FORNICATION WITHIN THE CHURCH

  This is a tough subject on which to write because all Christians are guilty of some offense. It is just a matter whether the sinning continues or not. Sinning Christians get puffed up as if they had never sinned. Justification is NOT as if you have never sinned, but that Jesus the Just redeemed your imperfections. He "forgets" that; Christians must never!

  A friend of mine asked about the Christians in her church that "shacked up" and what was my "take" on that. Like Paul, my "take" is not what is important but God's Will.  I merely pointed out to her that paper marriage is not Holy Matrimony. The latter is a Covenant of three: the husband, wife, and God. "Marriage" on the other hand is an agreement between man, woman, and the government. 

  My point is that the marriage license is not what is important, but the Marriage Covenant with God. Marriage is fidelity to the governor, but Holy Matrimony fidelity to God. If both individuals in a marriage Covenant with God, they will not merely "shack up" but pledge to have fidelity forthwith.  My guess is that unmarried couples in church who shack up have made no such Covenant!

  Paul, absent in body, but there in spirit, wrote to the Corinthian Church about sin within the Church. I have written before that the Church is a “threshing floor” wherein to thresh and winnow out the brethren. “Brethren” are brothers in Christ. They are those born in the Spirit. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he was judging another Christian, but by fair standards.

  Sinners justify their actions. It is false "justification," or as such, “rationalization.” The first rationalization ever was with regard to the Tree of Knowledge. The rationalization was like this: Eating of the forbidden fruit is a mere physical thing. It is only the mechanics of taking fruit and chewing it. What wrong is there in that? God surely will not condemn me to death for such an innocent thing! Thus, Jews rightfully call it the “Wisdom Tree” but it had both the wisdom of God and the foolishness of men. Carnal knowledge is foolishness, and Paul addressed that issue first. Then an obviously carnal thing was addressed — incestuous fornication by a Christian brother.

  But before that, consider the Spiritual side of eating of the Wisdom Tree. It made Adam and Eve superior to God in their own eyes. They were what Paul called, “puffed up.” (1 Cor 5:2). Puffed up means holding oneself in high esteem, even higher than God. That was the essence of original sin. Paul said of himself, “I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.” (1 Cor 4:4). Judging oneself leads to rationalizing sin, but only God can justify by judging.

  Adam and Eve judged wrongly that their sin would be right in God’s eyes. He had already commanded that they were not to eat, but they willfully continued to eat of the forbidden fruit, Eve by deception, and Adam willfully knowing full-well what God had told him alone. As such they were puffed up knowing better than God what is safe and what is harmful. They sinned against God and themselves because without reprieve, they were condemned to die.

  “Justify” is the pronounce as righteous (Strong’s Dictionary). Only God can do that as Paul rightfully pointed out. Adam and Eve endeavored to “justify,” or to pronounce their sin as right. The same thing occurred in the Church at Corinth. Both the fornicator and the Church turned a blind eye to incestuous fornication. God does the judging, not the sinner nor the brethren (Mat 7:1). God is the sole judge.

  Nothing has changed over the years. Many Christian brothers in the Church self-justify their actions. God has already determined that sexual sins are grievous to Him, and he does not need our opinions on that. Sexual sins are much more than mechanical functions of physical bodies in motion, but sins against God and the self. Why the self? Because sexual disobedience punishes the person, “He that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body” (1 Cor 6:18). Because God judges, the person, when they are judged guilty, essentially murder their own souls. Obviously, they have regulations of which they are aware, and Satan does not damn them, but they damn themselves.

  Christians credit Satan with more power than he has. Christians who knowingly sin puff themselves up when they rationalize that they know better than God. Satan warned them of that (Gen 3:5). By continuing in sin, they not only puff up themselves but Satan as well. By fornicating with each other, they fornicate against God with Satan. They live by Satan’s rules, and not the Will of God. That Christian brother in the Corinthian Church was about to be threshed and winnowed out, not by Paul but by God. Christians can forfeit their safety and are not “saved” until they endure to the end (Mat 24:13) of tribulation. Life is tribulation. Satan’s legions need not commence their commerce in sin until the sinner turns away from Satan toward Jesus.

  This commentary is not about falling away, but self-justifying one’s own sin as right. Those who fornicate have been known to make it alright (justify) by considering it strictly a physical action. The Church is right now full of Christian brothers and sisters shacking up or having coitus with a mate one day and communion with God the next. How long will God tolerate that? No one knows how long or how many times, but sooner or later, the Christian brother and sister will forget God and live for each other’s lust. In the beginning, they fornicate more against each other, but in the end, they fornicate against God. They have become as God as they puff themselves up!

  Everyone judges themselves when they choose sin over righteous, but the Law is there because God judged right and wrong long before people ever came along. Hence, sinners do not judge but condemn themselves. They end up the causation of their own demise! God is just; people are foolish, and by their own folly they perish.

  Christians do not find it pleasant but a loving God, Jesus, is also punisher. The point to this commentary, is that Satan can only destroy the body, but Jesus can destroy both the body and soul:

  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. (1 Cor 5:4-5)

  Satan, as Paul noted, can only destroy the flesh. It is known from the Book of Job that Satan need not do that himself. Those encounters with Satan was for Job to destroy himself according to the will of Satan. Satan need only to persuade him to abandon God and Job would have committed spiritual suicide. He would have forfeited God’s safety if he had done his own will rather than God’s. Hence, Satan destroys the flesh, and the flesh is his weapon of self-destruction. It is like a person killing themselves with their Satan’s “gun” but the person pulls the trigger himself.

  The flesh is temporal; its purpose is to interface with the tribulations in the world. God had generated Adam and eve with perfect flesh, but when it became tainted with sin, it would perish someday. With the first sin, Adam-kind when from immortal to mortal and from imperishable flesh to perishable. In the interim, ever since, people have endeavored to ignore the tribulation and enjoy the pleasures of the flesh, not even knowing that lusts are poisonous. Like Adam who saw Eve eat long ago, and did not die, then sinned, the incestuous fornicator in the Corinthian Church seemed to get along just fine in that Church.

