deserting/forsaking the assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging (c) one another [reciprocally/mutually], and all the more as you see The Day drawing near (d)” (e).  Man, I’d like to go to that church!  <Notes> a) kalos: beautifully, harmoniously, magnificently, inspiringly excellent, b) thus the “labor of love” per 1 Thessalonians 1:3, d) parakaleo: alongside-counselling, advising, encouraging, comforting, d) eggizo: approaching near, often used of communing in conversational-prayer as in James 4:6-8, Hebrews 7:25, e) Hebrews 10:24-25.

 

There was so much “party” excitement in the early Church about sharing the Spirit’s grace-gifts that Paul had to write 1 Corinthians 14 just to help them understand God’s priorities to build up the Church and how to take turns koinonia sharing so that everybody could learn and be encouraged from each other!   “Decent and orderly worship” wasn’t “despising prophecy or forbidding tongues” (a) but encouraging them to zealously pursue them (b) and use them (c) in an organized and loving way (d).  <Notes> a) 1 Thessalonians 5:20; 1 Corinthians 14:39, b) 1 Corinthians 12:31, 14:1, 5, 39, c) Romans 12:6; 1 Peter 4:10, d) 1 Corinthians 14:26-33.

 

Have you ever been in a church where everybody was encouraged to share by taking turns, “letting the others [of the same Spirit-kind] weigh in what is said . . . . so that ALL may learn and ALL be encouraged” (a).  There are so many things spoken from the “1-man show, ball-hogging” pulpits in so many churches that could have been corrected or balanced-out if the congregation were allowed to do this – see Coaches and Facilitators!  This is a significant part of the foundational problem of The Great Wall quenching the Holy Spirit in churches.  There are so many warnings in the NT about any teachers, let alone false teachers because Jesus said we only have 1 Teacher, the Holy Spirit (b) – see Teach One Another! <Notes> a) 1 Corinthians 14:27, 29, 31, b) Matthew 23:8; 1 John 2:20, 27.

 

 

 

That’s exactly Paul’s point in Ephesians 5:18-21 – don’t ‘party down’ like the world does by getting drunk on wine and then getting involved in all kinds of sin, but instead ‘party down’ with God’s people by “routinely/habitually being filled to completion by-the-means-of [singular: the Holy] Spirit!”  That’s exactly what Spirit-baptism is, the distinct ministry of the Messiah (a).  But this church ‘party’ wasn’t to be 1-man show where 1 leader or a small team of “equippers – coaches & facilitators” were going to essentially ‘hog the ball’ from ALL “the saints who do the work of ministry” (b)!  No, it’s a church ‘party’ where they ALL “routinely/habitually conversationally-address one another by-the-means-of psalms (c) and/coupled hymns (d) and/also/even Spirit-kind-of-odes (e) . . . routinely/habitually giving thanks . . . routinely/habitually surrendering/submitting-control to one another [reciprocally/mutually] out of reverence for Christ.”  Once again we see Paul trying to curb the 1-man show tendency as in Romans 12:3-7!

 

<Notes> a) Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; Acts 11:16, b) Ephesians 4:12, c) instrumental songs optionally accompanied with vocals, d) vocals only, e) a psalm or hymn, but distinct from the other two, like Psalms 33:3, 40:3, 96:1, 98:1, 144:9, 149:1; Isaiah 42:10, Revelation 5:9, 14:3 completely-in-different-kind “New Songs/Odes” because likely spontaneous composed by-the-means-of the Holy Spirit, just like tongues are as 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 indicates Paul chooses to psalm by tongues that by the Spirit belonging-to him versus psalms by the mind belonging-to him.

 

We see this same sharing emphasis in a parallel passage of Colossians 3:15-17 where Paul adds:  “You were called/invited IN one Body . . . routinely/habitually teaching and/coupled admonishing (a) one another [reciprocally/mutually] . . . whatever-things you ongoingly DO by-the-means-of a logos message or a deed [DO] ALL in the name/authority of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks” – this how the logos message will dwell in the Church richly.”  As throughout the NT the logos message is clearly having to do with Jesus, the Logos Message of God, who is The Truth about God, and His “Great News” gospel message (b) as shared with one another [reciprocally/mutually] in their koinonia fellowship together. <Notes> a) noutheteo:  by placing in mind through urgent reasoning, instruction/teaching, or corrective warning, b) Ephesians 1:13; Acts 15:7.

 

Where in the NT is the common “bible-study discussion” that every church tries to call a “fellowship” and that they suppose is the way “the gospel logos message will dwell in the Church richly?”  You will rarely here the gospel taught at our bible-studies, but everything else!  You never see the early Church say this in the “when you come together to use your grace-gifts” passages (a)!  Owning scriptures or NT writings would only be for the rich and educated that were the exception in the early church (b).  The early Christians didn’t dig their teachings or logos-messages out of biblical writings!  Instead, the Spirit-given logos messages of wisdom and/coupled gnosis info-knowledge uttered was shared by members in the congregation (c), given to them by-the-means-of the Spirit (d) through prophetic revelation (e).  There certainly isn’t anything here about 1 leader doing all the teaching of the logos messages!  Nor is their a dedicated team of musicians that play all the psalms and hymns!  Quite the opposite!  “Each one of you” (f) sharing is the very meaning of koinonia fellowship!  When are we going to get back to the only model given us?

 

<Notes> a) 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, 12:12-31, 14:26; Colossians 3:16-17; Ephesians 4:7-16; 5:18-21, Romans 12:3-8, 10; 1 Peter 4:8-11, b) 1 Corinthians 1:26; James 2:5, c) 1 Corinthians 12:8, d) Colossians 1:9, 2:3; Ephesians 1:17, e) 1 Corinthians 12:7-8; Acts 6:10, f) hekastos: each individual in a group viewed distinctly.  Again, this directly opposes the 1-man show taking over the group, which sadly is the case in most church services today.

 

There is simply no evidence of a 1-man show or even a small ministry-team show.  In fact, we see plenty of warnings against this!  The very first thing Paul warns the Roman churches about if they want to escape “conformity to the world and be metamorphically changed by a renewed mind” is “I say to EVERYONE among you in-possibility-NOT to think of himself more highly than he ought to think” (a).  Then he defines what “ought to think” means by talking about the vital praxis functions “each one of you” plays to be part of effective Body-of-Christ ministry (b).  It takes team work and a good equipping/facilitating-coach will reel those ‘ball hoggers’ in, but they certainly wouldn’t use up all their practice time ‘hogging the ball’ themselves!  But that’s what we see in the modern Church.  Worse, can you imagine going to practice and the whole time the coach just lectures you!  <Notes> a) Romans 12:2-3, b) Romans 12:4-8.

 

John warns his house churches to not even trust the teachers that are starting to show up, because many will “try to deceive you.”  He questions why they are even following teachers, just as Paul does, which makes these Christians very fleshly (a).  John makes it clear that “the anointing (the Holy Spirit) that you have already received from Christ (b) actually, ongoingly meno abides/dwells/remains IN you, so that you have absolutely-in-fact-NO need that ANYONE should teach you, but as His anointing actually, ongoingly teaches you about ALL things and/so is trustworthy and/coupled no lie – just as it has already taught you – [I strongly urge you to] actually, ongoingly meno abide/dwell/remain IN Christ (c).  <Notes> a) 1 Corinthians 1:12, 3:4, b) The Holy One of 1 John 2:20 that gives ALL of them ALL eido ‘mentally seeing to perceive-knowledge,’ a term referencing prophetic insight as promised for the New Covenant per Jeremiah 31:34 LXX and Acts 2:17-18, c) 1 John 2:18-27, 3:7.

 

The “equippers” (a) of Ephesians 4:11-16 weren’t supposed to be doing “the work of ministry” but only coaching and facilitating so that the “saints” could be the ones actually doing the “work of the ministry for the building up of the Body-of-Christ!”  Can you imagine going to a football game and watching the head & assistant coaches, water-boys, cheerleaders, and band all out on the field trying to play football instead of the actual football players?  Ridiculous!  I’d ask for my money back!  But that’s what goes on in most churches every week!  And for the few churches that do use their services as ‘training sessions,’ do you think any of them have ever been to any sports training sessions, because ask yourself:  Who is ‘running the plays’ during these ‘training sessions’ – the coaches or the players?  Yet I’ve rarely been to a church service ‘training session’ where anybody but the pastor was doing most of the talking, and there certainly was no ‘practicing of the training’ going on by the congregation that I could see.  There was no ‘on-the-job’ training!

 

I don’t really see very much “reciprocal/mutually one-another” (a) display of submission or ministry.  It’s mostly one-directional!  The way you can tell is if the band or preacher suddenly stops or ‘hits the ball into the other court’ of the congregation – it’s usually stares back blankly with dead silence or a whimper of participation.  The frogs have been slow boiled!  The ticks trained well not to jump out after you’ve taken the lid off!  <Notes> a) allelon: a reciprocal pronoun meaning mutual, back-and-forth action.  This is not 1-way communication but a dialogue, something you rarely see in church services today.

