From a message by a Curious Questioner--
>CQ> Subject: empirical proof
>CQ> There is also something else to think about. Why was God the Father of Jesus Christ? Why not Joseph?
Because Jesus' mother was "with child by the Holy Ghost", BEFORE Joseph was allowed to know his wife and bring forth his firstborn son James, and Jesus' other brothers and sisters, who were called "my mother's children" by the Spirit of Christ.
>CQ> The classic answer is of course that only God can save us not ourselves. thus Jesus being God, as part of the Holy Trinity, could fulfill that act of redemption for fallen man.
No, Jesus being himself INNOCENT could fulfill the act of redemption.
>CQ> Original sin is passed on by the father and not the mother.
Not quite. You were in Adam when he committed his original sin. Christ was not born of the seed of man, but by the Holy Ghost, and therefore was not a partaker of man's sin. The woman, Eve, ate before the man, but her eating was in the ignorance of unbelief, "being deceived," and that did not cause sin to enter the world.
"By one man sin entered into the world." The commandment in Gen.2:17 was given to the man alone, and he alone is charged with disobeying it (Gen.3:17). And the Lord very pointedly used the exact same 6 words of Gen.2:17, in Gen.3:17, when he judged the man guilty of violating the command that said: "Thou shalt not eat of it." The man was under the law, the woman was under grace! (This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. :)
>CQ> Juxtapos this with the fact that Jesus DID NOT HAVE A BIOLOGICAL EARTHLY FATHER!!! We can't blame everything on the women.
Adam blamed the woman. The Lord blamed Adam. ("The man that hath done this thing shall surely die." But an innocent lamb died instead.)
>CQ> Thus, truly, He knew no sin!!!!!!!!!!!
Truly, he did no sin! But he certainly knew about sin when he was "made to be sin for us", when our sin was put in him on the cross. Our sins came between him and the Father, and his heart cried out:
"MY GOD! MY GOD! WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?"
"Surely he hath born our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted."
Remember that Jesus is the Lord and "consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." Ever look unto Jesus, who himself is the author and finisher of our faith. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ always. Grace be unto your heart in the love of the truth. Amen. --Richard
From a message by a Curious Questioner--
>CQ> Subject: I Tim. 2:11-3:2
>CQ> Were the sins of Eve worse than the sins of Adam?
No plural sins! Very simply: sin is the transgression of the law; And there was only one law (Gen.2:16,17) to the man alone, apart from the woman. She was not mentioned in that command. (she was not even created yet! :)
The Bible clearly says that by one man sin entered into the world. Sin entered when the man ate of the fruit, not when the woman ate.
>CQ> It seems to me that Adam did not even make any resistence, but simply "took and ate."
Not quite that simple. In Gen.3:6, we do find that she gave to her husband and he did eat. In Gen.3:12, the man confessed that the woman gave to him of the tree, and he did eat. Ah, but the problem wasn't the fact that she "gave" the fruit to the man, but something else. Look at what the LORD God says about these things:
"And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life." (Gen.3:17)
The cause of the problem is that Adam hearkened unto someone else, instead of hearkening unto the LORD's commandment. DISOBEDIENCE. The actual eating was secondary to that. And again the fact that the woman said something that Adam hearkened unto, is secondary to the fact that Adam did not hearken to what the Lord had actually said.
Basic cause and effect. When speaking to the serpent, the LORD God began with the word, because. When speaking to the man, the LORD God began with the word, because. But, lo and behold, (will wonders never cease? :) when speaking to the woman, he does not begin with the word "because," nor is there any mention of blame. "Hast thou not read? hath it not been revealed unto thee?" No condemnation of the woman by the Lord!
From a message by a Curious Questioner--
>CQ> The same process occurred in both sins: Temptation, resistence for a time, and final acquiescence, followed by shame.
The issue is not whether she was being tempted, but the fact that she was "being deceived." The serpent was asking her whether or not both of them could eat of the tree, but the commandment was only to one of them. If you argue that both of them had to obey the commandment, then sin would have entered when she ate, but there was no transgression until the man, to whom the command was given, ate.