  That is the same as it is in modern times. Many Christians fornicate one day and praise God with the same body and spirit the following Sunday. No one seems to mind nor reprove them, so they continue on as if they are justified (right) in God’s eyes. That is a cunning ploy of Satan. A Christian who serves Satan cannot serve God! How many infractions are too many? One. How many times did Adam and Eve sin before they felt ashamed? One time!

  Christians are pledged to the will of God. “Regeneration” for sinners is just like the “generation” for Adam. He was to “dress and keep” God’s Garden of Souls (Gen 2:5) and Christians are to serve and preserve the flesh and souls of people. Eve endangered Adam, and the goodly woman in the Corinthian Church endangered the brother. If they felt guilty and repent, then God would have grace as He did for Adam and Eve. They needed to discard their provocative ways — “their self-justifying fig leaves” — and put back on the Flesh of the Lamb for their cloak as God did for Adam and Eve (Gen 3:21). As long as the fornicators discard their fig leaves for Jesus, then God would justify them. Paul could not do that for them,and they could not do so themselves. They would need to turn to Jesus for he has already redeemed them.

  In the end, Satan can destroy the flesh, but Jesus has more power: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mat 10:28). The woman would assist the fornicator in killing his flesh, but those who tolerated fornication in the Church could kill both the body and soul. God has already judged sin; it is true that Christians “judge not,” but Christians are called to admonish, correct, and reprove (2 Cor 3:16). How long should fornication be tolerated in the Church? Not one time and not ever. By ignoring sins in Christians is damning their flesh and soul to perishing.

  Of course, unlike Satan who cannot touch the soul, Jesus is the judge of the body and soul. He decides who are saved and who is not. He threshes and winnows the brethren in His House and decides who goes beneath the threshing stone and who rises above it. That is why the first Church House was built in Ornan’s threshing floor. As Paul pointed out, sinners cannot be judged by the Law because they have no allegiance to it, but the Law is for Christians. The Law is not for condemnation but a means of knowing what God prescribes for the eternal health of both the body and the soul.

  Preachers avoid preaching on sin because sinning Christians are offended. Offense is conviction. Christians can either live with guilt or with the Lord. Unless preachers are offending, preaching is in vain. The preacher is just the messenger. Christians should not be angry with the preacher but submissive to God.

(picture credit: Orthodox Church)

Heaven and Earth Video - Part 1

 

WISDOM AND FOOLISHNESS

 

  “Wisdom” is a consequence of having knowledge. The forbidden tree introduced new knowledge. Only “good” was known before sin. Innocence superseded wisdom. Since then, children have been known by their innocence since their knowledge is limited. Only with the learning of knowledge is innocence diminished and wisdom elevated.

  Once the fruit of the forbidden tree was eaten, “evil” knowledge was consumed. What were the fruits of the Wisdom Tree (What the Jews call the Tree of Knowledge)?

¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, ²⁰ Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, ²¹ Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Gal 5:19-21)

  How is it known that those are fruits of the Wisdom Tree? Because subsequently nine of the twelve fruit of the Spirit are listed: Two trees; two sets of “fruits” and two doctrines. The Tree of Life presented the Fruit of the Spirit and is the Doctrine of Christ, and the Wisdom Tree presented fruits of the Evil One and are the doctrine of sin. “Sin” is essentially emancipation from God and the refusal of His fruit for the evil fruits. Sin is desiring to choose and harvest the fruits that are most appealing. Now examine the fruit of the Spirit:

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³ meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Gal 5:22-23) (Only the Latin Vulgate enumerates all twelve fruits: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, forbearance, gentleness, faith, modesty, self-control, and chastity).

  The three additional ones are in bold print above. Wisdom is not defined well in Merriam-Webster Dictionary. A better definition is my own, The use of knowledge for sufficiency and efficiency. In scriptural terms, it is using the Fruit of the Spirit rather the works of the flesh. The Fruit of the Spirit is from God, and all twelve fruits are together as one. For instance, without kindness charity is impossible, and without gentleness, patience is impossible. “Sufficiency” are all twelve fruits. “Efficiency” are the twelve fruits as one fruit. The Vulgate list is better because they do not include love, but all twelve are ways to love.

  Now consider the fruits of the Wisdom Tree. They are “works.” Note the difference; “fruit” is what the Spirit gives to you to return to God and others, and “works” are things you “pick” for your own pleasure. Hence, the Fruit of the Spirit are good things, and the works of the flesh are evil things. The Fruit of the Spirit are sufficient and efficient for life, and the works of the flesh are insufficient for life and inefficient for growth. In fact, works stunt spiritual growth. They are in the way of the Way of God.

  The works list are weaknesses and the Fruit list are powers. The Serpent’s fruits made powerful Adam, weak Adam. It turned Adam from a Godlike Man to a Serpentine woos that grovels in the dust for nourishment; and made his works inefficient, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread” (Gen 3:19). Bread is nourishment for sufficiency. Sweating for the bread is works.

  Sin caused insufficiency and inefficiency. That came from the “Wisdom Tree” but ironically it was not wisdom; it is foolishness. The Jews were foolish. They still think that the Tree of Knowledge bore wisdom. It did not; it bore foolishness. Only the Tree of Life’s fruit was wise to eat!

  Paul provided to the Corinthians the source of wisdom: “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom” (1 Cor 1:30). “Something” changes Christians from foolish to wise. Jesus Christ transforms evil people into righteous people: in “righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” What is the “something” that changes the foolish into the wise? “The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God, for it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise” (1 Cor 1:18). The Holy Cross is where Jesus redeemed sinners from the death sentence. To the “wise” that is foolishness; that a wooden cross was sufficient and efficient for the redemption of sins. The foolish “wise” guys thought that they must do some thing or even one thing for redemption. Look at the list of works again. What fruit therein would be sufficient and efficient for redemption? All of them together are insufficient and heresy alone is certainly inefficient.

