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No one seeks God? Oh...please...where did you come up with that idea?
I guess this means we need to pray for you...
Bud
It is a scriptural concept.
Phl 2:21 For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's.
Ro 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
These are the things in the bible that are meant to keep people in reality.
Yes, I am certain I believe I am seeking God, but am I? Are you really, just because you can make a super forum post and enter a church building.
This is what most ignore, you will ignore every verse in the bible that by your own doctrine will condemn you. And you know it, this is why you have no idea that what was said is actually written in scripture and then think you need to pray for someone else.
5Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow.
The Salvation of man is the fruit and effect of a Everlasting Covenant counseled by the Triune God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost Ps 33:11
11The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever [sure], the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
The LORD here is the Elohim, the Triune Jehovah, and their counsel and thoughts are one. The proper scheming of the Salvation of men was first and foremost for the Glory of God leading to the comfort and happiness of their Chosen ones Ps 33:12
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. [1 Pet 2:9]
And so the counsel was convened in regards to the Great importance of Salvation. For all their Perfections were to be manifested, especially the Wisdom of God Eph 3:4-11
4Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
5Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
6That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
7Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
8Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
This Great Work was entrusted into the Hands of the Son Jn 17:4
4I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finishedthe work which thou gavest me to do.
Then He became Surety for all whom God would be Glorified in saving from the ruin of the Fall. Heb 7:22
22By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
Since all Three Beings of the One Godhead counseled in this momentous matter of Salvation, thats why we have one of the most hated scriptures in the NT that points to the Triune God 1 Jn 5:7
7For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
Also Isa 48:16 appears to confirm the scheme of the Triune God, and the Son being sent to fulfill His Covenant obligations 48:16
16Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.
7Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
8I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
9I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest.
10I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.
Yes Salvation is the result of Covenant Faithfulness from the Triune God, May His Perfections be Adored forever !
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That there was a Eternal Counsel amongst the Godhead can also be gleaned from other scriptures as Isa 25:10
1O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
The ESV reneders this verse :
1O LORD,(A) you are my God;
I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
Now what greater plan or purpose was formed of Old than that which was eternally setteled in Christ Jesus, that Eternal Purpose of the Salvation of all God's elect, of which all Three Beings were concerned, which is the manifold wisdom of God, which is according to that Eternal Purpose in Christ Jesus Our Lord, the Mediator.
9Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
10To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
11According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
It was not only Christ Jesus the Son who would execute this purpose involved, but the Spirit as well, who also agreed to perform His part, who searches the deep things of God and approves them and reveals them unto the Elect of God 1 Cor 2:9-12
9But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
God`s everlasting Blood Covenant , first you do not need a lot of faith to receive as the Lord God is giving you a gift of faith , all you have to do is be a willing recipient who is willing to love the Lord and try to reject sin of the world , and the Lord will give this gift for life and help you little by little ,.... you do not have to be perfectly clean of sin to receive this gift , only a desire to be clean of sin ......... This Blood Covenant is the horrible death of Jesus Christ who had no crime against him and was lynched on a cross ....... So the Lord God rose Jesus up from the dead and gave all who would go to Jesus the Son of God This Everlasting Blood Covenant for their life........ See the Lord does Good and to give life on a horrible death of Jesus , like putting coal on the head of His enemies to show love in a lost world ......... Who is the enemies of the Lord God ?....... The enemies of God are the devil and all his fallen angels and their manipulation of sin on man , and all the unrestrained sin on man , and all men who pass on with out turning for their redemption for life........The Blood Covenant is the coals God is putting on the enemies of the soul of man and this is a covenant for Jesus for love , and life gift..................... All this and Christians still fail to make a blood Covenant with their children and family members and even other Christians who are friends , but would prefer to be proud of each other which rejects the Lord and pushes God away in their relationship with him and them , because God is Not a proud spirit
That salvation is according to the everlasting covenant of grace and that paul and the apostles preached it so is seen in phrases as the " counsel of God" Acts 20:27
27For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
The word counsel is the word boulē:
counsel, purpose
The Purpose of God He did not shun to declare ! Peter preached it here Acts 4:28
28For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.[I believe this counsel refers to the everlasting covenant determined in the GodHead]
17And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.
and He was speaking about the Gospel of God's Grace vs 24
24But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
So this leads us to believe that paul was rehearsing the first chapter of Ephesians as part of God,s Gospel of Grace Eph 1:6,11
6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
11In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will
6Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
That word wisdom is the greek word Sophia and one of its meanings is:
supreme intelligence, such as belongs to God
1) to Christ
2) the wisdom of God as evinced in forming and executing counsels in the formation and government of the world and the scriptures see eph 3:10
And that would be that wisdom that contrived the everlasting covenant, whereby God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, through the surety engagement with Christ for His People, not imputing their trespasses on them, because they were imputed to the Surety of the Covenant 2 Cor 5:21, so He would in due time come and be a sin offering in their behalf Isa 53:10
10Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Christ was long the designated sin offering before the world began ! The world was created within the scope of that purpose Eph 3:9
9And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
please cp Eph 3:9 with 2 Cor 5:19 in regards to the preposition in !
Sounds nice Brian. However....can you prove that, that we don't need faith, to receive God's covenant promises?
Bud
Sure.... The moment you start loving others as yourself, the actions of your life will reflect that. The actions (fruit of the spirit, as Christians say) reveal what is in your heart and mind. If your heart and mind are full of love then you must be full of god.
If you are full of god it stands to reason you have nothing to fear.
Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
1 John 4:7-8 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
We perceive that Salvation is based upon a everlasting covenant from reading of the counsel that took place right before mans creation, when God says let us make man in our image and our likeness, the us I don't believe could be angels, but the other Two Beings of the Godhead, the Word and the Spirit; The Triune God.
Now the stating of " let us make man" was a resolve in the beginning to make man in accordance with the stipulations of the everlasting covenant. Adam was not just created randomly, but he himself was made as covenant Head, and since He was a figure of Him to come [ Rom 5:14], then Christ His antitype must have already been established as the surety of the everlasting covenant..
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Its translated " The Angel of the Great Council "
6 For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder: and his name is called the Messenger of great counsel: for I will bring peace upon the princes, and health to him.
1Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
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Hi Savedbysovereigngrace,
You wrote,"Christ was long the designated sin offering before the world began ! The world was created within the scope of that purpose Eph 3:9"
I agree. I think that much (i don't know what percentage) of christendom considers Christ to be God's "plan B." They see Adam's disobedience as unpredicted, hurling God's entire creation in confusion, disaster, death and ruin.
But it was God Himself who condemned mankind. Death penalty for all.
And this was allowed on purpose, so that Christ, prepared from the beginning, would come and save and justify all again.
Man's fallen condition is not by choice, but by divine decree.
Sure.... The moment you start loving others as yourself, the actions of your life will reflect that. The actions (fruit of the spirit, as Christians say) reveal what is in your heart and mind. If your heart and mind are full of love then you must be full of god.
If you are full of god it stands to reason you have nothing to fear.
Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
1 John 4:7-8 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Excellent summary of Christianity's essential feature . . . Love . . . and the evidence (fruits) of its existence. Fortunately even the Bibleans are saved . . . it is the "refinement" they might need to worry about.
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