 

 

Another purpose for sharing Body-of-Christ ministry instead of today’s ball-hogging, 1-man-shows according to Ephesians 4:14-16 is to INSURE “that we may no longer be carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness of deceitful schemes.  Rather YOU’all [who are] routinely/habitually speaking The Truth by-the-means-of unconditional-love, WE are to grow up in every way into Him who is the HEAD, into Christ, from Whom the WHOLE Body is routinely/habitually fitly-joined or held-together dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of pas ‘each of a kind/class/category’ (b) binding-joint that contributes/supplies, kata down-from/according-to the energeia effectual-working by-the-means-of the metron standard-sized-measuring-cup [of Holy Spirit] (c) of hekastos ‘each/every one‘ meros part that actually, ongoingly, [reflexively] makes [as with a performance] the Body grow so that IT builds itself up by-the-means-of unconditional-love.”  Whew, Paul creates long, complicated sentences, but you can see his emphasis on ALL parts ministering by each part making the Body build itself up and all by unconditionally-loving one another.  This is everybody working as a team!

 

<Notes> a) apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and/coupled teachers, b) pas rarely means “the whole/entirety of,” c) v. 4:7: “metron measuring-cup of the grace-gift [of the Holy Spirit] of Christ given by grace to each/every-one of us,” thus not based on our natural talents or ambitions.  The metron was a single-sized cup that measured the exact same amount of whatever was put into it.  It insured that merchant trade was fair, equitable, or just.  Our word “metronome” comes from it – a device that “clicks” when the exact same amount of time has transpired!  We use it in music to play precisely in time!  This “energeia effectual-working by the metron standard-sized-measuring-cup” is referring to the whole person of the Holy Spirit with it’s enabling power given to each Christian without God showing partiality, per Ephesians 1:19, 3:7; Philippians 3:21; Colossians 1:9, 2:12 in Paul’s writings.

 

There is only 1 HEAD, 1 Shepherd, 1 Leader, and 1 Teacher (d)!   But many “binding-joints” that ALL need to share the responsibility of keeping the Body-of-Christ together and growing to the maturity of Christ!  EVERYONE needs to be sharing their grace-gifts (a) that kata ‘come down from’ the singular grace-gift of the Holy Spirit (b), as given by Jesus Christ from the Father (c).  But that can’t happen if you have the coaches and facilitators equippers hogging the ball!  As we’ve seen, ministry is supposed to be “reciprocal, mutual, reflexive, conversational, and focused on the individuals of the group using their Spirit’s grace-gifts” by definition of the Greek words used above!  Where is there a stage, a single speaker, a worship-band, or an audience taught in the NT or in early Church Church history before 200 AD when the religion of Catholicism took over?   <Notes> a) Ephesians 4:8; 1 Peter 4:10-11, b) Ephesians 4:4; 1 Corinthians 12:4-31, c) Ephesians 4:7, d) Ephesians 5:23; John 10:16; Matthew 23:8-10 – see Teach One Another – BT10.

 

All this especially came into the Catholic Church after the church buildings were designed by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine, designed with an elevated platform for 1-bishop rule, another non-biblical tradition that came in around 200 AD, with all the people facing him, and all of this “borrowed” from the pagan world of Greek and Roman temples!  These are the “stones” building The Great Wall quenching the Holy Spirit in the Church!  This must be reformed!

 

Read The Problem with Wineskins: Church Structure in a Technological Age by Howard A. Synder.  Other books are:  Right Here, Right Now – Living the Anointed Life with Jesus and Each Other by www.HeavenReigns.com, Pagan Christianity – Exploring the Roots of Church Practices by Frank Viola and George Barna, Re-imagining Church – Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity by Frank Viola, and Christian Mythology – Revelations of Pagan Origins and Christianity – the Origins of a Pagan Religion by Philippe Walter.

 

Christian koinonia fellowship is more than hanging out in the foyer for 15 minutes before Protestant church service eating donuts and drinking coffee, or shaking the hand your neighbor and saying “peace be with you” as in a Catholic church.  It is “each individual part” of the Body-of-Christ energeia effectually-working their Spirit’s grace-gifts during their “coming together” times in order “to build up the Church together – the saints doing the work of ministry!”

 

The correct image of the “assembly of the saints for fellowship” is that of the “family or household of God” (a).  What “family or household” sets up a stage and has everybody face 1 person who does all the talking or to a small group to do all the music playing?  When you look at church history carefully, you find that all of this comes into the Catholic Church around 200-350 AD, “borrowing” from old covenant models to build a faulty foundation and then “borrowing” stones from the pagan world to build The Great Wall quenching the Holy Spirit. <Notes> a) Ephesians 2:19; 1 Timothy 3:5, 15; 1 Peter 4:17.

 

 

Reflections:

 

As Christian musicians, do we really just want to perform for an audience or involve the audience in worship to the Lord?  Maybe we should consider involving them instrumentally, not just vocally?  Are we so concerned about sounding pretty that we can’t see that the Body’s playing to the Lord is just as important as ours?  Are we encouraging them to use their Spirit’s grace-gifts by hogging the ball?  Is NOT sharing the stage really koinonia fellowship?  Is the stage-audience format just a pagan “tradition of men” that actually communicates that we aren’t one big family around the dinner table?  Are we creating a party atmosphere where we can abandon ourselves and even get “drunk in the Spirit” or is it more like a business board meeting conducted by Robert’s Rules of Order?  Or have we just turned into a Christian concert for the “entertainment of the saints?”

 

Would people have more fun going down to the local bar?  Many people will say they have more actual fellowship at their local bar than at a church!  At my local bar I had 25 friends for 15 years that we could talk about anything and learn a myriad of things from one another, but try doing that during a church service – and I’ve been in 15 church ministries!  In many ways, the church isn’t meeting fellowship needs!  Are we promoting “each other, one another, reflexive, mutual, reciprocal, diakrisis weighing in or judging back-in-forth, sharing, conversational dialogue” or is it 1-way communication to a half-asleep audience?  Where is the 1-man show or small-team ministry taught in the NT?  Where’s the checks and balances to prevent error and false teaching?  Are we asking the congregation to submit to us, but we aren’t submitting to them, when the verses about submission are all bi-directional?  Are we still thinking that we are the ministers instead of only the coaches and facilitators for the saints to be the actual ministers?  Who really is supposed to be on the field playing – ALL of us TOGETHER, right?  Why aren’t we?  Why do we still use terms like head pastors when we only have 1 HEAD?  Why even pastors or shepherds when we have 1 Shepherd?  Why leaders, when we have 1 Leader?  Why ‘the minister’ when we are all ministers?  Why teachers, when we have 1 Teacher?  I guess we just don’t believe Jesus or believe someone else more than Jesus!

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Education, Christian fellowship is a Body-of-Christ ministry party NOT a 1-man show, Early church shows all Christians involved in ministry during gatherings NOT just leaders, Early Christians shared their Spirit-gifts during gatherings, 1-man show and ball hogging leadership isn’t koinonia fellowship, Don’t get drunk on wine but the Spirit, Habitually Spirit-Baptism, Church party where everybody shares their Spirit’s grace-gifts, Submission is between everybody NOT just to leaders, NO ball-hoggers allowed, Shared ministry, NO bible studies but speaking from the Spirit, Each person is a functioning joint in the Body of Christ, Only 1 Leader that is Christ, Only 1 Teacher the Holy Spirit of Father & Son, Spirit’s Anointing teaches us all things so need for any teachers, We don’t go to a football game to see coaches & referees play but that’s most church services, Checks & Balance of Body-Ministry deters 1-man-show false teaching, Everybody participating in church is fellowship and is what builds up to Christ’s maturity, Metron gift given to each is the same-size from an impartial God is the person of the Holy Spirit, Catholicism borrowed from the Old Testament, Catholicism borrowed from the world, Catholicism created more than 1 Head Shepherd Leader Teacher, Protestants haven’t reformed enough, Church buildings borrowed from pagan temples, Family of God doesn’t face a stage but sits in a circle around a dinner table

 

 

 

 

 

Fellowship – BT6:  Dealing with sin by repentance, confession, and reconciliation for restoration

 

 

Please follow the BLOG Etiquette to stay on topic and pass the moderator’s check.  Bold, underlined text below = future links to the BLOG pages.

 

The whole idea of reconciliation (a) is about restoring people back into fellowship with God, this mending back together into wholeness is in the very definition of soteria salvation, a relationship that was lost originally in the garden of Eden (b), which is thus a key objective of gospel ministry (c), even reconciling all things to Jesus (d), especially the division between Jew & Gentile (e), reconciliation of a separated husband & wife (f), or mending a rift with others (g).

 

<Notes> a) diallasso: reconcile or reach mutual concession, where people in conflict come together through meaningful change, ending hostility; or katallasso, katallage: change down-from to an exact point, or exchange of coins or enmity resulting in friendship – exchanging 2 different positions for 1 position, a change on the part of one party induced by an action of the other party; or apokatallasso: reconcile back again, bring back to a former state of harmony, thus to reconcile completely, b) Genesis 3:8, c) Romans 5:10-11, 11:15; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Ephesians 2:16, d) Colossians 1:20-22, e) Ephesians 2:16, f) 1 Corinthians 7:11, g) Matthew 5:24; Acts 7:26.