  The Corinthian Church turned to one of the works that they thought was sufficient and inefficient. They turned to the doctrine of men. The Cross became a stumbling block to the Jews and to the Greeks foolishness (1 Cor 1:22). They were all wrong.

  The Cross is the “sign” of redemption for the Jews because on it was plainly written, “King of the Jews.” It was foolishness to the Greeks because for them a Cross was irrational for redemption; that a wooden cross could save them from death was not scientific. Both peoples missed the mark. It was not the Cross itself, but what happened on the Cross. Jesus became the perfect sacrifice (i.e., God Himself died so that sinners needed not.) That makes perfect sense.

  Both peoples looked at the Cross and saw merely wood. Perhaps the most spiritually acute saw it as a Tree, as Paul called it. Both groups missed the point of the Cross. The Tree of Life was cut down in the Body, Spirit, and Mind of Jesus. Not only did God’s Flesh experience death on the Cross, but so did God in Mind and Spirit. How is that known? Jesus gave up the Ghost, and Jesus felt isolated when He sensed that the Father had abandoned Him.

  Which “tree” deserved to be cut down? The Wisdom Tree because as it turned out, its fruits were putrid. There was nothing wise on the Wisdom Tree. What is wisdom, then? Deciding from which tree to eat the fruits. There are Laws against eating the fruit of the forbidden tree, but as Paul wrote about the Fruit of the Spirit, “Against such there is no law” (Gal 5:23).

  “Foolishness” is breaking the Law. God sees all and knows all things. The penalty, or wage, of sin is death (Rom 6:23). There is one penalty and one “wage” and that is death. The fruits of the Wisdom Tree do not have a penalty different for every fruit, but all have the same penalty. “Fornication” for instance is “heresy” because rather than infidelity of the flesh with another person, fornication is infidelity with another “god” especially yourself as God since sexual sins are not only sins against God but yourself! (1 Cor 6:18).

  Corinth was a corrupt city as it was a major international crossroad of the civilized world. Every imaginable sin was surely there, and  the Christians were likely tempted by them all. Perhaps one of the teachers taught that, rather than by grace, that doing work against works was sufficient and efficient for salvation. Perhaps the Church at Corinth had been taught works as the Way to eternal life. Apparently, Paul was effective in his warnings. Seven Churches in Asia were reproved because each of the seven Churches had heresies. Corinth is not listed as one of the seven Churches with a wrong Spirit.

  Paul made the dissidents feel foolish with his letter. There had been a spirit of wisdom, coming not from God but the evil one. They had been teaching the “Foolish Tree,” and all along it was the Tree of Life which is the Wisdom Tree, as true wisdom comes from God and foolishness from Satan:

Now 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. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor 2:12-16)

  Wisdom comes from the Mind of Christ. Wisdom comes from partaking the Fruit of the Holy Ghost. Wisdom is when the Holy Ghost grows the Fruit of the Spirit in the souls of men. When Christians diminish themselves and trust God, the Holy Ghost gives them not one fruit, but twelve fruit of the Spirit. If anyone is lacking in one, they are lacking in all! That fruit is not from the “Serpent Tree” nor the “Judas Tree;” they are from the Tree of Life (Jesus) and the Tree of Life (the Cross).

VOW TO END THE MYTH OF TREES

  

  Paul had been tried by the Jews at Achai, a Greek City. The Roman governor there, Gallio, was charged by the Jews to judge, and of course, punish Paul for speaking that Jesus is God in the Flesh. Gallio said it was none of his business and refused to judge Paul for breaking Jewish Law. Then the Jews were beaten by the Greeks. Then the tenor changes. As if for no reason, the following information is revealed.

And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while (in Achaia), and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. (Act 18:18)

  Obviously, Paul’s journeys are significant, but why does scripture indicate that Paul had had his head shaved in Cenchrea because he had made a vow. Many theologians suggest that Paul had taken a temporary vow of the Nazarites, and the vow was finished, perhaps because his objective was accomplished when he was in Cenchrea.

  There was another occasion in the New Testament wherein vows are mentioned:

²³ We have four men which have a vow on them; ²⁴ Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. (Act 21:23-24)

  It seems that growing their hair long was a purification process ending in shaving their heads. The four men purified the Jews from the Law of Moses by cutting their hair. (That  was after Paul had been tried in Achai).

  Nazarites were called to be temporarily purified, except for Samson whose was meant to be permanent, and commencing in the womb. Their purification process was: (1) separation (sanctification), (2) abstinence of all things from the vine, (3) not touch the dead, and (4) make sacrifices of bread and domestic animals unto the Lord. The vow was ended by shaving the hair from the head and “put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings” and the vow was for God’s blessings for the children of Israel (Num 6).

 Apparently the four Nazarites took the vow to bless the Jews in Jerusalem to separate them from the Law of Moses, and Paul surely took the same vow at Cenchrea. Perhaps it was knowing what would happen with the Jews at Achai that he had performed the vow. Perhaps it was for the Gentiles, or perhaps it was for another reason.

  Cenchrea was the home of Homer — his birthplace — who was author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Why would God want readers to know that the place Paul shaved his head and burnt his hair was in Cenchrea. Homer was their antiquarian hero and had been since the 8^th Century before Christ. Homer was also noted for his numerous metaphors of men as Trees. Perhaps Paul’s vow was to burn the metaphor of Homer’s Trees and replace those with the metaphors of God’s Trees.

  My eyes were opened when reading about blind Bartimaeus. With his vision partially restored and facing Jesus, Bartimaeus said, “I see men as trees, walking” (Mark 8:24). That amazed me because I had seen the trees of the Garden as men standing and facing the Tree of Life just as Bartimaeus was doing. Perhaps he, in his special state, saw Jesus as the Tree of Life, and the souls of men as trees walking. He saw what men with perfect vision could not see. He “squinted” better than 20/20 and essentially saw into the souls of men, and into the Spirit of Jesus.

