The Hope of Israel

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Acts 28:20

I'm sure you know the stories written in the New Testament concerning Jesus and how John the baptist made the way strait for Him (Whos will was God's own). If not I'll give you a basic explanation of Jesus concerning His Lordship, and Gods Will for His people (According to my understanding).

Elisabeth (John the baptists mother) was well in age and barren, meaning she was "Sterile". Zacharias (Her husband) Had prayed for a child, He (like Joseph) was visited by an angel, and the angel told him that his prayer was answered. Zacharias was a Priest, both Him and Elizabeth were righteous before God, walking in all the commandments, and legal ordinances of the mosaic law.

Joseph and Mary were to be married, but Mary was found with child before their marriage was legitimized. Now Joseph was an innocent and just man, and had found favor with the Lord. Most men would have been enraged knowing that their soon to be wife was with child that was not their own. Most men would have accused the woman of adultery whereby she would have been stoned; such was the mosaic law. And an angel visited both Mary and Joseph, and informed them that the child in Mary's womb was of the Holy Spirit and would be called the Son of God. Joseph loved Mary dearly and He raised her child as his own despite it not being of His seed.

Elisabeth had also conceived a child (Like Mary) Filled with the Holy Spirit, even from Elisabeth's womb. Both John and Jesus' conceptions were of the Holy Spirit of God. The two stories parallel for a reason. The reason is that the two incidents are meant to illustrate that both John and Jesus' births were the result of God's intervention.

Remember, Elisabeth was sterile and could not have children. And the Angel of the Lord came to Zacharias (A priest) telling Him that she would bear a child for him, Just as the Angel of the Lord came to Joseph (An innocent and Just man). Both incidents were concerning the birth of sons and their woman. One coupled were married by the law, and the other couple were not yet espoused, yet both to have children.

John represented the letter of the mosaic law, and Jesus represented God's Spiritual law of Love. The law and John both made the way strait for the Lord. John bare witness of Jesus, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that comes after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. John 1:15-17

The mosaic law (Represented by John) was after Gods Spiritual law given in the garden (Represented by Jesus). Even so, the mosaic law of the Old Covenant taught by John, made the path strait for Jesus and the New Covenant taught by Him. The thing is, Jesus was preferred before John because Jesus represented that perfect law of God which was from the beginning.

The Mosaic law came from God after the fall of man. Mankind had become hard in heart, and so the law was simply established to help mankind keep order on earth. It was and still even to this day, needed because of the hardness of mens hearts. Even so, the law of Moses condemns man because of the wickedness of man, but the law of the Spirit gives life and takes the wickedness out of our hearts.


Please read:


To Rise again from the fall of man


Please Read:


2 Corinthians 3:6-18


GK
 
The way I have come to see the ministry of Jesus is that there is no old covenant or new covenant, there just is a covenant, which is the path of righteousness laid down long ago which people either choose to follow, or not.
The alleged "old" testament is an account of this and defines it through one groups efforts to walk the line.
When they followed God with their ALL, then they were blessed and when they forgot and strayed, they were cursed.
Pretty straightforward stuff really.
But the thing with formal legal things like covenants and such is that they "formalize" that which is casual.
They turn things which are a relationship into a ritual, a drama, and defy the life that such a relationship represents.
That is why it (law) is associated with death.
It is a calcification of that which is flexible.
The slow process of rigor mortis which gets everyone in the end, including cultures and dynasties and empires....turned to coral, and then beaten into sand.
Jesus was making the effort to set the people he went to back on that path, to rejuvenate the soul of the people who had forgotten the relationship and had fallen into the drama of formality.
In this he failed.....and the failure was epic.
As warned, the temple was destroyed by foreigners and the people scattered to the four corners of the earth.
But even the failure had seeds of success as those who had not been a part of the people now saw the light contained in the rigid confines of the law, that it was a formalized status of that which was once love and that it was an open invitation into that relationship.
New seed germinated and a new chapter of the same book was opened.
Rejuvenated.
 