 

Yes, this reconciliation is about restoration back to fellowship, especially within the Church.  Paul strongly urges: “Be katartizo repaired/mended/restored (a), comfort one another, agree with one another, live in harmonious-peace” (b), and “Brethren, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are Spirit-kind-of [people] should repair/mend/restore (a) him in a Spirit of gentleness” (c), and “I appeal to your brethren . . . that all of you agree and/coupled that there may be no divisions among you, but that you be repaired/mended/restored (a) to the same mind and/coupled the same judgment” (d).  <Notes> a) katartizo: adjust down-from/according to, exactly fit to be in good working order to fully function; to mend, repair, complete; to fit, equip, order, arrange, adjust, b) 2 Corinthians 13:11, c) Galatians 6:1, cf. 5:23 where gentleness is a ‘flavor’ of the singular fruit of the Spirit that is Unconditional-Love, d) 1 Corinthians 1:10.

 

Peter also encourages:  “After you have suffered a little while [from the trials of persecution as a Christian] the God of all unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace . . . will Himself katartizo repair/mend/restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (a). <Notes> a) 1 Peter 5:10.

 

Forgiveness leads to reconciliation between God and man, and between us and others, so “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you” (a).  Thus be “bearing with one another, so if one has a complaint against another, then forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (b), because “if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (c).  See Unconditional-Love – BT16 and following on forgiveness. <Notes> a) Ephesians 4:32, b) Colossians 3:13, c) Matthew 6:14; Mark 11:25; Luke 6:37.

 

Surrender by repentance and confession leads us to forgiveness and back into fellowship.  That’s what Paul found out about confessing his weaknesses – that’s how he actually became strong in the Lord (a).  That’s also what John realized as to how we can continue walking in The Light to have koinonia fellowship with God: not by denying our weaknesses or sin, hiding from it, or trying harder to overcome it, but to confess/agree with the Lord about them.  Then “He is actually, ongoingly faithful and/coupled righteously-just/equitable in order to definitively/wholly forgive us our sins (our unfaithfulness) and/coupled definitively/wholly cleanse/purify-from-admixture us from ALL (b) unrighteous-injustice/partiality (c)” (d). <Notes> a) 2 Corinthians 11:30, 12:5-10, b) pas: rare case where this means “the whole of”, c) a violation of God’s justice that brings divine disapproval, d) 1 John 1:5-10.

 

Christ’s propitiation or atonement that exchanges our sin/unfaithfulness and our unrighteous-injustice/partiality to Him WITH the opposite of this, i.e., His Holy character, for the sake of His unconditional-love for us, happens NOT only on the cross when we have trusting-relying-faith in Him for our salvation, but it continues every time we confess our sins to Him – see Surrender-Control – BT2 and – BT3.

 

We can see this link between koinonia fellowship with God’s Holy Spirit and fellow Christians in 2 Corinthians 13:14, where the Greek directly links the close/along-beside consoling/counseling comfort (a) of Christ with the consoling comfort (b) of koinonia fellowship with the Holy Spirit (c), but this is linked to koinonia fellowship with others, even house to house (d), even daily (e). <Notes> a) paraklesis, b) paramuthion, c) the Parakletos:  ‘close-beside’ caller, summoner, or inviter; helper, succorer, or assistant; encouraging teacher, counselor, comforter, or consoler; defense-attorney, judicial-advocate, or court-intercessor, d) Acts 2:46, e) Acts 6:1.

 

Horizontal relationships depend on our Vertical relationship with God.  That’s what Irenaeus observed around 200 AD – the churches that rejected the charismata grace-gifts of the Holy Spirit were also devoid of its fruit, particularly unconditional-love for others, because Galatians 5:22 says that unconditional-love is the singular fruit/essence/nature of the Holy Spirit – see Tongues & Interpretation – BT14 and Body Ministry – BT9 for Cessationism denial of the grace-gifts.  Koinonia fellowship with God and others is the fruit of Spirit-baptism!

 

Reflections:

 

As a Christian musician, the only way to restore fellowship with God from sin is by surrendering-control thru repentance and confession that leads us back to trusting-relying-faith in Christ’s perfect sacrifice to satisfy justice and actually cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If this involves “working” FOR God through “acts of penance,” invented by the Catholic Church, we are stuck in the old covenant way of “works righteousness.”

 

The way of reconciliation is through the Spirit of gentleness.  Receiving and giving forgiveness is the only way to relationally-experience the Spirit’s nature of Unconditional-Love.  Only through restored fellowship can Christ’s Spirit of Holiness continue to destroy the works of the devil in our lives to continue making us holy.  This continuing “work of Christ to destroy the works of the devil” proves that we are God’s children!

 

The only way to continue bear/hold/carry fruit is to continue abiding-in/remaining-connected-to the Vine of Christ, the producer of fruit.  The only way to escape the condemnation of the world because of lust is to continue being partakers of the divine nature through the precious promise of the Holy Spirit.  If you deny Spirit-baptism with it’s grace-gifts, then you are denying or quenching the Spirit’s power and the “fruit of the Spirit” that both flow from the One Holy Spirit.  Finally, all this continual fellowship depends on the devotion of regular proseuche conversational-prayer!

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Education, Dealing with sin by repentance, confession, and reconciliation to restoration for salvation, salvation is a mending back together for wholeness, reconciliation with God and relationships with others, forgiveness is our responsibility to start the healing process, Surrender by repentance & confession exchanges our sin for Christ’s holiness, If we deny the Spirit’s gifts we lose out on the Spirit’s fruit

 

 

 

 

 

Fellowship – BT5:  Vertical God-fellowship affects our horizontal Human-fellowship

 

 

Please follow the BLOG Etiquette to stay on topic and pass the moderator’s check.  Bold, underlined text below = future links to the BLOG pages.

 

Our vertical relationship with God also naturally affects our horizontal relationship with God’s other family members (a), by “remembering/discerning TOGETHER Christ’s Body/Church through the Lord’s Supper that they should be DEVOTED to koinonia commune together-with (b) and to be changed-sharers in” (c), and again be “changed-sharers of (c) the Lord’s table” (d).  During this they should also be DEVOTED to koinonia sharing in proseuchomai conversational-praying and eating together (e), especially at their love feasts (f).  How come more churches don’t follow this model?  I was saved at a Friday-night devotional where the church fed us starving college students!  That’s why John can say that “routinely/habitually walking [all around, i.e., living] in darkness” (g), which in the context refers to hating fellow Christians (h), proves that we don’t really have koinonia fellowship with God or Christ “who dwells in the light,” even if we say we do, and proves that we really haven’t horao ‘observed with your mind’s eye or perceived/discerned to know‘ or are experientially, relationally ginosko knowing either God or Christ (i).  For more about discernment – see New Covenant Ways – BT16. <Notes> a) 1 John 1:3, b) 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, Acts 2:42, c) metochos: changed due to sharing or being an active-partaker with, d) 1 Corinthians 10:21, e) Acts 2:42, f) 1 Corinthians 11:20-21, 33, g) 1 John 1:6, h) especially 1 John 2:9, 11, 3:14-15, and 4:20, i) 1 John 3:6-9.

 

“Unity of peace” with God and others is a ‘flavor’ from the singular fruit of the Holy Spirit that is Unconditional-Love (a).  You can’t get it no matter how many church programs you create if you don’t summon the Holy Spirit to take total control of the service. <Notes> a) Galatians 5:22; Colossians 3:14; Romans 14:17, 15:13; Ephesians 4:3.

 

Division is the opposite of harmonious peace, but ironically Jesus, the Prince of Peace, created division by His very coming:  the believers from unbelievers (a), “might and power” soulish living of the flesh is separated from “by-the-means-of My Spirit” living (b), and the Church from those instigating division within the Church (c).  Paul admitted that “there must be divisions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be publicly-apparent” (d).  Our outward actions reflect our inward reality, no matter how hypocritically we live.  Jesus said, “You will epiginosko genuinely, fully, experientially, relationally know them by their fruits” for “each tree is ginosko experientially, relationally known by its own [singular] fruit” (e).  James also echoes that way you say you believe doesn’t matter because “demons believe” so “faith without [proving Christian] works is dead/useless” (f).

 

<Notes> a) Luke 12:51, b) Hebrews 4:12: Christ, “the Logos message of God that is living and active” is so “sharp” that it “pierces to dividing the soul and the spirit/Spirit [of man] . . . the [soulish] thoughts and [spirit/Spirit] intentions of the heart,” c) Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 1:10, 11:18, 12:25; Galatians 5:20; Titus 3:10; Jude 1:19, d) phaneros: shining, apparent, manifest, publicly evident, plainly recognized or known: 1 Corinthians 11:19, e) Matthew 7:16, 20, Luke 6:44, f) James 2:14, 17, 19, 26.