  I always considered the Garden of Eden to be a Garden of Trees as well as a “Garden of Metaphors.” (Homer would have liked that insight).

  Adam was told to dress and keep the Garden (Gen 2:15). Another translation would be to serve and preserve the “Garden.”  The Tree of Life was perhaps an olive tree, but also a metaphor for Jesus Christ in that the fruit from it would result in immortality (Gen 3:22).

  Adam did not follow through with his assignment —  to keep the Way of the Tree of Life — so cherubim replaced him: “(God) drove out the man (Adam); and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

  John was revealed that same vision of Jesus in Paradise:

⁶ And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. ⁷ And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. (Rev 4:6-7)

  Those beasts were like Isaiah’s description of cherubim. They were keeping the Way of the Tree of Life, or in that vision, God on His Throne. The rainbow over the throne revealed the Promise to Noah. The rainbow was indicative of Jesus Christ who is God’s Appearance on the throne. Jesus is in Paradise standing tall as the Tree of Life on the River of God (Rev 22:1-3).

  The cherubim did what Adam could never do after the original sin. God’s intention for Adam was to serve and preserve the Tree of Life, or metaphorically, Jesus, the coming Messiah. The Garden was entirely good (Gen 1:31). Adam would need to do no work in the Garden, but he had been commanded to multiply. Hence, he was surely to serve and preserve future men as he was told to serve and preserve the Tree of Life. In other words, Adam received the Greatest Commandment back in the Garden Paradise and failed to keep it. After he was driven out, his charge was to take the Greatest Commandment and the one like unto it, unto the world, and that was his own Great Commission, and he did it with Seth’s line!

  With that said, the Garden of Eden was a metaphor for a “Garden of Living Souls.” Adam became a “living soul” when God breathed life unto him (Gen 2:7). Eve became a living soul when Adam breathed the Spirit of God unto Eve. (I wrote recently that it was not definitely Adam’s rib that made Eve, but perhaps a leaf covering a side chamber (Strong’s Dictionary). With that alternate translation, perhaps Adam breathed his life from God into Eve, and Eve received the Holy Spirit which is Life unto her.

  Throughout the Bible, trees are often metaphors for men as well as are vines. Homer’s metaphors were for Trees and Vines as People. Of course, the “Vine” in scripture is Jesus Christ. Jesus said:

¹ I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. ² Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. ³ Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. (John 15:1-3)

  The Trees and Vines in Cenchrea were great people. It had been that way for eight centuries. Now there was a new Way for the Greeks. Homer would be diminished by Paul. His vow was surely a way to sacrifice for those who looked up to Homer. There was a new “Tree” in town, and it was not the Tree of Homer but the Tree of Life.

  Note that Jesus calls himself the “Vine” and that people are the “branches.” That is a metaphor for their positions in life, but also metaphors for the Garden of Eden. Jesus was not concerned with the flesh of people but their souls. Israel is symbolic if not actually the location, is considered the Garden of the World — the Garden of Eden.

  Paul’s vow was surely to serve and preserve the Greeks in Cenchrea. It was there that he burned his hair as if purifying the people there. Paul’s vow and sacrfice of his hair worked. The Church at Cenchrea was established and Phoebe was a servant there (Rom 16:1). Paul worried about them no longer because they were not one of the seven churches that God had something against, nor were they one of the “seven spirits” of the Apocalypse. It seems that Homerian “trees” were uprooted and replanted with God’s “Trees.”

  Hopefully, my thoughts about the vow makes sense from scripture. One mere passage: Paul, shorn, and vow; may not mean much, but Jesus is the Word and every Word in Scripture is there for a reason. That Paul cut his hair seems insignificant until the purpose is revealed. It was a vow he made, and specifically for the Gentiles of Cenchrea.

  That should and did raise the question: What is so significant about Cenchrea and why the vow there? Why not somewhere else? Perhaps it was indeed to rid Cenchrea of the myth of “trees” and replace myth with the reality of God!

  By the way, Paul’s shaven hair was a metaphor for a tree shedding its leaves.

(picture credit: Elephant Journal)

 

GUARDED TO KEEP THEM SAFE

 

  In the beginning, the Garden of Eden was holy land. Perhaps it was heaven in earth since the first things generated were the heaven and the earth, or the visible and the invisible. My contention, as well as many Jewish theologians who know Hebrew, is that the heavenly “Paradise” (the spiritual realm) is coincidental with the Garden Paradise in earth (the physical realm). That is based on many things, but the most thought provoking is that the Tree of Life still stands in Heaven where it stood in the Garden.

So, He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. (Gen 3:24)

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” (Rev 2:7)

  The cherubim would “keep” and keep it where? Where it was and where it will still be in the end! It was “in the midst of the Garden” (Gen 2:9) and it remains in the “midst of the Paradise of God.” The Tree of Life has not been moved; it has only been transformed from one dimension or state to another. I submit that since the Garden of Eden was holy, that the Tree of Life is the location of the Holy of Holies — the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle where God’s Presence appeared. That sanctuary is associated with the Well of Souls, the space beneath the Foundation Stone.

  The Foundation Stone is sacred for many reasons, but foremost, it was in the “midst of the Garden” where God founded existence, the natural and the supra-natural, and Adam himself. Adam slept on that stone when Eve was formed. Jews believe that Adam remains “asleep” there in that stone. [1] That he is buried beneath the “Place of the Skull,” or Golgotha.

  It is where God was in the beginning, during the Temple period, and where He remains to this day. Where do the redeemed go? Heaven. Where is Heaven? The Holy Land. And where is the most Holy Land? Jerusalem; specifically, the proximity of the Garden of Gethsemane. It makes sense that the Garden of “the olive press” would be near the Tree of Life.