shawn said:
The way I have come to see the ministry of Jesus is that there is no old covenant or new covenant, there just is a covenant, which is the path of righteousness laid down long ago which people either choose to follow, or not.
The alleged "old" testament is an account of this and defines it through one groups efforts to walk the line.
When they followed God with their ALL, then they were blessed and when they forgot and strayed, they were cursed.
Pretty straightforward stuff really.
But the thing with formal legal things like covenants and such is that they "formalize" that which is casual.
They turn things which are a relationship into a ritual, a drama, and defy the life that such a relationship represents.
That is why it (law) is associated with death.
It is a calcification of that which is flexible.
The slow process of rigor mortis which gets everyone in the end, including cultures and dynasties and empires....turned to coral, and then beaten into sand.
Jesus was making the effort to set the people he went to back on that path, to rejuvenate the soul of the people who had forgotten the relationship and had fallen into the drama of formality.
In this he failed.....and the failure was epic.
As warned, the temple was destroyed by foreigners and the people scattered to the four corners of the earth.
But even the failure had seeds of success as those who had not been a part of the people now saw the light contained in the rigid confines of the law, that it was a formalized status of that which was once love and that it was an open invitation into that relationship.
New seed germinated and a new chapter of the same book was opened.
Rejuvenated.
Click to expand...

I'm somewhat in agreement with you, shawn. Even so, when we attempt to live by the letter, it becomes about works and we often times boast in our accomplishments, and therefore grace is of non effect. When we live by the Spirit (Love), our deeds are done with a pure heart, and God's spiritual law is therefore fulfilled through His Spirit (Love). Being reborn or created new in His Spirit is a very real change that is manifest in the life of the changed.

The law was meant to establish order on earth, but it is only by God's Spirit (Selfless Love) can it be achieved. The Lord is that Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is Liberty. We are called to the obedience of God's will which was demonstrated by Jesus. God's will is for us to be caretakers of all His creation, and to do so through a selfless Love (Living to His Spirit - The Lord).

Jesus was the first of many sons to be born of God's Spirit. All creation belongs to Israel, and Israel will claim their inheritance when they as a peoples are faithful to Gods will (Selfless Love - Spirit). So often we seek for power, but it is in our self seeking that we are found unfit to rule.

Even the rightful King of Heaven (Our Messiah), is subject to God and when He has completed His work, God will be all in all. We are all equal, and those who have been grafted into the olive tree are Joint heirs of the Kingdom. Israel represents God's chosen; let us therefore pray that All God's people (Both by birth and by adoption) may know the Lord (Who is Spirit) so they (We) might usher in the kingdom, and claim the inheritance of God. In heaven there will be no one to force their will on our own, as those who make it are those who live in obedience to God and His Spiritual law of Love.

"Love"


GK
 
Reading this I see that you are still wrapped up in the formalization of the relationship to some degree.
It is like a formal marriage and there is talk of obedience and duty and such.
Certainly those are real and important, but when you are in love...really in love....you do all those things without ever a thought of those things ever crossing the grey matter...you just do them......from a pure heart....one that is purely in love.
That is the point ..... after all.
Ritualized relationships are dead and rely on formal shows of affection, displays which amount to boasting and beating upon one's breast "oh how I love thee", "look at what I do for thee", which does little to rekindle the flame that once was....all that is left is then just duty (another word for law).
That is what Jesus was getting at, you see.
The point is the "re-newal" of the covenant, in its original spirit which we can get a hint at from the "Song of Solomon"....very passionate....very much in love.


"all god's people"?????
All people are Gods already. Those who don't realize are merely ungerminated seed.
 