 

Sin defined as “falling short of the ‘mark or target’ of God’s holy character” is the result of each-person of humanity “absolutely-in-fact-NOT dokimazo ‘scrutinizing/examining in order to prove genuine’ presently/ongoingly to echo ‘hold to have’ God by-the-means-of genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge, so God gives this-person over to a reprobate/depraved mind to do those things that should not be done” (a).  Actions following thoughts!  In other words, they once had intimate fellowship with God (early in human history or even as an innocent child), but they didn’t want to “look into” holding onto that!  The result is a mind that drags them down into the gutter!  <Notes> a) Romans 1:28.

 

However, knowing about the commandments of God’s Law only brings us into intimate knowing of sin – not God, which then actually increases sin (a).  Meno abiding/remaining in the Law will make you even more of a sinner!  However, John makes it clear that the “practice of sin” comes from not meno “abiding/remain connected to the Vine of Christ” but being “of/belonging-to the devil who has never stopped sinning” (b).  Jesus warned: “If you routinely/habitually meno ‘remain connected to’ in Me and I in you, you will actually, ongoingly produce much fruit for without Me you are absolutely-in-fact-NOT powerfully- enabled to actually, ongoingly do/make one thing” (c). <Notes> a) b) Romans 3:20, 5:20, c) 1 John 3:6-8, d) John 15:5.

 

Sin comes from looking for zoe genuine-life in all the wrong places instead of fellowship with God!  Jesus clarifies for us:  “Now this is-defined-as actually, ongoingly the everlasting, zoe genuine-life – that they might (our choice) presently/ongoingly, experientially, relationally ginosko know You, the only true God, and/coupled who You actually, already sent:  Jesus Christ (The Anointed One, the Messiah)” (a).  Let’s just face it:  We can all get bored with the routines of life, but if the lack of joy from being disconnected from God’s Spirit of joy (b) builds up in our life, we can be tempted to look for it somewhere else – in “the fleeting pleasures of sin” (c).  All of us have experienced this “escapism!”  <Notes> a) John 17:3; Jeremiah 31:34; Hosea 6:3; 2 Peter 1:2-3, 2:20; Philippians 3:8, b) Proverbs 17:22; Acts 13:52; Romans 14:17; Galatians 5:22; 1 Thessalonians 1:6, c) Hebrews 11:25.

 

 

 

So how do we get back into fellowship with God?  By trying harder with our “might and power” to obey God’s “Law of commandments expressed in ordinances” (a)?  No!  That’s Old Testament religion and every religion on the planet!  Paul says:  “Now the Law came in to increase/multiple the trespasses” (b) since “dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of the Law [is] the genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of sin” (c) – it wasn’t meant to stop sin but brings us into the experience of even more sin!  That’s why it’s called the “Law of sin and death” (d)!  <Notes> a) Ephesians 2:15, b) Romans 5:20, c) Romans 3:2, d) Romans 7:23, 25, 8:22.

 

“The Law was added for the sake/cause of (a) transgressions [from specific commandments] UNTIL the [singular] ‘Offspring’ should come, to Whom (b) the promise [to Abraham about his coming inheritance] had been made” (c). Paul says the “Offspring” is Jesus Christ!  “The [OT] Law was our legally-appointed paidogogos strict child-educator/superintendent-guardian [that treated the children strictly no different than slaves] UNTIL Christ came in order that [now] we might be justified/made-righteous by trusting-relying-faith, but now that trusting-relying-faith has come, we are NO LONGER in fact under a paidogogos . . . but are [mature] sons (d) of God” (e).  Paul clarifies our sonship:  “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are [mature] sons of God” (f).  Our inheritance we can claim only when we are free, mature “sons” didn’t come by the “slave children” under the Law (g).  Sonship inheritance only came through Jesus as the “mediator of a New Covenant” (h).

 

<Notes> a) adverb charin from charis unconditional-favor-of-grace that furnishes the reason to take action of, b) Galatians 3:16: Jesus, the Christ, c) Galatians 3:19, d) huios: although we are adopted sons, we are NOW under the New Covenant made to share the same nature as their Father, e) Galatians 3:24-26,  f) Romans 8:14, g) Galatians 3:18, 4:30; Ephesians 1:11-18, h) Hebrews 9:15, 10:36, 11:8; Acts 20:32; Exodus 32:13; Colossians 3:23-24; 1 Peter 1:4.

 

So how do we get back into fellowship with God?  By meno abiding/remaining-connected-to IN Christ by pistis trusting-relying-faith!  And we know that pistis is a relationship word with people, not objects, despite what some pastors says!  John warns:  “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works [of sin] of the devil – anyone having already-been [with ongoing results] born/begotten out-of God absolutely-in-fact-NOT ongoingly poieo makes/causes/does sin because God’s sperma seed (Christ as the life of the Holy Spirit) ongoingly meno remains/dwells in him, and/thus he absolutely-in-fact-NOT ongoingly dunamis is-powerfully-enabled [within] to ongoingly sin . . . we know that everyone who having already-been [with ongoing results] absolutely-in-fact-NOT ongoingly sins, but-instead the One (Christ) who already has been definitively/wholly been born/begotten out-of God (He) protects him, and/thus the evil one absolutely-in-fact-NOT does-touch-to-change/modify him” (a).  <Notes> a) 1 John 3:8-9, 5:18.

 

Paul also warns about sin:  “God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription:  ‘The Lord actually, definitively/wholly, experientially, relationally ginosko knows who are His” and/coupled ‘Everyone who [publicly at their water-baptism] confesses the name/authority of the Lord/Master-owner must depart/stand-off/withdrawal/desist from adikia ‘injustice, unrighteousness, all that departs from God’s righteous judgments about sin’” (a).  <Notes> a) 2 Timothy 2:19.

 

Jesus also warns about sin:  “Abide/remain in Me, as I also abide/remain in you.  Absolutely-in-fact-NO branch can bear/carry fruit by itself; it must meno remain-connected-to in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you meno remain-connected-to in Me.  I am the Vine; you are the branches.  If you meno remain-connected-to in Me and I in you, you shall indeed bear/carry much fruit, but apart from me you can do absolutely-in-fact-NO thing” (a). <Notes> a) John 15:4-5.

 

So finally Paul concludes:  “Whatever does not proceed from trusting-relying-faith [in Christ] is sin” (a).  Similarly Peter also reminds Christians already born because of trusting-relying-faith, that they were “given exceedingly-great and precious promises that dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of them you might (our choice) be koinonia partakers of the divine nature, [the ones] having already, routinely/habitually escaping the corruption that is in the world by-the-means-of lust” (b).  In other words, God has given us a “keys” (c) to use unlock doors to stay in fellowship with God thru trusting/relying faith in Christ to meno remain-connected-to IN Christ. The Lord told me in a vision that this is “to go to Him regularly in proseuche conversational-prayer for intimate fellowship!” This is where we are transformed into His likeness (d).  <Notes> a) Romans 14:23, b) 2 Peter 1:4, c) like trusting/relying faith from 2 Peter 1:5, d) 2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 12:2.

 

Reflections:

 

As Christian musicians, how is our playing going to express fellowship with God’s people in worship services if we really don’t have intimate fellowship with God?  If we are “at war” with some Christians, how can we say that we love God when we hate His children?  The closer we fellowship with God, the more the Spirit’s “unity of peace” that is a “flavor” of the singular fruit of Unconditional-Love we will supernaturally have.  However, not all division is wrong!  The Spirit is constantly dividing between the genuine and the fake!  Jesus’ very coming was intended to separate the goats from the sheep!  Sin causes us to excuse, deny, or run from the truth that is all about a relationship with a holy God.  When we break from the genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of God and settle for anything less, God gives us over to a depraved mind that leads to sinful actions.

 

The Law of commandments just throws gas onto the fire!  Trying harder to obey only entrenches the sin.  If we look for zoe genuine-live in all the wrong places, this only leads us toward death.  The “work of Christ to destroy the works of the devil” IN us proves that we are God’s children!  The only way to continue bearing/carrying fruit is to ongoingly abide/remain-connected-to IN the Vine of Christ.  The only way to escape the condemnation of the world because of lust is to routinely/habitually being partakers of the divine nature through the promise of the Holy Spirit.  This continual fellowship depends on regular proseuche conversational-prayer, just as every love–relationship requires regular conversation.

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Education, Vertical God-fellowship affects our horizontal Human-fellowship, koinonia fellowship with others overflows from koinonia relationship with God, Division comes from the devil, Unity of peace comes from the presence of the Spirit, Not holding onto relationship with God leads to sin, Remaining connected to the Law of commandments explodes sin, Remaining connected to Jesus bears much fruit of holiness, Sin comes from looking for genuine-life in all the wrong places, Genuine-life only comes from genuinely-knowing by relationship Father thru the Son, We can’t use our own might & power to claw our way back to God thru commandments, The Law treats us as little-children like slaves but only UNTIL Christ makes us mature-sons, Lifestyle sin comes from dwelling outside of Christ, Christ’s seed as His Spirit dwelling in a Christian progressively moves him away from sin into holiness, To eventually bear much fruit you have to remain in Christ, Precious promises of Holy Spirit and faith and love and prayer are keys to share in God’s nature

 

 

 

 

 

Fellowship – BT4:  Growing our relationship with the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit

 

 

Please follow the BLOG Etiquette to stay on topic and pass the moderator’s check.  Bold, underlined text below = future links to the BLOG pages.