The man was under law. The woman was under grace! "Where no law is, there is no transgression." The man broke the law "and he died." Instead of reading that the woman died, we find instead that her name was called Eve (LIFE!), because (there's her cause & effect!), because she was the mother of all living! Life! (Life goes on! :)
>CQ> With God's walking in the Garden, we now have a patriarchal dialogue, in which Eve's voice is strangely silent.
Eve does speak in Gen.3:13. The voice that was silent in the chapter was of course that of the lamb, who "opened not his mouth"!! "The lamb slain from the foundation of the world"!! To provide a covering for man's nakedness! ("Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them." --Gen.3:21)
The first blood shed on this earth was that of the lamb; (we are speaking by revelation here:) The LORD himself poured out that blood upon the ground, even while speaking to the man and saying, cursed is the ground for thy sake!
Remember therefore that Jesus is the Lord and that his blood was poured out for our sakes. Now is the day of salvation; Now if you would hearken unto his voice, call now upon his name! "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
>CQ> I welcome your comments--and those of others, too!
There ya go! I hope that you will join with us in fully welcoming the Lord Jesus Christ with open arms in an everlasting embrace. (Such love! Such wondrous love! That God should love a sinner such as I. :)
The GRACE of the Lord Jesus Christ be with us all. Amen. --Richard
From a message by a Curious Questioner--
>CQ> The issue in I Tim. is whether a woman can be an elder or preacher.
The issue in 1Tim.2 is whether a woman should be allowed to teach a man, and Paul did not suffer a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in lamb-like silence! The issue in 1Tim.3 concerns who may be a bishop or deacon - no elders mentioned. We do find "elder women" mentioned in 1Tim.5; And in 2Tim.2:3-5 they are charged with the responsibility of teaching the younger women certain things, "that the word of God be not blasphemed."
>CQ> Eve is under condemnation according to Gen. 3.
There is no condemnation of the woman, by the Lord, in Genesis 3, but we do see Adam trying to blame her, in Gen.3:12. We do not however see Eve trying to put the blame back on Adam! (Whether of the two showed more love toward the other? :)
Even though women are not allowed to teach men doctrine in a local church, we (men) can still learn a thing or two from them indirectly. They sure do a good job showing-us-up in some areas! (smile :)
Adam hearkened unto his wife in Gen.3 and problems resulted. Abram hearkened unto his wife in Gen.16 and problems resulted, and Abraham was a little slower to hearken unto her voice after that, even to the point where the Lord had to step into the picture in Genesis 21, where Abraham's wife said something that was right!
(And not only right, but it turned out to be a major prophecy! :)
"And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called." (Gen.21:12) ("as Isaac was"! - Gal.4:28p :)
And let us men not forget that Adam was made from dirt, but Eve was made from a lily-white rib. And let neither men nor women forget where that live rib came from! The 5th rib, on the left side, over the heart. (We are again speaking by revelation here. :)
The last Adam, even the Lord Jesus Christ, had, not only his side pierced, but his very heart was pierced, and his blood that cleanses us from all sin, was poured out that we might become lily-white! He allowed himself to be spat upon and treated like dirt in order to demonstrate his great love toward us. Shall our love be less?
The Lord be gracious and re-supply the tear-glands of any dry-eyed person reading or hearing of these things concerning the Lord's very great sacrifice for us. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ stir our hearts and multiply our faith an hundredfold! "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face!" (Set your affection on things above! :) Grace be unto our heart in love. Amen. --Richard
From a message by a Curious Questioner--
>CQ> I do recall that Adam was made from the ground, and Eve from a rib--indeed there is a saying that woman was not made from a bone of the foot so that men could walk on top of women, nor from a bone of his head that she might be above him, but from a rib of his side that she could walk beside him as a partner.
Yeah! Heart to heart! Help-MATES! JOINT-heirs! (That's the ticket! :)
"That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
Matters of the heart are more important than intellectual matters. Out of the heart are the issues of life. (Life goes on! :)
"Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein."
"And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them, If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, mine heart shall be knit unto you..." (Ah, the sweet psalmist of Israel! Such joy! :)
And how blessed the answer of Amasai unto the Lord's anointed: "Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy God helpeth thee."
Amen! God help us all to be of the same heart and like-minded in all things pertaining to our great and wonderful Lord Jesus Christ. Grace with joy be unto your heart for Jesus' sake. Amen. --Richard
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