The Law is merely a symbol....like a wedding ring, sure it has all kinds of legal connotations and such....like until death do us part and do your duty and don't cheat and if you do (any of the aforementioned, etc) then half your stuff is mine and maybe even more, etcetera.
But when people get married who are really in love.....that is all just a kind of unnecessary formality and a going through the motions as they both know they would do anything for the other...no question.
Then time passes and passions fade and love becomes duty and the ties that bind become more legalistic than love oriented.
This is the clear and present danger of all relationships.
Familiarity can breed contempt or at least, weariness and boredom.
So the question Jesus was answering was all about renewal and the re-birth of that original ardor.
That is the spirit of the relationship that the formal ritual symbolizes.
That is the ALL.
That is the Hope for us as a species, as we are all "Israel".
All life has the same genetic marker, the same pattern....we are all kin.
 
shawn said:
Reading this I see that you are still wrapped up in the formalization of the relationship to some degree.
It is like a formal marriage and there is talk of obedience and duty and such.
Certainly those are real and important, but when you are in love...really in love....you do all those things without ever a thought of those things ever crossing the grey matter...you just do them......from a pure heart....one that is purely in love.
That is the point ..... after all.
Ritualized relationships are dead and rely on formal shows of affection, displays which amount to boasting and beating upon one's breast "oh how I love thee", "look at what I do for thee", which does little to rekindle the flame that once was....all that is left is then just duty (another word for law).
That is what Jesus was getting at, you see.
The point is the "re-newal" of the covenant, in its original spirit which we can get a hint at from the "Song of Solomon"....very passionate....very much in love.


"all god's people"?????
All people are Gods already. Those who don't realize are merely ungerminated seed.
Click to expand...


That's exactly what I'm saying, shawn. When we truly love, it no longer becomes about obedience, but Love. We however, must allow God to cultivate love within us, that we might die to self will and live to His will. It begins with a willful choice made by us. When we desire to know Love above our selfish will, He will change our will into His will, and that is the beauty of Salvation. He chose us, so we might choose Him.

Christ did not come for those who are without sickness, but for those who are sick. If you refuse to recognize your own sickness (Lust) you are very unlikely to go to the physician. Likewise, if you recognize that you are in fact Ill (Lustful) you are much more likely to go to the physician. Christ Does not seek His own glory, but God's glory and God's glory is in His children, even as Jesus was Himself.

Perhaps it is true that we are all ill and in need of healing. Many of us suffer, and hurt, and are bitter, and angry, and sad, and lonely, and confused. All of these are products of lust and the effects of our selfish will. All of which leads to pride, and envy, jealousy, etc.

We first must recognize our need, then He heals us from these ailments in time. God will answer, and if you are receptive to His medicine (Love) you will be made whole. Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened. What father among you if his son ask for a fish, would give him a serpent? You being evil know how to give good gifts, how much more so will your father in heaven give His Spirit (Love) to those who ask? The gates of heaven exist within each of our hearts. If we would desire God (Love) above (Lust) Satan (Ourselves) the gates would begin to open for each of us.

God's children you ask? Yes, God loves us all, and His seed is in us all, but unless one allows that seed to sprout, they cannot become heirs of His kingdom. Remember the mustard seed parable? God's Seed (Love) will mature into a tree (The tree of life). It takes faith in This (Spirit) for it to sprout, and take root within us. On the other hand, if we reject the Seed existing within us all, then we remain in our own Selfish Will (Lust) how can we enter into His Kingdom. We've got to want it, and be faithful, no? In the beginning stages, it takes some obedience, but (In time) becomes our life itself.

Every man has been born with the seed of love in our hearts. Even so, the state of the world quickly hinders the seeds growth, seemingly removing love from our hearts. But even in such times, the seed remains buried deep inside us waiting to be reawakened. Once it is awakened in us, we at times experience its beauty, but it cannot grow until the seed takes a deepness of root.

Once the roots have been established, we come to know love more deeply, and experience its grace for a while. Even so, the world we live in, our pursuit for riches and pleasures, and the troubles choke it and love fails to mature in us.

But, when we figure out that life is not about riches or mere pleasures, but about love itself, the worries of life begin to fade, and we begin to mature in its grace, whereby the substance of this Spirit begins to manifest in our lives. We are then able to live through this (Tree of Life).

Some have matured in it , while others are still one the wayside. Even so, all of us have this seed within our hearts.


GK
 
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