 

See also the Holiness/Sanctification page.

 

Now that we have become a Christian from the previous BLOG, our koinonia relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit grows by only ONE thing that I could find in the New Testament (NT) – koinonia sharing-together God’s zoe genuine-life through proseuchomai conversational-praying.  Out of 5 early Church “devotions” (c), proseuche conversational-prayer is what is mentioned most (a) and the most frequently strongly-urged by the imperative to be routinely/habitually practiced, as expressed by the Greek present participle (b), and the only one explicitly stated as “the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (d).  Tragically, this is one of the last priorities in many churches and Christian lives!  This could explain why they are so powerless.  But I’ve dedicated the Conversational-Prayer page to this – it is radically changing my life and will yours too!  <Notes> a) Acts 1:14, 2:42, 6:4; 1 Corinthians 7:5, b) Luke 11:9, 18:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Romans 12:12; Ephesians 6:18; Colossians 4:2; Philippians 4:6; 1 Timothy 2:1, c) proskartereo: earnest towards, persevering, constantly diligent, attend assiduously, d) 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18.

 

After a very long study on “The Plan A of God,” I found that Jesus came to “save or restore” God’s original, perfect “Plan A” given for the “least among you to the greatest” and simple enough for even little children so that no partiality is shown (a).  God had spelled it out to Moses to present to His people in Exodus 20:18-21 at Mt. Sinai, a perfect plan for God to speak to the people directly – that is the definition of prophetic rhema words – to “inspect them closely” in order to “purge sin from them,” a perfect plan that the people rejected but that only Moses obeyed. Thus only Moses received the benefits of a direct personal relationship meta ‘changed by close proximity with’ God, and the people got what they wanted instead God’s permissible-will “Plan B” –

 

It was a religion of indirect communication with God, delivered by Moses as a go-between mediator-teacher, rules grapho written down in gramma letters/writings as graphe scripture to “imprison them all under sin” (a), treating them as little-children instead of mature-sons by giving them strict rules that order them around like slaves (b) by using the Law of rules like strictly-controlling school-escort-guardians or house-managers (c), only giving them gnosis info head-knowledge with stoicheion fundamental ‘abc’ principles (d) secondarily taught by ‘line upon line, precept upon precept’ (e) by rote to stoicheo walk in a line by rules through at top-down hierarchy of fallible humans down “from the greatest to the least.” <Notes> a) Galatians 3:22, b) Galatians 4:1, 24-25, 31, c) Galatians 3:23-25, 4:2, d) Galatians 4:3, 9; Colossians 2:8, 20, Hebrews 5:12, e) Isaiah 28:10, 13, written as a gibberish to mock the rabbis for choosing bible-study instead of prophetic vision to know God – see New Covenant Ways – BT17 and – BT18l

 

But Jesus came to sozo restore/save “Plan A” for how God’s little children were to relate to their loving Heavenly Father – by the means of the “obedience of faith” where the righteous ones live by trusting-relying-faith, from one step of faith to another,” which is the very thesis (b) of Paul’s “Book of Romans,” his gospel plan of salvation explained to the entire Gentile world! <Notes> a) Luke 20:21; Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11; Galatians 2:6; James 2:1, b) Romans 1:5, 17, 16:26.

 

God’s original perfect-will “Plan A” still is to have:  a genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge that is an abundantly fulfilling, powerfully transforming, and an abiding fellowship with God thru:  Coming near/close-beside to God with simple, child-like trusting-relying-faith and relentless boldness thru:  A devoted, restful-waiting, still-watching, quietly-listening, worshipful, conversational-prayer dialogue where any routine/habitual ‘asking, seeking, and knocking’ is for God’s Holy Spirit to fill us to completion with all the abundant-fullness of God Himself by-the-means-of the Holy Spirit!

 

The Lord has shared with me several times as I was landscaping and watering, that genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of Him requires the same attention, the same cultivation, and the same care for this relationship knowledge to GROW.  There are no short cuts.  This is not a “lump-sum event” or instant download that you have to just “take by faith” happened, but grows progressively and experientially during fellowship.

 

It’s like any intimate, love relationship – you need to spend regular, quality time just being together, optanomai gazing in awe with wide-open eyes into each other’s eyes (a), holding hands, really akouo listening to each other, and just enjoying doing things together.  The Hebrew idiom “drawing near/close beside, even very close beside” (b) God is exactly the meaning of fellowship WITH God in proseuchomai conversational-prayer.  This is also where all the “work” gets done from God by the means of His Holy Spirit by “inspecting them closely” in order to “purge sin from them.”  And it’s where we really learn to worship!

 

<Notes> a) Matthew 5:8; John 16:22; Romans 15:21; Acts 13:31; 1 John 3:2, b) eggizo very close beside, into the very presence: James 4:8; 1 Peter 4:7; Hebrews 7:19, and proserchomai: Hebrews 7:25. Proserchomai:  a Hebraism for “seeking an audience with, approaching, inquiring of, calling on to visit, or be heard by” God, thus closely akin in spelling and meaning to proseuche conversational-prayer and proskuneo worship

 

 

 

In Revelation 2:4-5, Jesus warns a region of churches, headed by one of the oldest churches in Ephesus:  “I have this against you:  You have abandoned The Unconditional-Love you had at first.  Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent (a) and/coupled the first-in-time/foremost ergon ‘doings/works’, you definitely/wholly poieo make/do/cause.  If in-possibility-NOT, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place – IF you should in-possibility-NOT repent (a).”  The “light” Christians and churches are to “let shine before others, like a lamp on a stand, so that the world may see your good ‘doings’ and give glory to your Father in heaven” (b) sure isn’t OT ergon ‘doings/works,’ but those associated with “The Unconditional-Love that you had at first.”

 

When you FIRST fall in love with someone, what is it that you “do” most of?  We talked about this above – being, watching, listening, laughing, loving, living – all this done really together-WITH each other!  I really didn’t understand this passage until after I had been married about 5 years and kind of fell into a “rut” of just going through the routines of life with my wife, the house, our jobs, etc.  Ephesus also fell into that “hard work and/coupled perseverance . . . having endured hardships for My name sake and/thus have not grown weary” routine year after year.

 

The Lord talked to me at length one morning about “remembering back to those first things we did TOGETHER,” and I took this to mean my wife and I, so this was a good exercise for me to improve my marriage, but He said: “No,’ and then He reminded me of this Revelation 2:4-5 passage above I hadn’t read in years!  Then He said, “A lot of churches just like a lot of Christians are in that same place.”  I knew the Lord was getting me back on track, telling me what His priorities are – it’s ALL about our relationship of unconditional-love!  Otherwise the “hard works” turn into a duty and drudgery all in Christ’s name, doings/works FOR Him!  This is NO different than the religion of the Old Covenant or any world religions. <Notes> a) metanoia:  an after-effect of mind/heart/inner man, implying an internal change after an activity, where the ‘activity’ is defined by the context – see Surrender Control, b) Matthew 5:14-16.

 

Peter believes that if we have a genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of the Father and/coupled the Son, then we’ll have unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace and/coupled peace multiplied to us, and then God’s Spirit-power will [as it has already] grant us all things pertaining to zoe genuine-life and/coupled godliness, along with His great precious promises, so that we can be koinonos partakers of God’s divine nature in order to escape the corruption of the world (a) – see Holiness/Sanctification.  <Notes> a) 2 Peter 1:2-5.

 

Yes, zoe genuine-life and/coupled godliness, starts and grows with the genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge, just as Jesus said:  “Now this actually, presently/ongoingly exist-as/is-defined-as the everlasting, zoe genuine life – that they might (it’s our choice) presently/ongoingly ginosko experientially, relationally know You the only true God and/coupled who You actually, already sent:  Jesus Christ (The Anointed One, the Messiah)” (a). <Notes> a) John 17:3.

 

We are also to ongoingly fellowship with the Holy Spirit!  “God also bore-witness/testified by-the-means-of signs, wonders, and various miracles and/coupled by-the-means-of grace-gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed kata down-from/according-to His will” (a) to these same Jewish-Christians “who having already been enlightened/illuminated, who have already tasted the heavenly grace-gift (the Holy Spirit) and/coupled have already been changed-sharers (b) of [singular] Holy Spirit and/coupled have already tasted the kalos beautiful-goodness’ of the logos gospel message of God and/coupled the dunamis dynamite-like enabling-power [the Holy Spirit] of the age that is presently/routinely/habitually mello ‘surely ready-to-happen” (c).  The Pentecost experience was still going on!  <Notes> a) Hebrews 2:4, b) metochos: changed due to sharing or being an active-partaker with, c) Hebrews 6:4-5.