  Obviously, the Tree of Knowledge was a fig tree, and that is validated by 1 Adam and Eve (sacred books). Since olive leaves represent “peace” it also makes sense that the Tree of Life was an olive tree and was symbolic of Jesus, who was “Peace on Earth” (Luke 2:14). According to Strong’s Dictionary this could also be translated as “peace on physical standing ground.” Whose standing ground? Jesus’s! Where has Jesus either stood or seated all the time, according to the evidence? In Paradise in the Garden (John 1-3,14) and in Paradise in heaven — the spiritual realm.

  Now back to the Holy of Holies. That is where God “stood,” and seated Himself as well, on the Ark of the Covenant between what? Cherubim — two cherubs. Where was the Ark positioned? In the Temple of God on Ornan’s threshing floor. The very place on which the Temple was built. In other words, the Temple was on the Foundation Stone and the Holy of Holies beneath it.

  Cherubim guarded the Way to God in the beginning and does to this day. God revealed to John what the Garden Paradise looks like now. John saw through a barrier that he described as a “Sea of Glass” — “And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind” (Rev 4:6). Those four beasts were cherubim that still guard the Way to the Tree of Life. Perhaps the “Sea of Glass” is the barrier between the physical realm and the spiritual, and cherubim guard its crossing just as they did back in the Garden!

  Those who “stand” on that “sea” have found the Way to God. Who found the Way to the Holy of Holies? “Them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass” (Rev 15:2).

  Salvation is “victory over the beast” and anything that represents him. What comes before “salvation” in the spiritual realm? Preservation or safety in the physical realm. Sanctification is a state wherein God preserves the saints until they are regenerated to another state, glorification. Paul wrote about that: “The Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil” (2 Thes 3:3). The New King James Version renders that, “establish you and guard you from the evil one.”

  Who killed Adam and Eve? Satan did. Not that they were killed physically but only that their souls were emptied of God’s Holy Spirit that He had breathed into them. Satan was defeated, but Adam and Eve were kept safe by a coat from a lamb until the Lamb of God manifested Himself as the sacrifice. Cherubim guarded the Sea of Glass which was also the place of salvation by the Way of Jesus. Until then, the Holy Ghost, according to Paul’s letter, would establish you (your faith) and guard you from evil.

  The Holy of Holies traveled for a time in tents. God guarded the Jews to keep them safe from the evil one. Their destination was the Promised Land. The Kingdom of David was more than a promised land, but a return to Paradise. Abraham and Moses knew that, but the typical Hebrew did not understand the Mystery of God.

  They were taking God back to His place in Paradise, and they would be kept safe and guarded by God until they are taken up by the only Way possible; when Jesus comes to translate them from the physical paradise to the spiritual. Just like Jesus who walked through walls, Christians will “drift” through the transparent Sea of Glass like it is not even there! What is more, true saints will pass through the guarded entry without impedance because they came the Way of Jesus.

  Just as a remnant of the Jews are guarded in Israel until the Great Day of their Salvation, Christians are guarded in their tents (transportable souls) until that same day when they too are saved. Cherubim prevent the unworthy from entering but allow the redeemed in. The “ticket” for entry is the blood of Jesus and crediting God’s Name for passage — by the Name and Way of Jesus can anyone be saved.

  Christians feel safe because God guards them. Trusting that God is guarding them is the assurance of salvation, that they are guarded from the evil one until he is destroyed. Salvation is when Satan is destroyed along with his legend of dark angels, for then, no guarding will ever be required again.

  Now for my own transparency. This interpretation of scripture fits the Arminian Doctrine closely. Please do not discard it because your doctrine is different than this. The faith of our fathers is significant, but the doctrine of our fathers is not. We tend to believe what men have taught but ignore scripture in the process. 

  Lifelong church-goers are predisposed toward their doctrine. Only after years of study in prayer for understanding, did I understand the Mystery of Christ. And to be honest, the Mystery will not be entirely revealed until we too can walk on “water” just as the saints stand on the Sea of Glass — the faith that we can see the “prize” as in hand before it is rewarded!

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[1] My book, The Skull of Adam, is based on that premise.

(picture credit: angels-angelology.com)

SANCTIFICATION IN CONTRAST TO INIQUITY

 

  “Sanctification” has different meanings for different people. It is a dirty word for unclean people and a clean state for clean people. For Nazarenes it is a second work of grace that corresponds with the reception of the Holy Ghost. Among Calvinists, sanctification is seldom preached. Theological “regeneration” is what God does for you, and “sanctification” is more what Christians do for God.  It is a way of saying, “Thank you, Lord, for what you have done!” What has he done for you? Died for your sins so that you need not.

  Before continuing, just what is sanctification? There are three definitions, according to Strong’s Dictionary. The most applicable one must be chosen for the context. Hence, there is some ambiguity as to which applies where. The Greek word is “hagioso.” John wrote, “Sanctify them through thy Truth; thy Word is Truth.” (John 17:17). Jesus said that. He is referring to God for sanctification. His reference is to those who God would keep, so that they never are to be lost. (John 17:11-12), and the evidence of that is joy fulfilled in themselves (John 17:13).

  It seems that sanctification is by grace on God’s part. Indeed, everything effecting you is by the grace of God, from the time your soul was created, to the time that you are born, reborn, and kept until death. Then “death” itself is the ultimate “sanctification” when the Christian is set apart and glorified in secure in Paradise where Satan can never be. Sanctification, then, is perhaps the safety of the Christian until they are saved in the end. Christians speak as if they are already saved, but the words are future tense: “shall be saved.”

  Regeneration, as I have written before, is persuasion and baptism with the Holy Ghost. After the Galatians were persuaded, “The disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 13:52). Jesus had said, “John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 11:16). Their “baptism” was not with water but the “living water” of the Spirit.

  Water baptism is for repentance, but the baptism of the Holy Ghost is for the actual remission (cleansing) of sins. Repentance is testifying that people are sinners and need washing. The reception of the Holy Ghost is the actual washing away of sins. Several places in scripture, it is obvious that the baptism of John and the baptism of Jesus do not necessarily coincide.