 

From Hebrews 3:1, these Jewish-Christians as “holy brethren were changed-sharers (b) of/possessing a heavenly calling,” because “we have already become changed-sharers (a) of Christ – IF in fact we definitively/wholly should-hold our first confidence/assurance (b) as-far-as-until the end” (c) – this is the enduring faith of Obedient Steps of Faith – BT16.

 

<Notes> a) metochos: changed due to sharing or being an active-partaker with, b) hupostasis: ‘standing under’ a guaranteed agreement, a title-deed or legal claim to precious promises or property, thus entitling someone to what is guaranteed under the particular agreement.  We are only entitled to God’s “precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4) if what we do “proceeds from faith” (Romans 14:23), for “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6), c) Hebrews 3:1, 14.

 

Reflections:

 

As Christian musicians, our playing must be birthed and growing from regular fellowship with God and the only NT earnest, persevering, diligent “devotion” that was strong-urged with the imperative the most that early Christians practiced the most, was “drawing near to God” proseuche conversational-prayer, but this is not primarily the monologue of deesis asking-supplication prayer that religion has converted prayer into!

 

God’s perfect-will “Plan A” was always to speak prophetic rhema words directly to His people.  Whenever we refuse to enter His presence to be “taught by God” due to unbelief, shame from sin, or fear of judgment, we will end up with second-hand gnosis info head-knowledge at best through a hierarchy of authoritative teachers who will introduce error, but it sure won’t be transforming relationship WITH God!

 

No, first-hand knowledge is genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge that is only acquired in an koinonia intimate love relationship through proseuche conversational-prayer – real quality time for lovers to build a relationship with!  Many older Christians and churches fall into the “routines of marriage” and need to “repent, and do the first things” that naturally lovers do!  That’s when we actually experience God’s unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace, love’s joy, restful-peace, Spirit-power, and precious promises so that we can actually share in God’s holy nature, thus having godliness and zoe genuine-life, including the Spirit’s grace-gifts and signs & wonders.

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Education, gnosis Bible-info isn’t epignosis relationship knowledge, using the bible to win arguments against bible-experts a waste of time and not often Christ-like, The conn artists twist the scripture, Better to confirm the gospel with signs wonders and miracle demonstrable-proofs of the Spirit, Better to share the effect of God’s relationship on you as your witness, My experience with bible-knowledge verses direct-connection relationship knowledge, older churches & Christians can forget they first love, remember those first works of love and turn back to them, Genuine-life & Godliness grows only by genuine epignosis relationship-knowledge, Relationship with God via the Holy Spirit gives us holiness

 

 

 

 

 

Fellowship – BT3:  Starting a relationship with the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit

 

 

Please follow the BLOG Etiquette to stay on topic and pass the moderator’s check.  Bold, underlined text below = future links to the BLOG pages.

 

See also Salvation page

 

Starting a relationship with Father and Son:  All the New Testament (NT) Greek words in the previous BLOGs are used to describe a koinonia communal fellowship WITH the Father (a) and WITH the Son, even in koinonia sharing of Christ’s suffering in the midst of our own trials/persecution (b), just as we “sumphutos united-together-with Christ in a death like His” thru our water-baptism to be saved (c).  Our vertical relationship with God directly affects our “koinonia sharing in God’s holy nature” (d) or “being koinonia partakers of the divine nature” (e), which is the very reason our Father “paideuo ‘educationally-trains us like little-childen‘ for our own good” (d), “treating us as matured-sons . . . something all matured-sons have been metochos ‘changed-after-sharing-with’ [the Father] (f) (g), so that “we may not be condemned along with the world” (h).  We simply must be changed by the Holy nature of Father-God by being meno connected-to Him in koinonia intimate fellowship!  For that reason, Jesus “became a metochos changed-sharer (f) in our flesh and blood nature so that through death He might destroy him (the devil) who had the power of death” (i).

 

<Notes> a) 1 John 1:3, 6, 7; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 2 Peter 1:2-5, b) Philippians 3:10; 2 Corinthians 1:7; Hebrews 10:32-34; 1 Peter 4:13, c) Romans 6:5; Colossians 2:12; 2 Corinthians 4:10; Philippians 3:10-11, d) Hebrews 12:10 – this is not ‘tough love’ harsh disciplinary action as too many bibles mislead you to believe – see Least Among You – BT11 and Unconditional-Love – BT2, e) 2 Peter 1:4, f) metochos: changed due to sharing or being an active-partaker with, g) Hebrews 12:6-8, matured children, no longer like slaves of the Law, but inheritors of the promises because of Christ, h) 1 Corinthians 11:32, i) Hebrews 2:14.

 

Our relationship with the Father starts through our relationship with the Son, God’s representation on earth, and this starts when we are sumphutos united-together-with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection during our water-baptism.  That’s also when our relationship with the Spirit begins – yes, all this during our water-baptism!  “Blessed and holy/set-apart are those who routinely/habitually hold-to-have a share/portion (a) in the first resurrection – the second death has in fact no power over them, but they will be priests of God and/coupled of Christ and/thus will reign with Him” (b). <Notes> a) meros, b) Revelation 20:6.

 

When does that happen?  Paul explains:  “Do you not know that all of us who have been water-baptized into Christ Jesus were water-baptized into His death?  We were buried therefore with Him by water-baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory (a) of the Father, we too might walk/live in/by/with completely-different-kind ‘newness’ of zoe genuine-life.  For IF we have been umphutos united-together-with Him in a death like His, we shall CERTAINLY be umphutos united-together-with Him in a resurrection like His” (b).  <Notes> a) Holy Spirit: Romans 8:11, b) Romans 6:3-5.

 

Many verses like 1 Peter 3:21 and Mark 16:16 also say you simply cannot be saved without water-baptism because “Water-baptism . . . now saves you ALSO [v.20: like the ark safely brought Noah’s family to safety thru-the-realizing-channel-of water] . . . as an eperotema ‘earnest-seeking-by-REQUEST-for [a] suneidesis ‘good/clear conscience – an eido seeing-perception sun together-with God’ eis ‘toward and reaching the goal of’ God dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”  Yes, this “seeking-inquiry/request from God for a clear conscience” is exactly what Romans 10:13 speaks of: “Everyone who ‘calls on’ the name/authority of the Lord/Master-owner [Jesus] shall indeed be saved” – and all through the NT the place they did that was water-baptism!  See also ‘Confession of the Faith’ in Surrender Control.  See the Salvation page for other Obedient-Steps-of-Faith involved in salvation.

 

Reflections:

 

As Christian musicians, don’t we want to koinonia share in God’s holy nature?  If so, we must become like “little children of God” so-trained by our heavenly Father.  The NT is crystal clear that our fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit begins with our water-baptism.  If you haven’t taken this “obedient step of faith,” how can you possibly play “by-the-means-of the Spirit” if you haven’t experienced the initial “pleroo filling-to-completion of the Holy Spirit,” which is called “Spirit-baptism?”  This is not some invisible gnosis informational “theology, dogma, or creed” head-knowledge you have to simply “take by faith” but a genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge that you either have or don’t, and it was very visible to the witnesses of your water-baptism!  If you don’t, then all you have is playing “by you own “might and power” of the flesh!  And this is simply not the New Covenant Way!

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Education, Starting a relationship with God for salvation, Communing with the Father and Son, Sharing in Christ’s suffering thru our own trials, Our relationship with God is how we share in His Holiness by the Holy Spirit, God gently educationally-trains us like little-children so we won’t be condemned with the world, Water-baptism starts our relationship when we share in Christ’s death burial resurrection

 

 

 

 

 

Fellowship – BT2:  Bible-study knowledge won’t lead you to Relationship knowledge

 

 

Please follow the BLOG Etiquette to stay on topic and pass the moderator’s check.  Bold, underlined text below = future links to the BLOG pages.

 

My extensive studies on the Knowledge page make it clear that bible-info only results in more gnosis info-knowledge, sunesis inductive, rational, logical reasoning by sequitur ‘connecting-the-dots’ of the gnosis info to gain understanding-knowledge, and sophia wisdom that puts it all together for application, but none of this requires any koinonia relationship with/close-beside God whatsoever, and the scribes and Pharisees proved that!

 

The effective defense against false teaching or heresy is not more bible-info as so many churches and bible-colleges will tell you!  The bible is exactly what the Jewish-teachers were using to confuse Jewish-Christians to go back into slavery to the Law!  The scribes & Pharisees made their financial living from the Law and so they had a vested interest/agenda in promoting it.