  What should happen when sins are washed away? The person cleansed should stay clean. Jesus knew that Christians could not stay clean by themselves, so the Father sent the Comforter to do what? Comfort! And to comfort henceforth: “He (the Father) shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever” (John 14:16). The “other” Comforter is the Holy Ghost of Jesus, and not really another, but another “substance” of Jesus. The disciples had Jesus in the Flesh, and after He left, he would return in Spirit (Acts 2), and that other substance appeared in His place.

  The first appearance of the Comforter was by wind and fire (Acts 2). All other appearances seem to be by “joy.” In the first appearance, the Jews were ecstatically speaking and hearing in the language of God. All other appearances is with Comfort and joy.

  How does one know if they are born again? They have a new attitude because they are persuaded by the truth and are joyous as the truth makes sinners free (John 8:32). Think of a lifetime of imprisonment. When the judge opens the doors and the prisoners walk out, what should happen? Obviously, the released prisoners would be joyous, and why did the judge open the doors to freedom? Not because criminals are innocent, but because He has grace, and believes that the lawbreakers need another chance.

  The second chance is sanctification. Henceforth, the sinner is out on parole. Until the end, the lawbreaker must continue with good behavior. With that said, the judge (Jesus) sends the former prisoners the “parole officer” (the Holy Ghost). Thenceforth, the former prisoner is released because he or she desires to be a model of the judge. First off, the Judge sets the former prisoner apart from those who would influence them to do evil. In the case of sanctification, God sets them apart from the world. That is done by a “hedge” of safety, as God did for Job (Job 1:10).

  Like the paroled but guilty prisoner, life outside is tribulation. The world tests the perseverance and commitment of the former prisoner. The world is full of temptations and God knows how tough it is.

  Now think about Andy Griffith’s jail. When Otis Campbell, the town drunk, became inebriated, Andy was gracious enough to keep him safe in jail, and Otis was wise enough to desire safety for two reasons: (1) To please Andy, and (2) to be safe from outside influences and from his wife, Rita, to be honest.

  That is much like sanctification: God sets apart but those who want to endure the world and freely enter in. Thus, sanctification is God providing and the Christian accepting the accommodation by walking in. As Otis showed gratitude to Andy, Christians, with joy, should show gratitude to God. Remembering that your very existence is by the grace of God, you have one requirement, to walk the Way of Jesus. Walking is work and following in the footprints of Jesus is unusually difficult; so hard that he carries those who follow diligently.

  Who does the setting apart? God, to wit: “The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thes 5:23). That is God’s part. He preserves in a safe space, not only your emotions, but wholly — in whole spirit, soul, and body.  The Spirit belongs to God and it resides in the soul within the body of the Christian. In other words, the Christian’s soul and body belong to the Holy Spirit and are His Temple.

  The obligation of the Christian is to keep the “Temple” clean that God has provided. The Holy Ghost cleansed it, and the Christian has the obligation to keep it clean.

  Paul tells the Thessalonians their duties in keeping the sanctified “Temple” holy:  ⁶ sobriety, ⁸ faith and love, ¹¹ unity, ¹² receptivity to correction, ¹³ peacefulness,  ¹⁴ assisting others with their faith, ¹⁵ do no evil but what is good for you and others, ¹⁶ rejoice, ¹⁷ pray, ¹⁸ give thanks, ¹⁹ follow the direction of God, ²⁰ welcome what God has in store for you, ²¹ test all things and do good, ²² and be blameless (1 Thes 5).

  God cleaned the place and set it apart. Then He provided a work list that you should be willing to do to keep His House clean because you live in it too; you and God together in unity. As any parent knows, the father provides the room, but the sons and daughters are expected to keep it clean. By doing so, it avoids the wrath of the father, and provides a clean safe place in which to live.

  Otis had a stronghold. He pleasured with alcohol. Just because he was a model prisoner did not remove the desire for alcohol until he had learned that things were much better without it. Every weekend, alcohol defeated him, and he turned again to Andy. Of course, Andy is not God but an allegory for God.

  Redeemed Christians also have strongholds. Because Adam and Eve covered their “shame” with fig leaves, it should be obvious what the hardest stronghold is. Impure sex dirties God’s people. I believe that original sin included sex for pleasuring rather than for creating as they were commanding to do. One of the “fruits” of the forbidden tree is lasciviousness and other sexual depravities: “The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness” (Gal 5:19). Paul had warned the Galatians about their sexual proclivity, and he warned the Christians at Thessalonica in much the same manner:

³ For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: ⁴ That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; ⁵ Not in the lust of concupiscence (passion), even as the Gentiles which know not God… (1 Thes 4:3-5)

  Note that sanctification is not a commandment, but cooperation with what God desires. The stronghold is fornication. Of course, the ultimate “fornication” is adultery with foreign gods but also not to dirty God’s Temple in you as a Christian out of honor for God. Paul knew and saw the sexual rituals in pagan churches and warned Christians not to do the same. “Christians” who fornicate do so against God. Rather than Christianity, it is a polluted form of it called “Nicolaism.” God hates the sins of the Nicolaitanes (Rev 2:6,15), and here they are elaborated:

⁹ Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, ¹⁰ Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Cor 6:9-10)

  They are all fornications against God and sexual sins, as can be seen elsewhere, are sins against oneself because they are damning. Those who do such things are the unsanctified and they chance forfeiting their safety because God is not their first love (Rev 2:4).

  Nicolatains love the doctrine of Nicolas more than the Doctrine of God. That is heresy, and to be honest, the Church is fuller of Nicolatains today than ever before! I write not only of “shacking up” as if married but dating with coitus in mind. Likewise with “paper marriages” only where Holy Matrimony is not vowed. In other words, “adultery.”

  Christians are not sanctified if they live the doctrine of Nicolas. They have walked out of the “hedge” that God provided to keep Satan out of their safe space.

  Even Otis came back, but when Christians walk out not to return, they forfeit the preservation of God. No longer will the Holy Ghost Comfort because He abandons unholy “Temples.” When God’s children steal from the will of God, His Temple is no more than a den of thieves. Christians remaining in sin, outside the protection of God, submit themselves to temptation, and sin they will do. Living as if never a Christian, and not as a sanctified believer, is as if crucifying Jesus all over again (Heb 6:6). Sinners crucified Jesus one time for all sins, and to repeat that for continually sinning is a second attempt to crucify.

  Sure, Christians can ask for forgiveness and get it for sins past (Rom 3:25), but not actively living in sin outside sanctification. People fear rebirth because that is a new attitude and means change. Sinners are uncomfortable with change, so they endeavor to live how they are comfortable — in sin — and outside sanctification.

  If Otis had been comfortable outside in the world, he would have stayed in the world and outside the protection of Andy’s cell. Any did not allow alcohol in the jail, and that made Otis uncomfortable but safe. If people are comfortable with their sins, they are outside sanctification.

  Sanctification, then, is essentially living in the Comfort of the Holy Ghost without a desire to enjoy the things of the world. The act of sanctification is the crucifixion of the flesh. It is an act of gratitude for the crucifixion of God’s Flesh on behalf of sinners.

(picture credit: KXRB FM):

FIXING A BROKEN HEART

 

  There I sat, in a classroom at Western Kentucky University, learning psychology. My undergraduate degree was in mechanical engineering, so why was I in a graduate class in psychology? I have written before, that I am a problem-solver, and I enjoy fixing things. Usually, except for simple lawn mower engines, since I was a child, I fixed everything that I found broken.

  I had been drawn to engineering because I knew the physical sciences. I wondered about that during my studies and concluded that, as the name suggests, the “study” of the psyche (soul) is little more than a manual on how to fix a broken spirit. I already had my original manual and used it often; I would use the Bible to test the doctrines of the world.

  With that said, let me explain. “Souls” cannot be broken; they are immortal. What breaks is “spirit” and it does not really “break” but fails much like the human heart. “Heart-broken” is a broken spirit, but rather than “broken,” the spirit cannot be contained in a vessel used for other things. In scriptural terms, new wine cannot be put in old bottles. What happens when that occurs? The bottles burst and the wine runs out.

  Well, the “bottle” is the soul and the “wine” is the Pneuma of God — the very “breath of God.” Think of a “broken” soul as a corked bottle. The “cork” is God’s hand in containing His Holy Spirit, but when His Hand is removed, the breath of God is exhumed.

  Spiritual death is when the Pneuma of God is released, whether by slowly seeping out or bursting forth. Satan’s usual method of expulsion is by cracking the “cork” a little at a time until the Holy Spirit of God vacates God’s “bottle.” Note that God called His own “bottle” His “cup” or in 1600’s English, the chalice from which the disciples drank and is considered the “Holy Grail.”

  Now for some commentary about the Holy Grail. Of course, it has not been found in this world, because the “Holy Grail” is in Heaven sitting at the right hand of God. Not actually at God’s right side, but Jesus as the Cup of Yahweh. How is this for the “study of the soul?”

  Now, returning to the subject at hand: living souls do not require “fixing.” Only broken souls need repaired. Adam and Eve’s were the first souls that leaked out God. In the beginning, God had breathed life unto Adam (Gen 2:7), and Adam shared that Pneuma of God with Eve: 

²² And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; ²³ And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. (Gen 2:22-23)

 

  Rib? Men do not have a missing rib and each gender has twelve pairs! Is that an exact translation? The Hebrew word tsela’ means “side chambers or cells” as one of the translations (Strong’s Dictionary). “Ribs” would be the “cage” for the side chambers and those multiple chambers, seemingly lungs, but perhaps those chambers were not two lungs, but one soul for each man and woman. My hypothesis is more meaningful than “rib” in that God first breathed life unto Adam, then Adam shared that Pneuma with her. Hence, Eve’s breath of life, her living soul, was taken from Adam.

  Eve was mother of all, except for Adam who was co-equal and of one flesh, or as Adam said it, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” (Gen 2:23). There are three “substances” of God and three of people: Mind, Body, and Spirit. Here Adam speaks of their common body, her dust made from his “dust” — the same physical substances. But the creation of Eve was Holy Matrimony. Although she was taken from Adam, God joined them together (Mat 19:6). What joined them together? Certainly not their minds, but God’s Holy Pneuma! They were one in Spirit, and essentially Holy Matrimony is sharing one spiritual “cup” without it “breaking.”

  My conclusion, in the study of the real soul, is that it was not a “rib” that Adam and Eve shared but one Spirit and the very breath of God! Now that is the real study of the soul!

Psychology, “the study of the soul,” is then inherently wrong as psyche is not “soul” but “Spirit,” according to Strong’s Dictionary, and is the “animated attitude.” In other words, when Adam was animated, it was an attitude that God breathed unto him that He did not do with the other animals in the Garden. “Psychology” is more the “study of god’s spirit,” which raises the questions, What “god” with what “spirit?”

  Psychology had its beginnings in philosophy, “the love of wisdom.” Jews call the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the “Wisdom Tree.” Why so? Because everything theretofore in the Garden had been only the knowledge of “good” and since only God is “good,” then Adam and Eve’s knowledge was only the Doctrine of God. That Tree represented by the Tree of Life of which “Tree” they could have eaten freely, because that “Tree” is analogous to Jesus.  I call the Tree of Wisdom, the “Philosophy Tree” and I call the Tree of Life “Jesus Christ!” Right there in the middle of the Garden were two philosophies — the Doctrine of God and the doctrine of sin.

  The Wisdom Tree is only one of a pair, an odd couple: The Tree of Life and the Tree of Death, and to discern which is which requires reasoning (i.e., exercising wisdom). One Tree has free things to partake and all those twelve fruits of the Spirit are for life. The Tree of Death contains fruits as well, and they are evil fruits that lead to death (Gal 5). The bad fruits that Paul wrote to the Galatians are the sins that displaces the good fruits until the “bottle” leaks its contents, either gradually or like a champagne bottle. How can a fellow Christian determine if God’s Holy Ghost is properly contained within a Christian’s bottle? Whether there is the joy in the twelve fruits of the Spirit (Act 13:52).