 

Similarly, Peter also says that “scoffers . . . following their own sinful desires . . . will say ‘Where is the promise of Christ’s coming?’ . . . the patience (the delayed coming) of our Lord as salvation [opportunity for others] [I strongly urge you’all to] ongoingly hegeomai ‘be highly regarding by your leading opinion,’ kathos (adverbly) ‘down-from in like manner, just-as’ kai moreover [highly-regarding by your leading opinion’ in the beloved brother of us Paul, kata down/from the wisdom already-been-given to him [revealed by Jesus & His Spirit, thus prophetic, that Paul] already grapho wrote to you’all, hos (adverbly) ‘just as’ kai also in pas all/whole-of the epistole letters [from him], routinely/habitually speaking in them all-around/concerning these things (about the Lord’s coming), among which some things [in the letters] are difficult-to-be-understood, which the unlearned and/coupled unstable-thus-unreliable twist-to-pervert, hos (adverbly) ‘just as’ kai also tas-loipos ‘the others of a kind/class/category-of previously spoken of’ [the whole of] graphe scriptures, to their (the twisters) own destruction.  Don’t be carried away with the error of [these] lawless people.”  <Notes> a) 2 Peter 3:3-4, 16-17.

 

In content Peter’s argument is NOT that Paul’s letters are DEFINED as graphe scripture   despite “proof texter’ proponents of the belief that the New Testament (NT) was always considered universally authoritative ‘graphe scripture’ even though no Church Fathers referred to it as such, and even argued against this notion, until a Catholic apologetics-theologian Tertullian in 208 AD resorted to applying graphe to the Christian’s highly-debated loose collection of writings, in a desperate argumentative-defense against the Jews and the so-called heresies of Monarchian Praxeas and Bishop Marcion – see Logos Word of God – BT11.

 

Instead Peter’s argument focused on the twisting of prophetic ‘kind/class/category of’ gramma writings that are difficult to understand, particularly prophecies about Christ’s coming, Paul’s letters of wisdom but particularly ‘all-around/concerning’ his  prophetic writings of Christ’s coming in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 2:19, 4:13-5:11 that caused so much confusion because of their “difficult to understand’ nature that Paul had to clarify in 2 Thessalonians 1:15-2:14.  The 3 typical ‘kinds/classes/categories’ of OT graphe scripture or The Law, The Prophets, and The Psalms & other Writings.  The twisters of ‘the difficult to understand’ parts of 1 Thessalonians convinced Christians to sell their property, probably to them for a bargain, forcing Paul to write 2 Thessalonians!

 

Peter adds the phrase “hos (adverbly) ‘just as’ kai also tas-loipos ‘the others of a kind/class/category-of previously spoken of’ graphe scriptures” to adverbly explain the verb “twisting-to-distort” NOT “pas all/whole-of the epistole letters of Paul” but “the others of a kind/class/category-of previous spoken of’ graphe scriptures.  The definite article tas applies to loipos and NOT to graphe scriptures, because in all 3 places in the NT that graphe scriptures has no article, the context is clear they are referring to the ‘kind/class/category’ called The Prophets, and in the context of Peter’s argument in vv. 1:20-21, 2:1-2, 12, 3:2-3, 9 further is refined to ‘the other’ OT Prophets writings that regard the coming of the Messiah.  You could argue that ‘the other’ could refer to the non ‘Messianic coming’ portions of OT Prophets.

 

However, it’s a far stretch from the context that Peter is referring to The Law or Psalms & other Writings because the early Jewish-Church used only 2.6% of the OT to convert/catechize Jews to Jesus, which were the Messianic passages and showed little regard for the other 97.4% – see Logos Word of God – BT5a, BT6, and BT9.  But it’s an even farther stretch from the context that Peter is referring to Paul’s “wisdom letters” to them or others on any subject as be equated to scripture.  The add-on phrase sure isn’t convincing, especially since no other NT writing hints at this!  It’s just so far out of the context of Peter’s argument that the ‘Messianic coming’ kind/class/category of OT scripture is being twisted just-as the same kind of people twisting Paul’s “Messianic coming’ portions of his other ‘letters of revealed prophetic wisdom.”  To this day, the ‘scoffing twisters” always seem to target prophetic writings to con Christians into some sinful, lawless agenda of theirs, not often targeting the clear-cut rules, psalms, wisdom-sayings or history of biblical writings.

 

In either case, you can’t fight fire with fire, as the Catholic Church also tried to do through rational, logical, reasoning, gnosis info-based “apologetics.”  You can argue with the bible-expert people and the “twisters” of biblical writings all day long and gain little ground.  This is not an effective defense against being conned by their “winds of doctrine.”  Ultimately you have to fight fire with buckets of the “Living Water” of the Holy Spirit’s revelational knowledge that only comes through koinonia intimate relationship with/close-beside Jesus as God.

 

Genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge absolutely requires koinonia relationship by-the-means-of Holy Spirit.  It’s the only WAY to actually be “taught by God” (a). <Notes> a) John 6:45; 1 Thessalonians 4:9, both citing Isaiah 54:13, cf. Jeremiah 31:33-34 as cited by Hebrews 8:10-11.

 

From 1980-1983 I was taught by the Church of Christ that you could have better koinonia relationship with God by studying your bible every day to know the “Word of God.”  I was pretty faithful:  I had underlined and highlighted my bible; written cross-references in the margins; added a topical reference in the back; filled up notebook after notebook with study notes; created flash-cards to memorize key verses for witnessing and battling sin; attended a bible-study in the dorm almost every other day and faithfully invited people to it; and went to Wednesday and 2 Sunday services along with Friday-night campus ministry meetings.  Every one of these meetings had a sermon to take more notes from.  I can honestly say that the longest prayer at all these meetings in all that time was about 5 minutes, always asking God for something!  Their worship was 4-5 songs out of a hymnal with no instruments, followed by 30-45 minutes of teaching.  Just about the time you started feeling something spiritual actually happening in the worship, it was time to go onto something ‘more important,’ like the announcements!  Sometimes their announcements or church-business meetings far exceeded the worship time and for sure, the prayer time!  And they called that a “Worship Service.”  BUT I knew a lot ABOUT God and the bible from the bible!

 

 

 

But in 1983 after seeking God for a month in prayer every morning to the top of McKale Center at the University of Arizona where I was finishing, after my church broke up due to “leaders” vying for power, after I had my first Spirit-baptism where I actually koinonia connected-with God and experienced His presence, I found out that I had no previous experience of actual koinonia fellowship with God after my water-baptism ‘tears of joy‘ experience.  After you’ve known the real-thing, it makes the counterfeit really stand out, just like bank tellers can spot a fake bill right away!  Previously, I always struggled to have a real koinonia communion with a God because I hadn’t had any distinct awareness of God since my water-baptism and not one person I knew from that church had either!  People would tell me, “Christianity isn’t about feelings but about faith.”  But I found from exhausting bible-study and experience that was completely wrong, too!  I never knew you could have God-visions or dreams, and could akouo “hear” or eido “see” or experience prophetic rhema words from God, because my church said that all died away with the apostles.  Careful study and experience proved that to be wrong, too!

 

But around May of 1983 everything started changing with my first Spirit-baptism!  Then another in 1985!  Then after much study of the bible and church history I learned that I was being lied to in many areas!  They were “blind guides leading the blind” (c).  Paul dealt with this very same problem with the Corinthian Christians who were just plain ignorant:  “Now concerning Spirit-kind-of grace-gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant (a):  You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to MUTE idols, however you were led.  Therefore I would not in fact have you be ignorant (a) . . . Now there actually are varieties of grace-gifts but the same Spirit . . . For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom and to another the utterance of gnosis-info knowledge kata down-from/according-to the same Spirit . . . to another prophecy . . . various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.  All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit” (b).  Churches can’t pick and choose what they want to believe or practice from the New Testament. <Notes> a) ognoeo, where we get agnostic, b) 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, c) Matthew 15:14.

 

Once you are no longer content to remain “ignorant” but instead “routinely/habitually ask, seek, knock by faith” (a) to “see, hear and feel” from God by the means of the “good grace-gift . . . the Holy Spirit” as Jesus calls us to do in the Lord’s Prayer (b), “not being led by a mute idol,” you will never go back to just bible-study gnosis info-knowledge!  Jesus said we have to “akouo hear/listen to understand/know My Voice” (c) and “eido mentally ‘see’ to perceive/know My Voice” (d) to actually be MY sheep!  <Notes> a) Luke 11:9-11, b) Luke 11:13; Matthew 7:11, c) John 10:27, d) John 10:4.

 

That’s why Paul prays for Ephesian Christians that: “the Father of glory may give you the Spirit of wisdom and/coupled of revelation by-the-means-of [singular] genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of Him, having already had [with ongoing results] the eyes of your heart enlightened/illuminated eis ‘toward and reaching the goal of’ to already [with ongoing results] eido mentally ‘see’ to perceive/know . . . the hope . . . your inheritance . . . dunamis dynamite-like enabling-power eis ‘toward and reaching the goal of’ us” (a).  Paul does the same thing for Colossian Christians, asking for “Spirit-kind-of wisdom and/coupled sunesis ‘connect-the-dots’ understanding-knowledge” (b).  We must have revealed/uncovered, anointed eido knowledge (c) prophetic knowledge!  Jesus reveals the Father to those He chooses (d). This is the “koinonia relationship” completely-different-in-kind New Covenant Way!  <Notes> a) Ephesians 1:17-19, b) Colossians 1:8-12, c) Matthew 11:27; John 17:6, 26, d) 1 John 2:20, 27.