  Are you learning the contents of the soul? Have you any thoughts about who can repair the soul? Jesus is “Yahweh protects.” Until Christians die, Jesus protects the soul by keeping it “safe” (Greek; sosos). Jesus fixes the soul at glorification as he regenerates it the same as it was generated in the beginning. At the rapture, Jesus snatches up the dust and replaces the Pneuma which is safe within the immortal soul (the cup or bottle). Then he provides a thoroughly cleansed “bottle” and breaths His Pneuma back unto it, and the Christian is again a “living soul” just as in the beginning. If anyone is not a Christian, he or she is a “dying soul” in that God’s Pneuma has leaked out and eternal death is inevitable.

  What I write herein is the “Philosophy of God” and not the vain philosophies of inquiring minds. Paul confronted the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers at Rome whose God was unknown (Acts 17). Those “wise men” made decisions. Some remained comfortable with their “unknown god” and others followed the Living God. Paul, “Reasoned with them out of the scriptures, opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ” (Act 17:2-3).

  Paul revealed to them true wisdom using reason and truth. Pontius Pilate was an obvious Platonian. He asked Jesus, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). Paul’s reasoning to them was that their “god” is unknown, but then he proclaimed the True God. He used the argument that “God” is the One who suffered, then rose from the dead. That was the God who Paul “preached” unto them.

  Philosophy is a form of preaching. It is presenting to man what man loves. It does not present to man what God loves. What is it that men love? Themselves. What is it that God loves? “Whosover.” Those who love knowledge, love themselves. They esteem themselves to the extent that they endeavor to self-actualize. Philosophy is the “love of the self” and is the parent doctrine of psychology which is studying how to fix the selves which are broken.

  In my years of study, it finally occurred to me: “Psychology is another religion.” I felt stupid when I asked Dr. Fong about that. She answered (quoted exactly), “Are you just now figuring that out?” I felt “had,” as if I had been spiritually violated. I had been studying the philosophy of an unknown god, thinking that it was science.

  I had believed that they had “secret knowledge” which I had to learn to fix me and everyone around me. I never learned any secret knowledge that could fix anyone, and by the admission of my own textbook on abnormal behavior, there is no evidence that psychology has ever fixed anything! “Secret knowledge” about the Holy Ghost and Jesus is called “Gnosticism” and that is the likely the same religion as the one with Paul’s “thorn in the side,” as Paul wrote: “There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me” (2 Cor 12:7).

  The “messenger of Satan” was most certainly Simon the Sorcerer who preached against the apostles at that time, claiming that he was the Christ, and that Jesus was a mere “phantasm” — an illusion or specter. Simon presented the Savior as a mere “ghost” or slight of hand in which he specialized himself. Many Muslims believe that Judas Iscariot was the sacrifice and that the Judas Tree was the Tree of Life.

  Some denominations seem to worship the Holy Ghost. I have explained before that the “Holy Ghost” is the Holy Pneuma of God who experienced death on the cross but was given up at the death of Jesus. John conformed that notion when he wrote, “But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39).

  The “Cup” of Jesus gave up the Holy Spirit of God and that Spirit was transformed into the “Holy Ghost” of Jesus. Christians must keep in mind that God is three Statoos, working in harmony with homeostasis (as one). The Resurrection of Jesus was when God breathed life back into the “Cup” of Jesus’s Soul. He was as He was in the beginning — having a glorified body, an eternal “Cup,” and a Living Spirit (no longer a “Ghost”) when the Father breathed life back unto his “sleeping” Son.

  God had a plan for me, and it was not to take a cheap shot at fixing people. After years of study, my fellow students asked if I, who they considered “broken,” would group counsel with them. My answer, “If it aint broken, don’t fix it.”

  God had fixed me years before and all that the god of psychology could do is puncture my soul with a “thorn.” I overcame that “thorn in my side” be reading the Word of God. I would never again diminish God by turning to philosophers to fix me.

  I no longer needed fixing. I was born again quite some time ago, and a new attitude evolved when God breathed life unto my empty cup. I required preserving, though. “Thorns” can still puncture my soul, but thanks to Jesus, His death fortified it. Since Jesus overcame death, my own assurance of the same is that Jesus is still alive and that my soul was built for immortality.

  Everyone has an immortal soul; it just depends on where and how that soul will spend eternity. God fixed me. Only I can let out the Pneuma, like Adam, that God breathed in. God has promised never to do that, and only I can. It is my free will whether to deflate God or not and empty my soul. Care must be taken for a broken “bottle” can never contain a renewed Spirit; it is as if crucifying — breaking the Cup of Jesus — all over again (Heb 6:6).

  Now your “study of the soul” is complete for the day. It is your choice to continue the Study of the Soul, which is the Word of God. The Word drives the original “Thorn” away as Satan will flee from you (Jas 4:7). Your soul shall remain safe if you stand under the right “Tree.”

  As a sidebar, some psychology seems to be effective in that people must understand reason and rationality. However, psychologists cannot “fix” anything. They are poor engineers of the soul. Jesus is the Tradesman who can, not only fix all things, but created new things. Just as He created you, He can re-create you as well. Jesus is the “Carpenter” and the Repairman. Never believe that anything or anyone different than that can fix you; maybe band-aid at most until the Light is seen.

  Dr. Fong said, “Our job is not just to teach you, but remold you.” Jesus remolds. His hand molded the flesh and entrained it with the Spirit of God. The filling is the Pneuma is more imbuement or entrained than “filled” because so long as we are alive, sin seeps in and displaces God’s Spirit. The Holy Ghost self-repairs if we remain joyful of Him. Remolding by any other is blasphemy and brainwashing.

(credit for picture: Pinterest)