 

Reflections:

 

As Christian musicians, isn’t that what we want the worship music to accomplish – to bring ourselves and others into that intimate fellowship with God?  Well we can’t lead people to something we are not experiencing ourselves, even during that very moment!  You can’t give what is not flowing through you!  Don’t we want to offer more than the Pharisee-scribe expertise of the scriptures?  It failed them!  According to Matthew 15:14 and John 5:37-39, Jesus said they were “blind guides” that really didn’t ginosko experientially, relationally know God even though they had “diligently studied/searched the scriptures.”

 

Don’t you want to be directly “taught by God” as promised, and communicate this through your music?  Shouldn’t your music just be a natural extension of your conversational-prayer para WITH/CLOSE-BESIDE God and being meta changed by the close proximity?  Don’t we want music that brings another Spirit-baptism to and through you to others?  The most powerful bands are those that surrender-control fully to allowing the Holy Spirit spontaneously guide them so that ALL of their music is anointed and prophetic and a spontaneous “New Song.”  Shouldn’t your music inform others of the Spirit’s grace-gifts instead of keeping them ignorant?  Shouldn’t your music be saying, “Come Holy Spirit – we dechomai warmly-welcome You to have complete control over ALL of us, even bringing signs & wonders to confirm and give demonstrable-proofs of the gospel logos message, so our trusting-relying-faith will not be in men but in God?”

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Education, gnosis Bible-info isn’t epignosis relationship knowledge, using the bible to win arguments against bible-experts a waste of time and not often Christ-like, The conn artists twist the scripture, Better to confirm the gospel with signs wonders and miracle demonstrable-proofs of the Spirit, Better to share the effect of God’s relationship on you as your witness, My experience with bible-knowledge verses direct-connection relationship knowledge, We aren’t supposed to be led by mute idols like studying bible writings like the scribes & Pharisees, We are supposed by led by the prophetic voice of God by the Spirit, We aren’t supposed to be ignorant of the Spirit’s gifts but zealously pursuing them by prayer, We are supposed to hear the voice of Jesus, We are supposed to prophetically gaze at him to be transformed, We are to ask seek knock for the Spirit and His gifts

 

 

 

 

Fellowship – BT1:  Fellowship with God, not religion of works, makes all the difference

 

 

Please follow the BLOG Etiquette to stay on topic and pass the moderator’s check.  Bold, underlined text below = future links to the BLOG pages.

 

Religion is about using our natural flesh’s “might (a) and power (b)” – our body’s strength & external resources and our soul’s identity of mind, emotions, and will-power to ergo work/do (c) FOR God.  Religion is simply “doing/working” FOR God individually or collectively.  But the completely different-in-kind New Covenant Way calls us to leave religion behind – “absolutely-in-fact no longer by-the-means-of might nor in fact by-the-means-of power but-instead by-the-means-of My Spirit, says Yahweh of hosts” (d) – and instead embrace relationship WITH God so that His Spirit works or ‘does’ through us to will and to ‘do’ His good pleasure (e).  <Notes> a) dunamis: enabling ability, b) ishus: endowed strength/power, c) ergo, where we get ergonomic, d) Zechariah 4:6 – see Might and Power and Spirit-Power pages, e) Philippians 2:13.

 

Philia is a Greek adjective for “fond friendship” that we are NOT to have with the world unless we want to be a hostile enemy of God (a).  Philos is the noun for “a friend or associate of” like Abraham was with God (b).  We are to be friends with Jesus who laid His life down for His friends.  As disciples/followers, we are friends, not servants if we do what He entellomai commands (c), though He kept it simple for us since there are only 2 NT commandments. <Notes> a) James 4:4, b) James 2:23, c) John 15:13-15.

 

Koinonia (noun) and koinoneo (verb) and koinonikos (adjective) refers to “interpersonal contact, social intercourse, common sharing, joint/co-participation, partnership, communion, intimacy, community, and fellowship, even by giving to one another service, money, or goods.  The verb sunkoinoneo is koinoneo “harmoniously together with, like a symphony, or in others.”  Christians would also give “right-hand” handshakes, holy kisses, and embracing hugs (a) to show this. <Notes> a) Galatians 2:9; Acts 20:37; Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14.

 

Peter tells us God’s relationship plan for Christians:  “His divine dunamis dynamite-like enabling-power has granted to us ALL things that pertain to zoe genuine-life and/coupled godliness, dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of (c) the genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and/coupled excellence, dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of (c) which He has granted us His precious and/coupled very great promises, so that dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of (c) them you may become koinonia relational-partners of the divine nature, having already escaped the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desires” (a).

 

The Greek parallelism is obvious:  God’s own glory and/coupled excellence IS His divine dunamis dynamite-like enabling-power, and THIS grants us His precious and/coupled magnificent promises (b) that IS ALL things that pertain to zoe genuine-life and/coupled godliness and this is the channel (c) we relationally-partner with God’s nature and get free of sinful desires.  There is a chain of dia channels (c) here!  God makes it available, but our part is to have that genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge to relationally-partner with Him. <Notes> a) 2 Peter 1:3-4, b) epaggelma: voluntarily made by God, not as result of our petition, c) dia, where we get diameter.

 

God does indeed give us profound promises concerning zoe genuine-life and/coupled godliness, but not just to know ABOUT these and sit on them!  Even the “Gentiles were made fellow-heirs, members of the same Body-of-Christ and/coupled changed-sharers-together (c) [with the Jews] of The Promise (e) IN Christ Jesus dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of (a) the gospel” (d).  How does this happen?  Dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of (a) this “Promise” to become koinonia relational-partners with God’s divine nature.  But absolutely none of this will happen through our human “might and power” works or through gnosis info-knowledge ABOUT God that only puffs your head up (b).  No, it only happens dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of (a) genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of God.  <Notes> a) dia, b) 1 Corinthians 8:1, c) summetochos: changed due to sharing or being an active-partaker together with, d) Ephesians 3:6, e) of the Holy Spirit: Ephesians 1:13 – see Promised Spirit, f) John 6:31-33, 41, 50-51, 58.

 

I had a vision one time where I was in my bible-study chair and a little bit of light from a high window shown through to keep me warm.  It was all those years of bible-study for bible colleges – see Bible Info!  But the walls were dark and barren!  I was told to stand up and walk to a door in front of me, who I was told was Christ, open it, and walk outside.  When I did, I experienced zoe genuine-life in the Spirit:  The sky was incredibly blue and the vegetation was vibrantly colorful.  I was full of joy and I looked up into the sky and saw what looked like diamonds floating down, but when they landed in my hand they were little flakes of bread, the Lord Jesus (a).  When I ate I was filled with more joy!  <Notes> a) John 6:31-33, 41, 50-51, 58.

 

The old covenant is about working FOR God as servants with our own “might and power,” but the completely-different-in-kind New Covenant is about working WITH God as friends (a) as “fellow workers” or “co-workers in God’s service” (b).  In Matthew 19:26, Jesus told His disciples who were frustrated about how to obey God’s rules, particularly divorce, under the old covenant:  “para with/close-beside (d) men this is actually, ongoingly NOT powerful-enough-to-do (c), yet para with/close-beside (d) God ALL things are powerful-enough-to-do (e).”  This close proximity to God requires intimate relationship.  And that’s what the completely-different-in-kind New Covenant Way was to bring!  <Notes> a) John 15:15, b) sunergos: 1 Corinthians 3:9; 2 Corinthians 1:24, 8:23; Romans 16:3, 9, 21; 3 John 1:8; Philemon 1:1, 24, 2:25; Colossians 4:11; Philippians 4:3, c) adunatos, d) para, alongside-with or close-beside, where we get parallel, e) dunatos, the adjective of dunamis – see Spirit-power.

 

Reflections:

 

As Christians musicians don’t we want to play by the unlimited Spirit’s power instead of only from our own limited “might and power,” expressing a real friendship with God to encourage others to enter in?  Don’t we want the enabling-power of His holy presence coming out dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of our instruments, which we acquired dia thru-the-realizing-channel-of the genuine, full, experiential, relational epignosis knowledge of Him instead of settling just for the “work” of bible-study that only produces gnosis info-knowledge?  Instead of us “working” so hard FOR God to please God, isn’t it time we fully embrace the New Covenant Way of “working WITH or Close-Beside God” as “fellow-workers,” because we FEEL “God’s pleasure for us through Christ?” Jesus would then say:  “Everything WITH or Close-Beside God is then possible!”

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Education, Religion is work by our flesh’s Might & Power FOR God, Relationship is work WITH God by the means of the Spirit’s power, Philia Friendship with God, Koinonia fellowship, Epignosis genuine full relational knowledge of God starts everything, Epignosis relationship knowing is not bible-study gnosis information, Thru relationship to God the promised Sprit helps us share-partner with God’s Holy nature, life & godliness comes from God’s promised Spirit